The Quality of Life of Adolescents Experiencing Online Game Addiction During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The availability of the internet and the increase in stress in adolescents caused by the pandemic have led adolescents to frequently seek entertainment through online games. Online gaming can negatively impact adolescents by causing a decline in their physical health, psychological issues, difficulty forming healthy social relationships, and decline their quality of life. This study identified the relationship between online game addiction and the quality of life of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. This research utilized a cross-sectional approach and involved 96 adolescents as the research sample selected using the incidental sampling method. Data collection was carried out using the Game Addiction Scale for Adolescent and WHOQOL-Bref, while the Spearman Rho test was used for data analysis. The results of the data analysis showed a significance p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.05) and r =-0.711, indicating that there was a unidirectional relationship between online game addiction and quality of life. Thus, it can be concluded that the higher the level of online game addiction, the lower the quality of life of adolescents.