I've always felt there was such thing as game addiction. Never impacted me personally (at least I don't think so). But seeing someone first hand drop basically all important factors to play an MMO was past just "binging".
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WHO Classifies Gaming Dependence As Disease
- Thread starter Eroke
- Start date
You can be addicted to anything. Having classifications for it helps you get the correct treatment for it.
And today I realized just how little is known about addiction from all the shit replies I've seen on my Twitter. People really out here saying shit like "well I know people who play sports who play through the injuries, etc" and I'm just thinking to myself "and that's NOT a problem?????"
Difference here is that many games (most modern AAA and mobile games in fact) are designed to be addictive. They purposely manipulate people by exploiting vulnerabilities in those who are prone to addictive tendencies (through techniques such as operant conditioning and extrinsic motivation).
Just like tobacco and alcohol, a huge chunk of video games are purposely designed to be unhealthily addictive. It's not the same as binge watching TV, or being obsessed with knitting. It's much closer to the former than the latter.
And while not all games are designed to be exploitative in this way; there is a huge swarth of games that are. Certainly enough to warrant its inclusion on WHO's list of mental health disorders.
I fucking knew gamers weren't right in the head (half /s)
Anything can be addictive to the point of being a disorder tbh, and this seems fair to me.
Anything can be addictive to the point of being a disorder tbh, and this seems fair to me.
User banned (3 days): Inflammatory false equivalency, dismissing concerns surrounding serious addiction problems.
I have a friend who is addicted to jumping out of airplanes. He has over 2000 jumps and spent a fortune on it. Maybe he has an airplane jumping disease.
This probably can only be a good thing. Even though it (gaming addiction) can often be more of a sympton than a cause. But even then, it's something people need help with. Just escaping other problems to the virtual worlds isn't healthly and helpful in the long run. Getting one's depression or social anxiety treatead can at the same time help with video game addiction.
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The gaming industry is way too big for a bunch of tabloids or morning shows to be able to shut it down.
Occasionally playing a game for an entire day is not a sign of addiction.
Not being able to keep a job or get mundane tasks done due to gaming is an addiction.
Do they spend the majority of their waking time jumping out of planes? Do they struggle to perform regular daily tasks due to going plane jumping?
This is a silly comparison.
I almost fell in to addiction if it wasn't for my mom having a talk about how much I was playing games over doing activities or help the family with projects when I was little. I think for many of us we have people like my mom or some sort of community that helped us find a balance but what about those who weren't able to find it? The people who only enjoyment is games and they do not but games? It sad that seeing a good amount of twitter joking about this with the idea of getting disability benefits is missing the important part of this classification.
Its not that silly. People with addictive personalities will become addicted to whatever becomes the hook. Even something as healthy as running can become an addiction for people (chasing the runners high), and yes this can be dangerous despite how healthy running normally is.
TV addiction is a thing and still being researched too. I imagine anyone that suffers from that has it worse off in this era of streamable media where everything is a click away and seasons all available at once. And shows being made to watch in quick succession rather than weekly.
If nicotine and alcohol survived classification as being addictive so can and will games.
Point is, what kind of policies will be shaped around this recognition. Suffice it to say, the days of "violent video games is responsible for real world violence" rhetoric (for most part) is dead and now instead of baseless fear mongering, the more revenue driven scaffolding of the medium can be dissected for an in-depth look at how it attracts clients, how clients interacts with them and what methods are implemented to expand the play sessions.
While the non-scientific vilification of the medium is mostly over, the slow rise of mtx systems have given way for some of the more nefariously predatory systems designed on the same principles of addictions that light up the world of gambling. And it has gone mostly unchecked.
And even if it is not explicitly only about the money, it is about the time. GAAS trend allows devs to work on a singular property through periodic expansions (paid and otherwise). The drip feed of content in the form of daily and weekly challenges can definitely trigger FOMO among the more dedicated player base. That which makes the game sustain itself can also cause addiction.
And with regards to GAAS games, another tangential aspect that may play a (perhaps substantial) role in addiction are myriad Let's Plays. Essentially this, allied to social media act as a closed ecosystem feeding off of each other in near perpetuity.
