This article is an illustrated and resourced summary of “Addiction” by Richard E. Ferdig from Mark J.P. Wolf’s “Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology & Art of Gaming” (2021).
The term “addiction” is employed within the domains of medicine, psychology, and psychiatry to denote a compulsion or excessive reliance upon a particular stimulus. This term is frequently invoked to delineate or diagnose instances of overdependence, notably on entities such as gambling, substances like drugs, or alcohol.
From a medical standpoint, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, the American Pain Society, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine have advanced a definition of addiction as a primary, chronic, neurobiological disorder influenced by genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors. This pathology is typified by behaviors that encompass diminished control over substance use, compulsive utilisation, sustained engagement despite detrimental consequences, and an intense craving for the subject of addiction.
Critical of the pervasive influence of media in contemporary society, encompassing television, computers, and video games, stakeholders including Parents, educators, governmental authorities, and researchers have historically evinced a concern regarding the pervasive influence of media in contemporary society, encompassing television, computers, and video games. Nevertheless, the characterisation of addiction has expanded to encompass instances of “computer addiction,” “video game addiction,” (see video below) and the more recent “screen-time addiction,” driven by anecdotes of excessive and compulsive interactive engagement. Cases have emerged, such as an incident wherein a Chinese individual succumbed subsequent to playing online games uninterruptedly for three days. Such instances have prompted the establishment of entities like “Online Gamers Anonymous,” conceived in response to a tragedy involving the son of the organisation’s founder, who resorted to suicide in the context of online gaming.
Empirical studies has yielded evidence substantiating the exhibition of classic addiction indicators among certain gamers. These symptoms encompass lying about time spent gaming, an obsessive preoccupation with gaming, waning interest in alternative activities, social withdrawal, and the deployment of gaming as an escapist psychological mechanism. The concept of “internet addiction” garnered recognition within the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. The DSM-5 acknowledged internet gaming disorder in a provisional context, indicating that there was insufficient evidence to definitively classify it as a discrete mental disorder or establish an optimal framework for its classification at the time of the manual’s release.
However, empirical investigations have demonstrated that video game engagement can yield potential benefits within the spheres of health, education, training, and business. At a minimum, games, particularly those involving online multiplayer interactions, have been observed to engender enhanced social relationships and consequent enjoyment. As such, it is imperative to exercise caution in the interpretation and comprehension of media coverage concerning the phenomenon of video game addiction.
Further Readings
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This article is an illustrated and resourced summary of “Addiction” by Richard E. Ferdig from Mark J.P. Wolf’s “Encyclopedia of Video Games: The Culture, Technology & Art of Gaming” (2021) and has been copyedited with Chat-GPT 3.5. This article has been written to make Wolf’s Encyclopedia and its entries more accessible.