Video Game Addiction As An Official Disorder?

from the nice-try dept

Fri, Jun 15th 2007 6:40pm — Mike Masnick

Apparently, there's an effort under way to get the American Medical Association to classify video game addiction as an official disorder. Of course, almost all of the claims concerning video game addiction have been from psychologists trying to drum up extra business -- while research has said that video games are no more "addictive" than school or work. Others have pointed out that there's no real evidence that there's any real addiction in video games, and often it appears that so-called "video game addiction" is simply a symptom of some other problem which goes untreated if all the focus is on the so-called addiction to video games. There's nothing wrong with noting that excessive video gaming is a problem, but in defining it as an addiction in its own right, it seems that it will take away from understanding the root causes of the problem and focus on just treating symptoms.

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Buzz, 15 Jun 2007 @ 7:21pm

w00t
I have never thought of it like that before. One who has a serious "gaming addiction" probably has an underlying root problem. No wonder this so-called addiction has been so hard to treat.

I used to have a "gaming addiction", but it magically went away as I became older. I still play games, but I don't go to unhealthy extremes. Had it been a true addiction, I probably would've turned out like many of my friends who threw away everything in the name of video games.
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- Oscar, 16 Jun 2007 @ 12:06pm
  
  Re: w00t
  I gotta agree, "gaming addiction" That's bullshit, I've never had a problem with video games, I used to play a lot more when I was younger, I think it's just a kid thing, once you get older your mind fails you in other ways :P
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Chillin, 17 Jun 2007 @ 2:22am
    
    Re: Re: w00t
    "Re: w00t by Oscar on Jun 16th, 2007 @ 12:06pm
    I gotta agree, "gaming addiction" That's bullshit, I've never had a problem with video games, I used to play a lot more when I was younger, I think it's just a kid thing, once you get older your mind fails you in other ways :P"
    
    You are right. You played video games and never got addicted, so clearly "gaming addiction" is bullshit.
    
    I have consumed tons of alcohol and I am not an alcoholic, so clearly alcoholism is complete BS as well.
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    - Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:38am
      
      Re: Re: Re: w00t
      Clearly gaming addiction is not an issue with you but for others it is. If you didn't develope gaming addiction then consider yourself one of the fortunate ones.
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- Pamela, 30 Oct 2007 @ 6:47pm
  
  Re: w00t
  Could you please tell me more about your experience? I am very worried about my son. He is 19 years old and in the Uni. But he is always in his room with his computer. I am so afraid that he can't have social life.
  
  Regards,
  
  Pam
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- Pamela, 30 Oct 2007 @ 6:49pm
  
  Re: w00t
  Could you tell me more? I am very worried with my son.
  
  Regards,
  
  Pam
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  - Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:47am
    
    Re: Re: w00t
    With my husband, I've come to conclusion that gaming addiction starts out in adolescence and early adulthood. There are still hardly any responsibilities and sometimes priorities for that age bracket. It depends heavily also how that person perceives himself/herself. Does he sound depressed, have you ever asked him if he ever gets out much? If he doesn't, then you can most assure that he doesn't leave his monitor once he gets out of school or work. There could also be an underlying issue he is dealing with. Perhaps even feeling isolation from family and friends, home too. You said that he was in the US, I take it that he is far from home.
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Joe Smith, 15 Jun 2007 @ 7:31pm

action response cycle
It is my observation that some obsessive computer programmers are very similar to obsessive game players - there's that same short feedback loop between pushing the buttons and having something happen. I guess no one is ever going to classify "all nighters" as an addiction.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:51am
  
  Re: action response cycle
  Computer programmers hardly even have a life, much less a social life at that. They pretty much stay cooped up in their apartments, no wife, no kids getting paid for their work with no other responsibilities except pay the bills, and even for some they've hired someone else to take care of those things.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2007 @ 7:43pm

Accept to WoW. That games is the devil! Many lives and relationships have been consumed by that forsaken game.
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- Charles Griswold, 16 Jun 2007 @ 3:40pm
  
  Re:
  Accept to WoW.
  Yes, I have accepted WoW and I, for one, welcome our new Burning Legion overlords. :-P
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- Tina Barnaby, 16 Mar 2008 @ 4:52am
  
