Video gaming joins smoking, gambling on list of common addictions

Australia's Okan Kaya likes Call of Duty: Black Ops II. In November he played the blockbuster video game for a world-record 122 hours.
"I'm a massive fan," he said. "I've been playing the series since the World War days and absolutely love it."
Circumstantial evidence suggests gaming can be as addictive as gambling. In July a Diablo III fan in Taiwan collapsed and died after a 40-hour session at an internet cafe.
Australian National University psychologist Olivia Metcalf has found concrete evidence that gaming is indeed addictive.

[USEYOURFIST]

I would argue that this is far from "concrete evidence". its strongly argued the media have created the concept of videogame addiction through a moral panic, creating a panic in society by over exaggerating the problems caused by gaming, in addition to comparing it to more serious problems such as gambling addition without much rational reason for doing so. Why dont any of the major world health organiztions recognise video game addiction as a clinical condition? overplaying is not addiction! it comparable to over reading not over smoking.

[zerocrossing]

In all my 20+ years of gaming I have never been unable to tear myself away from a game.

Some peopled are more susceptible to becoming addicted though, but over gaming is more a form of extreme escapism rather than addiction, IMO of course.

[Lord_Sloth]

Exactly. These rare and isolated incidents are nothing more than a serious lack of self control. I haven't even played a game in a month at current. If this were an addiction, wouldn't I be yelling at people for no reason like smokers?

[jrbeerman11]

in that vein than watching television should be added to that list. more people are glued watching honey boo boo, and singing shows than video games.

[Canary]

I think you're overreacting.

Gaming /IS/ a common addiction.

That doesn't mean it's dangerous, let alone life-threatening.

You know what else are common addictions?

Coffee.
Chocolate.
Sex.
Masturbation.
Biting your nails.

It's not a big deal.

[ajax17]

Well, it can be life-threatening... Mainly to those who play StarCraft... Remember that South Korean guy who died after playing for 50 hours straight! Now that is an addiction!

[rainslacker]

I'd stop gaming and smoking...but my mom taught me to never be a quitter.

[USEYOURFIST]

you missed the point. From a clinical standpoint the phrase 'gaming is a common addiction' is factually incorrect, untill more research leads to a reclassification, which i dont see happening.

I may have come off as OTT lol its just ive been studying gamings effects on kids and found the medias representation of gaming is usually as a negative hobby that through their 'gaming addiction' makes kids violent and shoot classmates. This view bugs me as its basically not true and i could, have, write an essay about it lol.

Coffee and chocolate are are chemical addictions like drugs.

Im not sure if sex and masturbation are clinicaly recognised addictions, hypersexual disorder maybe but again not clinically recognised as an addiction disorder.

Sorry im going off on one again lol just defending gaming! (sh*t, maybe im wrong and actually am addictied lol), look i agree with most of your points but the word addiction is used wrongly quite commonly in these cases which leads to gaming being related with 'bad' things such as drugs.

[Bimkoblerutso]

It might be more accurate to label them a "compulsion" to some people. "Addiction" suggests a degree of physical dependence. If you quit gaming, you're not going to go into withdrawals.

When you start getting into mental dependence, it becomes a matter of mental disorder. A human can technically exhibit mental dependency on literally anything, so it seems silly to me for all these "scientists" to automatically target specific sources when they can't just throw it under the physical dependency category.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

They should have seen xbox in 2005! It would be considered a smoker.

[Nykamari]

Lol! That's too funny! I choked on my chronic smoke when I read your comment!

[2pacalypsenow]

Except Smoking and Gambling can ruin your life gaming not so much

[dark-hollow]

It can. If you spent too much time on it you can abandon work/school/uni for it.

I know several people who lost their jobs due to their addiction to gaming.

[swice]

You need to slap them. Hard.

[EddieNX]

I agree with this. I am OCD when it comes to gaming. Although I actually love and appreciate the art that I choose to buy As I do film or music.

I do seem to spend a LOT of money on gaming. And I have a terrible addiction.

I'm addicted to buying sealed games and slowly unsealing them and then smelling their factory fresh innards.

God have mercy on my soul...

[BrianC6234]

To help get off your addiction in 2013 all games you buy must be digital downloads. :)

[EddieNX]

DON'T SAY THAT!!!!!!!!!! DIGITAL DEVIL!!!!!!

I will buy my retail games from the store for a long as possible. A- I like to colllect. B- I like to sell what I don't want to collect.

Digital doesn't offer such flexability.

Indie games and smaller games all day long though:)

[thebudgetgamer]

In your face meth addiction.

[BrianC6234]

Is watching TV on this list too since it's even more addictive to a lot more people. Anything can be addictive but playing videogames isn't bad like smoking and gambling. It is bad if you have no money and steal to get your games. Other than that though it's not even close to the other things on the list.

