Gaming Addiction?

[Firestormalpha]

Full articleHERE CHICAGO - 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. AMA delegates could vote on the proposal as early as Monday.

So what's next, declaring video games to be illegal drugs?

[robertthebard]

My friend's son is addicted to video games. He can sit here and play Tekken for three hours, but if I turn off the Playstation to get a break from it, he's like I hit him with a bat or something. I don't think there needs to be a "drug treatment facility" for it though. A simple no every once in a while, along with, "go play outside" will eventually suffice. If not, take the games away and make them deal without them. I don't think they will go into violent DT's without them, and maybe they will find out there is more to life than gaming, as sacreligious as that may sound, all things considered...

[johnny]

What a load of crap.

[Hivetyrant]

Originally posted by robertthebard: My friend's son is addicted to video games. He can sit here and play Tekken for three hours, but if I turn off the Playstation to get a break from it, he's like I hit him with a bat or something. I don't think there needs to be a "drug treatment facility" for it though. A simple no every once in a while, along with, "go play outside" will eventually suffice. If not, take the games away and make them deal without them. I don't think they will go into violent DT's without them, and maybe they will find out there is more to life than gaming, as sacreligious as that may sound, all things considered...

Biggest problem there is that its not just affecting young kids

The vast majority of gamers are aged 21-28 or something like that, and a lot are addicted

[Leonis]

Is everyone addicted to something? Possibly an innate human condition? What do people think? I'm not addicted to gaming, but know several people who are. Others are addicted to MySpace or poker or sex. I'm addicted to cigarettes, and falling for impossible women, and beer. Who isn't addicted to something?

[Klorox]

Originally posted by johnny: What a load of crap.

I disagree. I think a lot of people can become video game addicts.

The problem isn't the video games though, it's the parenting. If you put limits on the gaming, everything can be just fine.

[robertthebard]

As Hivey said though, a lot of addicts are actually adults. I'd feel pretty silly going over to my daughter's house and trying to exercise some parenting, considering she's 24 years old.

[Klorox]

But if they're instilled with the understanding that it's not okay to stay inside for days straight playing video games at a young age, then they won't be put into the situation to become addicts as adults.

[Hivetyrant]

Originally posted by Klorox: But if they're instilled with the understanding that it's not okay to stay inside for days straight playing video games at a young age, then they won't be put into the situation to become addicts as adults.

I think the problem there is that most of the people that are addicts now, grew into the gaming scene and didnt have a chance to have that limit instilled in them as children because games weren't as readily available to them as kids, but yes, children these days need to have limits put on them (Though I don't really believe that will actually stop the problem)

[Hivetyrant]

Originally posted by robertthebard: As Hivey said though, a lot of addicts are actually adults. I'd feel pretty silly going over to my daughter's house and trying to exercise some parenting, considering she's 24 years old.

I think she would feel even sillier