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Amanda Ivester
Leslie Salley
English 103 Section 064
November 8 2012
Gaming Addiction: As Exaggerated as the Games in Question
To be an online gamer in American society does not just mean that a person is an online
gamer, it means one is a stigmatized individual. Many people believe that the majority, if not all,
people who play online games are gaming addicts. This belief stems from the obvious and farreaching negative effects of online gaming and from extreme anecdotal cases; it only makes
sense that most people believe all gamers to be gaming addicts if gaming addicts are the only
type of gamer the general population has ever been exposed to in any fashion. Unfortunately, due
to this lack of exposure to online gamers, many people fail to realize that the reality of the matter
is that most gamers are not gaming addicts; however, just because an individual is not an addict
does not mean this person is free from the negative effects of online gaming. The point that many
people fail to realize is that an individual does not have to a gaming addict in order to experience
the negative impact of online gaming (Van Rooij, p. 490).
Perhaps the most important piece of information to have before one can begin to
understand how online gaming can have a negative impact on a person who is not addicted is the
American Society of Addiction Medicines definition of addiction. The American Society of
Addiction Medicine describes the ABCs of addiction as the inability to abstain, impairment of
behavioral control, craving, diminished recognition of significant problems, and a dysfunctional
emotional response (Definition of Addiction, par. 7). Mark Griffiths, another well-respected
scholar, also agrees with this definition, describing the six criteria for addiction as being salience,

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mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse (36). These two
definitions set clear criteria for what the components of addiction are exactly; namely a person
must crave their addiction, be unable to quit their addiction, depend on their addiction, and not
realize their addiction is a problem. Griffiths, based on his criteria set for addiction, plainly states
that addiction arises from a system of rewards for their behavior and that excessive playing alone
does not constitute addiction (36). At this point, it becomes a bit clearer as to how someone can
experience negative effects from online gaming without being addicted, since it is intuitive that
excessive playing of online games can easily cause negative effects. The behavioral patterns
associated with addiction are complex and unhealthy; it is also far less common to be addicted to
online gaming than the general public suspects. One study that analyzed gamers found that only
12% of the gamers studied exhibited gaming addiction (Van Rooij p. 490). Even psychiatrist Dr.
Charles OBrien admits to seeing very few cases of gaming addiction while watching his own
teenaged son go through a period of excessive playing and fixating on video games; the very
symptoms that many people believe signify video game addiction (Sutter, par. 6).
Armed with the knowledge of what addiction actually is, looking at specific cases of
undeniable addicts will clearly outline the negative effects of online gaming. An online miniseries called The Guild chronicles the daily life of a group of friends addicted to an online game.
The characters of The Guild are unemployed, play their online game for at least eight hours
every day, and have minimal social interaction outside of their online game (The Guild: Episode
One). One of the characters, a mother only by name, locks her children in the kitchen while they
cry for her attention and from hunger (The Guild: Episode One). The evidence gives rise to the
quite clear conclusion that these characters are addicted; these compulsive gamers are unable to
quit their gaming and consistently neglect real world obligations in favor of gaming, causing

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their social and economic status to suffer greatly. Kevin, the creator of an online game called
Second Life, also exemplifies the stereotypical addict (Fantasy Lives). Second Life is a second
world where the players can live a new life free from ordinary social obligations and stigmas.
Kevin spends so much time playing his online game that he even has a close family in the
game that he says he feels extremely attached to (Fantasy Lives). Kevin claims that his wife
understands that he must take time each day to play his game in order to relax, but one must
wonder how much his relationship suffers since time that could be spent bonding with his wife
and children is spent bonding with intangible people (Fantasy Lives). Perhaps the most apparent
sign that Kevin is an addict is the fact that he believes he has a perfect family life, yet Kevins
own adolescent daughter expresses how much she wishes her father would game less (Fantasy
Lives). Second Life also has a slightly pornographic nature and thus people who know Kevin is
associated with Second Life will change their view of him, particularly since Kevin even admits
to having online sex with his online wife and daughters. The particularly concerning fact about
this is that Kevin blatantly says that he indeed views these people as family (Fantasy Lives).
These cases of online gaming addicts help to define the specific negative effects of online
gaming. These negative effects include poor economic standing, poor familial connects, health
problems, and the neglecting of social obligations. The American Academy of Pediatrics official
stance on violence in online games also offers further insight to the potential negative effects of
online gaming. Many studies have been done which link aggressive behavior and violence in
games (Cook, par. 4). Prevalent violence in online games can often times desensitize children to
violence thus making them less likely to speak up against violence acts and more likely to
respond to problems with violence since children cannot as easily separate fantasy and reality as
people would like to believe (Cook, par. 6). By clearly defining the negative effects of online