[RuleofOne343]

Big difference is I can walk away from gaming without it costing me any money or the state any , plus owning an Xbox 360 forces me to exercise every 2-3 hours + take intermissions breaks for Bathroom runs, food.

[Sp1d3ynut]

I'm not addicted...I can quit any time I want. >_>

[Summons75]

Next up: reading, stamp collecting, exercising and every other hobby in the world!

[Tales RPG addict]

ohh 122 hours Whoop de Fucking Doo.
I can't stand COD anymore, it was once great but turned to shit.
This is why i play fighting games, and JRPG's more.
fighting games require skill, COD doesn't.

[legendof117]

Actually, it does take skill to be one of the better players in the game.

Uneducated, biased statement. All games require skill to be good at them.

[V0LT]

They need to put everyone's hobbies on the list as well. Those are addictions too.. This is ridiculous...

[Thepcz]

bollocks.

next they'l say games can make you kill people. oh wait.

tip for 2013- gaming journalism is shit, take anything published in the so-called gaming publications with a pinch of salt.

playing games merely becomes a habit. nobody starts shaking or having withdrawal symptoms because they didnt get their gaming 'fix'

again, bollocks

[Zichu]

I don't know much about addictions, but I feel it's more to do with the person than it is the thing that they are doing.

I've had periods of times where I am playing for 10+ hours in one day for a few days, then some days I haven't even touched a game for a week. I go on holiday for a week or so and don't touch anything game related. I don't have cravings or anything and I love playing games. I own a whole load and put a lot of hours into them, but I know when to stop.

It's like drinking, I enjoy a drink and I can go weeks or months without touching alcohol. I don't crave it or feel the need to drink.

I think people are the problem, I know companies influence people to keep doing something, like nicotine in cigarettes, winning a lot of money in gambling, getting high scores in games, etc, but that's so they can get their wages.

[CYBERHATER]

Wake me up when they add STUPIDITY to the latest addictions.

[jrbeerman11]

thats a damn epidemic

[mochachino]

So is television, books and internet. Difference is it would be hard to lose $50000 gaming but quite easy gambling. I also wonder how much gaming shortens lifespan.

The problem isn't addiction per se, it's the consequences of addiction. If I was addicted to carrots, broccoli and daily exercise it wouldn't be a bad thing.

As far as addictions go, I think gaming is no worse than TV and internet addiction - it can lead to a sedentary lifestyle.

One thing every gamer I know does have is a steady job or in school, how else to feed the habit.

[neogeo]

This is always backwards. THINGS are not addictive, people are. My Dad is a true addict. If he quits chain smoking then gets addicted to food, if he goes on a diet he becomes a porn addict, when he quits the porn he is a work alcoholic. I remember he would be addicted to 8bit GOLF on Nintendo 10 hours per day.

[Qrphe]

Why is it so hard to understand that out of all the things one can be addicted to (which is pretty much anything) video games is one of them?

I'm sure we've all realized we were addicted at some game at one point and thoroughly enjoyed it: I know I have.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

You can become addicted to anything that gives you pleasure: food, sex, even working out. I definitely think gaming can be addictive but not especially so.

I don't think we need a N4G-AA.

[SlowBurn]

how easily we forget the 'Mario massacre mishap' of 87',when 21 people jumped to there deaths in Stockholm after realising the 'minus' worlds in Mario Bros. were none too positive and completely neverending....
The Gaming addiction foundation of Sweden(GAFS) soon after declared Mario Bros a 'viable threat to sanity'.
Was in April,2013,this.

[ElectricKaibutsu]

That was a sad time. I was there for the candle light vigil.

[Mikhal5569]

Gaming is a hobby, not an addiction. Now, I know some people who are OCD when it comes to gaming, but that still doesn't make it an addiction.

Some people get sucked into these fantasy worlds (fan fiction for books, tv shows, movies games, etc.) Some don't. It's the person not the media.

[Ninjamonkey82]

Yo a round of Halo gonna give me heart diease and my liver gonna need replacing :/.

[Strakken]

I used to be addicted to books, but no ones gives a shit because books are "proper".

[kesvalk]

video games can be addicting but it's not physical addicting, so unless you have a very weak mind, you can stop playing, although you will probably be more tense and stressed then usual, you will not be affected by withdrawals.

i like videogames since i came home from maternity, my parents said that the first thing that drew my attention was the atari 2600 my brother was playing, since i rememeber, i was always playing, and even after 25 years playing, i can ignore gaming for months without any problems.

[swice]

This is just another feeble attempt at making video games look worse than they are.

"Video games kill! Video games are as addictive as drugs!"

What's next? "Video games support terrorism!"

Please...go pick on people whom actually cause real harm

[markmiller77e]

Precisely the reason why I installed a free app called Qustodio on my home computer a while back. I do need to watch what my son is up to when online and the app actually allows me to watch the profile pictures of accounts that he chats with. Google for it.