Apr 23 2009
Youths Sort of Addicted to Video Games
New research has revealed that almost 10% of this nation’s youth is addicted to video games. Well, if you actually read the article you might want to add a “sort of” to that claim. Why?
First, the data: A survey of 1,178 youths. Hmm. Did the youths’ addiction cause them to be unable to complete the survey, so drawn were they to playing more video games?
Second, the author of the study himself, Douglas Gentile, say’s this -
“Although the general public uses the word ‘addiction,’ clinicians often report it as pathological use,” said Gentile.
So the better term is probably “pathological use.” Not addiction. And, fortunately, what qualifies as pathological use is clearly defined. If subjects showed at least 6 of 11 symptoms of disturbed functioning, they were classified as engaging in pathological use. And the very questionable term “addiction” was affixed to the article title. (Bad copy-writer/editor!)
In detail -
The pathological gamers in the study played video games 24 hours per week, about twice as much as non-pathological gamers. They also were more likely to have video game systems in their bedrooms, reported having more trouble paying attention in school, received poorer grades in school, had more health problems, were more likely to feel “addicted,” and even stole to support their habit.
“Pathological use” seems to me a much better term. Would I make the conclusion that nearly 1 in 10 teens in our nation use video games to the extent it damages their functioning? Not yet. Not from a survey. More study is needed. Fortunately, science never sleeps.
Hmm. Is any percentage of scientists pathologically addicted to their life’s work?