  Re: Family Torn Apart
  I have lost my son to WOW. I thought I did everything I could, I didn't do enough. I havn't slept in two days because I can't stop crying-I am so scared for him. I am going to post what I call my babbling testimony. I hope it helps someone.
  I am Joseph's mother. Joseph is addicted to this game as well as other games. Because of his actions, he has torn his family apart, I ache with so much pain. Unfortunately Joseph has burnt his bridges with his family and friends and will never able to repair the damage. I am hoping he reads this or anyone else that is having similar problems read it and realizes how much our family is hurting, immediate as well as his grandparents (especially grandma) his aunts and uncles, cousins and I can't even begin with his sister. This kind of thing was no supposed to happen in our family. I was so determined to love this child enough that we could get through anything, but I was wrong. His addiction and illness has lead to him lying to me to the point I have no idea if he is telling the truth; he told me it was impulse and he could control it now. I once again believed him, trusted him and he took that trust and threw it in the trash after he stomped on it. I know I am justified, even though he and his accomplices think I am not. I am the one that has thing what I thought was loving son, I mean we were so close. We talked about everything and ever time I walked by him all he wanted was a hug. He loved to talk. I am so sad I have to let go of this child. He is 19, addicted to multiple venues and desperate for attention from a female. Unfortunately he was preyed upon by a very experienced, and I mean very experienced, 27 year old woman who is married with two children whom she doesn't have custody of. She games alot too and well as being hyper involved in anything else alter reality. She even named her children Anime names. There should be some type of law preventing this type of thing. I pray or should I say beg that he will be okay. This is my first child, my sweet baby that is just so lost and unaware of it. I hope anyone that reads this gets the picture. This was an extremely intelligent child who could have had it all if it weren't for his addictions. He had Duke and Stanford following him through high school but he couldn't get out of his imaginative mind. He had a car, phone, nice MAC computer, was going to College and had a job. He was on his way to greatness, now he is on his way to a hard life. He is living in the POOREST part of town. he has no car, phone or computer. As most responsible people know, if you want to play house, you are going to keep house. These extra things are perks of growing into a responsible man or women. I feel for any other mother that has to walk away from her son, knowing that until he understand he has some very real and dangerous problems. No one can do it for the other person. Funny all of the things we give up for our children and we still miss the mark. Please get your children help before it is to late. I never thought I would have to say goodbye forever to my first son. Again Joseph if you are reading this, please take your medicine. Find a way to get it and pay for it before it is too late. You can go to ComCare and they can help you get discount mess. This is my testimony. I will do whatever I can to help others keep their head out of the sand about their children's problems. I used the excuse well at least he is doing drugs, drinking, having sex or yelling at me. Now he is doing who knows what. Or maybe he already did. He was just so good at lying. He was so passionate and convincing that even counselors thought he was doing better. He was just getting better at deceit and then of course the temptation to be with other children was too much. Please remember my story.
  
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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  - Doris, 9 Dec 2013 @ 12:20pm
    
    Re: Re: Family Torn Apart
    Dear Tina. Your story is same as mine. I feel ur pain, as mother it is very hard to let ur son go , I as well as 18 year old son who was loving and has many dream for future then all that now disappear because of video game. I miss when we are so close together and talk for everything , my family is distraught and u can't do anything about it. I wish there is a center existing for mother who is in pain like us. Because believe or not our son is addicted and we mother are in such of pain and don't know where to go or find help.
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- crazy mudda, 16 Nov 2009 @ 9:24am
  
  gay holes
  r u all gay me too
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PhysicsGuy, 15 Jun 2007 @ 8:13pm

during breaks i've played video games 7 days a week, 16 hours a day... morrowind's got a lot to do. i can't say i was addicted though; i just had nothing to do. you still need to prioritize, during classes the video gaming drops to a minimum. i don't think the real problem is so much a psychological disorder of any kind. in fact, i'd say that an attraction to video games, like all games, is a normal psychological trait. it just happens that some people are unable to prioritize their responsibilities correctly.
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Overcast, 15 Jun 2007 @ 9:31pm

How much worse is it that watching TV for 5+ hours a day?

Or even the 'need' to catch every episode of a particular TV series?

Some people live and breathe sports, golf, etc... Are those addictions too?
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 3:51am
  
  Re:
  with televison or any other hobby a person is able to tear themselves away from them to address a problem underway, answer the telephone, take care of a child's needs, even clean the house or themselves, with online computer gaming it becomes more and more difficult a person to do that, which leads to neglecting more and more that person's child, things around the home that need to be done, work even and sometimes personal hygiene.
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- SpunkyChunks, 1 Apr 2009 @ 5:33pm
  
  Re:
  u fail
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Chris, 15 Jun 2007 @ 9:50pm

Makes ya think, well me at least; you, probably no
If video games are now an addiction why can't religion be one too?

You're brought up in a similar environment where it's something that's always around, people are always engaged in, and is the underlying theme in most general conversations. Enough time begins to pass and you become accustomed to this new "way of life." Your schedule changes and so does your life to help adept to the new habits. Even things like decision-making are now affected as well. The people you now associate yourself with the most, and their respective beliefs, you've come to see as more "true" as well. So, if being actively engaged within a supportive community environment where the norm of behavior is enriching to a person's life, and they gain beneficial qualities as a result, is now a serious consideration for addiction before the AMA, then I think religion ought to be as well.
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- who cares, 16 Jun 2007 @ 9:12pm
  
  Re: Makes ya think, well me at least; you, probabl
  very nice
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- Me, 6 Sep 2007 @ 9:49am
  
  Re: Makes ya think, well me at least; you, probabl
  Absurd. Were you trying to type for the sake of typing or just trying to be funny? You don't like religions, am I right? I suppose Rosie Odonnell could post to this blog and say that President Bush is an addiction.
  
