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Mosby

(16,158 posts)
Sun Jul 1, 2018, 10:37 PM Jul 2018

'Gaming disorder' is only a symptom of a much larger problem

For many people, leisure time now means screen time. Mom’s on social media, Dad’s surfing the Web, sister is texting friends, and brother is playing a multiplayer shooting game like Fortnite.

But are they addicted? In June, the World Health Organization announced that “gaming disorder” would be included in its disease classification manual, reigniting debates over whether an activity engaged in by so many could be classified as a disorder.

Experts were quick to point out that only 1 to 3 percent of gamers are likely to fit the diagnostic criteria, such as lack of control over gaming, giving gaming priority over other activities and allowing gaming to significantly impair such important areas of life as social relationships.

Those low numbers may give the impression that most people don’t have anything to worry about. Not true. Nearly all teens, as well as most adults, have been profoundly affected by the increasing predominance of electronic devices in our lives. Many people suspect that today’s teens spend much more time with screens and much less time with their peers face-to-face than did earlier generations, and my analysis of numerous large surveys of teens of various ages shows this to be true: The number of 17- and 18-year-olds who get together with their friends every day, for example, dropped by more than 40 percent between 2000 and 2016. Teens are also sleeping less, with sleep deprivation spiking after 2010. Similar to the language in the WHO’s addiction criteria, they are prioritizing time on their electronic devices over other activities (and no, it’s not because they are studying more: Teens actually spend less time on homework than students did in the 1990s). Regardless of any questions around addiction, how teens spend their free time has fundamentally shifted.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/gaming-disorder-is-only-a-symptom-of-a-much-larger-problem/2018/06/29/64f2866a-7a21-11e8-93cc-6d3beccdd7a3_story.html

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'Gaming disorder' is only a symptom of a much larger problem (Original Post) Mosby Jul 2018 OP
Is TV watching a disorder? hibbing Jul 2018 #1
Yes, according to Harlan Ellison Xipe Totec Jul 2018 #2
You can be addicted to anything that gives you pleasure... PoliticAverse Jul 2018 #3
In college, my husband was addicted to D&D woodsprite Jul 2018 #4
Yep. All my son's middle school friends play online games together. SunSeeker Jul 2018 #5
My mom used to tell me Mosby Jul 2018 #6
New documentary on the impacts of electronic SCREEN CULTURE appalachiablue Jul 2018 #7
I have anxiety problems. When they get severe, I use gaming and the Internet to avoid responsibiliti NickB79 Jul 2018 #8

PoliticAverse

(26,366 posts)
3. You can be addicted to anything that gives you pleasure...
Sun Jul 1, 2018, 10:48 PM
Jul 2018

because the addictive chemicals are in your brain.

woodsprite

(11,853 posts)
4. In college, my husband was addicted to D&D
Sun Jul 1, 2018, 11:58 PM
Jul 2018

Now at 56, he’s addicted to Ingress and Pokémon Go, and he’s dragged the whole family into it. Before that PokemonGo came out, it was Farmville, Cafe World, and whatever that castle game was, and the whole family played.

He’s more serious about it than the rest of us are, but I think that’s due to his competitive nature. He’s played cut-throat Monopoly so many years that now he can’t find anyone who will play with him.

SunSeeker

(51,367 posts)
5. Yep. All my son's middle school friends play online games together.
Mon Jul 2, 2018, 02:04 AM
Jul 2018

The only time they see each other in person is at school.

The only time my kid leaves the house other than for school is for soccer (practice and games). Thank God he still has an interest in that.

I was never home at my son's age. I was always with my friends or dating.

But we had no internet, no cell phones. We just had each other. Which was a lot.

appalachiablue

(41,047 posts)
7. New documentary on the impacts of electronic SCREEN CULTURE
Mon Jul 2, 2018, 04:18 PM
Jul 2018

on people, societies and the environment: *STARE INTO THE LIGHTS MY PRETTIES* (2017)

IMDB: Storyline- We live in a world of screens. The average adult spends the majority of their waking hours in front of some sort of screen or device. We're enthralled, we're addicted to these machines. How did we get here? Who benefits? What are the cumulative impacts on people, society and the environment? What may come next if this culture is left unchecked, to its end trajectory, and is that what we want?

Stare Into The Lights My Pretties investigates these questions with an urge to return to the real physical world, to form a critical view of technological escalation driven by rapacious and pervasive corporate interest. Covering themes of addiction, privacy, surveillance, information manipulation, behavior modification and social control, the film lays the foundations as to why we may feel like we're sleeprunning into some dystopian nightmare with the machines at the helm. Because we are, if we don't seriously avert our eyes to stop this culture from destroying what is left of the real world.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7762882/

NickB79

(19,109 posts)
8. I have anxiety problems. When they get severe, I use gaming and the Internet to avoid responsibiliti
Mon Jul 2, 2018, 08:10 PM
Jul 2018

I'll ignore important, stressful issues I should address head-on (home repairs, car repairs, marital strife, work-related issues), and instead find myself wasting hours on the computer, phone, tablet, Xbox, etc.

It's glaringly obvious that my life would be better if I just stepped up and dealt with the problems immediately, but my anxiety traps me like glue. I had bad experiences with medications in the past, so I refuse to see a doctor.

I wonder if that explains other people's situations as well.

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