It would seem, fellow goblins, that I am an addict, an MMO addict. What’s even more shocking? By merely reading these lines and spending any time on the WG website (or gaming sites in general) that you, too, have apparently fallen into MMO addiction.

I’m sorry to be the one to break this kind of bad news to you.

It’s odd, though. You see, given the list of symptoms describing this addiction, the guy in your gym class is probably also an addict, the lady standing in front of you in the coffee shop is as well, and the cashier at the local convenience store is, too. It goes without saying that your in-game buddies, as well as all your guild-mates, are all addicts as well.

Damn, seems like this MMO crap is worse than crack.

You might think I’m crazy for making these claims. I’m not. I didn’t even make any of this up. It’s all out there on the web for anyone to read. Quite frankly, there’s a small, vocal bunch of concerned ?researchers?, all of whom are warning moms, dads, and every media outlet who’ll give them the attention they obviously didn’t get as children that this online gaming addiction thing is very serious stuff. Some are even going so far as to blame a certain popular MMO for the suicide of a young man. (This is despite the well-known and well-documented fact that he was struggling with mental illness before the game ever came along.) There are other, similar claims out there.

While all of this sounds remarkably insane, it gets worse. According to this small group of dangerous head-shrinks, headline grabbers, and people trying to sell their books, a very large percentage (up to 40%) of MMO players are addicted. In fact, it seems that virtually every MMO player I’ve ever known has demon ?addictive? qualities, at least according to symptoms they’ve posted up on the world wide web.

And (in case you couldn’t already tell) the whole idea is really starting to get under my skin.

I’ve been following the stories circulating around this whole ?addiction? topic for some time. Some aren’t so serious. Others will have you believing this is the next plague. It’s certainly a hot issue. Having searched and researched this subject for quite a while, I have come to feel this whole addiction thing to be one of the more serious subjects circulating the web. I feel this way for two simple reasons. The first should be pretty obvious by now. I’m convinced that the word ?addiction? in regard to MMO gaming is being defined far, far too broadly. So broadly, in fact, that nearly any MMO gamer can be considered an ?addict.?

So what constitutes game addiction? It appears to be defined by various laundry lists of symptoms. When reading any number of articles on gaming addiction, responsible or clinical analyses are intermixed with some downright bizzarre claims about this so-called addiction. In fact, these kinds of irresponsible statements are everywhere. According to a number of prominent articles on the subject, these symptoms may include:

Thinking about what is happening in-game when not logged in.
Dreaming about the game.
Playing up to several hours a day (or, conversely)
Playing 140 hours a month.
Seeking PvP advancement.
Belonging to raiding guilds or guilds with a bigger emphasis on goal-oriented play.

Time away from the game is spent doing things related to the game. This, apparently, is also discussed as being indicative of addiction. These things might include:

The purchasing of game books
Submitting fan art
Writing fan fiction
Talking about the game when not playing
Thinking about the game when not playing
Visiting web sites about the game
Posting on game-related forums
Researching tips and strategies for the game
Reading articles, like this one, about MMO gaming (guess you’re an addict, eh?)
Writing an article about gaming (I’ll be checking into rehab as soon as this gets posted, k?)

There are other related activities that, though not specifically mentioned in any of the literature, might also define you as an online gaming addict. Do you sometimes watch game videos? How about comics based on your favorite MMO? Did you watch that South Park episode about World of Warcraft? According to the so-called experts, these kinds of behaviors are simply more symptoms of your ?addiction.?

I’m pretty sure that you can see where I’m going with all this. If these activities define one as an addict, then virtually every MMO gamer is an addict. I’d like to suggest an alternative term for people who engage in the activities on the above list. I don’t call them addicts. I call them ?hobbyists.?

I have friends that are really into golf. While I’m not a golfer myself, their devotion to their hobby is obvious. They buy golfing outfits, they read golf magazines, they watch golf on television. They even visit golf websites. They talk about golf with their friends. If the so-called addiction standards, above, were applied to my golf buddies, they’d be declared golf addicts.