  God is not only an addiction, he is everything. Perhaps fearing God should become your addiction. However, God has much more than wrath and vengence. He has all the good too.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:09am
  
  Re: Makes ya think, well me at least; you, probabl
  Religion is not considered something that takes one away from their family, friends and priorities unless that person was in a cult then I would say that religion was taking it to the extreme and an addiction in some instances but technically that person was starving for affection and the need to be a part of something they never were to begin with. Anything that takes away from in excess is in my book an addiction. And if you were to look in Wikipedia, it would best also describe four of the seven most deadliest sins, gluttony(over-indulgence) and sloth(represents the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts) and wrath(uncontrolled feelings of hatred and anger), this one is exhibited when one is interrupted during their gaming. And last, pride(desire to be more important or attractive than others;excessive love of self). So lets not get too rediculous when comparing gaming addiction that takes something away from versus religion. If religion in your views were an addiction then you must be from or in a cult yourself.
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  - Sydesh, 6 Apr 2008 @ 5:21pm
    
    say .. what mean you ?
    "... So lets not get too rediculous when comparing gaming addiction that takes something away from versus religion. "
    mmmmm huh? I dont get this bit?
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- Billy, 9 Nov 2009 @ 2:11pm
  
  Re: Makes ya think, well me at least; you, probably no
  I'm sorry but that is the absolute most stupid thing I have ever read...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Jun 2007 @ 10:07pm

Some people are addicted to criticizing people with video game addiction, which is far worse.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:16am
  
  Re:
  how much far worse would you say that criticizing was an addiction from the actual game addiction? seems like when I read what people write they go on the defense by attacking and have somewhat of a conviction to actually hearing the truth of things. They refuse to take their eyes away from their monitors because they are afraid of looking into their children's or wives eyes and see failure written in them or perhaps they've already left and no one in your family, maybe even friends, that don't call you on the phone to see how you are doing anymore.
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Some Guy, 16 Jun 2007 @ 12:44am

I test video games for the largest game company on the planet for 40-50 hours a week, does that make me an 'addict'?
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- "Just say no" to Video Games, 16 Jun 2007 @ 3:38am
  
  Re:
  No it makes you a Video Game Prostitute!!! LOL The rest are just video game sluts, givin' themselves away..
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- Me, 6 Sep 2007 @ 9:49am
  
  Re:
  Absurd. Were you trying to type for the sake of typing or just trying to be funny? You don't like religions, am I right? I suppose Rosie Odonnell could post to this blog and say that President Bush is an addiction.
  
  God is not only an addiction, he is everything. Perhaps fearing God should become your addiction. However, God has much more than wrath and vengence. He has all the good too.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- cozza4, 29 Nov 2007 @ 8:36pm
  
  Re: some guy
  yes, but a well paid addict.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:27am
  
  Re:
  If its your job, I don't see it as an addiction but if your taking it home with you and its taking away from your social life, friends, family, if it takes away from your child, wife activities with your family, if your prefer your games over your friends and family and your social life then I would say that you would have an addiction. If your family state to you that you have a problem in gaming, chances are definitly that you have a problem. If person eats, sleeps and their thoughts are continously on their gaming its and addiction. Its up to that person to identify and stop denying that they have a problem.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- FiSh, 28 May 2008 @ 5:43am
  
  Re:
  can i have your job
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Amethyst, 16 Jun 2007 @ 6:00am

I think part of the problem is that non-geeks have never quite accepted video games as a hobby. Especially for women. After all, we are supposed to be social butterflies, not sitting at home playing video games. And the assumption is that there must be automatically inherently wrong with someone who is geeky and introverted and doesn't like to spend time with others except for other geeks.

Gee, maybe because the vast majority of mainstream hobbies bore me to tears? I could care less about things like gardening, golfing, working on cars, etc. I'd rather play a game like WoW where I can talk to people who at least have some things in common with me, then talk to boring people.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 4:55am
  
  Re:
  From this I can safely assume that you have no wife or kids then right? Maybe I'll ask my husband if he finds me and his two year old daughter to be as boring people.
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Stute, 16 Jun 2007 @ 7:54am

I'm not addicted...
I'm a slave to WoW! IT HAS DEVOURED MY SOUL!!

But you know, I'm okay with that, it is a fun game.
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Amer Med Assoc, 16 Jun 2007 @ 10:02am

Who is trying to get there name in the news ?
The only "Addicition" is laziness, boredem, or not knowing how to priortize your time correctly as physics guy stated. To try to name a disorder with a video games is just plain stupid. There are times i've played for 4 hours a week an times i play 25 - 40+ hours a week. It all depends on whats on my agenda, an if i feel like being around people at the moment. It will be interesting though to see what name they slap on this "Addiction".
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[kossori hana.], 16 Jun 2007 @ 10:34am

addiction
i have known quite a few addicts who have beat their alcohol/crack/gambling/meth/cigarette/caffeine addiction. the most popular way was to jump to another "less harmful" addiction. i believe people spend too much time labeling addictions instead of focusing on the theory that the label doesn't matter. it's the addiction itself that needs to be attended to in order to truly help addicts (after the original detox, of course).
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Trerro, 16 Jun 2007 @ 10:47am

Not a disorder
There's people who game all day, people who read all day, people who spend all day in the gym, people who spend all day tinkering with cars and other machines, people who spend all day building stuff with power tools, people who go on 5 month long hikes up the coast of the country... you get the idea.

Having a hobby activity that you do more than any other is not a disorder, it's a hobby. Some hobbies may be better for your health than others - presumably, that hiker is in better shape. :) That doesn't make the bookworm or the gamer an 'addict' or someone with 'a disorder.'

