does video game ADDICTION EXIST?

Ever since their first mainstream appearance over almost 50 years ago, video games have been a staple of modern pop culture. Knowledge of these fictional worlds can range from simple, such as recognizing the faces of Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog to being able to speedrun Dark Souls 3, a game notorious for its difficulty, at ridiculous speeds. To know this, one must play their games for hours on end, studying each little detail and shortcut they may come across. However, this creates a controversial question: When does one’s passion become an addiction? More importantly, does video game addiction truly exist?

An addiction is classified as a brain disorder that’s diagnosed due to compulsive engagement in rewarding stimuli despite consequences. Addictions aren’t just exclusive to substances such as alcohol or drugs; they can be behavioral too. Behavioral addictions include gambling, shopping, exercising, and the topic in question: playing video games. Video game addiction itself is described as the problematic, compulsive use of video games that results in a large hindrance of someone’s ability to function in daily life.

This controversy really came to light in June 2018, when the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognized “gaming disorder” as a condition in its International Classification of Diseases, saying that it is possible to be addicted to video games. Yet, this sparked many complaints from gaming companies and gamers alike, all coming up with different arguments against this proposal.

The arguments against the validity of video game addiction are numerous, but they generally rely on three main points: Excessive playing of video games is not an addiction but rather a symptom of a larger underlying mental illness, the idea of video-game addiction comes from societal panic about new technology than from scientific research, and making video game addiction an official disorder risks defaming an innocent hobby.

Starting off with the first argument, there is some validity to it. Attempting to make negative feelings dissipate, without working through the necessary steps in order to come to relief through mental resolution is called escapism. This, however, is just a temporary fix; a crutch or placebo. For gamers with “video game addiction”, this could actually be someone trying to make themselves feel better while they struggle with a mental illness, such as anxiety or depression. Although, escapism comes with the risk of addiction, which doesn’t just go for video games.

Next is whether or not video game addiction has any evidence backing it up. The American Psychiatric Association seems to have the right idea, with video game addiction being referred to as a possible diagnosis for inclusion in future versions in the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). The symptoms associated with this, however, are extremely vague. These symptoms include preoccupation with games becoming a predominant activity, withdrawal symptoms (anxiety or sadness when game is taken away), and gaming to escape a negative mood. The current video game addiction diagnosis is based purely on certain behaviors that are treated as symptoms of an underlying mental illness.

Several psychologists believe the diagnosis is premature and based on weak evidence, which led the WHO to elaborate on the condition stating it only affects a small amount of people. A study done at Oxford reveals only 2-3% of gamers suffer from said condition. As for long term studies that have been performed on the matter? There has been none. This leads into the next point.

With there being no big pieces of evidence proving whether this condition is real, could it really just be a moral panic? Well, not exactly. Even with its low percentage, there is one recorded case of video game addiction. This story comes from the UK, with a 15 year old boy undergoing private counselling and becoming the first child diagnosed by the NHS with a gaming addiction to Fortnite. According to Kendal Parmar, the boy’s mother, she has tried everything from locking the router in a safe to entrusting her son’s computer to a friend of hers --- to no avail; her son always finds a way to play the game. Even worse, this is actively harming him, since he has a vitamin D deficiency and has missed a YEAR of school.

This is what true addiction looks like; it doesn’t depend on time, but rather impact on one's life and health. This is why recovery centers are popping up around the world to treat the condition and countries such as South Korea want to ban kids from online gaming for certain hour intervals. As a reminder there is a difference between addiction and a passion. You can spend countless hours on a passion or hobby, as many gamers preach, but the moment it starts affecting one’s health is where the line is drawn.

In conclusion, the existence of video game addiction is still inconclusive. At the time of this publication, there is not enough solid evidence to prove whether or not it’s possible to have this addiction. As the years go by, this could change, for better or for worse. For now, realize your limits and employ self-discipline by finding other hobbies or seek help.