Expert: 40 Percent of World of Warcraft Players Addicted
My colleague, psychologist Maressa Orzack at McLean Hospital outside of Boston, believes that up to 40% of World of Warcraft gamers are “addicted” to the game.
Just to clarify, since the headline doesn’t make it clear (and neither does the ensuing Slashdot discussion), Dr. Orzack is not claiming that up to 40% of Word of Warcraft gamers are addicted based upon any actual evidence or surveys of players. This is just her opinion, based upon her own experience and observation of the problem.
I chalk “gaming addiction” right up there with Internet addiction — it’s a ridiculous claim to say someone is addicted to an activity they enjoy and call it a “serious mental disorder.” If I spend 5 or 10 hours a day reading a book or hanging out with my friends, am I addicted to reading? To socializing? Where do we draw the line, and more importantly, why make such arbitrary distinctions in labels?
Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.Like this author?
Catch up on other posts by John M. Grohol, PsyD (or subscribe to their feed).
Comments
This post currently has 46 comments. You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts on our new comments page.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 10 Aug 2006
Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.
Grohol, J. (2006). Expert: 40 Percent of World of Warcraft Players Addicted. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 13, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2006/08/10/expert-40-percent-of-world-of-warcraft-players-addicted/
