Game Addiction: Myth or Reality?

[robwright]

In 2001, Elizabeth Woolley's son, a heavy EverQuest player, committed suicide. Woolley believes her son's addiction to the popular MMORPG is to blame, and as a result, she started a 12-step support group called On-Line Gamers Anonymous. TwitchGuru talks with Woolley about the issue of game addiction.

 

[caamsa]

Sad case. Anything can pretty much become and addiction. My belief is that people with adiciton problems are predisposed to addictions.

Things can be physically adictive or mentally adictive take your choice.

I think a true adiction to a computer game is a fairly rare thing.

More people are ceratinly adicted to gambing/lottery than computer games.

I am sure there are a few people out there that are addicted to board games or role playing games etc.

Treating people with mental health problems is difficult and usually takes a long time. The insurance companies want a quick fix and don't want to pay for long term treatment.

I would be willing to bet that this young man who killed himself had a history (from a very young age) of mental health problems.

“Whatever you do, do it in moderation”

 

[Shadowolf]

I feel that the responsibility should fall on both the gamer and the game manufacturer. I also feel that there needs to some sort of help more readily/easily available for people to get the help needed, and as with gambling and alcohol addiction the game manufacturer should be stepping up and offering some support. These are "only" games and people need to realize that, it is ok to have fun and immerse yourself in a game but life must go on and you have to take responsibility for that either by realizing you have a problem or by accepting other peoples help....you are not always right and often cannot see that you have an issue.

 

[sojrner]

Good article, good interview. She has a fair assessment of what role games have in all of this. (violence, addiction...) I appreciate that she is not out there using the memory of her son trying to "ban" games as so many others have used for guns, drugs and the like. She does her son honor by taking the approach she is and weighing where the responsibility lies. I also think the reference to gambling is spot-on.

I am an avid player, founding a local LAN organization and I love working with all kinds of related things. Personally, I do not have the time to devote to any online game. (Plus I get annoyed that they demand full price for the game AND a monthly fee) I have 2 kids and do keep up on all of this though, b/c as they get older they will be confronted with mmo's.

I feel that all the issues with games outside of the addiction problem (i.e. violence) are not a problem if parents are involved in the kids life. Just like monitoring the movies kids watch, parents need to know what they are playing. Woolley mentioned games that her son played and that points to her knowing what was up. Naturally, we are talking about a grown man so she does not have the same influence as if her son were 10 yrs old. Most parents I know do not even know those names though, let alone the ratings or content. They let their kids run their own life with no supervision. (I am not referring to Woolley here, just a general observation)

Interesting that there might be a correlation with ADD. There could be something going on there that we have yet to unlock. Or perhaps the developers of these games have already done so? Perhaps they hired some of the developers from the gambling industry? There is a connection there, and I think Woolley is on to something there.

Overall, good word.

 

[Stewartwi]

Maybe it's just me but if my kid had low-grade depression and schizoid personality disorder and ADD to boot they wouldn't be playing videos games even if I had to take a hammer to the computer.

I'm really sorry her son died but maybe there are some other issues to blame besides the game itself. I used to play for 15+ hours a day on EQ and WOW and I still managed to work end up getting married have a kid and do other things. Granted everything had it's own day. For instance if I wanted to go the movies it would be Friday and it would a movie night or if I wanted to table top game it would be Saturday and it would be a gaming night. Yet, that's neither here nor there I still whole heartedly believe it's the individual gamers to blame and not video game companies. I play CS:S everyday and I've never shot anyone.

Just my 2 copper though.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

Interesting topic.

I think a lot of research needs to be done. I have read an article stating that people with mental conditions tend to be more addicted than people without mental conditions. I wish i can find the article but i'm sure you'll find one relating to it with an internet search.

Research should be done to find out a link between someone with ADD which isn't serious to then turning the kid to schizophrenic depressent. If that's the case well then lets find out. Get a study together and figure out what is causing the personality paradigm shift.

