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Video Game Addiction - An Official Disease?


TigerBright19

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Skynews:

'Video game addiction could be made an official disease after it was officially recognised and classified by the World Health Organisation'

Full report

https://news.sky.com/story/video-game-addiction-could-be-made-an-official-disease-by-the-world-health-organisation-11722511

 

Is it really that bad, and should it be treated like an obsessive compulsive disorder?

 

Edited by Aaron2016
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@Aaron2016, it's an issue because so many people seem to be susceptible to it. I've always played video games, but not really ever to any detriment.

Is it a disease? I don't know. What do you think?

But anyways, time to play some Metro Exodus (If I am lucky enough to not have another random crash, as they are still plaguing Xbone  X).

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6 minutes ago, Timothy said:

Is it a disease? I don't know. What do you think?

Addiction is a disease. Whatever form that comes in (gambling, drugs, videogames) would by extension also be a disease.

 

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1 minute ago, ExpandMyMind said:

Addiction is a disease. Whatever form that comes in (gambling, drugs, videogames) would by extension also be a disease.

What about good addictions though? 

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If video game addiction is labelled a disease or a disability, then does that mean addicted gamers can claim government disability benefits?  Does it also mean that video games will have public health warnings like cigarettes, and could serious addictions result in gamers trying to claim compensation and opening lawsuits against the gaming companies e.g like that time someone tried to sue McDonald's for making them fat.  Wonder if customers will be asked to sign a declaration or agree to the terms when they install a new game which protects the company from any lawsuits?

 

Edited by Aaron2016
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21 minutes ago, Timothy said:

What about good addictions though? 

Wouldn't that just be a habit? Then again there is a fine line between habit and addiction.

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7 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

Wouldn't that just be a habit? Then again there is a fine line between habit and addiction.

Yeah, you can be addicted to positive things though.

Might not be healthy how addicted you are psychologically, but healthy because the outcomes are favorable.

6 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

I think it isn't an addiction, more of a coping method due to some underling cause. 

Yes I agree people use it as a coping mechanism to escape reality for whatever reason. 

@Aaron2016, games which are deliberately addictive (eg. Loot boxes etc. type stuff, also games which can resemble gambling, that kinda stuff) should be on notice. 

But games which some people may get addicted to for their own reasons shouldn’t have to worry. It’s the person that is the problem, not the product.

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2 hours ago, Timothy said:

What about good addictions though? 

That's simply down to individual perception. Someone who gambles might love it, or someone who takes heroin might also love it. If it's an addiction, the brain-chemistry is basically the same no matter whether people or society think it's a good or a bad addiction.

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2 hours ago, XenoFish said:

I think it isn't an addiction, more of a coping method due to some underling cause. 

That's basically how addictions develop. 

Anyway, after searching it seems as if the psychological research or gaming addiction is still mostly unexplored, so it's open for speculation. I think that we will find in the coming years that, at least in some cases, it'll be similar to gambling, but for now everyone is right and everyone is wrong :D

Quote

With proposals to include “gaming disorder” in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and International Compendium of Diseases (ICD), the concept of video game addiction has gained traction. However, many aspects of this concept remain controversial. At present, little clarity has been achieved regarding diagnostic criteria and appropriate symptoms. It is unclear if symptoms that involve problematic video gaming behavior should be reified as a new disorder, or are the expression of underlying mental conditions. Nonetheless, the recent proposals around gaming disorder from respected bodies such as the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association seem to lock much of the applied research into a confirmatory trajectory. Since the DSM–5 proposal, research is increasingly focused on the application of the proposed criteria, as opposed to broadly testing validity and necessity of the overarching construct. This raises multiple concerns. First, the current approaches to understanding “gaming addiction” are rooted in substance abuse research and approaches do not necessarily translate to media consumption. Second, some research has indicated that “video game addiction” is not a stable construct and clinical impairment might be low. Third, pathologizing gaming behavior has fallout beyond the therapeutic setting. In light of continuing controversies, it is argued that the currently proposed categories of video game addiction disorders are premature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-29288-001?doi=1

Edited by ExpandMyMind
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15 minutes ago, ExpandMyMind said:

That's simply down to individual perception. Someone who gambles might love it, or someone who takes heroin might also love it. If it's an addiction, the brain-chemistry is basically the same no matter whether people or society think it's a good or a bad addiction.

