Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World Health

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Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World Health

Postby seemslikeadream » Tue Jun 19, 2018 12:56 pm

‘Gaming disorder’ is officially recognized by the World Health Organization

18 hours ago

Honestly, “gaming disorder” sounds like a phrase tossed around by irritated parents and significant others. After much back and forth, however, the term was just granted validity, as the World Health Organization opted to include it in the latest edition of its Internal Classification of Diseases.

The volume, out this week, diagnoses the newly minted disorder with three key telltale signs:

Impaired control over gaming (e.g. onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context)
Increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities
Continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences
I can hear the collective sound of many of my friends gulping at the sound of eerily familiar symptoms. Of course, the disorder has been criticized from a number of corners, including health professionals who have written it off as being overly broad and subjective. And, of course, the potential impact greatly differs from person to person and game to game.

The effects as specified above share common ground with other similar addictive activities defined by the WHO, including gambling disorder:

“Disorders due to addictive behaviours are recognizable and clinically significant syndromes associated with distress or interference with personal functions that develop as a result of repetitive rewarding behaviours other than the use of dependence-producing substances,” writes the WHO. “Disorders due to addictive behaviors include gambling disorder and gaming disorder, which may involve both online and offline behaviour.”

In spite of what may appear to be universal symptoms, however, the organization is quick to note that the prevalence of gaming disorder, as defined by the WHO, is actually “very low.” WHO member Dr. Vladimir Poznyak tells CNN, “Millions of gamers around the world, even when it comes to the intense gaming, would never qualify as people suffering from gaming disorder.”
https://techcrunch.com/2018/06/18/gamin ... anization/
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby DrEvil » Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:11 pm

I would probably qualify for this if I didn't already have a different diagnosis that allows me to stay in and game all day. :)

But I think this is a bad move. Not that there aren't people who have issues with their gaming, but that's usually just a coping mechanism for other, underlying issues, and treating the symptoms doesn't cure the disease.

Then there are all the experts saying this is a bad idea, partly because there isn't enough research on it, and partly because of the potential for abuse.

I get the impression that this is a sort of satanic panic for games. If the little tyke is playing too much Fortnite then do some damn parenting.

They should look into "sports disorder", "social media disorder", "TV disorder" and "book disorder" while they're at it.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby seemslikeadream » Tue Jun 19, 2018 9:21 pm

way too kind of you to not mention trump disorder :P
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Pele'sDaughter » Wed Jun 20, 2018 8:47 am

Pharma needs more disorders; we know that's true. Besides depression and other underlying "real" causes, it's happening because children aren't being taught self-discipline and why it's desirable and necessary for happiness. So, this new problem is rooted in a lack of meaningful parenting and has spread throughout our culture. Clearly, my country doesn't put much investment in mental health or anything else that uplifts and heals its people or help young people cope with the confusing mess that lack of mental care leaves behind. I hardly expect that to change going forward, so where does that leave us? Our society pretty much ignores the spiritual components of being human, because most of us have been domesticated and controlled by religion which we're assured will cure every ill. We're fractured and at war with ourselves as a result of that domestication process. We believe that judgmental voice in our head that casts aspersion on us and everything else, because we lack awareness of what we really are and what has been done to us. It's resulted in a sort of mass DID for lack of a better descriptor.

Breaking free of domestication and becoming aware leads to fundamental change that spreads beyond one individual. Still, people will search for gurus and shamans, because they continue to seek healing from outside, sometimes with disastrous results. The change we're wanting starts with the willingness to accept responsibility for our own actions and choices. There's no magic potion; no magic wand. It's awareness and willingness to do the work. I'm not against psychiatry, but I also don't see many people getting better either. If they can't throw some drug at it, you aren't given much else to work with. I think we, and certainly our children, deserve better than that.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby American Dream » Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:02 am

I agree that compulsive behaviors including obsessive gaming can achieve addictive proportions. I certainly am glad that China claims to be giving up electroshock treatments, though I'm definitely concerned about the "kinder, gentler" camps:


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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby DrEvil » Wed Jun 20, 2018 5:45 pm

^^When I said abuse it was exactly that kind of thing I was thinking of. Pretty soon there will be a whole industry of gaming rehabilitation programs cashing in on this new disorder, with little or no oversight.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Laodicean » Wed Jun 20, 2018 6:16 pm

DrEvil » Wed Jun 20, 2018 2:11 am wrote:If the little tyke is playing too much Fortnite then do some damn parenting.