I know EQ eventually put up a timer that would log you off after so many hours you allotted for. I really liked this idea because i'd play and then it would log me off and shut the game down after 2 hours of play. After that i'd say hey 2 hours i'm done and move on with life. Just got another idea, offer parental control on the account where the person has so many hours to play per day. I think, not sure, World of Warcraft does this. Should every game be forced to program these into the game? I think perhaps it should. It doesn't take much effort to put it in. Would putting this in save lives? hey perhaps it will as it detours addictive play.

Perhaps gaming companies should be responsible to provide the tools to detour addiction. Ie a timer like the one i explained. As far as the actions of people who become addicted well gaming companies can't be responsible for what others do. Ie violence - that is entirely different than addiction.

I've been playing violent video games and watching violent movies since i was 7. I've never had any urge to kill anyone. If you blame violent video games you need to blame violent movies, music, parents, kids etc ... You can't exclude one violent medium over the other because you favor, listen, are, seen that other medium.

All in all lets be real addiction is real and parents need to pay attention to it and be a parent. Gaming companies need to take responsibility and offer tools to detour such addictions.

 

[tmouse]

I was involved early on with some beta testing of the first on-line games and to tell you the truth it was scary how many teens spent 60-100 hours a week playing them. Some would literally play non stop through the weekend. I cannot believe spending literally 35-60% of your life in a game is healthy. I do not believe the industry is deliberately planning these trends but they certainly are turning a blind eye to it and making lot money in the process. A little proactive activity by the industry could prevent some serious backlash later.

 

[xxsk8er101xx]

I was involved early on with some beta testing of the first on-line games and to tell you the truth it was scary how many teens spent 60-100 hours a week playing them. Some would literally play non stop through the weekend. I cannot believe spending literally 35-60% of your life in a game is healthy. I do not believe the industry is deliberately planning these trends but they certainly are turning a blind eye to it and making lot money in the process. A little proactive activity by the industry could prevent some serious backlash later.

Ya i don't get it how kids can spend so many hours playing. where are the parents ya know?

 

[truerock]

The cause of gambling addiction is reasonably understood:

"norepinephrine is secreted under stress, arousal, or thrill, so pathological gamblers gamble to make up for their underdosage"

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_addiction

"Gambling addiction" can involve various activities other than gambling - addiction to stock market trading, incessant sports viewing, etc.

Shawn Woolley's unfortunate death was not caused by a video game. It was caused by his depression and other mental issues.

 

[CyberWeasel4096]

here we go again, you cant blame the developers for anything just because there is and absolute minority of people who get addicted to any particular game. as far as suicide is concerned i dont fully believe it had anything to do with a game i think there is something more to it, there are levels of addiction but its an addiction non the less. personally i do have a history of game addiction back at 05-60 i moved away from LA the city i lived in most of my life i just got done with high school too, i pretty much lost contact with my friends because of the distance. eventually i got my hands on World of Warcraft i started to play online until i found myself in my room the whole day playing i would wake up at 7am to play go to sleep all the way till 5am at time although not really continuos gameplay it was really close. this is where things get interesting i fell into depression soon after, my parents would plead and talk to me to stop playing the game or at least in moderation and to go outside and go place i really did not listen eventually suicide came to mind but luckily around that time my dad canceled the my internet with the provider. soon after things got worse all i thought of and even dreamed was suicide and i even had anger towards my parents, but i think that getting in touch with my emotions completely helped me break the depression, something i noticed from all this is that i kinda used the game almost like a depression pill, you know to numb or to make me forget whats really going on and although it felt good while playing it really was not helping. my only opinion to those that are dealing with something like this, and if you find yourself in a similar situation you have to talk to somebody i know that someone who is addicted like me did not ask for help because i really did not know i was doing so bad. so thats why parents have to stay alert its not really that hard when you see your son on the computer for way too long and if this becomes a continuos thing or with any other thing you first talk to them and if does not work you target the the problem cut the internet take the pc cut the money do something and be more responsible. and with addictions you can be sneaky when my dad just took my power cable i rushed the same day to comp usa and got spares so even take the damn harddrive if you have too or sell the pc.

 

[sojrner]

I totally agree with you on parental involvement in kids' lives. Heck, my son and daughter will NOT have a comp in their bedroom. It will be in the family room or something. Same as the xbox or whatever. Same as the board games and other stuff. The availability of porn and all the other crap on comps prevents me from letting that be a private thing.

