This article or section is missing citations and/or footnotes. This article or section contains insufficiently sourced phrases. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. You may improve the article or discuss this issue on its talk page. Help on using footnotes is available. This article has been tagged since May 2007. Image File history File links Information. ...

This Photoshopped EverCrack Trilogy box cover, an allusion to the notoriously addictive nature of EverQuest, has been widely circulated online.

Video Game addiction is a proposed form of psychological addiction^{[citation needed]} composed of a compulsive use of computer and video games, most notably MMORPGs, and is related to Internet addiction disorder. Though there is still great debate as to whether one can become truly 'addicted' to a video game/computer game. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from social contact, and focusing almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than life events. Image File history File links Game addiction logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Game addiction logo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ... EverQuest (EQ) is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) that was released on March 16, 1999. ... Psychological addiction, as opposed to physiological addiction, is a persons need to use a drug out of desire for the effects it produces, rather than to relieve withdrawal symptoms. ... It has been suggested that Multiplayer game be merged into this article or section. ... A massive(ly) multiplayer online role-playing game or MMORPG is a multiplayer computer role-playing game that enables thousands of players to play in an evolving virtual world at the same time over the Internet. ... Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a theorized disorder made by Ivan Goldberg, M.D., in 1995. ... An addiction is a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. ...

Symptoms

Physical Symptoms

1. Carpal tunnel syndrome.
2. Sleep disturbances
3. Back, neck aches
4. Headaches
5. Dry eyes
6. Failure to eat regularly or neglect of personal hygiene

Age Specific This article is about the medical condition. ...

1. For Children
   • Most of non-school hours are spent on the computer or playing video games.
   • Falling asleep in school.
   • Not keeping up with assignments.
   • Worsening grades.
   • Lying about computer or video game use.
   • Choosing to use the computer or play video games, rather than see friends.
   • Dropping out of other social groups (clubs or sports).
   • Irritable when not playing a video game or on the computer.
2. For Adults
   • Fantasizing about video game characters while engaged in sexual activity.
   • Computer or video game use is characterized by intense feelings of pleasure and guilt.
   • Obsessing and pre-occupied about being on the computer, even when not connected.
   • Hours playing video games or on the computer increasing, seriously disrupting family, social or even work life.
   • Lying about computer or video game use.
   • Experience feelings of withdrawal, anger, or depression when not on the computer or involved with their video game.
   • May incur large phone or credit bills for on-line services.
   • Can't control computer or video game use.
   • Fantasy life on-line replaces emotional life with partner.

Possible diagnosis

Though Gaming addiction is still disputed, it is argued that its symptoms would be quite similar to that of any other addiction^{[citation needed]}. Common addiction symptoms include^{[citation needed]} (Please note: the following criteria have been copied almost verbatim from the highly disputed criteria of Internet addiction): Computer addiction is a field of psychotherapy that studies impacts of extensive or obsessive computer use on the user/addict. ...

1. Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:
   • A need for markedly increased amounts of time on the game to achieve satisfaction.
   • Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on the game.

1. Withdrawal, as manifested by either A or B below:
   • (A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome, 1, 2 and 3 below
     1. Cessation of (or reduction in) game play time that has been heavy and prolonged.
     2. Two (or more) of the following, developing within several days to a month after Criterion:
        • (a) psychomotor agitation
        • (b) anxiety
        • (c) obsessive thinking about what is happening ingame
        • (d) fantasies or dreams about the game
        • (e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements of the fingers
     3. The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning
   • (B) Use of the game or a similar service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

1. Denial, as demonstrated by the following:
   • Having the strong belief that "I can quit whenever I want" despite opposition from family members and friends.
2. The game is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended.
3. There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control game play time.
4. A great deal of time is spent in activities related to the game (for example, purchasing game books, looking at fan art sites, posting on game forums, researching game tips/hacks, gold farming).
5. Frequent talks about the game in daily life.
6. Important family, social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced in duration and/or frequency because of game use.
7. Game use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical, family, social, occupational, or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by Game use (for example, sleep deprivation, marital difficulties, lateness for early morning appointments, neglect of occupational duties, procrastination on personal projects, or feelings of abandonment in significant others).

A gold farmer is a person who acquires gold (or other in-game currency) in a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) for the sole purpose of selling it to other players via an out-of-game venue, such as E-Bay. ...

