While recent research suggests that video game addiction is reaching pandemic levels, the prevalence of such addictions is being disputed widely.
Video games are indeed an easy target for many societal ills, not just addiction. Driving home that point, Neils Clark, co-author of "Game Addiction: The Experience and the Effects," on Saturday described in a blog post what he deems 10 game addiction fallacies.
The list of fallacies includes the fact that games aren't drugs, which means that treatment will vary greatly. In addition, because definitions and methodologies used in studies are varied, criteria by which addiction is measured is inconsistent.
Clark's post highlights a few points related to how addiction is treated behaviorally, as well as how the media has chosen to portray gaming in a negative light.
The consistent challenge in measurement exists not just in statistics gathered but also in the methodology used to understand the data. For example, one study cited by many experts was based on extrapolating data from a survey that asked adults about their gambling habits.
A new study suggests that video games are highly addictive, with game addicts showing more than half of the same traits as those addicted to gambling.
Researchers at Iowa State University and the National Institute on Media and the Family studied 1,178 American children and teenagers, aged 8 to 18, and found that addicted gamers played video games 24 hours a week, twice as much as casual gamers.
Some gamers have shown similar symptoms to those suffering from gambling addiction, including:
- Lying to family and friends about how much they play games
- Using the games to escape their problems
- Becoming restless or irritable when they stop playing
On a positive note, if kids 8 to 18 are spending so much time playing games, then there are big opportunities to make games more educational, or to make educational games more interesting.
One thing that is becoming very clear is that video games are the new TV.
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