Gaming Addiction Debunked Recognize the risks and be safe.

Problem or Not? We take a responsible look at Computer Game Addiction

The Good News

The generic term “Computer Gaming” covers all types of games played on computers.  It is best to realise at the outset that there is a distinction to be drawn between “Online Gaming” and “Video Gaming”. “Online Gaming” frequently involves “MMORPGs” - Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games - where you log in to a virtual arena and join a large contest involving several others, perhaps running to hundreds at a time. We see “Video Gaming”  as gaming more likely played in the home on your own or with family and friends on a localized basis such as in your living room, with games on your own computer which you probably purchased by downloading, bought in a box from your local Video Games retailer or on eBay or even swapped with your friends. Video Games have been around since the late 1960s and people of all generations will have played one at some time but perhaps not so MMORPGs. The wider social contact of MMORPGs seems to be a factor more likely to push people to addiction according to research; but not always!

Well, some good news is that ninety per cent of the young people who seek treatment for compulsive computer gaming are not addicted. So says Keith Bakker the founder and head of Europe’s first clinic to treat gaming addicts according to BBC News.

Hundreds of young gamers from a worldwide catchment have attended The Smith & Jones Centre in Amsterdam for treatment since 2006 when it opened; but has changed its treatment methods since realizing that compulsive computer gaming is not a psychological illness but a social one.

The American Psychological Association in 2007, conducted research to determine if computer video game addiction should be added or not to the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders being released in 2012. Gamers will be happy to hear their conclusion was that there was not enough evidence to confirm that addiction to computer video games was a disorder.

This is one of a trilogy of concise articles on Computer Gaming Addiction. Presented by a website dealing only with Video and Online Gaming and seek to present a balanced and responsible view of Gaming Addiction.