Dr Geraldine Tan, principal psychologist at The Therapy Room, has likewise noted an increase in cases of device addiction at her clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cPre-COVID, we’ve had probably five to six out of 10 parents coming in complaining about their kids on their devices. Now, (we) have almost seven to eight out of 10 parents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
GAMING ADDICTION CAN LEAD TO SELF-ISOLATION<\/p>\n
Those with serious gaming addiction<\/a> often show signs of self-isolation, neglecting school or work, and refusing to participate in social and family activities, said Dr Tan.<\/p>\n “One of these cases that I have \u2013 he was on the computer for an extensive amount of time \u2026 that he even failed college. He bought \u2026 different gadgets \u2026 to facilitate his playing,” she said.<\/p>\n Psychotherapist Narasimman Tivasiha Mani said parents should regulate their children\u2019s screen time rather than taking their devices away, as the latter could worsen their feelings of isolation.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve had clients that (turned) aggressive because the parents turned off the device,\u201d said the co-founder and executive director of Impart, a community-based youth mental health charity.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that gaming served as a coping mechanism during the pandemic for 70 per cent of the youths he works with, who used the virtual world for social interaction during periods of lockdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Experts said many such youths continued fulfilling their social needs online after the pandemic instead of returning to offline engagements.<\/p>\n \u201cGaming addiction \u2026 makes them stuck in some way,\u201d said Mr Tom Maniatis, a senior addictions therapist at Promises Healthcare, adding that social isolation could have implications on an ageing society like Singapore.<\/p>\n OVERCOMING GAMING ADDICTION<\/p>\n