Weekly Poll 6/24/07

[shaggy]

It has recently been studied that video game cna be addictive.  Do you think it is true?

[DarthKur]

Stating that gaming is synonymous with drug dependency or schizophrenia is ludicrous. So many people want so badly a scapegoat in order to take away the attention to their own inadequateness in either parenting or self-control. Sure, it's natural to become focused or dare I say "obsessed" with something but that doesn't mean that once one is in said state that they face any sort of lack of control or dangers of withdrawal.

[James]

I've had addictions to collecting games. That's why I have as many as I do. Whenever I had money I would go to car boot sales or a game shop and buy as many old games as I could, whether I wanted them or not. It took ages for me to get out of the habit.

But at the time I was on some medicine that "may cause addictions", so it might have been that or just my mentality last year.


I voted "Possibly" because I did have trouble making decisions on if I actually wanted a game or if I was only buying it for the sake of it. And I did have trouble breaking the habit. Addictions don't have to have withdrawal symptoms. They're just things that are hard to stop doing.

[Tan]

Here's a bit more on the article:

Is Gaming like Crack? The AMA Thinks So!

A few valid points but like just about everything else there will always be people who take it to extremes.

[Izret101]

I said yes.

I know it is addiction for me.

I have been told i am highly prone to addictions. I completely disagree with this(i have also been told i am very stubborn...)

Anything can become an addiction. Addictions can be unique or made up of a smaller group of people or a mass kind like gambling, drinking, smoking, drugs.




As for that article it lumps games in with more or less all other forms of media so i don't think the title was very fitting...

[phoenix1967]

I voted "of course not".

I think anything CAN be addictive. Cleaning your house can become as addictive as any vice. So can watching TV reality shows. Or gardening. Can an addiction become a mental disorder?...possibly.

I mean, I know I've felt "addicted" to games. But nowadays I equate the addictive quality of a game as no different than that of a good book that you "can't put down". The game itself is a medium for entertainment, and should be considered just that.

I will agree that there are people that need help controlling their addictions, though, and for that is where the "mental disorder" aspect of the question comes in.

But to suggest that there is something inherently harmful about playing video games, I would strongly disagree.

[Fuyukaze]

I said no, but that's more because nothing really fit right.  Their definition of an addiction to games is so limited that anyone who picks up a game is considered to have a problem.  Play for an hour or two a day?  Your addicted!  Doesn't matter what you do the rest of the day.  By that standard alone, every time you go to school you should also qualify as addicted.  Same for work! 

I know, being defensive here ain't I?  Thing is, I do believe that there exists a point where one is no longer playing games because they enjoy them but because they feel compelled to.  How many news stories the past two years have we seen where a gamer decided to take it to the next level, play for three or more days without breaks for food, rest, bodily functions, or anything and literally fell over dead?  How many times have people decided to forsake friends and family in the real world for the company of strangers in an on-line mmorpg?

The problem is they are limiting it to such an extreme as to make ANYONE a perfect example of someone who suffers a mental addiction to electronic gaming.  The AMA is looking to be no better then Jack Tompson now.

[Izret101]

Experts say "no"

http://news.yahoo.com/s/n...9nl.8AVziFt6M9XMD5xcK77EF

It seems like they arn't really inclined to say yes or no for sure but just want to get more statistics before the super massive ever growing industry throws their hat in the ring or gets dragged in by some lawsuit like cig companies.

[cverz2]

I don't know about a mental disorder. But it is definately a bad addiction. I can't stop even though I am broke as a joke.

[two_scoop_steve]

the are just videogames people's.

[The Metamorphosing Leon]

It is, I wrote an essay about it and I'm about to go play WoW until the crack of dawn.

[hXd]

I remember when I first got Final Fantasy VII, I'd play it for hours once all the things I had to do (homework, karate) were done. And I wouldn't want to do anything else.

I played it, like most of the RPG's I play, for the story. So I totally identify with the "good book" aspect. because you can't wait to see what happens next.

As far as the addiction is concerned, I think that really only applies to people with addictive personalities. Most people with a brain in their head would know when to stop playing, but if you don't then it's you who has the problem, it's not the game making you have the problem.

[OatBob]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/n...m/addiction_videogames_dc

It seems that a lot of psychologists disagreed with the AMA's quick conclusions.  They simply want more time since this (supposed) "addiction" only hits a small number of players. 

China is ahead of us and the government has free clinics for internet addiction.  These open door sessions also offer treatment for those roped in by online gaming. (which is far more popular in the Eastern world)

It is most likely that game addiction is linked to depression, anxiety, or any other of a number of social ills.

[Malygris]

Before we can even consider whether videogame addiction is a mental disorder, we have to consider the definition of addiction in the first place. Are those of us "addicted" to the hobby truly going to suffer from severe trauma upon withdrawal? Or do we just really like to play videogames? From that position, I don't believe in videogame addiction anymore than I believe in sex addiction; they're weak, catch-all terms coined by cheap pop psychologists and foisted upon us by American doctors who have irresistible urges to both diagnose everything and pay for the new BMW.

Which isn't to say there aren't people who have problems, but issues like videogame addiction are a symptom of something deeper and yet more common and mundane: a manifestation of a fairly straight-up OCD, for instance. So, videogame addiction a mental disorder? No chance. And I'll go one step further and predict that in five years, the idea won't even be brought up again with any degree of seriousness, and those who were on the committee that made the recommendation this time will keep their heads down and their mouths shut.

[captain_nintendo]

Simple answer from me:

No