Would you rather be playing video games than reading this column?
The American Medical Association has suggested that video game addiction be added to the American Psychological Association's Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV).
In less syllables: A group of doctors thinks hardcore gamers may need help.
The AMA recommendation comes at the height of popularity for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as “World of Warcraft” and “Guild Wars.”
Such games may bring to mind images of basement-dwelling PC players whose eyes lock on their monitors for 18 hours a day and who pause only to chow down a microwave burrito or knock back a Mountain Dew. Their real lives pale in significance to those of their sword-swinging avatars, whose relationships with the other elves and trolls spark jealousy in the family and friends pushed aside.
Is there a psychological problem with that?
There is a foundation for the addition of video game addiction to the DSM-IV in the manual's inclusion of pathological gambling, which is marked by such symptoms as a preoccupation with the habit, a loss of control over it and the complication of a relationship as a result.
The lifestyles of many a MMORPG player fit this criteria as comfortably as the indentation in a gamer's couch fits his rear.
The “World of Warcraft” junkie may present an extreme case, but the AMA has suggested that game addiction affects as much as 10 percent of the gaming population. And that population is larger than you might think.
Research by the Entertainment Software Association shows 69 percent of heads of U.S. households play video games. If one out of every 10 of them is a slave to the game, the disruptive effect would rival that of any other disorder in the DSM-IV.
Video game addiction may not impact each individual life as severely as gambling addiction, schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it would surpass them all in incidence. Almost as many Americans would be seeking help for gaming as depression.
Whether video game addiction actually does affect as many people as the AMA claims is contingent upon two events: Establishing firm criteria of the condition and assessing a wide sample of gamers based on that criteria. The timetable for those two events could take several years to unfold.
Until then, instances of video game addiction will only be demonstrated through horror stories, such as the South Korean man who died of heart failure following a 50-hour session of “World of Warcraft” during which he deprived himself of food and sleep.
And gamers will continue to be the only ones who know that they are genuinely crazy.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Top 10
The 10 most popular games at GameStop, 217 Grant Ave., Auburn
€ “Gears of War” (Xbox 360)
€ “Guitar Hero 2” (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)
€ “Resident Evil 4” (Wii)
€ “Pokemon Battle Revolution” (Wii)
€ “Mario Party 8” (Wii)
€ “Pokemon Diamond/Pearl”
(Nintendo DS)
€ “The Darkness” (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)
€ “Final Fantasy 12” (PlayStation 2)
€ “God of War 2” (PlayStation 2)
€ “Resistance: Fall of Man”
(PlayStation 3)
In less syllables: A group of doctors thinks hardcore gamers may need help.
The AMA recommendation comes at the height of popularity for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) such as “World of Warcraft” and “Guild Wars.”
Such games may bring to mind images of basement-dwelling PC players whose eyes lock on their monitors for 18 hours a day and who pause only to chow down a microwave burrito or knock back a Mountain Dew. Their real lives pale in significance to those of their sword-swinging avatars, whose relationships with the other elves and trolls spark jealousy in the family and friends pushed aside.
Is there a psychological problem with that?
There is a foundation for the addition of video game addiction to the DSM-IV in the manual's inclusion of pathological gambling, which is marked by such symptoms as a preoccupation with the habit, a loss of control over it and the complication of a relationship as a result.
The lifestyles of many a MMORPG player fit this criteria as comfortably as the indentation in a gamer's couch fits his rear.
The “World of Warcraft” junkie may present an extreme case, but the AMA has suggested that game addiction affects as much as 10 percent of the gaming population. And that population is larger than you might think.
Research by the Entertainment Software Association shows 69 percent of heads of U.S. households play video games. If one out of every 10 of them is a slave to the game, the disruptive effect would rival that of any other disorder in the DSM-IV.
Video game addiction may not impact each individual life as severely as gambling addiction, schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but it would surpass them all in incidence. Almost as many Americans would be seeking help for gaming as depression.
Whether video game addiction actually does affect as many people as the AMA claims is contingent upon two events: Establishing firm criteria of the condition and assessing a wide sample of gamers based on that criteria. The timetable for those two events could take several years to unfold.
Until then, instances of video game addiction will only be demonstrated through horror stories, such as the South Korean man who died of heart failure following a 50-hour session of “World of Warcraft” during which he deprived himself of food and sleep.
And gamers will continue to be the only ones who know that they are genuinely crazy.
Staff writer David Wilcox reviews video games for The Citizen. He can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 245 or david.wilcox@lee.net
Top 10
The 10 most popular games at GameStop, 217 Grant Ave., Auburn
€ “Gears of War” (Xbox 360)
€ “Guitar Hero 2” (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)
€ “Resident Evil 4” (Wii)
€ “Pokemon Battle Revolution” (Wii)
€ “Mario Party 8” (Wii)
€ “Pokemon Diamond/Pearl”
(Nintendo DS)
€ “The Darkness” (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360)
€ “Final Fantasy 12” (PlayStation 2)
€ “God of War 2” (PlayStation 2)
€ “Resistance: Fall of Man”
(PlayStation 3)
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