Psychologists: Gaming is not an official addiction

Video games and addiction seem to be the buzzwords of late 2008 and early 2009 ; with an abundance of news stories plastered online and offline.  The real question is, should excessive gaming be legally considered an addiction like gambling and alcoholism?

To start, the term addiction is used in many contexts to describe an obsession, compulsion or excessive physical dependence to things such as drugs, crime, alcoholism, eating, gambling and pornography.  In medical terms, an addiction is a state in which the body relies on a substance for normal functioning and develops a physical dependence.

So does this term apply to gaming? Well, according to psychologists it doesn’t.

Here’s why. Video game addiction is not included as a diagnosis in either the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of

Mental Disorders (DSM) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems because of the missing factor of physical dependence.   In lamens terms, your child won’t have any withdrawal symptoms if they stop playing World of Warcraft; besides the same grumpiness you’ll likely encounter when attempting to get them to go to school or when feeding them vegetables.

So why is that missing factor so important? Well it is the main reason why the government doesn’t have official gaming addiction help centres, professionals and industry experts in the field right now.

This may be the answer you didn’t want but this tidbit of information should give you an idea of what is and isn’t covered when getting help; like getting prescription medication from a doctor, assistance from an insurance company and even remedy from the video game makers.

Link: http://kiwicommons.com/2009/04/psychologists-gaming-is-not-an-official-addiction/

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction