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Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Health
- Independent Singapore
Gaming addiction cases up 30% post-COVID, say Singapore counsellors
SINGAPORE: The issue of gaming addiction, especially among youths, was highlighted in a CNA video on Tuesday (June 10). The number of cases of gaming addiction has increased by around 30 per cent, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic began. The video cited counsellors and therapists as saying that more than 80 per cent of the cases involve young people, particularly students. Parents who have been concerned about their children's behaviour have lodged 30 per cent more complaints than before. Those who have become addicted to gaming waste not only hours of their time each day but could also spend hundreds of dollars on the habit, which can also come at the expense of hygiene, sleep, socialising, and even gamers' physical and mental health. Counsellors who spoke to CNA pointed out that there could be deeper issues underlying the addiction, such as depression, anxiety, or ADHD. Addressing these root issues, said Tom Maniatis, the Senior Psychotherapist for Addictions at Promises Healthcare, is key. In Parliament in February 2024, MP Shawn Huang asked the Minister for Communications and Information if there was current data on how prevalent gaming addiction is among youths in Singapore. While the MCI has no data on g aming addiction, which is also known as gaming disorder or Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), the ministry advised parents who suspect that their child may have the disorder to seek help from family doctors and public healthcare institutions such as the National Addiction Management Service (NAMS) or other programmes so that their child can be assessed and if necessary, interventions may be determined. Is there an upside? The view from a gamer girl Giving a contrasting view, one commenter on the CNA report wrote that the issue is actually ' no problem if the addiction can win championships in e-sports.' In 2024, The Smart Local republished a piece from a gamer girl. who endeavoured to debunk the misconception that gamers in Singapore are 'doomed for failure.' 'Video games give gamers a bigger push in life than non-gamers give us credit for,' wrote Jessica Fang. While acknowledging that there are 'occasional' horror stories of gamers who've needed hospitalisation when they deprioritised eating and sleeping, Ms Fang, who in her heyday as a gamer would play from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. the following day, said that most of the gamers she knows are quite normal human beings with a job, family and social life. 'I'm living proof that this isn't true. I may use up my free time to play games, but I still have a secure job. I am, after all, writing this article right now. Even when I used to play a lot of video games throughout university, and managed to cop a 3.7 GPA while I was at it,' she wrote. For her, and perhaps many others, gaming has more pros than cons, including helping her through times when she was depressed, giving her a sense of accomplishment, and sparking her interest in fungi and mythology. See also Bella Hadid back on Instagram after social media detox 'It's easy to paint people with a gaming habit in a negative light. And his is amplified with all the flak we get about how it promotes isolation, violence, and bad self-care. But those who don't play video games may not be aware of the overall positive mental relief and unadulterated entertainment it gives gamers at the end of the day,' she wrote. /TISG Read also: Gaming addiction leads husband to attack wife, leaves her permanently blind
AsiaOne
23-04-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
GE2025: West Coast-Jurong West GRC sees rematch between PAP and PSP, Singapore News
The Progress Singapore Party (PSP) will take on the People's Action Party (PAP) in the western end of Singapore again after the two teams of candidates were nominated at Nan Hua High School on April 23. West Coast GRC saw the narrowest of vote difference at General Election 2020, with PAP claiming 51.68 per cent of the share. The new five-member West Coast-Jurong West GRC, which was formed mainly with parts of West Coast GRC, will be contested by PAP's anchor minister Desmond Lee, Shawn Huang, Ang Wei Neng, new faces Cassandra Lee and Dr Hamid Razak, and PSP's Dr Tan Cheng Bock, Leong Mun Wai, Hazel Poa, Sumarleki Amjah and Sani Ismail. National Development Minister Lee thanked residents for giving him the privilege to serve during the previous term. "During this time, we've visited you and we've met you at events and walkabouts. We've served you at meet the people sessions. We are here to serve you and we seek your support over the next five years, so we can look after our estate and continue to serve you for five years and onwards," he said. West Coast-Jurong West now includes Taman Jurong, a ward held by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam for more than 20 years before he resigned in 2023 to contest the presidential election. It also no longer includes areas of Dover, Telok Blangah, HarbourFront and Sentosa, based on the new electoral boundaries released on March 11. Nan Hua High School is also the nomination centre for Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC, Jurong Central SMC and Pioneer SMC. For our GE2025 microsite, visit here. [[nid:716987]]
