Introduction

Rapid development of internet technology in the last decade has made online video games become one of the most enjoyed activities by adolescents. Excessive online gaming behaviour is a serious problem as it consequently results into in physical, psychological and social problems. This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of internet gaming disorder among medical students in Indonesia thus preventive measures could be carried out.

Methods

The cross-sectional study was conducted among 99 undergraduate medical students of Universitas Indonesia. The Ten-Item Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of internet gaming disorder. Additionally, a self-tailored questionnaire was also administered to identify the internet behavior among the medical students. Data was analyzed utilizing SPSS version 22 for Microsoft.

Results

In our study, the mean age of the medical students was 18.15 ±1.04 years old. Among the study population, the prevalence of internet gaming disorder was 3%. Eighty-seven percents of female medical students were reported to play online games, yet none of them belonged to the games addict group.  Majority of female students (91%) had playtime less than 20 hours per week suggesting that duration of internet usage could be an important determinant of internet gaming addiction.

Conclusion

Internet gaming disorder is a rapidly growing problem commonly occur in medical students. Appropriate arrangements must be conducted to prevent increased number of internet gaming disorder along with its negative consequences.

Keywords:internet gaming disorder, IGDT-10, medical students, Indonesia