On the other hand, doing one activity to the point that it stops you from doing anything else in your life, and grossly impairs your ability to work, go to school, etc, is a problem. It's not one that's unique to video games though, so there's no reason the gamer flavor of it deserves its own special disorder for the media to drool over when they're not busy blaming every murder on games. Heck, the 'social-impairment' isn't even all that significant. Gamers always have a group of other gamers they're friends with, and online games often help them to meet each other. Sure, they won't meet a lot of them offline, but is that any different than say... a ham radio enthusiast?
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 5:15am
  
  Re: Not a disorder
  I noticed that a lot of the defenders don't mention families that are effected by gamers who stay online excessively. I'm not so worried about game violence because I know that my parenting is going to be more involving. I can't stand to be in the company of parents who encourage their kids to play games so that they will stay out of their hair. The problem more so from people like myself is the obsessive compulsion of husbands who aren't involved in family affairs, sharing household chores or parenting even. Marriage is an institute with commitments, if that person weren't ready for marriage then why marry and have children? I might as well be a single mom. At least I wouldn't have to look and talk at the back of a head all day of every weekend and after he gets off from work too.
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Phlatus the Elder, 16 Jun 2007 @ 10:53am

Once again, someone saying "addicted" when they mean "obsessed." The word "addiction" externalizes the cause. If I'm addicted, I can blame it on the thing I'm claiming addiction to. If I'm obsessed, I have to claim it as my own behavior. Either one is dysfunctional, but at least if you say you're obsessed you're taking responsibility for it.

I am addicted to scrutinizing the minutia and nuance of chat forum verbiage choices.
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- Dee, 18 Jan 2008 @ 5:27am
  
  Re:
  I believe that its both Phlatus. Addiction and Obsession. There seems to a very thin line between the two words right now when it concerns priorities in a family structure. Addicts that go to their meetings aren't given permission to blame their addictions on their choice of drugs or alcohol, and computer gaming is an addiction, but rather blaming the addicton on themselves. And addicts no matter what the over-indulgence or harmful recreations are, can be rehabilitated, if only, if only, they stopped denying and defending what they are doing. I've heard a few and read that marriages even long standing ones are dissolved over gaming addiction. And for most part the children were the ones who suffered as much because one or both parents were addicted to gaming. So you try to distinguish the definition but it will end up meaning the same thing.
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2007 @ 10:59am

A Disorder?
Could I file for disability if I have a video game addiction?

If I can ... I'm all for it.
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- ThreeToedSloth, 16 Jun 2007 @ 6:48pm
  
  Re: A Disorder?
  If they make it official, and it's an addiction, AND one can file for disability due to addiction... they you'd better sign me up.
  
  BF2142 - one step away from Brig.Gen, 2-3 hours per day
  
  Someone please let me know if that falls within the disability criteria!!!! LOL
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[kossori hana.], 16 Jun 2007 @ 11:19am

addiction pt. 2
if we can all just assume that the article is discussing actual addiction patterns instead of attacking hobbyists and enthusiasts, this discussion can be more effective.

time spent doing something is not the singular criterion that defines addiction. i know an addict who only drinks one day a week. it's how every aspect of his life has begun to revolve around that one day that makes him an addict. it's his mental state on the other six days that make him an addict. it's how he has lost everything (significant others, jobs, friendships, apartment, car, &c.) that makes him an addict. now if i say his problem isn't drinking - it's video games, does that make much of a difference? how about gambling? crack? meth? he's still an addict, and it's clearly not a hobby anymore.
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rp, 16 Jun 2007 @ 2:14pm

WoW is like crack cocaine ....
but only $15 a month...
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Shalkar, 16 Jun 2007 @ 3:49pm

My Opinion is:
I think it's more of an addiction to media in general. Video games are just the most interactive form of media. I believe that it IS more of an internal problem and that the addiction to something else like media, video games more specifically, is the result of that problem. Say somebody has poor social skills and/or just doesn't have much to talk about. That person may play games excessively as their only form of entertainment and/or social interation.

As for that addiction destroying their life, because as soon as the feedback of something happening ends, so does that "joy". So why stop? It's like that as far as I'm concerned. Ultimately, if the people addicted to media learn some social skills, find something to talk about and meet the right people they'll be okay. Until then, there's always the next level. ;)
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Jun 2007 @ 4:39pm

TV
What about tv? People definitely watch more television than play video games? How come its not under the magnifying glass?
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Trerro, 16 Jun 2007 @ 6:07pm

Simple (re: TV)
TV news anchors aren't going to talk about 'TV addiction' being a problem. Likewise, 'internet addition' isn't going to be talked about either - what major news corp doesn't have a website and probably an RSS feed at this point? There's no news services in video games however, so they can safely attack them without dealing with their own industry.
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tony, 16 Jun 2007 @ 6:57pm

I Disagree, sort of...
Here's the Webster's definition:

Main Entry: ad·dic·tion
Pronunciation: &-'dik-sh&n, a-
Function: noun
1 : the quality or state of being addicted
2 : compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful.

From this standpoint, I don't think that many, and perhaps the large majority of consistent gamers are expressing an "addiction." Whether it can be identified discretely - part of the test above - is less clear. I have watched people piss away a lot of time, money, health, relationships, jobs, etc., to satisfy their need to escape, if not to play. I personally find them maddeningly addictive, and I tend to keep all but a Sudoku game off my machines.

Addiction surrounds us, and is expressed in certain ways by just about everyone I know. The choice of abusive or avoidance behavior is immaterial to me. The root is what is more interesting, and that can be debated until the droids come home.
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2007 @ 12:25am

VGD (Video Game Disorder)
Doctor: I'm sorry son. You have the worst case of VGD I have ever come across.

