Now it's official: "Gaming Disorder" is a mental condition according to WHO

[mr moose]

49 minutes ago, AresKrieger said:

I guess I simply find addictive personalities to be simply a lack of self control, which I simply see as a self inflicted and thus rather meaningless, now as for treatment it would be important to differentiate however given how often people regress anyway I find it to be a waste of effort

It is true that such issues are hard to rectify.  However if the person genuinely wants to change and better themselves, then it is no harder than say losing weight and getting fit or rehabilitating after an accident/surgery.

[Aaron Wolfy Black Fox]

Anything can be an addictive disorder. All that needs to happen really is that you chronically cant stop doing the behavior to maintain your health, either physically or mentally. My annoyance with this kind of PSAs or studies (at least how they are reported) is that the specific manifestation of the addictive behavior is more focused on then the underlying cause and issues. 

[ARikozuM]

I play about 25 hours of games a week and I can see and agree with the necessity of this action. I work about 70 hours a week and spend 5 or so hours at social events. Having a few hours of gaming a day allows me to relax and do what I love whether in VR, on the PC, or reading a book. I do enjoy gaming and if I'm not in my chair playing, I'm likely outside working on the cars or in the workshop designing or building something. While I do like to reflect at times without doing anything, I don't like to sit around and do nothing. 

 

What I don't want to see is the labeling of any gamer under this diagnosis, especially with those of us that are high-functioning introverts that would prefer being in a game for a couple of hours. 

[Misanthrope]

2 hours ago, mr moose said:

 

It has to be classified as it's own disorder.  When it comes to anything health related (but especially mental health) specifics are very important,  medical malpractice, duty of care and legal liability hang off a diagnosis so that diagnosis has to be solid in and of itself.  Treatments vary hugely depending on the condition, sex therapy is no good for gamblers, alcoholics won't benefit much from a methadone program and so on.  It may seem superficial for personality addictions, but the reality is they are deeply complicated and each have their own unique issue that need to be addressed.

The specifics are very different but the underlying condition really isn't.

 

Though I understood your point about being very specific about the treatment course, but that's honestly kind of a big hurdle when it comes to psychology.

 

Or in other words: I am not saying that this was done necessarily to co-opt or push a political agenda, but that it probably will be pursued by laymen on that direction nonetheless.

[mr moose]

3 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

T

Or in other words: I am not saying that this was done necessarily to co-opt or push a political agenda, but that it probably will be pursued by laymen on that direction nonetheless.

That nearly always happens.  Unfortunately people capitalise on anything they can to further an agenda.   This is why we have such big problems with alternative medicine, drugs, GMO and organic foods etc.

 

 

[Fred Flintstone]

When I had my PC and my Xbox 360 I used to play 2-3 hours after school and 6-8 hours on the weekends, and around 3 hours more on my phone at night. So I used to spend 25-34 hours a week in front of a screen. Though on summer breaks I used to play 6-8 hours every single day and 4-5 hours more on my phone at night, so 46-61 hours of screen time per week. And I still consider myself an addicted to gaming/the internet, because now that I can't play games I spend 8-12 hours per day on my phone or watching YouTube on the TV, and I won't seek for help because I don't want to and because I don't give a s*** about what could happen to my psyche/body.

As for the CAGE questionnaire, these are my answers:

1- I did, but I don't anymore.

2- It is annoying when people poke fun at me for talking about video games and not attending to parties, very annoying.

3- I did feel bad very often a few years ago, but now I don't.

4- I think that at some point it was indeed the first thing I would think about in the morning, but now I don't even touch my phone when I wake up, it gives me headaches, though if I had my PC I would instantly be on it after breakfast.

By the way, now that I read my comment it seems like I'm trying to call for attention, buy I'm not, I just want to share my experience about this topic.

[captain_to_fire]

2 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

What I don't want to see is the labeling of any gamer under this diagnosis, especially with those of us that are high-functioning introverts that would prefer being in a game for a couple of hours. 

If you read the OP, you can see that it has to be compulsive, pathological and have symptoms characteristic of an addict. The Forbes article explicitly says that just because some plays video games for hours doesn’t mean they’re suffering from gaming disorder. The WHO ICD-11 is still a draft so more details will be released soon. 

 

And you know that even without the potential addiction issues, sedentary lifestyle via excessive gaming is bad. Long hours of sitting can cause varicose veins which can lead to deep vein thrombosis. Lack of physical activity can put someone at risk for cardiovascular diseases and blue light from LCD monitors can interfere with the secretion of te hormone melatonin and being sleep deprived because of excessive gaming can lead to a plethora of much serious conditions including obesity, etc. Not to mention, people potentially suffering from gaming disorder might also have an impulsive buying decisions like frequently buying new parts even if they don’t need it (e.g. ditching Skylake to Kaby Lake for a measly 5% IPC improvement), and just like most addicts, people who might have gaming disorders have the tendency to lie, cheat and steal just to feed off their addiction to video games even though they’re starting to neglect their responsibilities to family, work and relationships. 

Edited December 27, 2017 by hey_yo_

[Hiya!]

We dont need this in our life or at least i dont need this

[Tech_Dreamer]

think it's way too broad generalization , i get their point , we've seen news about guys spending literally 16+ of the day in gaming cafes in Asian countries , these are extreme cases & might need intervention or something, same shit can be applied to social media interaction(i do think there was one for it) , But i guess this will be used to exploit The general gaming privilege to kids by parents.

[Bananasplit_00]

16 hours ago, Okjoek said:

I'm sure I can play emulators on it.

Shovel Knight

Roller coaster tycoon deluxe

Bit Blaster XL

Stardew Valley

Old school Runescape?

