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Study Claims 8.5% of Young Gamers "Pathologically Addicted"

Posted by Soulskill on from the put-the-controller-down dept.

schnucki brings word of new research which claims roughly one in twelve American children between the ages of eight and 18 are "pathologically addicted" to video games. The study, conducted by Douglas Gentile, director of the National Institute on Media and the Family at Iowa State University, says that "pathological status was a significant predictor of poorer school performance even after controlling for sex, age, and weekly amount of video-game play." However, Professor Cheryl Olson, who has conducted her own research into video game use, questioned Gentile's methodology, saying, "The author is repurposing questions used to assess problem gambling in adults; however, lying to your spouse about blowing the rent money on gambling is a very different matter from fibbing to your mom about whether you played video games instead of starting your homework."

8 of 296 comments (clear)

  1. Lies, damned lies, and money. by American+Terrorist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    lying to your spouse about blowing the rent money on gambling is a very different matter from fibbing to your mom about whether you played video games instead of starting your homework.

    Wrong. Parents and taxpayers sacrifice money, time and effort to pay for education; if students are too addicted to X to learn anything then it's money down the drain just like gambling.

    1. Re:Lies, damned lies, and money. by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I guess the difference is in the psychology instead of economy. After all, it is a psych study, right?

      Lying to your spouse that you gambled away the money for the rent and that you'll now face eviction is probably a little further up on the totem pole of big lies than "nah, mom, I did my homework, yeah right...".

      C'mon, you never lied to your parents about your homework because Timmy had this really cool new action figure and you wanted to go there to play with it? Does that mean you were (or are?) addicted to action figures?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Lies, damned lies, and money. by American+Terrorist · · Score: 5, Interesting

      The difference is of degree, not kind. Losing $200 that you had planned to spend on a nice dinner with your wife at a poker table is more analogous to occasionally lying to your mom about homework. Borrowing $30K from a loan shark and blowing it all on Baccarat is like failing out of MIT's EE program because you couldn't be bothered to pick up a textbook or attend any lectures.

    3. Re:Lies, damned lies, and money. by the4thdimension · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Even if I assume that the study is true (which I don't) lets look at what kids are up against:

      Studying, homework, school, and teachers.
      vs.
      Playing video games on the internet with friends.

      Which would you have picked when you were 8-18 years old? I know what choice I would have made (actually, the choice I did make). Kids don't really think out into the future and realize that their choices have long-term effects, especially at the age of 8. You can't expect them to understand the need to study to get good grades to go to school. Furthermore, lulz @ high school... who cares. Just make it out of that shit and you are straight. High school is a joke and colleges know it.

      --
      Crackin' Wise - Blogging about whatever we want
  2. Pfff by AlterRNow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hey, how about maybe the poor school performance was due to the fact that school is boring ( it is pretty much just memorising facts and figures ) and the more bored the child is, the more likely he is going to do something interesting/exciting like, I don't know, gaming?

    Seriously, why does the blame always go one way?

    --
    The disappearing pencil trick. Let me show you it.
    1. Re:Pfff by DeadDecoy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I think the article isn't saying that all poor scholastic performance are the fault of games but that games can be addictive and due to that and their time consuming nature, games are a factor. Kinda like how not all people who drink alcohol are alcoholics, but some are and this causes them to drive poorly or become violent. If this is the case, they might need some kind of social support structure to control their addictions lest they ruin their lives. On that note, I've actually witnessed a few college-mates, even smart ones, nearly flunk out because they had to get some item of power from an Everquest raid. Consequently, they lost sleep, didn't study, failed tests, etc. If they had some kind of support structure, they might be doing cooler things instead of working at the local Gap.

      Yes, school work may be dull and difficult but there may be some merit to the argument that games addictive and draw our attention away from topics no matter how interesting or uninteresting they are. I think this study is not about blaming video games but in realizing that people have low self control and need help.

  3. Awesome. by Flurf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, 91.5% of young gamers are completely fine and video games in no way have altered their academic or social habits? Cool.

  4. Re:Begging the Question by gadget+junkie · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'd discipline my son when he lies about homework, if only I could quit playing COD4.

    --
    "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)