IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/cog/meanco/v13y2025a8701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Survey Study on Public Attitudes Toward Gaming Disorder

Author

Listed:
  • Felix Reer

    (Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany)

  • Lena Maria Küpper

    (Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany)

  • Florian Wintterlin

    (Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany)

  • Thorsten Quandt

    (Department of Communication, University of Münster, Germany)

Abstract

The World Health Organization’s decision to include addictive game use (“gaming disorder”) in the International Classification of Diseases was the subject of controversial scientific debates (e.g., Aarseth et al., 2017; Rumpf et al., 2018; for an overview, see Reer & Quandt, 2021). However, knowledge is scarce on how addictive game use is perceived outside of academic circles (Schatto-Eckrodt et al., 2020). The current study aimed to fill this research gap by interviewing a stratified German sample ( N = 1,075) on their attitudes toward the topic. We found that critical views about games and their addiction potential are rather common among the German general population. Further, we found evidence that many participants overestimated the number of players affected by gaming disorder. Regression analyses showed that age, gender, and gaming experience play a role in how individuals think about risks associated with game use. Interestingly, having heard about the topic in the media was associated with more critical attitudes and higher presumed prevalence rates. More exchange between scholars and the wider public is needed to increase knowledge on the topic. Further, media reports on gaming disorder should cover the latest research findings and the opposing views of scientists.

Suggested Citation

  • Felix Reer & Lena Maria Küpper & Florian Wintterlin & Thorsten Quandt, 2025. "A Survey Study on Public Attitudes Toward Gaming Disorder," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 13.
    • Handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v13:y:2025:a:8701
    DOI: 10.17645/mac.8701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/8701
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17645/mac.8701?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Felix Reer & Ruth Festl & Thorsten Quandt, 2021. "Investigating problematic social media and game use in a nationally representative sample of adolescents and younger adults," Behaviour and Information Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(8), pages 776-789, June.
    2. Tim Schatto-Eckrodt & Robin Janzik & Felix Reer & Svenja Boberg & Thorsten Quandt, 2020. "A Computational Approach to Analyzing the Twitter Debate on Gaming Disorder," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 205-218.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Johannes Breuer & Tim Wulf & M. Rohangis Mohseni, 2020. "New Formats, New Methods: Computational Approaches as a Way Forward for Media Entertainment Research," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 8(3), pages 147-152.
    2. Philipp Knöpfle & Tim Schatto-Eckrodt, 2024. "The Challenges of Replicating Volatile Platform-Data Studies: Replicating Schatto-Eckrodt et al. (2020)," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 12.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cog:meanco:v13:y:2025:a:8701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: António Vieira or IT Department (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cogitatiopress.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.