Ha! What a great article.
1. I agree with PC Gaijin who asserted that the article was overly sensational (as most coverage of violence / sex in games has been) and that the fellow Bakker clearly has an interest in legitimizing video game addiction. Well, it goes further than that: He wants to legitimize the "medicalization" of VG addiction. Don't worry, we'll see drugs incorporated into the overall therapy (this is a troubling trend, the medicalization of everything). Counseling is a good thing, though.
2. I also feel that you can be addicted to anything. So, in that sense, I am not trying to debunk video game addiction.
Back in the day, I was addicted to video games / computer. I'd tell my friends I couldn't go out, just to play some more NES. I'd sneak downstairs when everyone was sleeping and play at night. If I was working on a project on the computer (I made demos and basic text adventure / shooting games), I would spend every spare second working on it until I burnt out. As soon as I got some sleep, though, I was back on the Apple ][ like a zombie.
There should be some sort of "litmus test" to determine if you really have a severe addiction. When you start lying to your friends and family, sneaking around, and developing elaborate ploys just to satiate your compulsion, I think that it qualifies as an addiction.
Topic: Video Game Rehab eh? (Read 571 times)
