|
Internet Addictive Disorder
In this day and age, with hardcore chemicals being the scourge of civilized
life, heroin, cocaine, vicodin, all the classes of drugs that are man-made and
not naturally produced or even those that are natural, it seems silly to talk of
addiction to a computer game. But it is neither silly nor trivial. Take
heed!
The sheer popularity of these games, played on home computers, Xbox's,
Playstations, Gamecubes and other consoles, shows that this addiction does not
affect everyone equally. Some people can play a game for an hour, then go back
to work, or watch TV and not give a second thought to the game. Others play it 8
hours a day or more, forgoing meals, family, work, and daily chores.
The corporations that produce these games do not help with the problem, in
fact they stoke the fires into roaring blazes. Clearly, they understand that
there are millions of people who will forgo simple things in life to pay $10 a
month to play on a game for objects and things that are intangible. So they feed
the addiction, releasing new objects obtainable only in the online world, or
releasing new add-on upgrades and expansion sets for another $50. The bottom
line is money of course, they are corporations who are responsible to their
shareholders, and no-one wants to blame them for the ruinous addiction they are
causing. With ever larger online worlds entering the gaming fray (World of
Warcraft, Everquest 2 ...), it seems that this is a problem that will only
increase.
Psychologists have labelled this as Computer Addiction or Internet Addictive
Disorder, a problem very similar to Pathological Gambling or Compulsive
Shopping, and sadly it does not just affect one person, but seeps into family
life affecting those around the addicted. This is a real disorder, not imagined,
and those afflicted need to seek professional help and more significantly, need
the love, comfort and support of friends and family. Perhaps a little tough love
is in order too, regulate the computer time, turn off your child's playstation
after they have played for an hour, get them involved in real world activities
that have nothing to do with a computer.
This is not an American phenomena, or European, this is world-wide, and only
getting worse. The Chinese have started camps for adolescents addicted to
computers, in a land where nearly 15% of adolescents suffer from Internet
Addiction Disorder according to the China Internet Information Center.
Article written by Richard Dows.
Article source: http://www.articlealley.com/. Used
with author's permission.
|
|
