Addiction to video games is now a recognised illness

Those who suffer have trouble controlling their behaviours around gaming.

[ArchangelMike]

Keep those shrinks away from me. I'm very happy with my "gaming disorder" thank you very much. It's not my fault, it's the fault of the games company. They keep making too many awesome games that I just have to play.

[Seraphim]

Lol too perfect. Says every addict.

At some point we'll have an addiction for everything. ? is when does the addiction of work become recognized? Some people are addicted to working after all.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

Yeah and some people aren't addicted to things. Ever think of that?

[Sam Fisher]

Just seen it on tv

[Elwenil]

Next it will be called a "disease" and they will say those afflicted by it "can't help it".

Shrinks could save a lot of time if they just kick most of their patients in the taint and tell them to grow the hell up.

[thorstein]

Well, we already went through this faux scare in the USA a few years back. Then it was determined that it wasn't actually an addiction at all.

https://www.usnews.com/opin...

https://www.newscientist.co...

http://gamestudies.org/0601...

[BiggerBoss]

Honestly, I do believe that Video Game Addiction exists. I would be a fool to say that it doesn't.

People who can't get a job, can't pay bills, etc, BECAUSE they are SO into video games, well they are CLEARLY addicted and need help.

HOWEVER, I would say that 99% of gamers play games because they enjoy them, and they don't have a problem. Gaming is a hobby, and there is no problem in investing in a hobby if you enjoy it.

Addiction is different though, and should rightfully be taken seriously.

[Magnetar]

Great, now politicians have a reason to add a tax too them....

[annoyedgamer]

What is addiction to the TV called? Oh right.

[Glak18]

TV Binge Watching Disorder...

[S2Killinit]

Its slightly different. There is truth to this article. Video games dont just occupy time they also distract. (More so than tv)

[annoyedgamer]

I can't find any officially recognized disorder by that name.

[Glak18]

@S2Killinit

An addiction to anything is still an addiction and btw I didn't make that up. TV Binge Watching Disorder is real. The problem is 80% of people commenting are getting offended like they are guilty. Gaming isn't a disorder, but people who overdo have an illness.

[Glak18]

@annoyedgamer

Keep looking, try looking for anxiety and television.

[Tross]

Shhhh...hypocrisy is supposed to go unnoticed so gamers can be thrown under the bus and used as a scapegoat for all of society's problems. Failing that, hyperbole will do just as well.

[paintedgamer1984]

Addiction to anything is an illness.

[robtion]

I'm not sure why there is a need to pathologise everything. It is not an illness. It is a behavioural problem. At most the term behavioural disorder perhaps but not an illness. Similar to gambling problems, again not an illness.

[paintedgamer1984]

Gambling is def an illness especially when you cant stop and lose everything youve worked hard for. Im saying to the point where oneself cant stop. Behavioral disorder is just sugar coating it. At what point does it become an addiction? When you cant stop. Whether it be gaming, alcohol, ciggerettes, sex, drugs, and yes gambling.

ad·dic·tion

əˈdikSH(ə)n/

noun

the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

[BiggerBoss]

Why defines an illness to you? If a psychological disorder negatively affects a persons life, why is it not an illness?

[Goldby]

Addiction is a mental health illness.

And excessive gaming to the point it has a negative impact on your life is a gaming addiction

[robtion]

@@BiggerBoss Schizophrenia is a mental illness. Too much gaming or television or phone use or gambling is a behavioural problem. There is a difference. One revolves around choice and self-control the other does not.

@Goldby
And excessive eating to the point it has a negative impact on your life is an eating addiction? If so you have just pathologists half of the western world. Do you see what I'm getting at?

[Kokyu]

This is retarded.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

Why because you would rather make it harder for gaming addicts to fight their addiction?

[Kokyu]

Cause gaming isnt an addiction. Ive been gaming for 35 yrs Ive never been addicited in my life to gaming. Whiskey sure I was a drunk for a time and I was addicited to it but you know what I did? I stopped drinking 3 yrs ago.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

Gaming is an addiction. There are some parents who neglect their child and their child died because they were playing too much WoW. People have died being in front of the screen gaming too long and not getting enough rest. Just because youre not addicted doesn't mean others aren't. Not everything revolves around your personal experience.

[BiggerBoss]

@kokyu

Just because YOU aren't addicted to games, does NOT mean that gaming addiction does not exist.

I'm not addicted to games either, but it's pretty clear that SOME people have a serious addiction.

Gaming addiction is no different than gambling addiction.

[Blu3_Berry]

Oh god why is this a thing? Fack off.

[Glak18]

Are you being serious?

Let me guess you read the title and assumed "Oh I game and they are telling me I have an illness"...am I close?

