Basic HTML Version
February 2013 |
drinkanddrugsnews
| 9
www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Cover story |
Gaming addiction
this situation, parents are often struggling to find the best way of dealing with their
teenage son as his repertoire becomes progressively more limited to computer
game playing. The gamer becomes more alienated from the rest of the family, limits
his relationships to other online players, and is reluctant to consider any other
activity that might restrict his game playing, leaving those around him increasingly
anxious, frustrated and resentful.
Such a situation creates upset, arguments and tensions within the family. Any
attempt to control, reason, negotiate or compromise can end in anger, a breakdown
in communications and an increasing sense of helplessness and hopelessness. While
examples have been documented of more extreme outcomes resulting from
excessive game playing, including fatalities, the help most frequently sought by
family members is associated with the insidious wearing away at established family
relationships and norms, and fears for the future if nothing changes.
The impact on the family is of very real concern, but the consequences of
excessive game playing for the individual can be at least as serious. In a recently
reported case at a Plymouth primary school, the head teacher was surprised to find
that pupils as young as seven and eight were arriving at school tired and ‘not ready
to learn’, and discovered that some were playing games until late at night. In a
survey of a Weston-super-Mare Secondary School, teachers were able to identify
pupils in each year group where educational attainment had suffered as a result of
computer game playing.
Among the calls from people seeking advice recently received at Broadway Lodge, a
significant number were from parents looking for help as a result of their sons’
exclusion from university. In such instances, failing to maintain course requirements
was related to the removal of the parental controls that were in place while at home,
allowing unrestricted game playing to escalate to the detriment of academic
achievement.
*****
The games that probably give rise to greatest concern are referred to as massively
multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPG). These MMORPGs invite players
to immerse themselves in complex virtual worlds. Players can live out fantasies
through a ‘virtual personality’ of their own creation and play with millions of other
players around the world at any time of night or day. These games do not have an
ending, so can be played continuously, and such is the immersion in them that
players consistently report becoming so preoccupied that they easily lose track of
time and the need to eat, and get frustrated at being interrupted by the need to go
to the toilet.
While older people sometimes get into difficulties with playing games to excess
– a recent caller sought advice about her husband who spent all evenings and
weekends playing online games – the issue still has a generational dimension to it.
Many people playing and experiencing problems are younger and many of the
people with the greatest concerns about it are older. This may be due to the adult
generation having limited understanding of the technology and its capabilities.
In discussion with a 17-year-old male gamer recently, parents were surprised to
learn from their son howmuch he felt he gained from playing games, including the
skills, strategic thinking, information processing and decision-making involved;
the connections he made with others worldwide; and the socialising aspects of
‘lan’ (local area network) parties – where friends brought their own computers to
plug into a network to play the same multi-player game.
However, while it was helpful for them to learn this, the parents were still
concerned that balance seemed to have been lost as game playing became ever
more consuming, and raised questions about its physiological and neurological
impact. Sitting for hours without any physical activity might contribute to
circulation and digestion problems and while gaming may be training the brain to
process large inputs of information speedily and make decisions quickly, excessive
game playing may be to the detriment of less adrenalin-inducing cognitive
processes, such as reading or revising for exams.
*****
There is currently very limited help available, so where does someone experiencing
problems of this nature go? Health, education and social care services have little
knowledge, training or understanding of these issues and there is currently no
statutory funding for third sector services. The UK Interactive Entertainment (UKIE)
games industry representatives are unwilling to help in this area or to accept that
they might have at least some level of social responsibility, and central government
has not yet fully acquainted itself with the implications for public health.
In fact at present, the games industry is lobbying parliament for tax concessions
to maintain the UK’s leading role in game production and has suggested that
computer games should be introduced to primary schools. We can only hope that
any concessions of this type are conditional upon a financial commitment from the
industry to support the development of specific counselling and advisory services
for those who get into difficulties. I would suggest that UKIE follow the good
example set by the gambling industry in making financial contributions to the
voluntary sector, distributed through the Responsible Gambling Trust (RGT), to
support people experiencing problems resulting from gambling.
As for the future, we might predict that the problems resulting from this issue
are likely to increase in coming years and that data gathering and research studies
will be essential. At present we are managing one generation, but as this
generation grows up (with some continuing to play into their adult life), the next
generation of game-competent youngsters will emerge and add to the numbers of
problem users, with increasing demands on services. Eventually, cross-
generational status will be reached.
At the same time, current research investigating the impact of game playing
will begin to report on findings with results from longitudinal research studies,
which we hope will provide us with detailed and accurate information regarding
the precise nature of the issues and the specific help required. Who knows, while
not in DSMV (the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic
and statistical manual of mental disorders
), with research evidence to support it we
may find its inclusion in DSM VI.
I believe that the alcohol, drug and gambling treatment fields could be well
placed to help in this area, delivering the advice, support and treatment necessary to
manage the consequences of excessive game playing. While there are differences,
there are also sufficient similarities with chemical and other ‘process’ addictions and
the skills and knowledge of practitioners in this field can be harnessed to respond to
the presenting problems of this new client group. It would be timely for
organisations to gather information, seek appropriate training for staff, and talk with
gaming enthusiasts themselves to learn about their experiences.
DDN
Peter Smith is development director at Broadway Lodge.
Suggested reading: Young, K.S. and de Abreu, C.N. eds (2011). Internet Addiction,
Wiley Aboujaoude, E. and Koran, L.M. eds (2010). Impulse Control Disorders,
Cambridge University Press
‘Any attempt to control,
reason, negotiate or
compromise can end
in anger, a breakdown
in communications
and an increasing
sense of helplessness
and hopelessness...’