In response to kjac051’s post “Addiction in games”

In response to kjac051's post “Addiction in games”, I find myself agreeing with a lot of what has been said. I agree. It is absurd to deem playing video games for a certain, designated amount of time can be termed ‘addictive’ and therefore unhealthy for an individual. As well as the absurdity surrounding the discourse of addiction in videogames I also find it equally as perplexing that the wider public, who interact with the media in various forms are being brainwashed that ‘excessive’ playing can lead to a myriad of effects. But just how harmful can playing videogames really be?

According to the clip watched in our tutorial where the Tech Lifestyle editor Jennifer Jolly claims, with little to no substantial referencing, that 21 hours is the apex of excessive gameplay – or ‘addictive’ behaviour. She claims that those who are addicted to video games (i.e. play for more than 21 hours per week) are at higher risk for becoming afflicted with depression, obesity, dementia, social phobia and poor grades. She neglects to delve into this and highlight that depression could be the possible cause for poor grades, obesity or social phobia and videogames serve as an outlet for those with the condition. I suppose to give some benefit of the doubt, there is a limited allotted time for the interview and therefore the theory can not be exceedingly delved into however, through the information presented this paints a picture that videogames are the ultimate cause for these effects. What she fails to mention, or even hint at, is the lack of other factors that could be present within an individuals life that could also lead to these issues, such as an abusive parent that leads to an individuals depression and lack of motivation to study, to see people and a habit of binge eating leading to obesity. Furthermore, the issue of social phobia is disputed as even though an individual may choose to neglect speaking to family and friends in their outside lives, in the case of playing online/live/MMO’s there is constant social interaction occurring by interacting with those over the world that evidently is another form of social interaction, but is simply unseen, or rather, neglected by the medias approval.

Another important point to draw light upon is that the news anchors as well as Jennifer Jolly all exclude playing videogames as a potential hobby. Instead, playing basketball, softball and going shopping are what’s considered the ‘norm’ for teenagers and kinds to be indulging in. In consistency with kjac051’s opinion, playing videogames IS a hobby. It certainly renounces being a chore, or a task, it offers pleasure and relaxation (with the exception of cases where games make you RQ). It sure is a hobby to me too. If 21 hours is the point where a commitment to an activity becomes a level of addiction then this should apply to any form of media or any form of leisure interest in life. If I invest 22 hours per week into other interests, take dancing or reading for example, then would I be classified as an addict to dance? An addict to reading? Why do only videogames become classified as a form of ‘addiction’? Why the negative light? Why can it not be viewed upon as a dedication to something one enjoys? Just because one spends a substantial amount of time involved in that activity does not automatically attribute them to being “addicted”. The truth is, as pointed out by Neils Clark and Keith Bakker, referring to playing video games as an ‘addiction’ is contested. The term is too broad and does not have a universal, agreed upon, specific definition. This makes it difficult to apply to variant situations. More appropriately, the term ‘problematic use’ is agreed upon through many fields and can be applied to different forms of media.

I think the media hyperbolise videogames in society and condition people to believe that every video game is somewhat related to violence. By using statistics like 92% of kids aged 5-18 in America play video games and 10% are ‘addicted’, the media only aims to scare people into crediting videogames as evil, corporate money-making products that will infect the minds of the young. I think, if the media wants to convince society that video games are ‘bad’, unhealthy and ‘addictive’ then there needs to be more legitimate studies carried out that really reinforce this superstition. I also believe there needs to be a profound amount of more awareness regarding what video games actually qualify as and the variety of genres it comprises, including letting parents (and the rest of the population unbeknownst to videogames) know there are educational games out there as well light-hearted games, Disney games, games developed from cartoon/animated movies, “co-operative” games (as opposed to competitive) and so forth. With more comprehension about this, I believe videogames wouldn’t be as looked down upon as they are now by certain areas of society.