If you think gaming addiction is a teenage problem, the latest Australian research has a surprise for you. A Macquarie University study published in 2025 has found that gaming disorder and smartphone overuse are starting in primary school, not the teenage years as everyone assumed.
The findings are stark. Researchers surveyed nearly 2000 students across Years 4 to 8 and found that around 4% of children showed signs of clinical or sub-clinical Internet Gaming Disorder. That translates to roughly 100,000 Australian children, with a further 350,000 at risk of problematic smartphone use. Some children as young as 10 are showing clinical symptoms.
"Most work on screen use disorders in children is focused around 15 and 16 year-olds, but we know these issues are beginning earlier and earlier, so we wanted to look at this younger age group," says lead researcher Brad Marshall from Macquarie University's School of Psychological Sciences. The research is Australia's largest and youngest screen addiction prevalence study to date, and it reveals something even more concerning: kids are actively hiding their habits. At least 10 of the 218 students with problematic gaming or smartphone use provided fake parent email addresses when surveyed, suggesting they were deliberately trying to conceal their screen time from their families.
The numbers are striking. Secondary school students now average 9.03 hours on screens daily, while primary students spend 6.34 hours, both substantial jumps from 2017 pre-COVID data. For context, that's nearly a third of a child's waking day.
What makes this particularly worrying is the developmental fallout. Children with clinical-level gaming disorder showed developmental impacts four times higher than those without screen problems, with the greatest effects on social and physical activity, as well as emotional development. About 42% of teenagers who game excessively have a previous mental health diagnosis, most commonly ADHD. The relationship cuts both ways: some kids use gaming to cope with anxiety or stress, but excessive gaming often makes mental health problems worse.
There's also a gender pattern researchers are watching. Girls showed higher rates of smartphone addiction than boys, while gaming disorder was more common in boys. But both groups are affected across the board.
The researchers are emphatic that early intervention matters. "All the evidence suggests that earlier interventions will be more effective," says co-researcher Professor Wayne Warburton. That window narrows once kids hit their teens and gaming becomes more entrenched. School-based prevention programmes and parent education are the priorities, though comprehensive intervention resources are still being developed.
The good news? The Australian Institute of Family Studies notes that type of screen time matters. Passive viewing (like TV) has worse outcomes, educational screen time shows positive results, and interactive gaming has mixed effects. The key is balance and active parental engagement.
If your kid is spending nine hours a day on screens, waiting for them to become a teenager to address it is leaving intervention too late.