Me: But Doctor, what can I do about it?

Doctor: There is only one known treatment, Medical Marijuana.

Me: Cha-Ching!
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Mark Bowness, 17 Jun 2007 @ 2:00am

Hell am addicted and I enjoyed that addiction!

Mark Bowness
www.peoplepassionplanet.com
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Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2007 @ 4:12am

>I have consumed tons of alcohol and I am not an alcoholic, so clearly alcoholism is complete BS as well.

Yee haw, brother!

Smoking, drinking and video games. Doesn't get any better.
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- Anonymous Coward, 6 Apr 2008 @ 6:29pm
  
  Re:
  get laid too dude
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PhysicsGuy, 17 Jun 2007 @ 11:51am

Re: VGD (Video Game Disorder)
umm... actually, that would be the most counter-productive treatment for a video game addiction ever. marijuana is the performance enhancing drug of the video game world. you're only looking to exacerbate the "problem"... ;)
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- Anonymous Coward, 17 Jun 2007 @ 8:18pm
  
  Re: Re: VGD (Video Game Disorder)
  I agree that it would be a counter-productive treatment, but I don't think it would be as funny, at least to me, if I typed:
  
  "Doctor: There is only one known treatment, full frontal lobotomy."
  
  And besides, at the time I couldn't spell lobotomy. Now if you will excuse me, the time on my ingeniously rewired VCR clock that only flashes 4:20 tells me that I have other pressing matters to attend to.
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- Richy, 21 Jun 2007 @ 10:06pm
  
  Re: Re: VGD (Video Game Disorder)
  I dont't know about you pal but when I'm there is no way when I play video games I'm any good. Do know that even though marijuana is a stimulant it stimulates sleep receptors, coordination output, and memory, and believe me this results in malcoordiantion, short term memory loss and sometimes (prety often) drowsiness. Dude i think everyone who knows what its like when they are high that video games are way to complicated and difficult, smoke with friends puff puff pass. Marijuana is a social drug no possible way it enhances your gaming.
  
  NO Fuckin way..hahahahaha
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trollificus, 17 Jun 2007 @ 3:02pm

anecdote is not the singular of data
Play fair, chillin. If one person's anecdotal evidence does not prove there's no such thing, I'm guessing it works the other way too.

So no number of "Oh my poor son was so respectful, and got good grades, before he started those evil video games!" stories qualify to make it an actual "Syndrome", "addiction" or anything else officially medical.

But it's quite likely it'll get some kind of cred, at least enough for some shrinks to set themselves up as "Video Game Detox Experts" and make some money without getting in trouble.

A cynical attitude with an eye toward the bottom line has good predictive value here, methinks.
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mr. joe, 17 Jun 2007 @ 5:14pm

WE MAKE MORE MONEY BY MAKING THEM ADDICITIVE
We video game designers/programmers purposely design video games to be addictive so that you idiots who buy the games in the first place will continue to buy and play them so we can go home each day and relax in our multi-million dollar mansions.
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mc, 17 Jun 2007 @ 6:35pm

addiction? how the fuck do you get addicted to video games? people are so fucking weak minded.. I been playing video games all my life sometime I get bored video game for while, than come back I prefer bang my wife anytime than spending whole day playing RPG(my fav genre lol). Video game should be balanced.
this why I don't play online game like warcraft because endless game...
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Newob, 17 Jun 2007 @ 10:54pm

Disorders are cultural taboos
Naming a habit a 'disorder' doesn't make it any different from any other habit. Some habits are productive and some are unproductive. Most of the things we do are not completely under our control, whether they are good or bad. Nobody calls breathing a disorder because it is necessary to survive, but we are all 'addicted' to it. Video games are not necessary to survive. However some people feel drawn in by fantasies, and whether they were playing a video game or reading a book or day dreaming it is really all the same thing. Without our fantasies we would be mindless zombies. Some of us feel like we are zombies in real life and so we need to play or we will go insane. You start calling things a disorder not when something is wrong but when somebody can make money 'treating' the 'disorder' with 'medication.' That is all a 'disorder' means. It is just one way for society to say boo hoo about your particular habit, it's just entrenched in psychobabble to make it sound more meaningful. Nothing that is generally considered 'normal' is called a disorder no matter how negative it might be. There is no Conformity Disorder. There is no Believe Big Lies disorder. There is probably a Believe in Conspiracy disorder at least in most people's minds but there probably isn't a Believe in the Official 911 Conspiracy because the same people don't consider that a conspiracy, though whether it was 19 Arab Muslims or the CIA it is a conspiracy just the same. Anything that goes against what most people consider normal or productive is a disorder, until someday when it is considered normal and then the psychiatrists aren't responsible for who was overmedicated or given lobotomies because 'everybody was doing it.' There ought to be a disorder, Psychiatrist Disorder, for people who abuse other people by calling them disordered and by exhibiting secondary characteristics such as prescribing medicines that cause more side effects than symptoms that they teach and performing invasive surgery to treat thought patterns.
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Newob, 17 Jun 2007 @ 11:01pm

Re: Disorders are cultural taboos
Er, I meant 'treat' not 'teach.' Is misspelling a disorder? Maybe that was a Freudian Slip!
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Addicted to games, 18 Jun 2007 @ 6:52am

