Big pharma takes a hit -- for now
It's a sad day for the drugmakers. The American Society of Addiction Medicine in New York has found that addiction to video games is not, in fact, a mental illness. From Reuters:
"There is nothing here to suggest that this is a complex physiological disease state akin to alcoholism or other substance abuse disorders, and it doesn't get to have the word addiction attached to it," said Dr Stuart Gitlow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine in New York.
Gitlow spoke at a meeting of the American Medical Association. But the next DSM, which comes out in 2012, may well include it.
Comments
If gambling can be a mental illness , so should be video game addiction.
A "good" video game is designed to BE addictive, and there have been documented cases of people dying related to computer/video games.
from
ww.csd.uwo.ca/courses/CS641b/notes/cs641_7_4.pdf
"Remember Motivations
For example, from Nolan Bushnell:(ATARI)
“All the best games are easy to learn and difficult to master. They should reward the first quarter and the hundredth.”
Easy to learn …
Encourages inexperienced players to play.
Otherwise, players are frustrated and psychologically
discouraged from playing the game.
Difficult to master …
If it is easy to master, there is no challenge, and
hence no reward or accomplishment in playing.
Posted by: Mark (p.s.) | June 26, 2007 08:21 AM