Possible causes

A psychology-based theory is behaviorally based. MMORPGs generally reward players in both fixed and random manners. The benefit to completing assigned tasks is accompanied by elements of chance, where the player may or may not receive a reward of some nature. Often, a player may spend hours of play time repeating one basic behavior, in order for the game to reward their actions with a particular prize, item, or other occurrences. This behavior is generally called "farming" by members of the gaming community, and is considered to be normal behavior by most within the gaming community, although acceptance of the length of time spent farming and the frequency of farming sessions can vary. An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ...

Because "farmers" will often have to repeat a behavior hundreds or thousands of times, the length of time spent playing the computer game can be extensive. The eventual acquisition of the sought-after accomplishment may cause reinforcement of the general behavior of "farming"^{[citation needed]}. This theory coincides with the sunk cost fallacy to a high degree. The threat of not accomplishing the goal, combined with the feeling of accomplishment when meeting such a goal may drive game players to exhibit symptoms of addictive behavior. In economics and in business decision-making, sunk costs are costs that have already been incurred and which cannot be recovered to any significant degree. ...

Another possible cause for game addiction may be that the addict may use the game as an escape from one's own life. Academic problems, harassment at school, as well as social issues may cause a desire to "escape" from reality.

Research into video game addiction is in its infancy and therefore new studies are needed and are being conducted to improve understanding of the addiction. Based on current studies, researchers have classified more than 140 hours a month, an average of 2-3 hours a day, of video game usage as “abnormal behavior” (Clymo, 1996). Research has also indicated that higher rates of video game usage are related to poor eye sight, weight problems, misunderstanding between reality and fantasy and result in weak interpersonal relationships (Matsushita & Matsushita, 1997). It also seems that boys that as young as eight years old are negatively influenced by violent videogames. A study conducted with second graders found that boys exposed to violent video games were noticeably more aggressive than those exposed to non violent videogames. It has also been suggested that exposure to violent video games decreases adaptive emotions such as empathy and increases the perception of danger (Buchman & Funk, 1996). A study conducted in Taiwan examined children and teenagers and found that video game addiction is associated with poor academic performance, increased hostility and poor interpersonal skills. Other variables such as sensation seeking and boredom also affect the amount of video game usage in individuals. The study also found that individuals of both genders show the same traits in video game addiction (Chiu, Lee, & Huang, 2004).

Treatment

The Smith and Jones clinic in Amsterdam was the first treatment facility in Europe to offer a residential treatment program for obsessive-compulsive gamers.^[1] The Smith & Jones center has treated many problem gamers from all over the world^{[citation needed]}. The Smith & Jones founder, Keith Bakker developed a treatment program that until now has proven highly effective in the treatment of problem gamers^{[citation needed]}. Nickname: Motto: Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig (Valiant, Determined, Compassionate) Location of Amsterdam Coordinates: Country Netherlands Province North Holland Government  - Mayor Job Cohen (PvdA)  - Aldermen Lodewijk Asscher Hennah Buyne Carolien Gehrels Tjeerd Herrema Maarten van Poelgeest Marijke Vos  - Secretary Erik Gerritsen Area [1][2]  - City 219 km²  (84. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts has set up Computer Addiction Services under the direction of clinical psychologist Dr. Maressa Orzack. She was interviewed August 8, 2006, speaking of the game World of Warcraft she said, "I'd say that 40 percent of the players are addicted." Note that the 40 percent figure was not derived from a scientific study overseen by Dr. Orzack, but rather came from "a forum that Nick Yee runs" at The Daedalus Project. McLean Hospital (pronounced Mc-Lane) is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, USA. It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research. ...   Settled: 1636 â€“ Incorporated: 1859 Zip Code(s): 02478 â€“ Area Code(s): 617 / 857 Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Area  Ranked 44th  - Total 10,555 sq mi (27,360 km²)  - Width 183 miles (295 km)  - Length 113 miles (182 km)  - % water 13. ... Clinical psychology is the application of psychology to mental illness or mental health problems. ... August 8 is the 220th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (221st in leap years), with 145 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... World of Warcraft (commonly abbreviated as WoW) is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Blizzard Entertainment and is the fourth game in the Warcraft series, excluding expansion packs and the cancelled Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans. ...

At one addiction support center in Richmond, Canada, excessive gaming accounts for 80% of one youth counsellor's caseload.^[2] This page is for the city of Richmond, British Columbia. ...

