Doctors are holding off on listing Video-Game addiction as a mental disorder in the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders. This manual serves as a guide in diagnosing mental illness for the American Psychiatric Association. Some doctors are saying that video game addiction is similar to alcoholism in nature and that "in extreme cases it can interfere with day-to-day necessities like working, showering or even eating".
I don't doubt the truth to the statement, and certainly I agree with a later statement in the article that "the more time kids spend on video games, the less time they will have socializing, the less time they will have with their families, the less time they will have exercising", which is obviously not ideal.
However, it makes me wonder how the video-gaming got that far in the first place. I know of a friend who's father insisted No Nintendo Till Nine while they were growing up. The kids had to eat dinner, get homework done and do chores first. His father later admitted that Nine was arbitrary and that he just liked the alliteration, but the rule worked nonetheless.
In the end, doctors decided they need more studies, so they will reevaluate if it will go into the guide as an official disorder in 5 years. I'll be curious to see what they find!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment