AMA to vote on "internet/video-game addiction" as medical condition

[Sand]

Hey, I never said I wasn't weak willed when it comes to certain things. I am addicted to laziness. :D

[Hurlshort]

Hey, I never said I wasn't weak willed when it comes to certain things. I am addicted to laziness. :D

 

I think that's just being male. Seriously, most women I know work way harder than any guys I know.

[Walsingham]

I consider myself something of an addict when it comes to computer games. The fantasy worlds, especially those of D&D and Ultima, appeal to me much more than the Reality outside my house. Such games are a great escape after a long day at work and putting up with traffic. After being a cog in the machine, it's nice to fire up a game and play the part of a hero or a villain, and do epic things.

 

You're right! The Machine needs soma!

[Gfted1]

Too Much Video Gaming Not Addiction, Yet

 

Jun 27, 11:09 AM (ET)

 

By LINDSEY TANNER

 

CHICAGO (AP) - The American Medical Association on Wednesday backed off calling excessive video-game playing a formal psychiatric addiction, saying instead that more research is needed.

 

A report prepared for the AMA's annual policy meeting had sought to strongly encourage that video-game addiction be included in a widely used diagnostic manual of psychiatric illnesses.

 

AMA delegates instead adopted a watered-down measure declaring that while overuse of video games and online games can be a problem for children and adults, calling it a formal addiction would be premature.

 

"There's no science to support it," said Dr. Stuart Gitlow, an addiction medicine specialist.

 

 

Despite a lack of scientific proof, Jacob Schulist, 14, of Hales Corners, Wis., says he's certain he was addicted to video games - and that the AMA's vote was misguided.

 

Until about two months ago, when he discovered a support group called On-Line Gamers Anonymous, Jacob said he played online fantasy video games for 10 hours straight some days.

 

He said his habit got so severe that he quit spending time with family and friends.

 

"My grades were horrible, I failed the entire first semester" this past school year because of excessive video-game playing, he said, adding, "It's like they're your life."

 

But delegates voted to have the AMA encourage more research on the issue, including seeking studies on what amount of video-game playing and other "screen time" is appropriate for children.

 

Under the new policy, the AMA also will send the revised video-game measure to the American Psychiatric Association, asking it to consider the full report in its diagnostic manual; the next edition is to be completed in 2012.

 

Dr. Louis Kraus, a psychiatric association spokesman, said the report will be a helpful resource.

 

The AMA's report says up to 90 percent of American youngsters play video games and that up to 15 percent of them - more than 5 million kids - might be addicted.

 

The report, prepared by the AMA's Council on Science and Public Health, also says "dependence-like behaviors are more likely in children who start playing video games at younger ages."

 

Internet role-playing games involving multiple players, which can suck kids into an online fantasy world, are the most problematic, the report says. That's the kind of game Jacob Schulist says hooked him.

 

Kraus, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Chicago's Rush Medical Center, said behavior that looks like addiction in video-game players may be a symptom of social anxiety, depression or another psychiatric problem.

 

He praised the AMA report for recommending more research.

 

"They're trying very hard not to make a premature diagnosis," Kraus said.

[Tale]

I don't see it as any different from a gambling addiction.

 

I believe that is an accepted psychological disorder, but I'd have to check with my dad's shelf of books to be sure.

Gambling addiction is different because gambling has a risk component. Videogames don't have the risk component. They lack the excitement that comes with that.

[Walsingham]

Only the weak willed find themselves to be addicted to something.

 

*gives a deeply skeptical and slightly condescending look at Sando*

[Sand]

Only the weak willed find themselves to be addicted to something.

 

*gives a deeply skeptical and slightly condescending look at Sando*

What? That includes me as well.

[Tale]

The shame model works oh so much better than the medical one for combating addiction.

[Guard Dog]

The shame model works oh so much better than the medical one for combating addiction.

Unless the subject has no shame.

[Walsingham]

Only the weak willed find themselves to be addicted to something.

 

*gives a deeply skeptical and slightly condescending look at Sando*

What? That includes me as well.

 

I think you'll find only those who execute sufficient repetitions of an addictive behaviour get addicted. Where the value of sufficiency is relative to the vulnrability of the subject due to factors such as background stress, mood, and overall coping strategies.

 

I know it's less snappy, but it strikes me as superior.

[Sand]

So, what you are saying is thatthe weak willed are more likely to get addicted.

[Darth Barth]

Wonderful. Coming soon! another activity to disclose to your doctor which will get you prescribed medication.