I did not feel that there was total blame being put on developers though, only a connection to how online games are made to keep you "strung out" on the game while other games are not. I did not think she was saying it was all their fault. She just made a very strong connection to how they are made. She even said Doom and others were not a problem. To me, that is a pretty fair judgment.

Gambling machines are made to keep you on, giving out small doses of what you crave to keep you there. Is that the fault of the designers? You bet it is, they designed the "game" with that in mind. Are they taking advantage of the human condition to become addicted? Yup. Should they be punished? well... This is almost a "chicken or egg" argument. Is it your fault for letting yourself (or your kids) get addicted or is it the fault of the one that gave you the addicting item/substance/whatever? Honestly, fault is on both sides from a moral perspective. Gambling "game" designers maybe take more than not because they are predatory in their designing. JMO of course.

Should we legislate it so that designers are at fault? I don't believe that is a solution. Ppl with addictive personalities will find what they crave from wherever they need to look. Legal or otherwise. Education to friends and family is the only fix. If those who love you can't get to you and help pull you out (or show you your folly) then you may be lost for good. That is why groups like Woolley's are such a good thing. Information and providing a path for redemption are the only real solution.

It is the sick that need a physician, not the healthy. If you do not know yourself (or your friend) to be sick, then you do not need to get better. This does not mean that developers of addictive "traps" are off the hook, but it does place some of that blame on the ignorance/naivety of those getting caught.

 

[infornography42]

This is a complicated issue.

First off is the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. The depression and Schizoid Personality Disorder or the game addiction.
Depression at least is a disorder that has a strong biological component, so at the very least he was strongly predisposed to depression before EQ. Schizoid Personality Disorder could have manifested after the addiction as a response to the combination of addiction and depression.

Overall, he sounds like he was at risk to begin with. Does that mean that nobody is at all responsible? That is hard to say. On the one hand, everyone should be held accountable for their actions, but on the other hand, he was clearly diagnosed as mentally ill and there was no effective treatment available for him. On the other side of the coin you have a company whose profits depend upon people keeping a fairly expensive subscription to their service, and as a result, they program it to be addictive. In fact many of these games are praised for their addictive nature. On the other hand it does exacerbate existing mental problems to extremely unhealthy proportions. Should they carry any blame for that?

Blame and responsibility are difficult to assess when we are talking about the mentally ill. They, by the very fact that they are mentally ill, are not normal. I think the best way to handle it is to try to deal with this as a culture and not try too hard to point fingers.

Violent video games quite clearly (based upon violent crime data over the past 20 or so years) do not cause violent behavior. Unfortunately I do not have access to good statistics on percentages of population addicted to video games. It is difficult to say we need to make large sweeping changes either legally or ethically if this only affects .01% of the population. On the other hand if it affects 10% of the population we have a rather notable problem and probably should enact change.

Given that Olganon has seen a high percentage of ADD people addicted to MMORPGs and that ADD people make up between 8% and 15% of the population depending on who you ask, one would think this is cause for alarm, but keep in mind, we may still only be talking about .1% of people with ADD here. There could easily be other factors involved. I personally have been diagnosed with a rather strong case of ADD, but I have yet to suffer true video game addiction despite my time played. Most of my friends are clearly ADD, but still have lives outside of their games and hold stable jobs.

I would say that the safer assumption is that we are talking about less than 1% of the population and quite possibly less than .1% of the population. Does this mean we should ignore the problem? Absolutely not. But it does mean that legislation would probably be misguided, hamfisted, and ineffectual. The best solution is to find effective means of helping people with MMO addictions and making the gaming population aware of the contributing factors, signs, and effects of video game addiction as well as where they can go for help.

Now I hate to say this but 12 step programs are not likely to be the best solution, or even an effective one. Studies have shown that they have about the same success rate as any other support group and have the side effect of not being at all effective with atheists and agnostics since the 12 step formula relies upon faith in god. With this in mind Olganon could do a great service by being a reliable point of contact for these people and their loved ones who can then direct them to other treatment centers and such.