Although have you ever:
Gone days without showering or eating because you are busy with a game?
Passed out or fell asleep while gaming?
Disconnect from every day activities to game (miss school/work, stop hanging out with friends/family, your whole social life revolves around a game like dating and friends)?

Those are just a few...yes that is a thing and the person is ill whether they want to believe it or not.

[Blu3_Berry]

Well you certainly are not wrong. I retract my comment.

[Gh05t]

Or we could just create ONE illness that has these signs (and many more I am sure) regardless of the OBJECT of addiction. Otherwise we are going to be here all day with new objects of addiction.

Why isnt the illness just addiction and if you show signs of addiction you have an illness regardless again of the object or activity you are addicted too. Why do we have to have it called "Gaming Disorder"?

Also not to sound like a complete ahole because I know addiction is a huge issue but as the article mentions anecdotally this affects younger people more often... You know you can unplug the tv and games and not let your kids play games for a long period of time to break them of these addictions, go cold turkey on them. The older they get the harder this will be as an adult wont do it for themselves and even if they did they could go around and still find ways to get their fix.

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

@Gh05t

That make work but not all addictions have the same symptoms. Like imagine the difference between withrdawal of say caffeine vs heroin

[Glak18]

@Gh05t

I won't debate what you are conveying, but having a specifically named issue generates funding (MONEY) and jobs. Sadly this is how our society works. Is it right? It's not my field of expertise.

Everything you are saying is valid, but you obviously have taken this personal because you enjoy gaming. Game away, just balance life with it. The fact is many people are having issues because they are not able to balance it.

"You know you can unplug the tv and games and not let your kids play games for a long period of time to break them of these addictions, go cold turkey on them."

That could be a solution, but do you know how many parents neglect their children while playing games? Maybe they could come up with a "Bad Parent Disorder. Many will be treated.

[Glak18]

Addiction to anything is an illness.

Still waiting for them to recognize douchery on the internet as an illness. Rehab centers will be filled for decades

[Fist4achin]

I'll admit that I have a problem. I don't have enough time for gaming. Too much going on that keeps me away! Oh well, life happens...

[FlyingFoxy]

Eh, better than smoking, drugs and drinking anyway. It's obviously not healthy to be sitting around for long periods of time, but we know that already. Get some exercise in between and it should be fine.

[Bobafret]

They are not referring to gamers like us, they are talking about bags of crap that let a 2 year old lay around in dirty diapers while they game. I have known a few people that neglect some important every day things in order to game. Don't pretend they don't exist, and there are more than you think.

[aleccherkov]

its not a disorder at all load of bulls***

[cfc83]

what if we want to be addicted ?

[SpringHeeledJack]

I'm a proud addict then. I hate real life.

[jznrpg]

That’s too bad, hopefully one day you can enjoy both . I once was the same way .

[jznrpg]

I am a sick sick man . I think I need to stay home and play more video games

[RainbowBrite]

It remind me of that scene in Half Baked (1998) were the guy goes to the addiction support group, and he gets sht from all the addicts "Marijuana is not a drug!!! I used to suck d*** for coke. That's an addiction. Did you ever sucked some d*** for marijuana?"

[Biunpe05]

Nope.

[AK91]

Oh boy

[CrimsonWing69]

Isn’t an addiction of any kind a mental disorder 🤔

[OnDec76]

These Shills will call anything an illness to milk money out of the aeons of LAMBS on this planet

[Brave_Losers_Unite]

Oh look a conspiracy theorist!

[Glak18]

Bigfoot is a snowflake SJW.

[Delbar]

We are all have illness, addiction to "Smart phone" is much more and worse than video game.. and we are "all" addicted.

[Glak18]

You may be trying to be snarky, but you are 100% correct. "Smart phones" AND social media. Did you know there are people who can not make it through a work day without checking some kind of social media?

I have done so many social experiments in the past like "Telling every one in a bar that if they can put their phone down for 5 minutes drinks are on me for the night". Lets just say I have never spent a cent on my experiments. I have seen people get hit by cars because they can not look away from their phone crossing the street. People laugh, but it's very common.

[CWheatley]

I prefer the term "Dedicated" thank you very much.

[hiawa23]

I have been addicted since 1980.

[Glak18]

Are you trying to be a silly goose or are you saying you tend to shit your pants rather than stop gaming since 1980?

[hiawa23]

No, who speaks like that other a immature person? I am too old for such nonsense. I simply said I have been hooked on gaming since 1980. Simple as that. No further discussion needed.

[Skankinruby]

I gave up alcohol and replaced it with video games, anyone who wants to tell me that's a problem can screw themselves

[Cobra951]

That's how I justify it. The object of my addiction is not itself killing me.