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gaming experienced by online gaming addicts, translating those effects to non-addicted gamers is
quite simple. Non-addicted gamers experience these same negative effects but to a milder degree.
Just to give perspective on how widespread that these negative effects are, consider this. In 2007
World of Warcraft began placing warnings on their loading screens advising players to take
breaks often and not neglect the real world (Van Rooij, p. 490). For a game played by millions to
feel compelled to place warnings in their game clearly indicates that these negative effects
impact many gamers.
Although no more often unemployed than the average citizen, non-addicted gamers often
experience economic stress resulting from their gaming. Many online games are pay-to-play
games meaning either you have to pay a monthly fee just to be able to play them or you can pay
in order to more quickly advance through the game easily (Davies, par. 8). Games like World of
Warcraft can cost a person a relatively large quantity of money per month depending on their
income since the gamer has to pay a monthly fee of fifteen dollars for access to the game
(Davies, par. 8). Gamers who play World of Warcraft must also pay forty to fifty dollars
relatively frequently on top of their regular subscription fee if new content or expansions become
available if they wish to have access to this new content. There are also varying fees for special
pets and equipment. Many Facebook games, such as Farmville, have the option to pay in order to
more quickly finish things that would ordinarily require a wait of several hours, such as growing
crops (Davies, par. 8). This option to pay is very appealing since you can quickly accomplish
goals and advance to higher levels more easily than people who chose not to pay, particularly
because in most of these Facebook games activities that take the longest to complete also yield
the most in game money and experience to advance to the next level. So the economic hit that
online gamers often experience can come from many different types of games for a multitude of

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reasons, and in many games players often choose to pay even more to have access to more
exclusive content.
Some gamers manage to mostly avoid the economic struggles that can accompany online
gaming but one negative effect that no online gamers seem to be able to dodge is health
problems, such as poor physical health and sleep deprivation. The health problems that plague
online gamers can even begin setting in as quickly as one month (Munger, par. 6). A study done
by Joshua Smyth of Syracuse University tracked the effects of gaming on four groups of people
randomly assigned to play a specific type of game for four weeks for a minimum of one hour per
week. Smyth assigned people to play single-player console games, computer games, arcade
games, and online games (Munger, par. 4). Although only required to play for a miniscule
amount of time, the online gaming group reported gaming for 14.4 hours per week by the final
week; over twice what the next highest group played. The online gaming group also reported
significantly lower sleep quality and general overall health and well-being than the other groups;
reporting a three out of five instead of a four out of five (Munger, par. 6). Obviously one month
is hardly enough to get someone addicted to an online game yet these non-addicted individuals
still suffered negative health effects after such a short period of time. More health problems can
also often arise when players of online games neglect making nutritious meals in favor of quick
and easy often unhealthy meals. Online gamers from Smyths study were quoted saying that they
had occasionally forgotten to eat (Moverly, par. 1). Teens in Korea who are labeled as gaming
addicts by their parents, although never formally diagnosed and thus most likely not truly
addicted, are sent to Internet addition camps to participate in physical activity and other activities
(Gaming Addiction). The need for physical activity arose mostly because these teens spent so

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much time sitting in front of a computer screen instead of being active, these players suffered
poor health due being overweight and otherwise physically unfit.
Not only do online gamers experience economic issues and health problems, these
individuals also tend to have poor familial connections. A study done by Brigham Young
University surveyed couples with at least one partner who played online games. 75% percent of
the spouses of those studied expressed a desire for their partner to game less and put more effort
into their marriage (Hopkins, par.2). The couples surveyed were not strictly gaming addicts, just
people who game casually, and yet these poor familiar connections occurred. BYU found that
marital problems arose not specifically from the gaming itself but rather from the length of time
spent gaming and the time the partner chose to game. These odd hours resulted in disrupted
bedtime routines and other fights (Hopkins, par. 4). If these fights continued, they often resulted
in poor marital adjustment, fewer serious conversations, and less shared activities. These same
problems also arose in couples where both partners gamed if fights occurred from the gaming
(Hopkins, par. 7). If online gaming can cause poor marital connections, then it is very easy to
assume that online gaming can cause poor connections with other family members. Online
gamers can often disrupt routines, such as tucking a child in at night, or entirely neglect spending
time with children, spouses, and parents in order to play their online game if the time they chose
to game interferes with the available times to spend with those family members.
The final and most severe negative effect that nearly all online gamers experience is poor
social connections. This particular negative effect is the most prevalent negative effect of online
gaming. The adolescent children in Korea who are sent to Internet addiction recovery camps,
although not likely gaming addicts, spend much of their time in these camp making bonds with
real world people in the hopes that these teens will begin choosing to spend time with tangible