 

[srgess]

Its a reality, im not pointing out the finger to no one but at least his parent should have shutdown is pc and force him to work or something. Im telling that because i was myself addicted to World of Warcraft, i was playing 7 day and from the morning to midnight, we were raiding hardcore more then 10 hours straight and when i was not raiding with my guild well i was doing pvp or something else in the same game. At some point my parent was wondering what happen to me, etc.. Well after i realize with them how this is a waste of time etc.. so i stopped the game sold my account, believe it or not for 1700$US and im back to school and learning a very good profession. The game was fun but for me it was the 50-60 people on ventrillo and speaking while playing was better. If i have kids one day and i see my kid play that kind of game, i will warm them or something to stop them to be addictive. After all i dont regret my 2 year hardcore world of warcraft playing. But for someone that don't have a job, profession stable and don't affect them in real life its okay.

 

[robwright]

First off, I just want to say that I appreciate that the comments on this thread have been thoughtful and intelligent (so far). This is a sensitive and controversial topic, obviously. I can't say that I wasn't worried how some readers would respond to this interview, but I think you guys have handled it maturely and respectfully, even if you disagree with the interview, on this forum.

Second, I personally think Liz Woolley makes a great point about game addiction vs. violent games. From my own personal experience, I've never met or spoken with anyone that felt that violent video games affected them adversely or somehow harmed them mentally. However, in the short time that I've been covering MMOs, I've met and spoken with dozens of people who freely admit they were seriously addicted to EverQuest, WoW or others MMOs and that their compulsions to play hurt their personal relationships, career, etc.

I'm not saying I want the government to regulate MMOs or start legislating games to be non-addictive, but I do agree with Liz about addiction being a bigger concern that violent games.

 

[srgess]

First off, I just want to say that I appreciate that the comments on this thread have been thoughtful and intelligent (so far). This is a sensitive and controversial topic, obviously. I can't say that I wasn't worried how some readers would respond to this interview, but I think you guys have handled it maturely and respectfully, even if you disagree with the interview, on this forum.

Second, I personally think Liz Woolley makes a great point about game addiction vs. violent games. From my own personal experience, I've never met or spoken with anyone that felt that violent video games affected them adversely or somehow harmed them mentally. However, in the short time that I've been covering MMOs, I've met and spoken with dozens of people who freely admit they were seriously addicted to EverQuest, WoW or others MMOs and that their compulsions to play hurt their personal relationships, career, etc.

I'm not saying I want the government to regulate MMOs or start legislating games to be non-addictive, but I do agree with Liz about addiction being a bigger concern that violent games.

No one is responsive and no one need to regulate MMOs its on the market and its your own choice to play it or not. I know i am pushing it far but take exemple of cigarette, smoking can kill you long term; its your own choice to smoke them. But all i have to say is about weapon wich in the usa its too easy to get one. Sure people buy gun to use it for deer hunting etc.. Its your choice if you want to use it for that or something else... But the best choice is to make some advertising on the games maybe on the box that the game can make the gamer addictive. This is simple do to and people will be warmed before they play.

 

[Verbosity]

Can games, especially online video games, be addictive? Although some have already mentioned the underlying neuro-chemical factors and the reward schedule similar to that of casino games, I would urge you to read A Behavioral Approach to Video Game Design. It covers the basics of operant conditioning and reward schedules quite well. The inclusion of a bibliography also lends credibility. (I did not check the sources. Although I am still a student, it conforms to what I have been taught so far in psychology.) After reading the article, I'd be surprised if you said that video games - especially online video games - are not addictive.

However, because I am currently in a Sleep Mechanisms and Sleep Disorders class at the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, I find the behavioral changes in sleep to be a very intriguing aspect of the gaming addiction. An intermittent or irregular sleep schedule can cause profound changes in a person's mood or personality. Depression, antisocial behavior, and irritability can all symptoms of insomnias and circadian rhythm disorders. However, there are also increased cardiovascular risks associated with sleep disorders (including circadian disorders and sleep apneas). With such a large body of anecdotal evidence over the marathon sessions online gamers engage in (my own anecdote included from when I played "Evercrack" when it first was released), there is a good probability that some cases of mental illness are a side effect of playing the game.

