We used to call Nintendo "kiddie cocaine," and I guess we weren't that far off the mark. The American Medical Association this weekend for their annual policy meeting where one of the planned agenda items is a discussion of whether video game addiction should be considered a separate and unique psychiatric condition to be included in the DSM-V, the anticipated latest edition of the American Psychiatric Association's diagnostic manual that comes out in 2012:
The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars.The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which for certain kids can be as powerfully addictive as heroin, some doctors contend.
A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment.
In a report prepared for the American Medical Association's annual policy meeting starting Saturday in Chicago, the council asks the group to lobby for the disorder to be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association.
Man, imagine being holed up in detox for treatment of World of Warcraft addiction. What would happen? Would you just be yelling "LEEEEEROOOOOY JEEEEEENKINS!" all the time till the tremors and sweats stopped?
3 comments:
Funny ... I am staring at the current version as I type - The DSM-IV-TR.
Having experienced the addictiveness of playing video games, I would argue that it is not just playing video games, but it is playing video games with other people. There were times when I would play for hours on end, but it wasn't until I was playing with someone else (in person or online) that I would really get sucked in and 7 at night quickly turned into 3 in the morning.
I don't know about calling it a disorder, but I might say that if you can play for hours and neglect your own physical world while not being online and being by yourself then I could easily see the problem.
I've had to fire 3 employees in the last 5 years for poor performance and/or attendance directly related to an mmorpg addiction. One for Everquest, 2 for World of Warcraft. Sounds like a good statistic, except I've had upwards of 50 people who were heavy console or pc gamers, and around 20 more who played mmorpgs, including 3 currently who are heavy WoW'ers. I really do think it depends on the person, and their emotional state of mind. All 3 mmorpg players who were terminated directly related to addiction to the games were already using the games to escape reality (one due to an unwanted pregnancy, one due to recent death in the family, one due to abusive relationship). I think with children under 16 years of age, it can depend on the child, but the parent does need to be aware what games the child is playing. I don't play a single game regularly I would let a child of mine under 16 play. Some for violence, but most because the other people they would be playing with would be older. I played with several parents who supervised thier own childer on WoW. The children could play as long as the parents character was there to chaperone them. This protected the child from potential exposure to language and adult conversation, and also made the game a family event. Like monopoly, except people still talk to one another afterwards. We played games that were the absolute cutting edge when we were kids, and we didn't suffer any. Sure games now are more realistic and more social, but they are still just video games. I've made the argument before; if your kid gets fat and has a heart attack because he played video games constantly, or his schoolwork suffered because he played video games constantly, or he emulated a violent act on a video game he was below the age rating of but a parent bought him anyway, then that speaks directly to the parent. It starts with the adult who has the good sense to know when enough is enough, because children don't always. And it ends with the adult seeing that their child is exhibiting signs of addiction.
I think the problem with mmorpgs is the same as with pen and paper role-playing games. If a person is really unhappy with who they are in the real world, they can escape into this fantasy world where they can easily create a new ego for themselves of their own design. Then, this new ego gets all their energy, and their real selves get neglected, along with jobs or school, family, and friends (assuming they have any.)
Now the computer role playing games become more addictive because they are more available. With the old fashioned role playing game, you had to wait until you got a few players together, all in one physical location, and then it was up to you to craft the adventure. The computer games, all you need to do is turn on the computer. The adventures are pre-made, and you can find someone to play with - or you can even do it solo, unlike pen and paper games.
So the player 'grinds' for a few hours, improves his character, and feels a real sense of accomplishment. However, as soon as he or she is away from the screen, they still have all the problems they had before. Nothing was really accomplished.
For people who actually value their real lives, you play for a bit, have fun, and then go take care of business. I play people all the time who type messages like, "Well, thanks for teaming with me. I need to go mow the law/feed the baby/do my homework, etc."
Post a Comment