Video Game Addiction (in Off-topic)

I've been hearing alot about this subject lately.

Whats your thoughts about the issue?

Questions to consider:

Is video game addiction real or even a possibility?
Should it be considered a mental illness?
How will it effect you if the AMA finds video games an addiction?
Should the government be able to monitor the amount of time we play video games?
Should the medicine industry be able to profit off it by selling "drugs" to cure this illness?

Obsessive behavior in all it's forms is a symptom of a disease called modern life...
I don't believe the obsessive (not the physical) part of drug addiction, or food addiction is any different that game addiction. Treating symptoms of diseases is a great way to make lots and lots of money, curing them isn't.

Honestly, as long as people don't stumble around with these on, and a game system/pc strapped to their backs. I don't think it's that much of a problem.

Breaking it down, everyone should have the right to do what they wish, games cost money to buy, money needs to be made (unless you're on welfare), so as long as someone is getting paid and not breaking into my house to feed their 'addiction,' I'm fine with it.

I'm sure most people that play games, don't consider it an ill-ness or dis-ease, in fact I think they probably enjoy it.

My response to the ''do you have a disorder?'' thread + a couple lines:

Game Addiction (as it is, trying to become a recognized medical condition) is a totally stupid way to make irresponsible people even more irresponsible, and make those who really suffer from behavioral dysfunctions be treated with incompatible therapies.

As in, if you truly have an underlying dysfunction that makes you destroy yourself by playing games (which I am sure happens 100% of the time), no doctor, even the most brilliant one, will be able to help you by treating your ''game addiction'' since as soon as this will be gone, you will get hooked on something else.

Video Game Addiction, I think, does not exist. What does?

-Extreme lack of self-esteem. Can make you lock yourself in the basement. Doing the only thing that is going to keep you entertained and busy, playing video games. Or reading excessively, or making tiny plane models or whatever. I don't think anyone will acknowledge the existence of a ''tiny model airplane addiction''.

-Behavioral/Social Dysfunctions. You have trouble making contact with people. At an extreme level. So, you resort to the next best way to have a ''social'' life, wasting all your time ''socializing'' on the net, making an enormous amount of online friends and forgetting to ever take care of your real life.

-Insecurity. Some people can't accept the pressure of life. They can't cope with the various obligations they have now. So they choose to live elsewhere. Will it be the world of Norrath, or Azeroth? No matter, anything that keeps you out of real life is acceptable.

These are extreme examples. But cases like that, I have witnessed myself. They explain what I mean when I say Video Game Addiction does not exist. The act of ''wasting 100% of your time on a computer'' is a RESULT. It has an underlying cause in almost every case. You are not addicted to Second Life. You are allergic to real life. Anything could replace the game it this case, like I have said before. Any way to escape the real world will BECOME the addiction. But you can never heal by only taking away the computer, or the model airplanes. Something else will replace them very fast. You are not trying to cure the right thing.

I myself play video games alot. I also use my computer alot in a day. Most people would say I am ''addicted''. But you know what? I never forget to bathe. To eat and to sleep. I have friends, some that share my hobbies, some that do not. I exercise enough to keep myself from being fat, and am not. I also go to school, get good results, and am becoming a very appreciated intern. I spend time with my girlfriend when I have the chance to, and she takes precedence over games ANYTIME. In fact, all I have stated in this paragraph takes precedence.

What's the point of this long enumeration? To draw a line between addiction and passion. Between self-corrosive behavior and a good hobby. It is important to remember that ''Addiction'' is only something that will cause harm on the long run. If it does not, then I do not think we can talk about addiction. This is important, since people are getting increasingly paranoid about anyone staying in front of a screen for more than half an hour. I know, I've seen that alot around me.

Now, to answer the questions brought by the original post, since I seem to have completely lost myself in the writing of the present one :)

1)No, Video Game Addiction is not real.

2)No, it's not a mental illness, since it does not exist.

3)It will make people completely paranoid, and give an excuse to treat inexistant illnesses. ANy person taking more than an hour in a day playing video games will be labeled mentally ill, believe me, it's not going to be very cool.

4)NO. Keep the government out of my freaking living room. Failure to do so would make the people very...''edgy''. As in, ''breaking store facades'' edgy.

5)NO NO NO NO and heck NO. Hear me: YOU CANNOT CURE VIDEO GAME ADDICTION. You can cure depression. You can follow therapies to remedy your sociophobia. But never will you be able to treat V.G.A. It's like fighting forest fires by...cutting the freaking trees before a fire starts. Just in case.

I think that explains my views on this pretty well. Hope it's understandable, and thank you for reading :)