Do we need video gamers anonymous? Youths around the world are becoming hooked on MMOG’s, massive multiplayer online games, and some are wondering if video game addiction is real.
Craig Smallwood of Hawaii filed a lawsuit against NCSoft Corporation for failing to warn him of the dangers of video game addiction. Smallwood claims to have played more than 20,000 hours of the game Lineage II between 2004 and 2009. His addiction left him unable to bathe, dress or communicate with friends without assistance.
Many of Smallwood’s claims were dismissed by a federal judge, but the court ruled that negligence, gross negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress are valid charges against NCSoft.
Although there is no formal diagnosis for video game addiction in medical literature, some have proposed it be included in the next addition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to be published in 2012.
“The more we looked at it, the more we saw gaming was taking over the lives of kids,” Keith Baker, director of Smith and Jones Addiction Consultants told online health care site WebMD.com. Smith and Jones started one of the first video game detoxification centers in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The center is designed to help patients replace fantasy world excitement with real world activities like group therapy and social interaction.
When people hear about video game addiction they often think of an adolescent male spending countless hours glued to a computer or gaming system. Yet, this is not an accurate characterization of today’s video gamers. According to Entertainment Software Association’s 2008 consumer survey, the average gamer is 35-years-old.
Its not just males who fall prey to addictive video games. The Consumer Electronics Association says that female gamers outnumber male gamers between the ages of 24 and 35.
Gamers miss real-life experience, but student gamers can also miss school work and can compromise their future careers. “I guess I have played World of Warcraft instead of doing school work. And yeah, my grades have suffered for it,” said SRJC student Jan Pechbrener. “I feel like I’m accomplishing something in the game, and I want to keep going. And I am doing it with other people so it creates a good feeling.” But he says that video games have never affected his in-class performance.
Pechbrener’s words sum up the addictive qualities of MMOG’s. This relatively new form of gaming has taken the video game world by storm. Since 1985, commercially available multiplayer online gaming has made its way to becoming the most popular and most addicting form of video gaming.
Players from different countries can all meet in one virtual world, coordinating group efforts to achieve game objectives via head set intercom. The interaction between players and the ability to work together with team members in real time gives a heightened feeling of reward. This adds tremendously to the addictive nature of MMOG.
“Your constantly playing with new people, so it is a different experience every time,” said SRJC student Jesse Langland, who has tested video games professionally.
Grades are not the only thing at stake when it comes to video game addiction. Gaming can also compromise physical and psychological health. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that gamers are more likely to suffer from depression and be overweight than non-gamers. Gamers also rely more heavily on the internet for social interaction, foresaking personal communication for a more removed interaction.
But are video games nothing more than a frivolous waste of time? Do they have nothing more to offer than bad grades and health problems? Many gamers are perfectly comfortable admitting that their gaming habit is a waste of time, though an enjoyable waste of time.