Come to think of it, if those standards were applied to any hobbyist, they’d all be declared addicts. Maybe I should have an intervention with my friend Julee. She’s quite the fishing addict. I know a couple of boating and motorcycle addicts, too. I’ve got friends who are addicted to books. That reading addiction needs to be overcome! And nearly everyone I know is, apparently, addicted to television.

I suspect that one reason these activists are attacking the gaming industry on a psychological level is simply because they attack those things that they cannot understand. I personally also suspect that it also has a lot to do with profit and attention. Many of those pushing this agenda, not surprisingly, have books to sell and interviews to give. This speaker suggests, quite openly, that the idea is to get people into expensive treatment clinics. One thing is clear: psychologists that DO understand the true nature of addiction have surprisingly little negative to say about gaming. In fact, they themselves often don’t understand where this anti-gaming diatribe is coming from. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Let me stop for a brief moment and say that I enjoy, and believe in, legitimate psychology. I’m all about the scientific exploration of human behavior. This doesn’t mean that I’m into extremes. Just because someone claims that such-and-such is a psychological disorder, or that something is a serious moral issue, doesn’t convince me. It takes more than a simple claim. It has to be demonstrated, and demonstrated convioincingly…..and clinically.

Thus I’m not an advocate of ‘wacko’ psychology. And the varcurrent definitions of MMO ?addiction? clearly fall, in my humble little opinion, into the ?wacko? category.

Years ago, when television was blamed for everything from violence to social dysfunction, I wasn’t a believer. I just never bought into the idea that Captain Kirk (who got into regular fistfights and phasered, on average, one person per episode) caused teenagers to kill each other.

Similarly, I was never one to buy into the claims of Jack Thompson and his ilk, continuously screaming that violent video games cause on-campus violence. The entire idea just doesn’t wash with me. I’ve certainly heard the claims ? they’re shouted to any reporter that will listen ? but I rarely see any substantiation. I remain unconvinced that video games are harming our kids, or are somehow causing young people to kill each other or kill themselves.

I’m of the opinion that the uproar about ?addiction? to online games is very similar to the above phenomena. Online games ? and I’m specifically referring to MMOs here ? aren’t exactly the same as first person shooters. Quite frankly, the biggest ones involve killing mythical enemies with axes and magic. And until someone on some campus somewhere is killed with an axe or magic fireball, the video-game violence people don’t have much to say. As a result, MMOs are now being vilified in another manner. The easiest thing to attack is the amount of time people spend playing them. The games are compelling, no question about it. So that is what the headline-grabbers go after.

Suffice it to say, I simply believe that there is a great injustice being done to on-line gaming hobbyists. The same can be said about the companies that develop and design these games. The false claims of ?addiction?, while certainly headline-grabbing, are simply overblown.

At this juncture, allow me to say that there are some ? let me emphasize the word some — people who play online games compulsively. There are people who’ve hurt themselves or their families (at least socially and psychologically) by playing far too much. Though there have been cases where players do play compulsively, I believe this doesn’t represent the average MMO gamer. Any person with a compulsive disorder can be more likely to become addicted to these games. Games don’t create addicts. While some gamers have isolated themselves from social contact, focusing entirely on in-game rewards rather than real life events, these cases are not, in my opinion, all that common.

But when these cases do occur, the compulsive players need help. Remember earlier in my article, when I said I was concerned about all the hype involving ?gaming addiction? for two reasons? This, my friends, is the second reason. You see, compulsive players need treatment. Effective treatment involves research ? actual, serious, scientifically-based research. Lumping everyone who plays MMOs into the category of ?gaming addict? detracts from that kind of research. If contemporary research focuses on ?curing? MMO hobbyists, instead of focusing on the minority who are truly troubled, the development of truly effective treatments will be muted or compromised. This cannot be allowed to happen. Contemporary claims of ?MMO addiction? are doing just that. If this trend is allowed to continue, it will prevent those who truly deserve and need help from receiving it.