Need a fix...
I'm addicted to video games. They are destroying my life. It drives me crazy, because I need the fix they give. I know I shouldn't be using iron skillets to melt them down, so I can get some boiling in a spoon, but it's not safe if you don't melt them before you inject them into your vein. Where can I sign up to detox, when I try not to shoot them up I get the shakes, and itch till I draw blood on my fingernails. Somebody, please help me, this addiction is going to kill me! Why don't they have warning labels????
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magicdiablo, 18 Jun 2007 @ 8:21am

pause?
It's called a pause button for a reason. Use it and go do something. And game makers also added a save function as well. Get off your fat asses and get out. I'm a gammer, I play 10-20 hours a week if not more. I will admit I have been engrosed in a game for hours on end. But I mainly play those on the weekends. But to be addicted to video games and to have it impare your life, grow the hell up! It's only a game for crying out loud! No wonder this country is considered the fattest in the world. I understand if it is your job to play games, wish I had that job instead of being in the Marine Corps. GET A LIFE! Oh and World of Warcraft isn't all that great of a game anyway, I have more fun playing a free MMO than i did playing WoW. Granted, WoW can be fun, but it just got boring after a while, I mean you can only die a few times before quiting LOL. Just to get you WoW players off my back about it, I have several lvl 35 characters on WoW, so I do have some experience with the game. And Addicted to Games, they do have warning lables inside the instruction manual. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
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Killer B, 21 Jun 2007 @ 4:44pm

Disorders? Or perhaps symptoms of existing disord
The thought process behind putting "Gaming Addiction Disorder" (and "Internet Addiction Disorder") in the DSM as official disorders comes from the same mentality as "Pathological Gambling"

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001520.htm

Personally, I think all three of those shouldn't be "disorders" themselves. They could be symptoms of another underlying disorder, like:

- Depression (block out harsh reality)
- ADD/ADHD (stimulation)
- Bipolar Disorder (same as depression in low state, ADHD in high state)
- Dysthymia (same as depression) or Cyclothymia (same as bipolar)
- Most Anxiety Disorders, like general, specific phobias, etc. (block out fears)
- OCD (obsessions with gambling/gaming/Internet and compulsions to quell these obsessions)
- Autism (mind is far younger than the body and can't control its impulses for "play" properly)
- Asperger's Syndrome (same as autism)
- Schizophrenia (shattered perception of reality, and would rather deal with fantasy)
- certain personality disorders, like Narcissistic (if it makes the person feel omnipotent), Borderline or Histrionic (if it makes them feel important)
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Richy, 21 Jun 2007 @ 10:00pm

I Play im not addicted
Addicition is defined as living for the sole purpose of an extra influence, and being physically or mentally unable to cope without that influence. So many things can be classified as an addiction love is an addiction, biking can be addictive, sleeping even. Based on the pressumptions of a few loose Dr.s (wich is all it takes to stir up controversy)we should then presume that people who do something excessively have an addiction and therefore have a disorder. What are the symptoms of this video gaming disorder other than a need to play. I have been playing WoW four a couple of months now, I play regularly and even for extreme extended periods, does this mean I also have a so called disorder. OF COURSE NOT! I have a social life, i go to parties,I ski race internationally, I do club road biking, I go to school I have friends and a gilfriend. I am not a social outcast, and do not belive I will become one yet I am considered by my parents to have a video game disorder. I agree that a need to play video is most likely caused by an underlying root. Therefore I Do not belive in anyway someone who plays video games extensively has a so called disorder. Even when someone makes video games and computers their sole purpose of living and they have no social contact and never see sunlight, that is still their choice, which i would most definately see as an addiction yet not a disorder. Do we say smokers have a disorder because they are addicted to tobacco (I don't, and I don't know anyone who does).

The answer is simple everyone has something the like or love and because they love that thing and can do it extensively, they all hava disorder.

We all have a disorder.
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Mark, 22 Jun 2007 @ 5:01am

video game disorder
If video game playing is going to be considered an addiction, then the parents should be charged with contributing to the delequency of a minor and child endangerment, and DCF should take their children away from them for providing their children the means to devolop the addiction.
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JohnR, 22 Jun 2007 @ 9:08am

It is the human condition
...to seek pleasure. Addiction is something way beyond the normal experience of most who play video games. Gamers spend a lot of time engaging with something they enjoy. In the same way some people play a lot of sports and others spend their lives perfecting manual crafting hobbies.

Sounds like more psycho babble aimed at a fat pay day.
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k spencer, 22 Jun 2007 @ 3:11pm

Yes...video game playing is an addiction, especially for males who are more stimulated by visuals than females. Please take this seriously before we destroy the male population.
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bizso, 4 Aug 2007 @ 11:32am

Computer game addiction is a VERY REAL problem nowadays! It’s just not yet widely realized. I tell you this from personal experience. I’m sure you don’t wanna know what I lived through after having stopped playing Diablo or Starcraft. I thank God I stopped before I could get my hands on WoW and realized how heavily addicted i was

You know what’s funny? That I still wanna try out Wow, though I know that it would most certainly ruin my life. Because the 5 years I spent with hardcore playing wasted that part of my life.

After I rushed home from school, I truly felt high when I sat in front of the screen. But it’s FAKE. In reality, you are going down the spiral, getting sucked in, and it takes an enormous willpower to say no and to stop. This is no joke! It does have got the potentail to take over your life, over your thoughts.

And still….

