Joshua Lee pointed out an interesting item on the Terminally Incoherent blog a few days ago, on video game “addiction.” I have an obsessive personality, as well as problems with depression, so I have a good idea why people might think they’re “addicted” to a game. I also know why they aren’t, though I couldn’t have put it into words before reading that.
I know a girl who became a crack addict. She finally did kick the habit, but as a result of what she went through, among other effects, she refuses to ever touch a man again and is scarred for life with a stress-syndrome similar to what some war veterans have. Video-game “addiction” doesn’t even fit into that category, or even the category of marijuana addiction or alcohol addiction.
People could get obsessed with playing games, and deal with depression and loneliness with online games, but that should be treated in the medical community much differently than addiction. The underling causes are really what’s causing the relatively mild problems of people who play a game too much. Besides, nobody gets treated for TV addiction – but millions spend just as much if not more time than the stereotypical WoW addict with the TV set; yet nobody talks about the antisocial effects of that.