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people instead of sitting in front of a computer screen gaming (Gaming Addiction). The camp
even held many one-on-one counseling sessions with the sole purpose of teaching these children
how to interact with others face-to-face in order to give them the tools to begin to reform the
meaningful social connections that were broken by their online gaming. In the same study
previously mentioned by Joshua Smyth, the group of individuals in the online gaming group
reported less social interaction than the other groups of the study did (Moverly, par. 2). If after
only one month of gaming for only a few hours a day or less people can still experience
decreased social interaction, obviously this negative social impact is almost completely
unavoidable. If one enjoys playing their chosen online game a great deal, then they will chose to
game instead of spending time with their real world friends. However, a love for their game is
not the sole reason why most gamers experience this decreased social interaction. The problem
from online gaming that causes this detriment to social interaction is actually something that
many individuals see as a positive effect of online gaming, the formation of meaningful
connections with new people. Games like World of Warcraft often require a group of people to
work together to accomplish their goal, so online gamers often make new friends through their
game and the world becomes a little bit smaller (Davies, par. 5). The online gamers from Joshua
Smyths study also reported making new friends while gaming, even though they had only been
gaming for one month (Moverly, par. 3). All of these things sound positive; online gaming is not
as antisocial as many people believe. In actuality the encouragement of in-game socialization
lends itself to a larger problem. Online gamers often chose to neglect socializing in the real world
in favor of in game socializing because it is easier and more convenient. People are less likely to
judge someone in an online game because there simply is not much to judge someone on; these
people have no idea what someone is truly like in the real world. As far as convenience goes, the

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gamer does not have to look even remotely presentable to talk to these friends, and should a
person choose, they can be the person they wish to be but are not. This potential
misrepresentation of self is made possible the simple fact one cannot be seen. The appeal of
online socialization ultimately boils down to one simple fact, who you really are does not matter
to people who cannot see you so the loss of fear of being judged appeals to many gamers. Thus,
gamers begin to shy away from face-to-face social interaction (Moverly, par. 4). Once a gamer
makes friend in a game, one often feels compelled to play for long stretches of time with the
explicit purpose of spending time with their friends. The main issue with online gamers having
such strong bonds to intangible people from their chosen online game is that these Internet
friends do not constitute a real support system. Without ever meeting someone in person it is
very difficult to verify anything they tell you, so many of a gamers online friends might not
actually be who they say they are. A gamer might also not actually know anything about their
online friend which obviously is not a healthy friendship. Furthermore, forming intimate bonds
with someone that an individual cannot accurately declare as trustworthy is possibly dangerous
because if the person actually is not trustworthy than they might use any information they have
been given maliciously. If an online gamer neglects their real world social life for their in game
one, what happens if their Internet goes down, they are banned from their game, or their online
friends quit playing? The gamer is now left friendless and alone. If the gamer had meaningful
connections with real world individuals, this would have never become a problem. In order to
perpetuate online friendships gamers can neglect real world socialization opportunities because
they rationalize away the need to make real world connections since they already have friends.
This effect can be completely catastrophic which is why the promotion of socialization in game
can actually be a very negative thing.

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Although most online gamers experience negative effects resulting from their gaming,
usually proportional to the amount of time they play, that absolutely does not make them addicts.
Being called an addict is no joking matter, and people toss around the term video gaming addict
far too lightly. The negative effects that online gamers experience are generally no different than
someone who loses a little bit of sleep to finish a television show or someone who forgets to eat
because he or she is engrossed in their work. Hopefully now we can begin to break the stigma
that surrounds online gamers while beginning to understand what true addiction really is.

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Works Cited
Cook, Donald E., Clarice Kestenbaum, L. M. Honaker, and E. R. Anderson. "AAP - Joint
Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children Congressional Public
Health Summit." 2aap.org. American Academy of Pediatrics, 26 July 2000. Web. 16 Oct.
2012.
Davies, O. T. "Online Conference On Networks and Communities." The Positive Effects of
Social Online Games and Online Communities on the Social Behavior of Their Users -.
N.p., 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
"Definition of Addiction." Definition of Addiction. American Society of Addiction Medicine, 11
Apr. 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Fantasy Lives. Fantasy Lives. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Gaming Addiction. Gaming Addiction. National Geographic, n.d. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Griffiths, Mark. "Online Video Gaming: What Should Educational Psychologists Know?"
Educational Psychology in Practice 26.1 (2010): 35-40. EBSCO Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
The Guild: Episode One: Wake-Up Call. Dir. Jane S. Morgan. Perf. Vincent Caso, Felicia Day,
Jeff Lewis, Amy Okuda, Sandeep Parikh, and Robin Thorsen. The Guild. N.p., n.d. Web.
16 Oct. 2012.
Hopkins, Matt. "Online Role-playing Games Hurt Marital Satisfaction, Says BYU
Study."News.byu.edu. Brigham Young University, 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Moverly, Daniel J. "A Study of the Effects on Gamers Who Play MMORPGs - Socialization,
Making Friends, Being Social." Altered Gamer. N.p., 23 May 2011. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Munger, Dave. "Are MMORPGs Addictive?" Cognitive Daily. Science Blogs, 30 June 2008.
Web. 16 Oct. 2012.

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Sutter, John D. "Is 'gaming Addiction' a Real Disorder?" CNN. Cable News Network, 06 Aug.
2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.
Van Rooij, Antonius J., Gert-Jan Meerkerk, Tim M. Schoenmakers, Mark Griffiths, and Dike Van
De Mhee. "Video Game Addiction and Social Responsibility." Addiction Research and
Theory 18.5 (2010): 489-93. EBSCO. Web. 16 Oct. 2012.