(On)gezond gamegedrag van Nederlandse jongeren 2015-2018

This Trimbos-instituut and Universiteit Utrecht factsheet combines data on gaming behaviour among Dutch young people in secondary education, drawing on three studies: HBSC (2017, average age 14), ESPAD (2015, average age 15) and the DIYO Digital Youth research (Universiteit Utrecht, 2018). Tenzij anders vermeld, the data are weighted to represent the national situation. Gaming groups are defined as risk gamers (scoring positively on at least five of nine questions on gaming disorder, having at least one direct problem, and gaming at least two to three days a week), hobby gamers (gaming at least two to three days a week) and non-gamers (incidental or non-gamers).

The factsheet finds that gaming — even frequent gaming — does not have to go together with mental or physical health problems. Hobby gamers smoke, use cannabis and drink less often than non-gaming young people, and they play about 14 hours a week. Around 7% of boys are risk gamers, who play about 23 hours a week and show physical and mental health problems five times as often as hobby gamers or non-gaming boys.

Gaming is far more common among boys: in ESPAD 2015, 46% of boys game (almost) daily, compared with 6% of girls, while 64% of girls never game. Online gaming boys spend about 21 hours a week on online gaming, against about 10 hours for online gaming girls. The authors advise professionals to stay alert to extreme gaming, particularly when it is linked with other problems.