How should we treat recovering online gamers? First, a slight correction to the nature of 12 step programs - they require acknowledgement of a higher power than oneself and not a god specifically. This is useful as it helps the person understand that many things are in their control, but not everything. However, since the disorder involves both mood and personality changes, short term use of pharmacological agents may be needed in moderate to severe cases of addiction in order for psychological therapy to be productive. These could help the patient restore proper sleep hygiene and stabilize a their moods until natural circadian rhythms take hold.

It is interesting to note that several of the posts seem to be assuming a demographic of teenage males (and teenagers already have a phase advanced in their circadian cycles that are fully natural and cause minimal disruptions). Although male dominated, I think the demographic is slightly older than what is being assumed. While I had encountered a large number of minors playing the game, I find that there is a significant population of college age and young adult players. I have no data on this, so I cannot say if they make up a majority. However, I would be shocked if minors were the majority.

Where does responsibility lie? Both with the players (or their parents) and the game companies. To say one or the other is solely responsible would be a bit foolish. However, I do feel the industry currently hold a slightly greater responsibility at this time. Had the industry acknowledged that their games are designed to have an addictive component akin to that found in casino games, would Elizabeth Woolley had the same difficulty in finding proper support for her son prior to his committing suicide? I think the industry needs to step forward before individuals start pressing for government regulation, much in the same way they founded the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) before the government implemented legislation.

For the specific topic of minors, the parents play a significant role. I am always astounded by parents who want the industry to restrict what I, as an adult, can watch in general or during specific time periods when they have a TV in every bedroom. The same applies to internet use and computers. I've also heard the comment "but they'll just go over to their friends house if I take it out of there room". My response? So why would to let them go there - and if they are going there without your permission, then why are you letting you children set their own rules? Although there are truly extreme cases where children are uncontrollable, there are also just as many cases where parents don't want to put forth the effort in raising their children. My experiences at Denny's as a waiter taught me this. Many parents would let their children throw food, yell, scream, run around, and scribble with crayons on menus and tables. We all have seen misbehaving children in grocery stores. Sometimes, parents don't control children because of fear that they will be seen as abusers and thus reported to child services. Usually it is because they don't want another "fight" with their child. In the end, though, the parent is just that - the parent. There are times when, no matter how much it may cause conflicts, they have to say no. No, you can't have a TV or computer in your bedroom. No, you can't watch that program or go online right now. No, you can't go to your friends house because their parents allow things we don't - but your friend can come over here! No, you can't have a personal cell phone - but you must take a family phone with you any time you go out so we can reach you. No, you can't stay up all night reading a book. No, you can't buy a toy today. Unfortunately, parenting involves saying no a lot.

In conclusion, online games are most definitely addictive. However, like all addictions, use of an online game does not guarantee a player will become addicted - just as going to a casino or buying lottery tickets does not guarantee you will become a gambling addict. We do not expect casinos to show that gambling is 100% addictive, and we should not make this same requirement of online gaming companies. The industry has a responsibility to acknowledge the harmful side effects that their product can cause and educate their uses on the potential hazards. These can be subtle such as total playtime reminders during play or more direct such as working with various professional organizations like the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to increase awareness of the hazards so that people like Elizabeth Woolley can get the help they seek. Once the industry acknowledges and informs the public of these risks, then individual responsibility will become more important. When talking about minors, the importance of strong parenting must be emphasized. The industry should not be required to be 'surrogate parents' for the child when they play such games.

Does any of this help Elizabeth Woolley? No. Unfortunately, tragedy must sometimes be endured to bring out strong leaders. One example that comes to mind is John Walsh. Perhaps both will find comfort in knowing that their battles will spare others from the pain they have endured.

[I apologize - I intended a brief response. Thank you for taking the time to read this post and viewing the article on the reward schedules of video games.]

