Journal of Research in Information Technology and Its Applications ISSN: 3139-504X (Online)

Authors:- Tejaswani Thakur, Geetanjali Gupta

Abstract:- The overuse of video games and the internet in recent years, especially among teenagers, has reached pathological proportions and is interfering with their lives. One of the delayed reward jobs might have this problem. In this paper, we suggest a conditional delayed reward task where players might initially get a tiny incentive for playing the game rather than learning, but ultimately earn significant unfavourable rewards. We utilise a reinforcement learning model to study the root causes and potential solutions of this issue and concentrate on the peer-group effect (PGE), which describes how groups may impact individuals positively or negatively. This is one method of preventing the issue. Our simulation findings demonstrated that in the case of the group without PGE, people with a low gamma value (one of the reinforcement learning model's parameters thought to correspond to the brain's serotonin levels) persisted to play the game and came close to developing an addiction. Additionally, we discovered that gamers who were PGE-dependent in the absence of the PGE preferred studying to gaming when the PGE was present.

Keywords:- Internet gaming disorder; Inhibition of addictive behaviors; Peer-group effect; Conditional delayed reward task; Reinforcement learning