Teenagers: 1 in 10 have ‘problematic’ use of video games, gambling and social media
Behavioural addictions are among the emerging areas of public health in childhood and adolescence: data and analysis from the Italian National Institute of Health
Key points
More than one in six Italian pupils aged between 11 and 17 exhibit at least one form of risky behaviour linked to problematic use of social media, gaming or gambling. This is according to the available data from the national survey ‘Behavioural Addictions in Generation Z 2.0’, carried out between October and December 2025 by the National Centre for Addictions and Doping at the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, in collaboration with the Department for Policies against Drugs and Other Addictions of the Prime Minister’s Office.
The study
The study, carried out on a representative sample of Italian pupils, involved 198 schools and over 18,000 pupils, of whom 8,272 were from lower secondary schools and 10,123 from upper secondary schools. The results show that 17.3 per cent of children aged between 11 and 13 – equivalent to around 280,000 children – and 17.9 per cent of 14–17-year-olds – over 400,000 pupils – exhibit at least one of the three risk behaviours analysed. ‘The results,’ emphasises Simona Pichini, director of the ISS National Centre for Addictions and Doping, ‘show that behavioural addictions represent one of the emerging areas of public health in childhood and adolescence: video games, gambling and social media can, for some adolescents, take on problematic characteristics, to the extent of interfering with sleep, study, relationships, leisure time and psychological wellbeing.”
Problem gaming is most prevalent among young people
Gaming – that is, playing games on electronic devices such as consoles, computers, smartphones and tablets – is the most common form of problematic behaviour among 11- to 13-year-old pupils. In this age group, 13.6 per cent show signs consistent with a gaming disorder, amounting to around 219,000 pupils. Among 14- to 17-year-olds, the proportion falls to 7.9 per cent, corresponding to around 183,000 young people.
Gaming becomes a cause for concern not simply because of the playing of video games, but when it becomes persistent and difficult to control.
“The overlap with other problematic behaviours is also significant,” adds Claudia Mortali, of the ISS National Centre for Addictions and Doping. ‘Among 11–13-year-olds with problematic gaming,’ she explains, ‘9.5 per cent also exhibit a profile of a problem gambler, compared with 0.5 per cent of pupils who do not play video games. Similarly, among 14–17-year-olds with problematic gaming, 15.3 per cent also exhibit a profile of a problem gambler, compared with 2.5 per cent of students who do not play video games.”
