Publisher's Synopsis
Video game addiction often is considered a form of computer addiction or internet addiction has had more and more press over the years. Video games include computer games, console games, arcade machine games, and even cell phone, PDA, and advanced calculator games. Since the 1950s, gaming has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. People have recently become concerned about the long-term effects of video game playing, particularly on children. Video game addiction is hypothesized to be an excessive or compulsive use of computer game or video games, which interferes with a person's everyday life. Video game addiction may present itself as compulsive game-playing; social isolation; mood swings; diminished imagination; and hyper-focus on in-game achievements, to the exclusion of the other events in life. In May 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) proposed criteria for video game addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical manual of Mental Disorders, concluding that there was insufficient evidence to include it as an official mental disorder. However, proposed criteria for "Internet Gaming Disorder" are included in Section 3, condition for further study. While Internet Gaming Disorder is proposed as a disorder, it is still discussed how much this disorder is caused by the gaming activity itself, or whether it is to some extent an effect of other disorders. Although there have been various research proving the addictiveness of video games, counterarguments also abound: For example, while research suggest people who play violent video games for an extended period of time show increase with their aggressive behavior and hostility, such claims are disputed by multiple sources. Such sources also claim that individuals who play nonviolent games showed no difference in their aggression or hostility.
