BBC:
Wednesday afternoons have become a ritual for 15-year-old Sadmir Perviz. It’s a circuitous route from home in Perth to the Fiona Stanley Hospital – but it’s worth it, he says, to sit down for a game of Dungeons & Dragons with people he may not know but with whom he shares a great deal in common.
Sadmir and his board game companions are just some of the 300 patients at the gaming disorder clinic, Australia’s only publicly-run institution of its type, helping patients wean themselves off excessive online gaming habits.
The room where they meet is a simple space in a faceless hospital but in the corner, there’s a pile of boardgames on a chair. Jenga, Uno and Sushi Go are also popular choices at the informal group which is attended by both patients and clinicians.
It’s a bit of a departure for the 15-year-old who until a couple of months ago preferred to play games with friends online for 10 hours a day.
“It feels completely different,” says Sadmir. “You get to roll the dice instead of clicking a button. You can interact with people, so you actually know who’s there rather than just being on a call with random people.”
Dr Daniela Vecchio, the psychiatrist who set up the clinic, says that while gaming isn’t bad in itself, it can become a problem – an addiction even.
Gaming platforms and social media pose similar risks for children: excessive time spent online, and potential exposure to predators, harmful content or bullying.
So she wonders why gaming platforms have not been included in Australia’s “world-first” social media ban for under-16s.
The ban, which came into force on Wednesday, is supposed to prevent teens from having accounts on 10 social media platforms including Instagram, Snapchat and X. Children will still be able to access platforms like YouTube and TikTok, but without accounts.
For Vecchio, the omission of gaming platforms is odd.
“It doesn’t make much sense,” she says.
“Gaming and social media are so interconnected, it’s very difficult to separate.
“The individual who plays games for excessive amounts of time also spends excessive amounts of time on social media platforms where they can see other gamers or can live stream gaming, so it’s a way to connect.”