 

[Verbosity]

No one is responsive and no one need to regulate MMOs its on the market and its your own choice to play it or not. I know i am pushing it far but take exemple of cigarette, smoking can kill you long term; its your own choice to smoke them. But all i have to say is about weapon wich in the usa its too easy to get one. Sure people buy gun to use it for deer hunting etc.. Its your choice if you want to use it for that or something else... But the best choice is to make some advertising on the games maybe on the box that the game can make the gamer addictive. This is simple do to and people will be warmed before they play.

You make some good points, and I think your examples show why some level of regulation may be needed. Both cigarettes and firearms are regulated products. These products are restricted because our society feels that a minor does not have the proper faculties to adequately weigh the risks of using the product. For cigarettes, they may not recognize the physical dangers to their health. For firearms, they may not recognize the danger the weapons may pose to other people.

Your analogies would suggest that restricting the sales of the software and time cards to adults would be warranted. Although your post seemed to imply you would not be for this, I think there would be a significant portion of parents who would welcome this restriction. Remember, when these games first were released they required the use of a credit card. Thus by design they were restricted to adult use since a minor could not legally own a credit card. Unfortunately, the online subscription cards have now changed that model. Perhaps it is time to reinstate it.[/i]

 

[caamsa]

At the time, I took a very critical and skeptical point of view of these treatment facilities and help groups like Olganon. It wasn't that I outright dismissed the notion of some gamers having a compulsion to play far too many hours. However, I felt the responsibility was on the individual gamers and not the game designers or publishers. For the most part, I'm still reluctant to blame game developers for the problems that a small number of gamers have in being able to quit - or at least control their playing time with - an MMORPG like World or WarCraft. But after talking with many people over the last year who have been consumed with MMOs, including members of Olganon, I've come to feel that the issue isn't as black and white as I once believed it was.

This part of your article is a very critical piece because you are right nothing is just black and white. Things are always much more complicated than they appear on the surface. There are numerous situations/categories that people can fall under and the number is as large as there are people on the planet. In your own family you can probably identify family members who suffer from some kind of mental condition that may not be serve enough to diagnose. Most people have some point in there life when they have a difficult time. Easily things can spiral out of control if they go unoticed and even if they are noticed some times there is nothing that a person can do to help. I imagine if this person was not adicted to Evenquest and had never been exposed to it he probably would have still developed a mental illness and would have probably ended his life anyway.

 

[ecilopaveht]

It is truly sad that she lost her son, and again I don’t want to finger point, but what about the responsibly of a parent? Why is it always someone else’s fault? Last I checked Everquest has a monthly subscription, who paid that? I doubt it was her son, according to her he stayed away from people and was a loner. Who's computer did he use, Family, did he have his own in his room, Why did it not get taken away when there were problems?

So many unanswered questions. This issues lies deeper then just a computer game addiction; there were severe mental issues that were not addressed with her son. This is not someone else’s fault, look in the mirror. Take some responsibility as a parent.

 

[wanderingdrunk]

In my young life I have had many addictions at one time or another. From nicotine to coke and alcohol. Most of these addictions were terrible enough I never stuck with them for too long fortunatley with the exception of alcohol. I got into WoW as my first MMO when it was released nov.23 04'. At first it was like any other game, I played relativley casual and just to escape the tediums of life. After a while I really started to get into it, with raiding and being involved in a fairly large guild, I was quite enjoying the power positions in the game heirarchy and whatnot. Soon after the game began to consume me, and for quite a while I chose to remain ignorant of the damages it was doing. In the end I stopped working for a year, to drink beer and raid. The effects though were equally as bad if not worse as a hard drug for me in MANY ways. At least with drugs you are usually doing it with ppl and have a stong social life. With WoW it rly did a number on me and damaged my relationships and the ability to maintain or make new ones.

As in the past realizing I was addicted and I was damaging my life eventually started to sink in. So I withdrew from WoW to play other games on a very casual basis, as well as work on gettiung my life back on track. I still drink ocassionally, I play LOTRO maybe a few hours a week (great mmo by the way), and live a more balanced life then ever before. I think once I get more physically fit, I will get the great words of wisdom "moderation is key" tatoo'd across my chest so I never be so ignorant of what I had been preahed a million times.

