90% of Gaming Addiction Patients Not Addicted

phorm writes "BBC is carrying an article which states that 90% of visitors to Europe's 'video game addiction clinic' are not, in fact, addicted. The problem is a social one rather than a psychological issue. In other words, the patients have turned to heavy gaming because they felt they didn't fit in elsewhere, or that they fit in better 'in the game' than elsewhere in 'the real world.' This has been discussed before, with arguments ranging from gaming being a good way to socialize, the clinical definition of gaming addiction, and claims than males are wired for video-game addiction."

Comments

Demise of hobby clubs

[syousef]

One reason...It use to be that these people could join a club and usually a "geeky" one: A Chess club, a remote control aircraft club, a rocketry club, a science club, an electronics club. These kinds of organisations are disappearing and the activities are being labelled as dangerous or complete social death to get involved in, leaving a void which is being filled with idle gaming.

Diablo & WoW... AkA Slot Machines

[Silentknyght]

I played World of Warcraft (heavily, until I got married). I played Diablo (I & II, pretty heavily). I played Counter Strike for hours on end, very competitively. Two-three years ago, I would classify myself as a hardcore gamer. That said... I cannot deny the striking similarities between these games and slot machines. The addiction similarities between these games and gambling addition, particularly slot machines, is strong.

Some (admittedly anecdotal) evidence. Don't tell me you never did these things, too:
* "farmed" mobs/bosses/instances/etc in WoW for a random, rare drop.
* loaded and reloaded the barbarian highlands level in diablo II umpteen times to farm for random, rare, drops
* got feelings of joy at the sight of one color triggered at a particular point in the game

All these things seem like more "pulls" on the slot machine, waiting for the lights and sounds to let you know you won. Is there potential for gambiling-addition-like issues in videogames? Yes. Am I terribly concerned and am I going to stop gaming? No.

Re:Males?

[girlintraining]

his may be a silly question, but -- she may have spent three hours bitching to you about it, but has she spent that much time talking to him about it?

Dammit, this wasn't supposed to be about my friend, but whether games can help boys develop social skills--instead of providing an escape from socially awkward situations. And yes, she has.

Casually saying something like, "Oh, I wish you'd spend less time playing WoW" doesn't count -- his internal reaction will be "Ok, I'll log off fifteen minutes early today," then he'll shrug and move on.

girlspeak translation: Get off the damn computer and pay attention to me when I'm around. It's damn rude to have someone over and then leave them to entertain themselves so you can go play a video game. Homework or a few minutes of e-mail, not a big deal... Wasting four hours on a video game because you need to "relax"... It gives a clear message: I'm not wanted. And when it's my boyfriend doing that, then it's elevate to not only aren't I wanted, but that I'm less attractive than a hunk of circuits and plastic. So yeah, most girls are going to be rightly pissed about that!

If he accepts that it's a problem, he can fix it, but otherwise his girlfriend will either have to just accept it or leave him.

And yet they wonder why we call it an addiction...

Re:Males?

[Yosho]

girlspeak translation: Get off the damn computer and pay attention to me when I'm around. It's damn rude to have someone over and then leave them to entertain themselves so you can go play a video game. Homework or a few minutes of e-mail, not a big deal... Wasting four hours on a video game because you need to "relax"... It gives a clear message: I'm not wanted. And when it's my boyfriend doing that, then it's elevate to not only aren't I wanted, but that I'm less attractive than a hunk of circuits and plastic. So yeah, most girls are going to be rightly pissed about that!

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound as though I was defending the guy -- just trying to provide some insight as to why he (and many other guys) behave that way. Most guys simply do not understand "girlspeak," and, unless you've found one of the rare ones who does, expecting him to figure it out is just an exercise in frustration.

And yet they wonder why we call it an addiction...

Oh, I certainly don't wonder. I'm sure Blizzard has hired psychologists to figure out the optimal effort:reward ratio to keep people playing as long as possible. MMORPGs are designed to be addictive by people who understand in great detail how addictions work; that's why telling somebody to stop playing is about as effective as telling an alcoholic to stop drinking.