Digital addiction: Systematic review of computer game addiction impact on adolescent physical health

Abstract

The advancement of technology has enabled powerful microprocessors to render highquality graphics for computer gaming. Despite being intended for leisure purposes, several components of the games alongside the gamer’s environmental factors have resulted in digital addiction (DA) towards computer games such as massively multiplayer online games (MMOG). Excessive gaming among adolescents has various negative impacts on an individual. However, only a few researchers have addressed the impact of DA on physical health. Thus, the primary objective of this research is to study the impact of DA on physical health among Malaysian adolescents. This study focuses on Malaysian adolescents of ages 12–18 years old who are addicted to computer games, specifically the MMOG. The methodology used for the study involves focus group discussions (FGD) and extensive literature study. The FGD sessions have involved both medical experts and game experts. The outcome of FGD discussion is recorded and justified with the existing relevant literature from high-impact journals, theses, conferences, books, and reports. This paper provides evidence of five physical health impacts of DA associated with adolescents. The factors of DA, the addiction components existing in MMOG computer games, and the DA health risk assessment are presented in the results section. Based on the study, it is concluded that DA among Malaysian adolescents can cause various impacts on physical health such as obesity, back pain, and neck pain, orthopaedic/joint muscle, eyesight problem, hearing problem, as well as physical inactivity.