[GamesMaster1982]

I enjoy both Alcohol and gaming after a hard week of work over the weekends, would through the week too if i had the time, and do if i have to time off. But i also have no desire to ever stop either. My only two froms of enjoyment i get out of life.

[Skankinruby]

Lol oh I enjoy alcohol too, a little too much and i have kids, that's why I gave it up. But games are my vice when I'm stressed out, hardly an unhealthy habit

[Uglyday]

So can I get disability checks and miss work? I totally won’t play games while I stay home.

[OffRoadKing]

Gaming is a great hobby and an enjoyable past time but it should never become ones soul focus or what they spend the bulk of their day doing, this is clearly for those that have forgotten that. If you haven't been out of your house in a week, showered, changed your clothes, interacted with other human beings outside of gaming than perhaps you do indeed have a problem that requires professional help.

[Tazzy]

Disability for all.

[yomfweeee]

This hasn't passed final approval FYI.

[Smokehouse]

We finally have the real studies showing up. Gambling is addicting? Corporate greed is crushing your toddlers dreams? Gambling isn’t ruining these kids lives, it’s these goddamn machines. Talking crap and prank calling on one of them head contraptions. Kids have never talked crap anonymously over wires before these devil boxes. They are animals now, sexist creatures. We used to go outside to see our friends, real Minecraft hurts but it built character. You snot drippers have gone soft, you just play with your friends in the safety of your own houses. Go get some scars, just watch out for the used needles in the grass. If you are an adult and gaming gets in between you and your well being then you have bigger issues.

[Profchaos]

Stan Stan.... I have a disease

[titans9999]

To top it all off, they are also going to make a pill for controlling the addiction.....like, are you fucking kidding me? We have so many drugs for people as it is...now this....absurd!

Oh, and now I have an addiction, to my addiction, that I was addicted to, so now I am just plain ol' addicted....

[Profchaos]

Yeah I can see its addictive side but the majority of people can overcome it and balance their life as needed but then online games have been just way to addictive to some people causing marriage breakdowns and death.

I game regularly but it comes second to my life responsibilities and health

[Vizigoth04]

Just because I love to game doesn't omit the i that I have work and a family to tend to.

[zodiac909]

Well here it is, the most Bullsh*t article you will read all week. If you believe in this then, musicians
/listeners are "Music addicts," and film makers/movie watchers are "Film addicts." Do those consumers classify as having an "illness" also?

[DafunkyRebel]

Man this study is a load of bukkake, I mean playing games for 20 hrs a week which is rough less than 3 hrs/day is casual for most gamers but that’s the criteria for gaming addiction? The people doing this at study one know jack

[No Way]

What makes this ridiculous, in my opinion, is that it's not an individual "illness." Anybody can (or dare I say everyone is) addicted to something. The fact that your "addiction" happens to be video games doesn't mean it's a "video game" illness. If youre addicted, thats it. No matter the object.

[GamesMaster1982]

This is very sad and pathetic to hear. Jesus what next doctor I think I’m addicted to oxygen, because I can’t stop breathing ?. This world is gone to pots. Bring in the zombie apocalypse or at least a F ing meteor . I’m done with this soft ass planet . Aliens take and do what you want with me . F it I’m going to doctors first thing tomorrow , I think I’m addicted to work. As I’ve been doing it 20 years 5 days plus a week , I need help .

[GoodnessGreatness]

BULLSHIT

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I don't even have the time to be addicted to video games, love them but can't play as often as I'd like. Damn adult life.

[Mulletino]

Disability here come!

[GrimDragon]

Too much of anything is bad for you. Moderation is key. It's easy to not take video game addiction serious. But if your relationships are suffering you need to consider that you are indeed addicted. If your wife or girlfriend is complaining or your friends invite you out and you rather stay in to play games or your late to work because you just had to beat that boss. Consider getting help.

Everyone can be addicted to something no matter how absurd.

[mastershredder]

It's fine to play a lot of games if you are responsible. If it effects you or those around you (because you are not being responsible or perhaps uncourteous), that is a different story. There are well documented peer vetted cases of gaming behavioral disorders (focused on just their behavior when gaming). Abuse and Neglect tend to be two big hum dinger ringers wouldn't you say?

[bamillington]

is watching tv or binge watching box sets also?

[2ndhandcorn]

My new job cured me simply do not have time to play as much , plus two kids under five .

[Kostche]

gotta take that SELF time man, its not selfish, its a nessesity

[nommers]

Can’t we just enjoy something more than other things without calling it an addiction?

[sander9702]

Prepare yourselves for random political parties in random countries around the world making this into an issue and outright banning all video games. I hope it doesn't happen in the UK lol.

[SquareBurgers]

As is drooling over your PS4 and getting offended by a negative article about it.

[fungusar]

I knew it, i can see many sick people on this site