Now that’s what I call addiction…. I hope I’ll be able to help playing it.

The problem is that it's so much fun to play a computer game like Wow that it doesn't compare to anything else. All the things I used to do before having started my gaming session, and which things I took up again after I had put a stop to nonstop playing, aren't nearly as exciting as gaming is. And I do a lot of things now, like playing in a basketball team, taking dance classes, going out a lot with friends, playing an instrument etc... I stopped playing like 5 years ago.

I know I would become immediately addicted again if I played just a little bit. Also, I don't wanna throw away my life because gaming is obliously bad, at least for me.
Despite having all this in mind, I still have an immense carving to play. That's when I wish I had never played online games....

It’s like you wish you could erase your memory but you can’t. It’s a DRUG
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Someaddictedguy, 20 Aug 2007 @ 6:35pm

ive got this So called "Addiction"... I can't stop, I'm not a "loser" in real life who has no friends so he needs the games to be someone else, I jsut can't stop, it's not causing me to lose my friends, i play through the whole summer but when school time comes I do things with my friends more often, and Yes WOW is thye complete Devil, it is the biggest MMORPG in the wrold and has so many things to do in it therefore people spend more time on it than any other game trying to accomplish everything there is, unfortuanately they update the game, thus causing a never ending story, it is hard to stop, playing Any game you like, and your family saying you have a problem, fuck off just cause you don't feel the same way about computer games as I do doesn't mean you have a right to define it as a problem or as "different" anyways people Addicted to palying games
are the people who are real Rebels because they spend mostt of their life playing a game instead of living theyre life, not saying its a bad thing because you can Achieve WAY more online than most people in their entire lives have Never came close to achieving, but yes there is a difference between online and real life, and I just want people to realise that it's not a bad thing for you to spend your life on the computer but you must do something anything to realise it is not actual life.... yet :P ;)
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Me, 6 Sep 2007 @ 9:42am

Unfortunatly, this is the same type of sort of concern everyone had for narcotics before we discovered their true power to destory lives. Computer games and the internet are addictive and can destroy lives. I have a problem with them. I think about video games all the time and spend my spare time neglecting my wife and children playing games anytime things go sour elsewhere. Then the video games make 'elsewhere' (the cause or underlying problem) much worse. It is a repetitive cycle and if one should blame depression and condone video games, they are completely wrong. I person not lost in cyberspace has the time to fix their problems with depression.
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hentai lover, 11 Jan 2008 @ 12:31pm

video games are raw period, too bad the don't get scientific "big bang theory!!!
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Cooze, 20 Feb 2008 @ 5:51pm

I play games and still function
I enjoy video games. Some people enjoy TV, others knitting, others reading. There is no addiction. The only problem is that non-gaming folks dont consider it "productive" to buy and play video games. If i pay for a game liek WoW or just buy a non subscription game, im paying for the experiance right? If i enjoy the storytelling and what not that goes on in a video game and choose to devote many hours to playing them, im not addicted. I just choose to sit and play video games. Basically i agree with anyone who thinks the "addiction" is bullshit. Its only thought of as an addiction because of the people who think video games shouldnt be played all the time. If someone's marriage fails due to video games, how did they get married in the first place? If someone shoots another person, its that person who killed the other. The instrument cannot be blamed for the follies of the user. Video games arent an addiction, some people just cant manage their time.
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taco bell crew, 12 Mar 2008 @ 9:20am

i weanna mogus mogus
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joe fuck urself, 12 Mar 2008 @ 9:21am

i think everyone who plays wow should go straight to heaven and play their computerts....wow is a godly gift ment to be treated as so!
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Sydesh, 6 Apr 2008 @ 5:07pm

addiction and violence
I play games at home games like Defcon about nuclear annihilation and zerohour mostly machines destroying stuff and even go so far as to pay to play Batttlefield2 and CoD4 I consider myslf to have a "normal" addiction because I see from this blog there are others, many others in the same boat- am suprised by the numbers. Does anyone else note in themselves an increase in bad temper or lack of tolerance or having more frequent visualisations involving inflicting violence on people who annoy? I could be going insane I dont have many freinds Am I a pariah no-one likely would contradict.
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Cookie, 22 Apr 2008 @ 1:26pm

Video Game Addiction is Real
Do you know what the word addict means? Apparently not or you wouldn't take the stance of dismissing video game addiction. I have 19-year old son who is an addict in every sense of the word. Maybe you should understand what defines addiction instead of blowing it off just because you don't agree. Remember, you can become addicted to ANYTHING that brings pleasure, including video games. My son's father became addicted to crack cocaine - the parallell breaks my heart.
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Tina Barnabye, 6 Jul 2008 @ 8:19pm

Important!
I am a cocksucking 15-year-old with nothing better to do.
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ashole, 1 Oct 2008 @ 11:06am

fuck you all
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ashole, 1 Oct 2008 @ 11:09am

fuck you all
i love games and porn
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christian, 27 May 2009 @ 10:49am

you need to quit
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What if?, 16 Jun 2009 @ 8:38am