In China, several clinics have been opened by the government to treat those who are addicted to online games, chatting and web surfing. Most of the patients have been forced to attend by parents or government officials. Treatments include yelling, psychiatric counseling, electrical shock treatment, and antidepressant drugs normally used in mental institutions. Some of the patients are effectively prisoners, housed on military bases with metal bars for doors and windows.^[3] Treatment at some clinics are intended for the priviledged, with a day's treatment costing a week of the average monthly salary in Beijing.^[4] Shock therapy is the deliberate and controlled induction of some form of physiological state of shock in an individual for the purpose of psychiatric treatment. ... A recent form of antidepressant medication - Prozac Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, Venlafaxine An antidepressant, in the most common usage, is a medication taken to alleviate clinical depression or dysthymia (milder depression). ...

On-Line Gamers Anonymous has been around for many years to provide support and help for addicted gamers who want to quit, as well as for affected family members. The group uses a 12-step approach to facilitate healing. (Redirected from 12 step) A twelve-step program is a self-help group whose members attempt recovery from various addictions and compulsions through the use of a plan referred to as the twelve steps. Characteristics All twelve-step programs follow some version of the twelve steps. ...

In popular culture

• South Park episode Make Love, Not Warcraft portrays many aspects of game addiction.

South Park is an Emmy Award-winning[1] American animated television comedy series about four third/fourth-grade school boys who live in the small mountain town of South Park, Colorado. ... Make Love, Not Warcraft is episode 1008 (#147) of Comedy Centrals animated series South Park and aired on October 4, 2006. ...

See also

• Catassing
• Connection Addiction
• Computer addiction
• Information addiction
• Internet addiction
• Lee Seung Seop
• Shawn Woolley
• Television addiction

Catassing is the process of sequestering oneself at a computer and avoiding other day-to-day activity in favor of advancing ones character in a massively multiplayer online game (MMOG) whose game design makes heavy use of level treadmills or their logical equivalents. ... Youth spending seemingly endless hours leveling up lumber skills in RuneScape Computer addiction is an obsessive addiction to computer use. ... Information addiction is a condition whereby connected users experience a hit of pleasure, stimulation and escape and technology affects attention span, creativity and focus[1] which has been referred to as pseudo-attention deficit disorder[1]. Infornography Computer addiction Procrastination Information Addiction Research Reveals Growing Danger of Information Addiction Worldwide... Computer addiction is a field of psychotherapy that studies impacts of extensive or obsessive computer use on the user/addict. ... Lee Seung Seop was an industrial boiler repairman in Taego South Korea. ... Shawn Woolley (1980 - 22 November 2001) was an avid player of the computer game EverQuest, an MMORPG, who committed suicide at the age of 21 years old. ... Television addiction is a disorder where the subject has a compulsion to watch television. ...

References

1. ^ Li C. Kuo. Europe Opens Its First Game Addiction Clinic. June 1, 2006.
2. ^ Nelson Bennett. When the game gets serious. Richmond News. December 8, 2006.
3. ^ Humphrey Cheung.China electrocutes the WoW out of Internet addicts
4. ^ Poppy Sebag-Montefiore. China's young escape into the web

• Fryer, James. The most habit-forming games on the planet. What's On. July, 2006.
• Buchman, D.D., & Funk, J.B. (1996). Video and computer games in the 90s: children’s time commitment & game preference. Children Today 24:12-15.
• Chiu, S.-I., Lee, J.-Z., & Huang, D.-H. (2004). Video Game Addiction in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(5)571-581.
• Clymo, P. (1996). Home video game playing in schoolchildren: a study of incidence and patterns of play. Youth Studies 15:59.
• Matsushita, Y., & Matsushita, K. (1997). Video games: a potential new world. ERIC Document reporduction Service No. ED439326.

External links

• Are Games Addictive? The State of the Science Game addiction article examining psychology, neuroscience, current research and problems with research.
• Daedalus Project Dozens of articles related to game addiction and gaming.
• "Treating China's Online Addicts" by Daniel Griffiths, BBC News, 10 October 2005, retrieved 14 March 2006.
• A Piece on Computer Game Addiction
• Game Addiction, How to and What to... A game addiction research and active-solution discussions and proposals, specially for the Philippines and the Asia-Oceania region.
• World of Warcraft Addict Sensationalist news broadcast about addiction to World of Warcraft
• neilsclark.com A game addiction blog by a gamer/games researcher.