I admire the ppl who are speaking out about this because it is a very real thing and certainly can be dangerous. I am going to go as far as to say this: it is even more dangerous than a hard drug, because if you are a person predisposed to addiction, and dont know it, you wont even realize it until it has already hurt you bad. At least with almost any drug, you would have to be a complete idiot nowadays to not realize what you were getting yourself into. Most gamers wouldnt even consider any game being so addictive as to seriously sidetrack your life for the worse.


Anyways I look forward to seeing how these issues develope

 

[Zito]

Online game addiction ~ WOW ~ what a huge topic and what a bigger issue. Reading through these first few posts I see a tendancy to peg this as a male centric issue. Let's keep in mind that Second Life draws more than 50% of it's membership from the female gender.
How's that for a segue? Talk about online addiction...I've personally teetered on the edge of serious Real Life disruption over a recent 6 month period as an active Second Life citizen. Not dismissing the seriousness of suicide related to online addictions, I will say there is more likely a much greater percentage of people just consumed with the coitel experience of being immersed who would never consider taking one's own life ~ but the question still remains ~ by way of giving up their Real Lives, haven't they committed suicide in a Virtual kind of way? Ponder that...
I know one gal, an employee of a major medical services provider in the New Jersey area, who spends nearly every waking hour connected to SL ~ including sneaking on any chance she gets during business trips to Atlanta. This gal pulls six figures, and yet, gets away with living a dual role on the fly during what accounts for a typical 50 hour work week. Now if shiat like that can exist in the medical industry we should all be asking ourselves what has our society gotten itself into with this online revolution... I for one have a much better grasp of what contributes to high costs associated with health care...

Point being in all of this ~ online addiction affects way more people than single stories of suicide tend to reveal. Again I'm in no way suggesting matters of suicide should be trivialized, addiction resulting in loss of life (fatal) is indeed a tragedy and needs a serious look ~ but so is the greater community of folks addicted to online nonsense and where no one is necessarily suicidal but no less lifeless.

...and certainly evolving into a vast pool of non contributors to the society as a whole!

Unplug folks.
Second Life is an awful trap created by a group of profiteers and consumed by a vast majority of people in need of some serious help...

 

[redraider_gamer]

Game addition is an absolute reality and a problem. Don't blame the game manufacturers. This is not cigs. Don't blame the stores. This is not drug dealing.

The game makers make the best games they can and some have done it very well (EQ, WoW, BF2 to note a few).

It is personal responsibility and it is up to the individual to manage their life. We each have our demons and we will each overcome (or not) as our brain directs.

Freedom of choice is the heart of American society, and for better or worse, this is part of it.

Keep making good games. People take responsibility for your own actions.

 

[elkad]

Until I see a 14yr old kid selling his body on a streetcorner to pay his monthly MMO fee, it isn't an addiction.

 

[Insane_Maniac]

Thank you for interviewing her. This is a very insightful article and I am glad that there is a support group for people who are addicted to games. But I am going to disagree because policitians like Hilary Clinton and lawyers like Jack Thompson would try to use game addiction at more ammunition to try and "ban/regulate" the sale of games with sex and violence. The line between influence of video games and addiction is a very thin line, and sadly some people cannot see the difference and will try to find a connection between the two.

I think it's ultimately up to the individual themselves to decide whether they are fit to play the game. At the same time, if developers added some kind of disclaimer about the effects of this game and whatnot, added in with better education for the gamer, the gamer's family and friends, this problem might not become very rampant. I know Jagex Limited has put a small guide on how to lay Runescape moderately. Towards the end of their little guidet they say that Runescape is just a game and that you should just have fun, not indulge your entire life into it.

If the government tried to hold the developers accountable for things like this, we could possibly see less of a viable market for MMO's, FPS, ORTS, etc etc. If company A were held responsible and charged or something with the death of an individual company B would most likely change their plans and develop games in other genres and push away the consumer that was originally catered to the consumer of that specific genre.