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My FB feed has parents posting videos of their children doing Fortnite dances.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby 82_28 » Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:06 am

Thanks, Laodicean. That is fucking creepy if you ask me. An observation, though. It seems like the kids' "disorders" are from the parents not being able to impart any history of computing along with their own ultimately to become facsimile understanding they received via like "Clippy" and shit at that same age -- not too long ago(!). It is tantalizing to assume video games et al sorta always just were. But children today cannot imagine, let alone remember, a time when computers and graphical representations of shit weren't everywhere. Fuck, I remember in like 1999-2000 when Counterstrike as an online game came out. I tried it and even got some of my anti-war friends to download it and play. It felt dirty. But Jesus, you were playing a first person shooter online! Back then, it had to be seen to be believed, even though all of us were currently totally focused on nonviolence and pacifism IRL. But online gaming was literally magic to anyone who encountered it about twenty years ago. So that would make me the age of these kids now. What then changed in society?

I say probably the feeling of awe has been sucked out of it. Same with broadband. I would tell people about Counterstrike and would have to immediately ask "are you on dial-up?" If they were all you could say was, you can try it, but I doubt it will work for you. Anyway, that's the way it was. One had to work to get shit to work then. The seamlessness of everything has completely fucked with the heads of probably everyone, but especially 15-25 year olds today.

That said, if you're in or around Seattle I really recommend a visit to the Living Computers Museum here. It is an understatement to say that if you're into this computer nonsense that will probably never go anywhere, must be seen.

https://livingcomputers.org/

Here's a little bit of video I shot while there a few months ago.

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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby DrEvil » Thu Jun 21, 2018 4:04 pm

^^I still fondly remember my first "online" session. My brother and I connected our computers with a null modem cable and played Quake and Duke Nukem 3D (pipe bombs in the elevator!). A friend of mine got so into it when playing Quake that he fell off the chair trying to look around a corner. That doesn't happen any more.

Nowadays I hardly play online at all because of the toxicity. I'm not wasting my time listening to some twelve year old shit screaming abuse at everyone.

I say probably the feeling of awe has been sucked out of it.


The novelty is gone for sure, but I'd still say there is some awe to be had, just not on a regular screen or with regular shooters. Elite Dangerous in VR is supposedly amazing, where it actually feels like you're sitting in the cockpit of a spaceship, and planets and stars look as big as they should in real life. Wipeout in VR is also supposed to be brain melting (if VR becomes as popular as in Ready Player One you can start talking about gaming disorder).

And then there's this game, which has my hype-o-meter through the roof:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_v3ttvCVfA

What people should really look into is the predatory monetization models being used in so many games today. Loot boxes everywhere! It's bad enough with the "free" to play garbage that nickel-and-dimes you at every turn, but it's now showing up in full prized games too (games as a service. Fuck you EA).

It's gambling, designed to attract the addictive personalities out there, the so-called whales, who spend insane amounts of money on these games. Clash of Clans is free to download, but they still pulled in 1.5 million every day in 2015 through in-game purchases, and stories about kids melting their parent's credit cards is a regular occurrence.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Elvis » Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:44 pm

I think a related issue is Internet forum addiction. For many, it's like a game. The object?—to WIN.
Last edited by Elvis on Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Elvis » Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:49 pm

I never got into the gaming thing. After Microsoft eliminated classic Solitaire, this is the only computer game I play:

http://www.y8.com/games/bookworm

Be careful! It's addictive. Can you beat my 8 million high score? I DOUBT IT. :snicker:
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Grizzly » Thu Jun 21, 2018 6:12 pm

Intenet forum addiction ...

whaaaa????
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby DrEvil » Thu Jun 21, 2018 7:40 pm

Elvis » Thu Jun 21, 2018 11:44 pm wrote:I think a related issue is Intenet forum addiction. For many, it's like a game. The object?—to WIN.


If you pair a forum with IBM's latest boondoggle (Project Debater, an AI designed to *drum roll* debate people) you could gameify internet discussions. The AI would assess your arguments and score you. You could have a high score list and achievements and exclusive avatars for good debaters and everything. It would be just like a real game!

Also, I can stop posting whenever I want to damn it!
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Re: Gaming disorder is officially recognized by the World He

Postby Elvis » Thu Jun 21, 2018 8:02 pm

Grizzly » Thu Jun 21, 2018 3:12 pm wrote:Intenet forum addiction ...

whaaaa????


"Internet" — dammit...this is gonna drag my overall score down
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