We Need More Research Into Video Game Addiction

I think it’s fair to say that the majority of gamers have probably found themselves heavily drawn into a game at one time or another in their lives. Whether it’s hours spent in World of Warcraft grinding for mounts, or a 48-hour-binge session when that shiny new pre-order finally arrives, most gamers can relate to the feeling of being immersed in another world, an experience which sees them ignoring most, if not all, real-life responsibilities in favour of extensive gameplay.

But when do these sessions become a problem? Where do we draw the line between hobby and addiction? A lack of research into the addictive properties of gaming has lead to a lot of speculation and criticism from both academics and the mass media when attempting to classify video game addiction, whereby gaming itself has become synonymous with ill-health and aggression. Along with this comes a lack of advice and treatments available for people who are struggling to balance their real-world commitments with their gaming, and an arrogant assumption from academics that gaming is not something to be taken seriously in either a positive or negative light.

There have been numerous accounts by gamers which tell of their own addictions to various games, some of which offer advice to fellow gamers on how to conquer their addictions, and the topic has even been featured on The Dr. Phil Show:

But, why, then is there still so little research into the actual addictive properties of video games from established scientific bodies? Scientific research into video game addiction is a limited and somewhat complicated area of study which is more hypothesis than fact at this point in time. Video game addiction is officially classified as a “Condition for Further Study” in the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5, which is “the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the U.S.”. Essentially, this means that video game addiction isn’t officially recognised as a “real” addiction yet, but it might be considered to be one in the future, if enough research is produced on the subject. For me, this isn’t good enough.

This lack of research into gaming addiction seemingly creates two major problems. Firstly, it creates and nurtures the stereotype that every gamer can become addicted to any game, which will cause them to ignore their real-life responsibilities in favour of their digital worlds. When we as a society see examples of video game “addiction” without any scientific research to dissuade our fears, assumptions are made about the passive nature of gaming audiences, and the dangerously addictive properties that every game may potentially harbour. Everyone has read one news story or another about how “dangerous” gaming can be to susceptible minds, such as claims that GTA will make players aggressive or this Telegraph piece that describes how playing Call of Duty may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s.

Whilst these kinds of claims are usually linked to one study or another, they tend to be singular and limited in their actual evidence and conclusions. These kinds of studies and articles also perpetuate the idea that all games are dangerous, and that all gamers are passive consumers of media, who conform to the “Hypodermic” audience theory, which is an outdated media theory that suggests that messages portrayed in media are directly “ingested” by the audience, and that the audience does not question or consider these messages, they merely accept them as truth.

It’s also important to take into account the idea that each individual gamer will have certain “risk factors” which will affect their reactions to different video games. These risk factors can be things like psychological issues, previous traumas, environment/living situations and mental health issues, the idiosyncrasies of which mean that it is impossible to make a sweeping statement as to how a certain game will affect every single person who plays it. Just as one person may hate one game and another may adore it, some people may be negatively affected by a video game’s messages and assigned tasks, whereas another will leave the game with no ill-effects.

The other main problem that comes with a lack of research into video game addiction is that it’s hard to know how to help those who do find themselves unable to find a balance between gaming and real-life responsibilities. As of right now, it is very hard to classify just when someone is addicted to video games. If someone looks at their phone every five minutes to check on their Clash of Clans account, is that an addiction? What about if someone spends hours exploring dungeons in Guild Wars? It is so difficult to determine an addiction by any numerical value alone, and then we also have to consider those who interact with games outside of the “limits” of the game itself. What about someone who, say, chooses to create a roleplay blog for their Fallen London character? Or someone who loves Overwatch so much that they sew themselves a Reaper cosplay? Are they addicted to worlds other than our own? Or are they merely a fan of a particular piece of media? A lack of even loose guidelines for classifying gaming addictions means that often people don’t see themselves as addicted, they merely see themselves as fanatic, or invested. And Hell, they might be. Right now, we have no way of even beginning to tell when people may have become addicted (or, at least, overly invested) in a particular game.

Despite the lack of official classification into what constitutes an addiction to gaming, there are individual companies and charities which have been created to help those who believe they suffer from gaming addictions, though without exact guidelines to work from, it’s hard to know if these individual bodies are providing the best level of care for patients as they possibly could be. Googling “video game addiction” will lead you to videogameaddiction.co.uk, a site which “help[s] people from being controlled by a gaming addiction”, and provides counselling services to addicted gamers and their families. Whilst I have no knowledge of the treatments on offer besides what the site has shown me, it all seems very general advice, including telling parents to not make their children go “cold turkey” and also encouraging people to discover the “root cause” of their addictions. The treatment may well work wonders (there are some good testimonials on the site’s sidebar) but I can’t help but wonder if, backed by further research into video game addiction, charities and companies could be doing more to help those in need who may not yet realise that they could benefit greatly from help and advice to reduce their time spent gaming.

I hope in a few years I will be able to write an article on how the DSM-6 has officially classified video game addiction, and all the research that has been done into helping people who find themselves lost in online worlds. There are people in the world who need help to overcome their excessive gaming habits, and the first step in helping them will be to convince researchers that games are worth taking seriously.