Prevalence and Risk Factors of Problematic Internet Use among Hungarian Adult Recreational Esports Players

Background: Esports are highly prevalent in modern culture, particularly among young people, and are a healthy hobby for the majority of users. However, there is a possible link between video gaming (including esports) and problematic internet use (so-called internet addiction, IA), mostly involving adolescents. Methods: Here we present an online survey focusing on the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among adult esports players. Demographics included age, gender, family type, type of work, working years and daily internet use. Medical conditions associated with IA such as smoking, alcohol and drug intake, hypertension, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, musculoskeletal pain and history of depression were also recorded. Results: Overall, 2313 players including 176 females (7.6%) and 2137 males (92.4%) participated in our online survey. Age distribution was the following: 18-25 years 90.3% (2088/2313), 26-35 years 7.95% (184/2313), 36-45 years 0.86% (20/2313), 46-55 years 0.82% (19/2313), 56-62 years 0.04% (1/2313) and 62 years or older 0.04% (1/2313). Internet addiction was detected in 19.9% of players (461/2313) based on the Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire. In a multivariate analysis internet addiction was significantly associated with age between 18 and 25 (OR: 1.675, p = 0.002), being single (OR = 1.505, p = 0.014), internet use > 6 h daily (OR = 4.338, p < 0.001), having < 3 children (OR: 2.037, p = 0.023) and having secondary employment (OR = 1.789, p = 0.037). Regular alcohol intake (OR = 18.357, p < 0.001) and history of depression (OR= 5.361, p = 0.032) were also strongly correlated with IA. Conclusion: This is the first study from Hungary investigating the prevalence and risk factors of internet addiction among adult esports players. One out of five adult gamers suffered from IA. Our study also draws attention to increased risk within this group and risk factors such as younger age, family status and type of employment.