Video game addiction

Video game addiction is a condition wherein a subject is unable to control his or her consumption of video games. Like other addictions, this can lead to serious personal consequences, such as isolation, neglect of personal relationships and responsibilities, and decreased general health and well-being.

Obviously, video game addiction is a relatively new concern, but a growing one; whereas early video games tended to be simplistic and repetitive, and thus unlikely to cause addiction, more modern games are highly immersive. Indeed, many games, particularly massively-multiplayer online games such as World of Warcraft, are exercises in behavioral psychology designed to encourage addictive behavior patterns.

Although video game addiction has not yet been accepted as a formal psychological disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it has been considered for such inclusion, and was rejected primarily due to insufficient data. The American Medical Association has determined that more research is necessary; while stressing the importance of not making a premature diagnosis, they also acknowledge the seriousness of the problem, estimating that as many as 5 million children may be suffering from video game addiction.