It is not simply about placing blame but rather understanding the potential sources that affect individuals based upon their dispositions. Classification now ensures that this issue will be dealt with as seriously as it should have been from the beginning.
Point is, what kind of policies will be shaped around this recognition. Suffice it to say, the days of "violent video games is responsible for real world violence" rhetoric (for most part) is dead and now instead of baseless fear mongering, the more revenue driven scaffolding of the medium can be dissected for an in-depth look at how it attracts clients, how clients interacts with them and what methods are implemented to expand the play sessions.
While the non-scientific vilification of the medium is mostly over, the slow rise of mtx systems have given way for some of the more nefariously predatory systems designed on the same principles of addictions that light up the world of gambling. And it has gone mostly unchecked.
And even if it is not explicitly only about the money, it is about the time. GAAS trend allows devs to work on a singular property through periodic expansions (paid and otherwise). The drip feed of content in the form of daily and weekly challenges can definitely trigger FOMO among the more dedicated player base. That which makes the game sustain itself can also cause addiction.
And with regards to GAAS games, another tangential aspect that may play a (perhaps substantial) role in addiction are myriad Let's Plays. Essentially this, allied to social media act as a closed ecosystem feeding off of each other in near perpetuity.
It is not simply about placing blame but rather understanding the potential sources that affect individuals based upon their dispositions. Classification now ensures that this issue will be dealt with as seriously as it should have been from the beginning.
Good - it can absolutely cause dysfunction in people's lives and it's only getting worse with intentionally programmed gambling aspects. We don't need fear mongering about this being some looming spectre coming to take your games away - people can be addicted to anything that activates a reward pathway, and gaming is definitively in that category.
liar, i have never seen a man so addicted to dino crisis in all my life
Wait till you hear about those kids playing Everquest and Runescape.
I don't get this. If anything, WHO has suggested the clear definition of gaming dependance, so surely this would silence such naysayers?
Also, I'm of opinion that rampant no-play culture in Asia countries is separate issue from gaming, and should be treated in more general sense. Honestly, gaming addict is merely one of many excuses Asian parents will dunk on among the lot (music, sports, etc.) just so they can keep their children studying all day, every day.
I guess some really don't understand non-chemcial based dependencies and just believe it means a person plays too much. But I guess I shouldn't be too surprised with how society has, for a very long time, ignored non-chemical based addictions and their harms. Heck, gambling addiction is often under-recognized though it's an incredibly serious problem.
For those questioning why this is a good and useful thing, this tweet thread briefly summarizes what constitutes to a disorder (it's not how much you play) and why defining it as a disorder is good.
A disease, lol... no, it's just one of the best escapes from the shitty world we live in which is rife with actual diseases and suffering.
You could make that same argument about gambling, alcohol, or any number of things that people look to use as a way to escape from reality. People aren't looking to attack every single person who loves games just like no one is looking to attack anyone who drinks or gambles in moderation. There are people who will play games to the point that they miss out on going to work, don't do schoolwork, and damage the relationships around them out of this feeling that they need to keep playing games.
This absolutely is an issue for some people to the point that we have seen stories in the past that go beyond the above issues where people will play games to the point of exhaustion and end up dying from it. Gaming dependence is absolutely a real issue that affects a lot of people, so please don't look at this as an attack on you for enjoying a hobby. It's not meant to be seen that way, but as a way for people who are struggling to get the help that they need
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Smartphones are much bigger addiction for this guy.
I tend to avoid games with addictive feedback mechanics like Looter Shooters, MMOs, and such. I'm mostly a single player gamer so I don't really deal with addiction. If I get a 2 hour plus session these days, it's a miracle lol.
I tend to avoid games with addictive feedback mechanics like Looter Shooters, MMOs, and such. I'm mostly a single player gamer so I don't really deal with addiction. If I get a 2 hour plus session these days, it's a miracle lol.
Games never needed loot box to be addictive.
I remenber quite a few reviews using addictive as a positive point for some games.
On one hand gamming helped my depression when I was a teenager, at least from going into worse habits , but mine was a light case overall I imagine true addiction could be lifedestroying 😭😭
I hope this helps people that need to channge a healthier lifestyle, some companies go too whale with their games
I hope this helps people that need to channge a healthier lifestyle, some companies go too whale with their games