Higher rates of problematic gaming among young adults in Singapore: Study

Experts point to need for a ‘third space’ outside home and school or work

- Gabrielle Chan

A study has found higher rates of problematic gaming and related problems, such as excessive gaming and depression, among young adults in Singapore than those reported abroad.

The study, led by Associate Professor in Psychology Peter Chew from James Cook University, looked at how common internet gaming disorder (IGD) and gaming disorder (GD) are among young adults here.

Both are behavioural addictions involving excessive, compulsive gaming, and have been recently added to two classification systems for mental disorders.

The study found that 10.3 per cent of participants met the criteria for IGD, while 5 per cent met the criteria for GD.

In comparison, prevalence rates for problematic gaming - an umbrella term used when assessing gaming issues broadly - are about 5.08 per cent in Asian regions and 2.72 per cent in Europe.

The study by Prof Chew, whose primary area of research is on behavioural addictions, surveyed 1,008 participants aged 18 to 40 and offers new local insights on the scale of gaming-related disorders among young adults.

Conducted in 2023, it was published in academic journal Psychiatric Quarterly in February 2025.

Observers said the findings point to a deeper need for connection and a “third place” - what urban sociologists call a social space outside home and school or work - with gaming increasingly filling that role for youth here.

Similar studies here have reported problematic gaming rates of 8.7 per cent among primary and secondary school children, and 15.4 per cent for college students.

Prof Chew’s study defined IGD as excessive online gaming marked by symptoms such as loss of control, tolerance and withdrawal.

GD is referred to as persistent gaming behaviour, offline and online, that takes priority over other activities and causes impairment in daily life.