Is video-game addiction a mental disorder?

[weatherlight]

I found this nice little gem when I was cruising though a couple of other articles.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19354827/
Also there is also a video, its a real interesting listen.

[Pelor]

I'm pretty sure that any addiction is a mental disorder.

[Pelor]

First click here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhSS5_uc33U


"You ever suck dick for Warcraft?"

Good rep for anyone that turns this into a macro.

[ZippyDSMlee]

I think many people confuse obsessions with addictions. An addict can't function without doing whatever they are addicted to. An obsessed person simply spends a lot of time doing a certain thing. Like for a while I was obsessed with WOW and it effected my real life. I wasn't addicted like many say I was. For a good 2 months I ate nothing but Sushi. Not because I HAD to have it but because I wanted it and could afford the cheap kind(it was still really tasty and fresh). I only smoke when I get the urge to, which is once every couple months. So I'll buy a pack every few months and smoke them. I used to drink every day, but eventually it got old and I cut down.

I really can't buy into some people's addictions. I've seen what REAL addictions can do and its nasty. In terms of children, some of the ones I've read about and seen on video are just spoiled brats obsessed with a video game that have terrible parents that refuse to set them strait.

Addiction is a interesting thing to debate because many people do not understand what it really means. Want to know what addiction is? Take crack away from a crackhead and see what happens to them.

And if I'm wrong and obsession is the same as addiction then I think ANYTHING can be addictive. for example currently I'm addicted to gamepolitics.com because I check it more than my e-mail.

OTT obsession is a addiction where the brain needs that activity to "function" ,games are no more a addiction than shopping or such,why not lump them together and be done with it?

[kurisu7885]

They just use the term addiction to make it seem far worse than it really is.

[Runefire]

Yes, because having problems stemming from the addiction is something that is not really important.

I would not know where to begin in trying to find the links, but I have read stories where people have become 'addicted' in the classic sense where they actually suffer from withdrawal or are constantly thinking about when they will next be able to play.

Sounds like an addict to me.

Is a category required for video game addiction, no. Should we recognise that video games can become an addiction, most definitely.

[steelcobra]

Read stories, yes, ever actually meet someone like that? I think we have a big enough sample here that someone would at least know someone fitting those parameters if it was that big a deal.

[ZippyDSMlee]

Yes, because having problems stemming from the addiction is something that is not really important.

I would not know where to begin in trying to find the links, but I have read stories where people have become 'addicted' in the classic sense where they actually suffer from withdrawal or are constantly thinking about when they will next be able to play.

Sounds like an addict to me.

Is a category required for video game addiction, no. Should we recognise that video games can become an addiction, most definitely.

As I said these "addictions" should be dumded together, for the most part they are a compulsion that might can turn into a habit/addiction, thus lumping them together giving it a name "Modern obsessive habbit disorder" then setting the requirements (the diagnostic) for the addiction level would line up all the ducks in a row and be done with it.

[Runefire]

Read stories, yes, ever actually meet someone like that? I think we have a big enough sample here that someone would at least know someone fitting those parameters if it was that big a deal.

Just to clarify what I said as I see now I did not properly describe it. When I used the word 'stories' I mean news articles with qualified psychologists/psychiatrists. I am sure some of them have been from this site, but as I can not be bothered to try and track them down at the moment..

As for a big enough sample, 347 members, 98 active members, out of a world wide population of 6 billion plus? Okay...

Is it a big deal? Probably not (like most psychological disorders which actually have pretty small percentage estimates). But despite that, we should acknowledge that video game addiction does exist and can have serious consequences for those who do suffer.

[Hannah]

One problem I have with giving video game addiction its own special category is that it would just encourage people like the OLGAnonymous cult. I'm sure some of the people on that site honestly do have a problem and need help, but having read through a number of threads on the site, I found FAR too many stories about people doing bad things (eg. cheating on a spouse with someone met on an MMO) and then blaming everything on their addiction to the game and refusing to take any responsibility. Many even go so far as to blame the game company, insisting that Blizzard (or SOE or whoever) addicted them and ruined their lives on purpose... never mind that addicts actually cost Blizzard and SOE money by increasing server load, maintenance fees, and bad PR.

It seems healthier to consider game addiction like any other psychological addiction, and to focus on the person's underlying problems rather than any given game.

[steelcobra]

Just to clarify what I said as I see now I did not properly describe it. When I used the word 'stories' I mean news articles with qualified psychologists/psychiatrists. I am sure some of them have been from this site, but as I can not be bothered to try and track them down at the moment..

As for a big enough sample, 347 members, 98 active members, out of a world wide population of 6 billion plus? Okay...

Is it a big deal? Probably not (like most psychological disorders which actually have pretty small percentage estimates). But despite that, we should acknowledge that video game addiction does exist and can have serious consequences for those who do suffer.

Assuming that those 98 active members know at least 20 other gamers in a random distribution in the world, that's nearly 2000 data bits that can be gathered and compared.