Usually when a reviewer calls a game addictive, that's a compliment, but to some psychologists, addictive games are a crippling menace, on par with drugs and alcohol. In a new report, presented to the world via
Game Life, the American Medical Association is being pressed to officially recognize videogame addiction as an actual disorder.
The report, which bears the oh-so concise title of "Report Of The Council On Science And Public Health: Emotional and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games" not only pushes for gaming addiction to be an official term, but also wishes for the definition of 'gamer' to have a legitimate medical meaning. How awesome is that, for us all to be medically recognised by real life doctors? There is also a call for the AMA to provide family support on the 'appropriate' use of videogames (don't stick the discs up your ass?) and the recommended daily amount that a person should spend with their beloved consoles and PCs (1 to 2 hours apparently ... yeah, right).
So far, the reactions I've seen have been skeptical at best, but there's no denying that for the mentally incapable, certain games, especially MMORPGs, can have a damaging effect. We all remember the guy who became obsessed with Everquest, leading him to make the logical jump from becoming 'an hero' to 'an twit with rifle in an face'. Could mental help aimed at one's videogame addiction help people like that? Possibly, but you'd already have to be pretty messed up to let something like gaming affect you that badly and in that case, you should be getting mental help regardless of whether you're a gamer or not.
Essentially, while it certainly wouldn't hurt anybody, I'm doubtful that there's anything to be gained from labeling game addiction as a medical disorder. People who require psychological help don't need it because they're addicted to videogames, they need it because they're already damaged enough to seek refuge in games in the first place. I'd be surprised if gaming was ever the root cause for mental or emotional problems and existed as more than a catalyst or solace for what was already there. Pretty much like most other addictions, then.
[Picked up via Techdirt]
Contest:
6:45 AM on 06.16.2007
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GAME ON!
Granted, this hasn't been constructive for all aspects of my life but it has gotten me through some seriously tough times. Gaming isn't what I see as an addiction though, more of an escape from problems which may already exist.
If there's a problem, sort it out innit. Then have fun gaming, preferably on a DS or HL2 DM *^_^*
And most psyhiatrist I know really only listen to other psychiatrist, and most psychiatrist I know are old. This means there are few psychiatrist who grew up with, or have ever really played video games, so they basicly have no hope in understanding what they are talking about.
Once more 20-30 year old gamers become psychiatrists, things will get better. Same with thing with politics.
I will note one thing though. I would say 90% of the 20-30 year old homebound schizophrenic males I worked with last year, probably about 75-100 patients, all were obsessed with either a MMORPG or a online FPS. And they all hated the Wii.
Nice guys though.
For example, if using a substance, or in this case, playing a game, causes significant impairments to your life (say, you lose your job and wife), and causes marked symptoms when you are unable to play (you think only of playing games when not playing games)...then you might be addicted.
This is obviously not something that happens to the majority of people that play videogames, which shows that videogames are obviously not inherently addictive. At least not more so than any other activity that people can become addicted to such as using the internet, watching television, painting model cars, whatever. This is much different from something like narcotics or cigarettes which a much higher percentage of users become dependent upon and develop a tolerance for.
I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if when you stop playing games you can do nothing but think about playing again, and playing games causes decreased functioning (for example, in the social realm), then an addiction might be present...not if you play two damned hours a day.
Yay!
I'm a bit worried over my little brother as well. He has recently begun playing WoW. Unless he plays 8 hours a day he turns into an sobbing screaming shadow of a person kicking on the floor.
This is a serious problem. While I think good parenting is important we do need proffesional help.
Calling something like this "gamer" though is just insulting on the rest of us.
We need to give the DSM the boot and start over.
It boils down to this. If you have a bio chemical problem in the brain, it can show form in depression, mania, anxiety, hallucinations, delusions, poverty of thought, catatonia, or all of the above. Those are symptoms of a medical problem that can be treated with medications. These are legit signs of mental illness worthy of a diagnosis, worth of treatment with medications.
Liking video games too much is not caused by a bio chemical problem in the brain, and trying to treat it with medications is retarded. Any good psychiatrist will know that.
Too bad there are so many crappy psychiatrists.