You’ve completely missed the point. Which is why I asked the question: What about healthy addiction?

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1 hour ago, Timothy said:

You’ve completely missed the point. Which is why I asked the question: What about healthy addiction?

Define 'healthy addiction'.

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On 5/19/2019 at 1:07 AM, ExpandMyMind said:

Define 'healthy addiction'.

Addicted to healthy food, addicted to exercise, addicted to positive relationships with people. Addicted to work/sport or otherwise. Being addicted can be a great thing.

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I disagree.  Addiction by definition means obsessive/compulsive behaviour.   So even being addicted to something that would normally be good for you is still bad.   And certainly addiction to fitness, for example, can lead to many problems (and even death).  

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"Addiction to video games is now considered a mental health disorder by a leading international body.

"The World Health Organization (WHO) added video game addiction to its International Classification of Diseases in an update Saturday, according to NBC News.

"The classification refers to “gaming disorder” as "a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior" that becomes so extensive it "takes precedence over other life interests.”"

Full report at The Hill: https://thehill.com/policy/technology/445636-video-game-addiction-now-classified-as-mental-health-disorder-by-world

At NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/video-games/video-game-addiction-mental-health-disorder-world-health-organization-says-n1010441

Edited by Eldorado
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They're telling us something that some of us have known for years! :hmm:

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On 5/22/2019 at 9:18 PM, Timothy said:

Addicted to healthy food, addicted to exercise, addicted to positive relationships with people. Addicted to work/sport or otherwise. Being addicted can be a great thing.

Addiction means that you are physically or mentally dependent on the thing you are addicted to. All of the things above are good habits in moderation, but as soon as they become an addiction they start becoming unhealthy.

(i.e. Excessive eating, exercising or working is arguably as unhealthy as some of the known 'bad' addictions).

Having good habits is a great thing, having any form of addiction is a bad thing by definition as it infers a dependency on the substance/action.

Habit - Repetitive action/practice.

Addiction - Repetitive action/practice due to dependency.

Hope this helps to clear things up.

^_^.

Edited by Unfortunately
Dependent, not dependant. D:<
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  • 2 weeks later...
2 hours ago, aztek said:

actually addiction ,and dependency are not the same thing

They're also not mutually exclusive.

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On 5/22/2019 at 4:18 AM, Timothy said:

Addicted to healthy food, addicted to exercise, addicted to positive relationships with people. Addicted to work/sport or otherwise. Being addicted can be a great thing.

There are people so addicted to runner's high that they're essentially killing themselves.

So if it's really addiction, it ends up being bad. 

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I always thought a disease was communicable while a disorder was something you had but couldn’t spread.

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On 18.5.2019 at 11:49 AM, Aaron2016 said:

Is it really that bad, and should it be treated like an obsessive compulsive disorder?

Doing what you are is not a disease.

Our brain functions like a computer, so working and playing with one is like meeting your perfect match.

I've read about people marrying buildings and bridges. Marrying your favorite game seems like the next logic step.

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On 08/06/2019 at 11:16 AM, GlitterRose said:

There are people so addicted to runner's high that they're essentially killing themselves.

So if it's really addiction, it ends up being bad. 

That’s a bad addiction. 

But I’m talking more like a ‘high functioning’ running addict.

Could that be more beneficial than detrimental? 

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On 6/9/2019 at 9:25 PM, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

I always thought a disease was communicable while a disorder was something you had but couldn’t spread.

You might be confusing disease with virus (which is a type of disease). Diseases aren't inherently communicable.

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