Video game addictions
If this is becoming such a trend for people, why doesn't the government make more tools,equipment and systems, more like a video game? It would make jobs a lot more accessable and easier to get. As for the topic, I believe that the games themselves are not the problem, like many people are saying before myself, there are a lot of emotional problems that lead to many addictions, such as depression and loniless. The only reason when Gaming or any other addiction gets out of control is when the pressure of life or anything else gets unbearable. If you think that gaming is a serious problem, then maybe rather than riduling the gaming life or trying to push him/her off of the so called "addiction" You should try to connect with him through the game itself so the person can trust you and eventually muster the courage to talk to people in real life. And for everyone else, keep playing your games, but don't turn away chances to spend time with your friends, The game will be there at anytime you feel like it, but friends are limited
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guy1111, 15 Aug 2010 @ 5:58pm

Video game "Adiction" Axtually descriminaition!
I have read a tremendous number of articles on this topic and i am still not totally convinced about weather or not it is an actual addiction and or just a controversial values pursuit. as i read the articles i wonder if whom ever wrote them is illiterate/ignorant to introverts. and specifically introverted forms of achievement. when they say normal social developmental are they discriminating against people who prefer to be single. when they say skipping school and flunking out of college are they taking about not being overrun with student loans and a manager hassling the shit out of you? why are student loans for jobs that don't pay very much an achievement but being very good at a video game is not an acevent. why is video games taboo and an addiction but
Michael Jordan shows sighs of an addiction he obviously has an obsession with basket ball.
Warren buffet with investing.
most to all all famous master artists.
not all acevents need to have a pat on the back from some one else some times you can be happy and healthy achieving alone. also lets think about this out of a 70year life span several years spent on an introverted task like studing all day as a med student or gaming all day as professional a gamer aka that nick name (fatality guy who won at counterstrike) or working out all day as a champion athlete/gold mentalist. a few years is a small liberated blip on the screen of life. how about spending your adult life how you want to. isit that what American values are all about why dose the media frenzy matter constitutional values are the sacred American law!!!!!
why dose the media never a same and embarks them lets send pro athets to rehab. how about noble prize winners who are total introverts. lets send them also. why don't we send them because they are servants to the rest of society thats why. if you are not a servant to the rest of the grope no matter how meaningful what you are doing may be video game intellectual pursuit... if you are not making a lot of money supporting a wife and kids and then getting cleaned out by Americas high divorce rates you are just not healthy happy successful person and you need to pay a lot of money to go off to a stupid rehabilitation center. where they force you to think that a pat on the back is more valuable than personal achievement. i am sick and tired of psychologists pretend like life and amerca is a perfect wonder full place if people are hiding in a video game its also because
school is shit
wife is shit
job is shit
fast easy food is shit
stop pretending like the world isit a fuckedup place.
I do agree that most people who play video games a lot need a way to cover the basks making money. getting healthy excercize and fresh air. but you can spare me acting like playing games all day is any more of an addiction than sitting in a tiny cubicle working at a computer all day. o buy theirs a pretend difference they are being paid and money is the only from of achievement "right"

my other big question is
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guy1111, 15 Aug 2010 @ 6:00pm

by the way
I DON"T EVEN PLAY VIDEO GAMES
I DO BELIEVE IN INTROVERTED ACHIEVEMENT.
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guy1111, 15 Aug 2010 @ 10:30pm

as a follow up I would just like to say that this general topic bothers me a lot. because i feel that it is possible that to call this an addiction is not only a miss-terminology. It is also violating the core principles and civil liberty's of adult introverted achievement. In reference to an intervention type concept. From a neutral perspective my next question is at what point dose a psychologist have the right to violate an adult individuals civil rights. using the word a diction is wrong in so many ways the actual word is controversial life pursuits. here is another question for all of us to contemplate is life balance meaning jobs,relationships,eating,excessive all something that has to take place in a sort balanced time frame and or can balance take place over longer periods of time. example i will find a girlfriend after i finish college i need to dedicate a lot my time to studding now so that i succeed and then later as soon as i graduate i will sign up for a dating web sight. vs another example I will play games all day and not eat even simple meals. the arguments get into necessity vs preference. i for one thought that America was about choice not group pressure to fit in and be "normal" i don't even play video games however i absolutely love living in isolation and working many hours a day on art projects of all kinds. and unlike in the movies i don't go insane or hurt other people. its not that i don't like other people its that there is more to life than basic human interaction. things which are much deeper and a lot more meaningful to the individual.
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Anonymous Coward, 1 Nov 2010 @ 7:27pm

my son has been addicted for two yrs with no treatment or help, why do kids committ suicide, or murder or act out aggressive when no more gaming,you think it can be an intoxicated substance like videogaming and the gamecompany makes you play for ever to go tothe next level,,,thanks for destroying my kids life
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Laurie Oulette, 1 Nov 2010 @ 7:29pm

video gaming
I amgoing to be on a tv show, www.healthyplace.com I think halo 3 should pay for my sons addictiontovideo games he is only in grade 7 when he got addicted///thanks halow'
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Dec 2017 @ 4:05pm

If this world can support drug and alchohol issues.with clinics and government funding.they should open clinics for gaming addictions.and treat it the same.i see it as an addiction.go after the computer industry for the fundings.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Dec 2017 @ 4:51pm

What is the difference today between a Druggie.an Alcoholic and a Video Game/internet junkie.its all diseases in one way or another! Some people just dont agree with it if it has never happened to them or a loved one.
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Torri Duffy, 12 Dec 2017 @ 4:55pm

Addictions ! Its all the same
An addiction is something a person cant go without.Drugs.Alcohol.gaming.its very sad to say but very true.
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