The problem with the addiction issue is that it often splits people up into simplistic "yes/no" stances with no sensible middle-ground alternatives. When the SF Chronicle did a piece on the plethora of dangers lurking on the Internet (which included online games), they noted that:
The Internet once was seen as a golden "information superhighway" transporting the next generation to the Promised Land. Now it may feel more like a minefield -- seductive on the surface, but seeded with subterranean hazards.
You know there's trouble when allusions to heaven and hell enter any discussion. On the other hand, companies like Wal-Mart use "addiction" to sell games (click on thumbnail). Between this demonization and casual treatment, it may not even be clear what a sensible middle-ground stance would look like.
I've struggled with this issue a lot over the years because it always seemed clear that some people develop problems with gaming, and yet at the same time, I felt that there was something very conceptually misleading about the "addiction" rhetoric. The most difficult part of this is in trying to understand the problem without falling into a simplistic "online games are addictive" framework. And I think it's possible to articulate a way of thinking about the issue that makes sense to gamers, game developers, as well as non-gamers who are concerned about the problem.
In the new issue of The Daedalus Project, I have two articles that deal with the issue. The first tries to reach a sensible middle-ground by complicating the terms of the discussion. For example, does it make sense to claim that "online games cause online gaming addiction" when most behavioral problems (technologically related or not) are typically caused by many inter-related factors? Also included are excerpts from a recent paper in a psychiatry journal that presents a surprisingly nuanced case study dealing with an online gaming problem.
The second piece is an interview with Shavaun Scott, a licensed therapist who has both treated people with addiction problems as well as being an MMO gamer herself. Shavaun provides helpful ways to think about gaming problems from a functional point of view, as well as giving some insightful advice on how to approach and help someone with a gaming problem.
When reporters ask loaded questions such as "Are online games detrimental, addiction-feeding?", there is no 30 second answer that can untangle the conceptual mess, but I think underneath that mess, there is a sensible way of thinking about the issue. I imagine that this is an issue that I will continue to grapple with for a while to come, but I hope that something in these two pieces is helpful to others in framing and conceptualizing what's going on.
Thoughts on either or both pieces are much welcomed.
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