Gaming not an addiction…most of the time

I’ve posted on this before on a previous blog, but I’ve held to the opinion that playing games for a significant amount of time isn’t usually an addiction, and I’ve finally found someone with credentials who agrees.

My position was and is this. Games are singled out from any other hobby as being addictive, but I believe this is usually incorrect, and that such statements are made out of ignorance of what an addiction really is, out of a lack of understanding of the video game experience, or possibly out of prejudice against games and gamers.

What is an addiction? Online dictionaries suggest that an addiction is a physical, psychological, or chemical dependency formed from habitually participating in an activity or consuming a substance. We misuse the word addiction a lot, often implying that doing something often means we’re addicted to it. Where this is wrong is that it absolves responsibility from the “addict”, assuming they “can’t” control themselves.

What such statements forget is that many people play a lot because they want to. They game to escape, to compensate for social phobias or other social issues, as a way of avoiding responsibility, or just because they like it and would rather spend their time gaming than doing something else.

I’m not suggesting that any of those reasons are valid; on the contrary, I’d argue that moderation is good for just about everything and that dealing with your problems wherever possible builds character while escape does not. What I am suggesting though is that we shouldn’t confuse making poor choices with the inability to choose.

While it’s good that someone whose business it is to help gaming addicts recognizes that for most people, it’s not an addiction, this is an attitude that needs to become more widespread. Not just regarding games either: the idea of taking responsibility for your own actions is one that society has largely discarded. And after all, even for those who are addicted to something, they may not be able to choose now but they made the wrong choice at some point. By all means, treat addicts with care and compassion, but let’s not avoid the truth either. People need to learn to make the right choices or accept the consequences, not have the object of their choice bear the guilt for their actions.