ISTANBUL

Three international organizations jointly hosted experts from around the world on Wednesday in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul to discuss early identification of addictive behaviors in people, particularly those fueled by social media and online gaming, which can lead to health issues.

The 3rd IFGC-WHO Meeting on Addictive Behaviours, organized by the International Federation of Green Crescent, the Turkish Green Crescent Society, and the World Health Organization, brought together experts from around the world to discuss the scope, nature, and processes of the public health approach to addictive behaviors, as well as the role of early diagnosis.

Opening the event, Mehmet Dinc, head of the Turkish Green Crescent Society, emphasized that behavioral addictions caused by social media, online gambling, and games affect millions of people worldwide.

“Today, digital platforms are designed to constantly keep attention, manipulate behavior, and create addiction,” he said. “The price for this is often paid by mental health, financial stability, family well-being, and social cohesion.”

Dinc called on the community to take fast and decisive steps in combating behavioral addictions.

Increasing gambling addiction

Beccy Cooper, a UK parliamentarian, highlighted Britain's growing gambling addiction. She emphasized that governments should take strict measures against gambling marketing tactics, particularly by prohibiting advertising.

Professor Heather Wardle, co-chair of the Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling, pointed out that there has been a growing trend toward casinos, online slots, and physical slot machines.

She added that the commercialization and legalization of gambling pose risks and challenges to public health.

According to Wardle, gambling can lead to suicidality, family breakdown, financial problems, debt, and even criminal behavior.

Men gamble more than women

Rumpf Hans-Jurgen Gerhard, an associate professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at the University of Lubeck, explained that addictive behaviors can vary by gender.

According to the WHO, around 5.5% of women and 11.9% of men globally suffer some level of harm from gambling.

The expert underlined that men are more likely to engage in gambling and gaming due to their desire for competition and monetary rewards. Meanwhile, women are more likely to use social networks, which provide opportunities for social connection.

Gambling among children

Gambling has always been more common among some adolescents and emerging adults, according to Marc Nicholas Potenza, director of the Yale Center of Excellence in Gambling Research.

Potenza argued that increased legalization of online gambling in some countries, as well as heavy advertising, can encourage young people to gamble.

According to the Gambling Commission, 30% of young people aged 16 to 17 spent their money on gambling in the past 12 months, up from 27% the previous year.

He explained that people gamble for a variety of reasons at different stages of their lives, ranging from sports betting among young men to loneliness or stress relief in older adults.

“Sometimes people report that they feel connected to the machine in such a way that their problems are outside of their mind,” he said, adding that high school students gamble for the excitement or thrill.

Potenza also outlined the importance of protecting youth from gambling, recognizing that adolescence is a “risk-taking” period.

“I think educating individuals about the potential risks of gambling is one important element. Modeling behavior for children is another important element,” he underlined.

According to the Lancet Public Health Commission on gambling, the industry is rapidly expanding, with net losses by consumers reaching nearly $700 billion by 2028.

Experts agree that to prevent gambling, governments need to put serious regulations in place, including limiting advertising.

“The best prevention of all is not placing the onus on the individual. It's placing the onus on governments to regulate this industry effectively so that they don't provide these high-risk products in a way where there are no protections attached to them,” concluded Wardle.