Chinese Rural Children’s Video Game Disorder: Processes, Harms and Causes

Video game disorder among children in rural China has become a prominent social concern. Through data collection and in-depth analysis, this study aims to explore the processes, harms and causes of video game disorder among children from rural primary schools in China. Between August 15, 2022, and March 25, 2023, with the consent of the participants and their parents, we conducted in-depth interviews with 21 sixth-grade students, 7 parents, and 7 teachers from 5 primary schools in rural areas. Employing the Grounded Theory method, we carried out three-level coding to analyze the interview data. The study found that children's video game disorder goes through four processes: entering - immersing - exiting - re-entering video games. Our analysis shows that video game disorder has a negative impact on children in four key aspects: cognition, physical and mental health, educational outcomes, and parent-child interaction. The causes involve the popularization of video game equipment, the deficiency of rural cultural infrastructure, incorrect guidance from parents and peers, as well as children's experiences in video games. Resolving children's video game disorder requires the joint efforts of families, schools, communities, and the whole society.