MMR: High on Life, Low on Games
July 24, 2006 07:59
Addicted To Games?
Video game addiction made headlines last week when a clinic in the Netherlands opened its doors to compulsive gamers who can't seem to pull themselves away from their PCs and consoles. The clinic is run by "addiction consultants" Smith & Jones, a Dutch firm founded in 2004 by Keith Bakker.
"Everyone gets what they want. I wanted a mission, and for my sins they gave me one."
"Apocalypse Now"
The above quote is featured on the company's Website in the introduction section. According to the site, Bakker suffered from heroin addiction but was unable to find appropriate help in the Netherlands (the company says the government simply offered Bakker free heroin). As a result, he left the Netherlands to get treatment and later returned to create Smith & Jones Addiction Consultancy. Smith & Jones uses actual medical doctors, psychiatrists and psychologists rather than "consultants," and has six treatment centers.
Smith & Jones says its Wild Horses Center is the first outpatient treatment program for video game addiction in Europe. Furthermore, the Website claims "20% of all gamers can develop a dependency on gaming." The addiction consultancy claims compulsive gamers display some of the same characteristics as gambling and drug addicts. As far as treatment options, Smith & Jones advocates that compulsive gamers stop playing completely and, following the "detox" period, replace games with real life activities that can provide the same excitement and exhilaration as games.
I'm not here to claim video games can't be addictive. That would be both wrong and naïve. And I won't ridicule the efforts of Smith & Jones. While the choice of quoting a Vietnam war movie on its Website is puzzling, the company seems sincere in its purpose. And of course, we've all heard or seen stories of fellow gamers becoming obsessed with a game to the point where they're damaging their careers and relationships. But I'm not ready to believe that 20% of gamers have a clinical addiction. In fact, many experts have question if Internet addiction is even a true medical condition or disorder.
World of Warcraft's passionate following and more than six million subscribers have many people concerned
We throw around the words "addictive" and "addicting" in reference to games all the time. And yes, games are powerful media and are designed to keep people playing and repeating the same scenarios and levels until they get it right. But let's not go overboard and compare games to crack. Illicit drugs like heroin are inherently addictive. They can pretty much get their hooks into anybody. Games are more like an accomplice; if they find the right person who already exhibits compulsive behavior and an addictive personality, then games can facilitate the crime, so to speak.
That said, I don't doubt a small minority of gamers have become addicted to their MMORPGs. Can an "addiction consultancy" like Smith & Jones effectively treat gaming addiction? Perhaps, but they're not the only ones trying to do so; China opened its first Internet and game addiction clinic last year and several doctors and clinical psychologists here in the United States offer to treat computer, Internet and game addiction. In addition, a number of organizations have been endeavoring to raise awareness about the addictiveness of video and computer games, such as the non-profit research group the National Institute on Media and the Family. But are these groups getting ahead of themselves with reactionary advice for something that experts have yet to agree is a diagnosable clinical condition?
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