Halo CE?

Minecraft?

 

OK haveing owned one, none of those work. They will often not even boot. Old Runscape ran at 5fps tops when it booted, don't even think about MC and Roller Coaster Tycoon I doubt would be playable either. These are machines that have trouble playing back 720p video

[Doobeedoo]

First of all, everything too much can be bad, specially if you seriously depend on it like actual drugs that would destroy you. 

Though something like gaming say is entertainment can only be bad not necessarily if spending too much time, but if it ruins other aspects of your life. I know that that can go hand in hand but, it's not how it affects everyone. Also, something like putting a lot of time in to it is not for everyone. Proven. 

 

I tend to game a lot and it's one of my top hobbies and I was always passionate about it. Sure there were time where I would neglect everything around me though that passed fast. 

I still game quite a lot and that poll would be per day not week for me hehe. 

So definitely need to keep exercise daily not to damage your health and have balance. Many don't do so. And it's really bad.

Also, not letting anything controll you in such way, like loot boxes do which is just sad. I have other hobbies that I would fulfill my time wihout computer. 

Also I use PC for work as well so yeah. 

 

Oh and should we actually point out an actual more severe addictions that many take for granted once mentioned that are more modern age problem. 

Like checking phone 150 times a day on average, kids of just few years old already actually addicted with tablets and phones with no control, screeching when taken from them. Actually damaging young brain. Social media how it actually governs society and ruins normal conversations etc. 

[IceCold008]

I play videos games every day for hours at a time. I love it, its better than being a slave having wife working 12 hours a day to her to spend on shoes, handbags etc etc. I dont smoke, drink or take drugs, i dont hurt anyone with my hobbies. I find it relaxing i do other stuff when im not on the pc. I do have kids which i see every 2 weeks which i spend time with. Women crying that men are walking away from the plantation and have had enough of social indoctrination bullshit to go back to them. Ive walked away have been for 6 years now. Yes its an addiction but its a fucking good addiction. MGTOW.

[SurvivorNVL]

This is possibly a good thing, on the one hand the U.S. could use this as a means to collect a census from companies on how many hours individuals play games, and then assign them mental disorders accordingly - which would bar entire generations from owning guns which is an inherent evil, but on the other-other hand - it could allow for implementation of the Chinese Social Credit System and de-incentivize gaming and technology use, which is an inherent good.  It's a coin toss.

[Okjoek]

4 hours ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

OK haveing owned one, none of those work. They will often not even boot. Old Runscape ran at 5fps tops when it booted, don't even think about MC and Roller Coaster Tycoon I doubt would be playable either. These are machines that have trouble playing back 720p video

Are you thinking the same roller coaster tycoon I am?

This was my first PC game and I still play it from time to time.

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, Okjoek said:

Are you thinking the same roller coaster tycoon I am?

This was my first PC game and I still play it from time to time.

I think that's too many moving pixels for it to handle lol, I loved my netbook bud damn do they perform like shit

[ExplosiveSloths]

I think I tend to play around 6-10 hours a day. It really depends.

Am I addicted? I hope not!

 

 

 

[Jito463]

20 hours ago, Cyberspirit said:

I'd like to think that I got the basics down but, I'm still using a spell checker for harder words and to correct sentences. 

I'm a native English speaker - and am quite well read (I can't even begin to count how many books I checked out of the local library when I was growing up) - and even I have to occasionally verify some words.  'Bureaucracy' is one such word that almost always trips me up.  Then again, who doesn't get bogged down in bureaucracy.  

[RotoCoreOne]

Tech reviewers and tech companies aren't fueling gaming addiction but they sure as hell are fueling my tech addiction

[Trik'Stari]

On 12/26/2017 at 11:54 AM, Misanthrope said:

Yes this is very real. However I am not fully convinced is an inherent flaw of all games: most people seem to be able to get addicted to mostly any remotely interesting activity. There's some activities however (i.e. Gambling) that seem to be psychologically tailored to trigger this addiction cycle and while I could see it for some games (Mainly mmos and some mobile games and free2play models that resemble, incidentally, gambling) As I said, labeling all games as addictive seems like a broad generalization.

I agree completely.

 

Although there is something to be said about games being generally more rewarding than life and much easier.

 

I can see where that would be addictive.

[D13H4RD]

Pretty sure you can be addicted to pretty much anything these days 

[lewdicrous]

Here's something I found today:

https://kotaku.com/experts-have-a-new-reason-to-debate-whether-gaming-dis-1821609229

[Sir Asvald]

I don't play as much as before. For me, I play for a certain of time before I get bored. Right now, I'm at home. Looking for jobs.. I go out everyday to go to the gym for at least 2 hours. 

 

EDIT: Forgot to mention, I was addicted to playing RuneScape (this is before the graphics update and EoC) I used to play 10 hours a day. What stopped me from playing was when I got hacked. I got cleaned. Everything I worked for was taken. I couldn't get myself start again, ever since that happened I've quit. 

[captain_to_fire]

12 hours ago, lewdicrous said:

Here's something I found this today:

https://kotaku.com/experts-have-a-new-reason-to-debate-whether-gaming-dis-1821609229

Hmm.... it’s an idea worth exploring but looking st the tone of the author seems she’s experiencing cognitive dissonance by deflecting a bit and she doesn’t seems to be cognizant of what constitutes someone who might have a gaming disorder. Just look at the people with complete objection to the OP. 

[MadyTehWolfie]

Unless it gets put in the newest version of the DSM I'll throw this "disorder" in the garbage.

[Phentos]

If it isn't in the DSM it isn't a real disorder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^{That being said I am a bit addicted to gaming atm :L}