Both the developers and the gamers themselves should take a more proactive approach with the though, "Anything is addictive, why shouldnt this game be any different?" Anyone can be addicted to almost anything, people must come to realize that no matter how strong theire will or how determined they are, their just as easy prey as say the Alcoholic or Heroine addict. Moving on, adding a disclaimer into the game could help diffuse and warn the gamer and the gamer's family and friends about the dangers of constantly playing an MMO for extended periods of time. But ultimately is up to us as individuals to decide when to put down the controller, keyboard/mouse.

 

[Gamersmom]

Thank you, Rob, for this article, and for taking the time to explore this topic further and consider all the implications. There need to be more discussions like this, and more education of the general public. As you can doubtless tell by my nickname, I have a personal perspective on this problem.

I have a 20-year-old son who became addicted to the World of Warcraft. He was a bright, social, witty young man with all A's and B's in high school, a bunch of hobbies, and a boatload of friends. He had NO prior mental health issues of any kind. No addictions, compulsions, obsessions, anxiety, depression, or psychosis. He comes from a loving 2-parent church-going family. He went to a university 2 hours from here and became addicted to the game to the point where he was not eating, not going to class, and cut off communication with us (turned off cellphone and unplugged room phone). He did not read his e-mail or his campus mail. He missed registration deadlines and finally flunked out. He came home an anxious, phobic shell with a vacant stare. He could not converse with another human being, could not even make eye contact. He could not put two words together on a piece of paper. It was the most frightening thing I have ever seen. I am a family physician and I would not have believed this if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. He went through actual withdrawal symptoms when he came home. Extreme hypersomnia--slept 20 hours a day. Extreme anxiety and lack of focus. He is slowly returning to normal. We did a number of things to help him through this and he has done a number of things for himself, but he's not out of the woods yet, one year later.

You will see it written frequently that gaming addiction is not a recognized psychiatric diagnosis. The only reason this is true is that the last edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Psychiatric Diagnosis was written based on research available through 1992. 1992. How many of you even had the internet in your homes in 1992? This will change in the next edition. I guarantee it.

Who is responsible for what happened to my son? Obviously he is partly responsible, but I gotta put partial blame on a company that markets a game that eventually requires 8-10 hour non-stop gaming sessions to continue to advance, a game that never ends (and never will for at least the next 12 years). Could I have prevented what happened? I am a concerned, involved parent. I had no idea that there were games that never end, that REQUIRE my son's presence online for hours at a time. I had no idea that he COULD get addicted to a game (he has been exposed to other addictive substances and NEVER got addicted). I was busy watching out for drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes (and successfully too).

I raised a good boy, but when he went to college, I no longer had control over his gaming. He went away to college where they protected him from his evil parents. Professors practically gloated over the fact that they did not have to share any information about his academic prgress with us. No one was concerned that he wasn't eating, wasn't going to class, wasn't even leaving his room.

Yes, parents should limit their kids' computer access, but you must remember that there are people out there telling them that computer games will HELP their ADD, teach them better hand-eye coordination, and make them more social, and many parents are not aware of the dangers. Many parents DO try to limit access, but obsessive players will hack around passwords, play at night when parents are asleep, hack neighbors' wireless networks, play at friends' houses (should we keep the kid at home and NEVER let him leave the house?), pick locks designed to lock them out of the computer room, hack around parental controls, and most recently a lady told me her son (a minor) hacked her business account password and held her business accounts hostage to get his computer back after she locked it up. So please, don't tell the parents of an addicted gamer to "just say no".

Yes, kids with pre-existing mental health issues are probably more susceptible to gaming addiction, but my kid was ABSOLUTELY NORMAL before this happened. Saying that the addict must have some pre-existing issues just gives the parents of normal kids a false sense of security. It can happen to anyone. Gaming addiction can CAUSE mental illness. I've seen it happen. Liz is right when she says Everquest changed her son's personality. World of Warcraft changed my son's personality.

I am one of the medical professionals at OLGA-non that Liz referred to. My mission is to support other parents who are facing the same problems I did, and to educate parents, teachers, college and university staff members, and other medical providers about the existance of this problem. It is not rare. Whenever I speak of it in a small group of 2 or 3 people, at least one of them has a child or a niece or nephew that they've been concerned about.

Thank you again Rob.