Spotlight: Is Video Gaming an Addiction? AMA Panel Wants It Recognized As Illness

Jun 23, 08:57 AM

Current Headlines: By From Our Press Services / Mark Watson

CHICAGO - The telltale signs are ominous: teens holing up in their rooms, ignoring friends, family, even food and a shower, while grades plummet and belligerence soars.

The culprit isn't alcohol or drugs. It's video games, which, some doctors say, can be as powerfully addictive as heroin for certain kids.

A formal disorder

Insurance coverage: A leading council of the nation's largest doctors' group wants to have this behavior officially classified as a psychiatric disorder, to raise awareness and enable sufferers to get insurance coverage for treatment.

Vote possible soon: In a report prepared for the American Medical Association's annual policy meeting starting Saturday in Chicago, the council asks the group to lobby for the disorder to be included in a widely used mental illness manual created and published by the American Psychiatric Association. AMA delegates could vote on the proposal as early as Monday.

Skeptics: It won't happen without a debate. Video game makers scoff at the notion that their products can cause a psychiatric disorder. Even some mental health experts say labeling the habit a formal addiction is going too far.

"Just because any activity might interfere with other activities is not enough to call it an addiction," said Steve Jones, a University of Illinois professor and a research fellow with the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

A look at the players

Millions: Up to 90 percent of American youngsters play video games and as many as 15 percent - more than 5 million kids - may be addicted, according to the AMA council's report.

Warcraft: An AMA report notes that the heaviest game players are those who play massive multi-player online role-playing games such as World of Warcraft. Those players, says the AMA, are more likely to be addicted.

Eric's story

He's 17: That is no surprise to 17-year-old Eric Frisella of Orlando. Eric, who plays World of Warcraft, sometimes wonders whether he might be addicted to the game.

Up late: During the school year, he says he plays about 30 hours a week - often staying up until 1 a.m. playing every night. "I can definitely see how it's possible for people to get addicted," Eric said.

Overreaction?

History: Jones, the University of Illinois professor who has studied college students' use of video games, said American society overreacts to new technology - particularly when it involves children.

Movies: He said it started back in the 1920s, when there was hand- wringing about how movies were causing children to spend too much time inside.

"Fast forward, we started to hear the same thing about TV, then about comic books, the same thing about rock and roll, the same thing about rap music and the same thing about the Internet," Jones said. "It's just a pattern."

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Greater Memphis Reacts

Dr. Valerie Arnold, University of Tennessee Health Science Center interim chief of child psychiatry: "I know some people who dream about these games. When it starts interfering with dreams, it's at the point where it's taking up too much of your life. I don't think I'm for a separate diagnosis, because I think it fits under the obsessive-compulsive disorder."

Dr. Brian D. Janz, University of Memphis management information systems professor: "I have a doctoral student that has felt the addictive pressure of these games in the past, and he is now in the midst of his doctoral dissertation trying to see if he can develop an educational online game for college students majoring in information technology that is as engaging as those found in the entertainment industry."

Dr. Fred Thomason, chief medical officer at Youth Villages, where young residents aren't generally allowed to play video games: "I wouldn't say we have many kids who find that video games impact their lives in such a way that it causes health issues for them. It certainly impacts them socially. ... It certainly does affect their educational performance, but that's not necessarily an indictment of the game."

- Compiled by Mark Watson

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