Gaming addiction has been compared to alcoholism or pathological gambling. There’s a group of psychologists, not supported by their fellows or the AMA, who are lobbying to get gaming addiction labeled as it’s own disorder similar to that of ICD (Impulse Control Disorder). Another group is pushing to have gaming addiction labeled as another form of IAD (Internet Addiction Disorder). This is heading in the wrong direction.

A couple of interesting facts came to light while researching this topic. The first is that IAD is a disorder ?discovered? by Dr. Ivan Goldberg M.D. in 1995. Dr. Goldberg specializes in BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), Schizophrenia and clinical depression. While Dr. Goldberg is certainly knowledgeable about confirmed psychiatric disorders, it appears that his initial documentation of IAD was, in fact, an intentional parody. This hasn’t stopped other “researchers” from making continuous references to his work, even today.

A second fascinating fact that came to light was the early work of psychologist Nick Yee. He began researching MMO gameplay habits when MMOs were a new phenomenon. He’s been in this field longer than anyone else, and his work is well researched and well documented. He is often cited and quoted by those promoting this whole ?gaming addiction? trend. Guess what? These folks all seem to be suffering from a serious misunderstanding of Yee’s work. You see, he’s one of those responsible psychologists who’s standing against labeling MMO gameplay as addiction.

Even the American Medical Association does not buy into the whole addiction/disorder labeling. They state, “Although the AMA still have to vote on the issue of classifying video game addiction as a mental disorder, its clear that the majority of the physicians who make up the committee that votes on whether or not the issue makes it into the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders postpone the addition until more information can be found.? In short, the request got thrown out with yesterday’s garbage, at least for now. What this all means is that there needs to be more case studies done by doctors and researchers and they all need to agree that there is indeed a problem that needs to be addressed.

The word ‘addiction’ is a dangerous word, and one not to be used lightly. Though many irresponsible websites would have you believing that you’re an addict, this is an exercise in gross mis-diagnosis. There is a glut of blogs and postings from surly, histrionic mothers (some starting inappropriate websites), high-maintenance, attention-seeking girlfriends/wives, and a certain sect of psychologists seeking money, fame, glory and a talk-show host contract. Oh, and Tyra Banks. No, the coming home after a long day at work, kicking the shoes off , powering up the Dell and playing a few hours of World of Warcraft is not an addiction…no matter what the activists may say.

For the average gamer, this is simply relaxation. Online gaming is a hobby that should be enjoyed and respected. Most players aren’t addicted — they’re enjoying themselves. If we start buying into labels and listening to whack-job extremists, soon we’ll have warning labels on MMO games. Other knee-jerk restrictions are possible. (Remember, China now regulates the amount of time players can play). Further, the average player would have to live with the “addict” label. We will be allowing our rights to be taken away.

And I, dear readers, will be out of a job, flat broke and eating Top Ramen out of a TupperWare bowl. We can’t have that, can we?

Please, dear reader, give this a bit of thought. The entire “gaming addiction” craze is out of control. I don’t mind a bit of internet histrionics, but the whole thing is getting into a dangerous area. Compulsive players — a small minority — need help, but they need it from responsible psychologists, and it needs to be based on actual science. Gaming hobbyists need to be left alone — they don’t need to be labeled, and they don’t need to have their games, or their game-time, restricted. Don’t let the extremists rule the world, real or virtual.

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Copyright 2007 by WanderingGoblin.com. All rights reserved.

[Curiously, it appears that the original wikipedia entry on IAD, and which is linked herein, was changed during the writing of this article. The original entry contained a number of the more remarkable claims made by advocates for IAD and gaming addiction. We can only speculate that the changes were made due to the slap-down they recently received at the hands of the AMA - Editor].