This Q&A is the full interview with Dr. Mark Griffiths. For our deep dive into cryptocurrency trading addiction, with input from the full group of experts, check out this article. Below is an interview with Dr. Mark Griffiths, Distinguished Psychologist and Professor of Behavioral Addiction at Nottingham Trent University. This is the full transcript of our interview, quotes from which were published in our main article on the topic here. For a deep dive into the topic of cryptocurrency trading addiction and its links to gambling, follow this link. As for the full interview with Dr. Griffith, see below.
CoinJournal (CJ): Do you think there are similarities between cryptocurrency trading addiction and gambling addiction? If so, could you name the most notable ones? Gambling is defined as the expenditure of money (or something of financial value) on an event whose outcome is uncertain. Based on this definition, cryptocurrency trading is a form of gambling. Forms of gambling where the frequency of events is high (i.e. when the number of times an individual can play in a given period of time is potentially high), such as playing slot machines, live betting or card games, are more associated with gambling problems and gambling addiction than activities where the frequency of events is low (e.g. biweekly lottery play, soccer billiards where there are only one or two opportunities per week to find out the outcome of your bet). Cryptocurrency trading has the potential to be addictive based on the structural features of the activity.
CJ: In your opinion, what makes activities like trading so addictive? We don’t know (yet) how addictive cryptocurrency trading is. The way addictions develop – whether chemical or behavioral – is complex. Addictive behavior typically develops from a combination of three sets of interacting factors: (i) individual characteristics, (ii) situational (ie environmental) characteristics, and (iii) structural characteristics. Individual characteristics include things like a person’s genetic makeup, personality traits, and attitudes. Situational characteristics include things in the environment that can influence engagement in behavior. In the case of gambling, this includes things like the number of gambling locations in an area, gambling marketing and advertising, and easy access to gambling, such as being able to play games on your smartphone. Structural features are the things inherent in the activity itself. In the case of gambling, this includes game characteristics such as jackpot size, bet size, probability of winning and event frequency (i.e. the number of times the game can be played in a given period of time). . When it comes to gambling addiction, few people become addicted to playing a biweekly lottery game (because there are only two draws a week and it is a discontinuous form of gambling), while many more people become addicted to hunting machines. nickels because if a person has the time and money, they can gamble again and again and again (and it’s an ongoing form of gambling). For cryptocurrency trading to become an addiction, there must be individual vulnerability factors and an activity that has structural characteristics that can promote excessive trading (e.g. high frequency of events, potentially large financial rewards, being accessible to trade, etc. ).
CJ: What are your thoughts on influencers who, in exchange for a fee from the founders, promote shady cryptocurrencies to their followers with little knowledge of how it works – do you think this is problematic? Influencers (in the outline of the different traits that influence addiction above) are situational traits that explain how individuals might start to negotiate in the first place. In essence, they are more likely to be part of the acquisition process than the development and maintenance of addictions (a bit like advertising and marketing).
CJ: In your opinion, would the daily volatility of cryptocurrency prices affect mental health as people see their investments go up and down so widely each day? Addictions clearly influence mental health. All addicts tend to have worse mental health than those without addictions (although many people have poor mental health and are not addicted to anything). Volatility is a structural feature found in many gaming activities, but both volatile and non-volatile gaming can be potentially addictive, so (by itself) volatility is not necessarily a fundamental characteristic that explains which activities become addictive ( which consequently leads to mental health problems ). Watching stock prices go up and down will clearly influence individuals’ mood states, but overall mental health is likely to be influenced by a multitude of factors and not just volatility.
CJ: Research on cryptocurrency trading addiction is still limited, do you think the need for this is likely to increase in the future? In a nutshell, yes. There are already some studies in this area showing an association between gambling problems and cryptocurrency trading. However, limited research tends to show that those who only engage in cryptocurrency trading are much less likely to be problem gamblers than those who gamble and engage in cryptocurrency trading. There also appears to be a greater association of gambling problems among those who bet on sports and also engage in cryptocurrency trading. What we don’t know is whether those who are already problem gamblers are gravitating towards cryptocurrency trading as another activity they can bet on, or whether cryptocurrency trading is a ‘gateway’ activity to trying other forms of ‘traditional’ gambling ( my guess is it’s the first and not the last) because there have been no longitudinal studies and only cross-sectional studies.
CJ: Do you believe that the cryptocurrency industry should be doing more to promote safe investments and address the problem of addiction? Any service provider who has a potentially problematic and addictive product has a duty to take care of their clientele. Trading service providers should have policies and tools in place so that individuals can trade responsibly, which helps minimize harm and ultimately protects traders from problematic trades. This is what happens in the gambling industry more generally and trading service providers need to provide the same levels of responsibility and protection. Obviously, individuals have to bear some responsibility for their actions, but that doesn’t mean that gambling companies and commercial companies should be absolved of their own responsibilities.
CJ: Conventional gaming is restricted in many territories to consumers over the age of 18. Do you believe that there should be a similar rule within cryptocurrency in order to protect younger and more impressionable minds from possible addiction? Absolutely. Gambling is an activity for adults and research has consistently shown that minors are more at risk of gambling problems than adults. There should be no difference to cryptocurrency trading and only adults should be allowed to legally engage in cryptocurrency trading.
CJ: If I can press you for a yes or no answer, do you believe the world would be a happier place without gaming? Not. Gambling is an enjoyable and harmless activity for most people. I like to play it myself, so it would be a hypocrite to say that others shouldn’t be able to do it, since I do it myself. Banning gambling would only lead to illegal gambling which would actually lead to more problems ultimately.
CJ: Similar to the question above, would the world be a better place without investing in cryptocurrencies? Again, no, for the same reasons as above (although I have never been involved in cryptocurrency trading).
CJ: What advice can you give to people interested in trading cryptocurrencies, who may be predisposed to gambling-related addictions? Like any consumption activity with the potential for addictive behavior, individuals need to have all the information about that activity so that they can make an informed choice about participation in the first place. Individuals need to be aware of all potential risks. Cryptocurrency trading likely needs a broader skill set than (say) playing the lottery or playing bingo. Potential traders need to learn as much as possible about the activity before spending their own money.
