I'd say gaming addiction is an outlet from an emotional void rather than a legitimate mental disorder, like all other addictions really. Surely gaming could only be considered a problem if it interferes with regular functioning. If you are supposed to go to work but are an hour late because you had to play just one more match online, or you have no money but are racking up credit card debt buying games or paying for online gaming services, you may have an addiction.

Either that or the game is just really good. :P

My vote goes to Maybe, there's still debate as to whether addiction videogames are a legitimate mental disorder. Though clearly for some people their "addiction" gets extreme to the point that it hurts them, financially, emotionally, or even physically.

I voted maybe because I don't think all video games can cause problems to the same extent. With games like WoW, I have no doubt that there's people who are addicted to it, but with your regular video games (i.e. ones that eventually come to an end) I think it'd be harder to get addicted and therefore be less people who are addicted.

I voted no. Screwing up your life because you want to play a video game just means that you're lazy and have no will power.

I love playing video games, they're fun. People enjoy doing things that are fun. Most people know that they have responsibilites in real life that take priority over having fun.

It's insulting placing selfish lazy people in the same category as people who are facing actual addictions ( with drugs or whatever ) and are trying to get off of them.

Playing video games may be an outlet for some other mental disorder such as depression, but the games themselves being addictive? I think it's bullshit.

I voted 'Probably', especially if you take the Koreans into account with their Starcraft addiction (one guy died in the internet cafe whilst playing simply because he avoided eating and going to the toilet). WoW is becoming another problem too I think, I saw a recent article on the 'Today Tonight' show (not that I really trust their sources)

Some people are just screwed up in general though

I voted yes. Gaming can prove addictive. In reality, what makes it different to cigarettes, drugs, gambling or alcohol? The body gets dependent on it. When we have fun, our body releases a plethora of chemicals which heighten our experience and give us that general 'feel-good' warmth. For some people, there's a reliance on that chemical. The majority of self-harmers cut themselves because of the dopamine that is released acts as a sort of natural morphine. The same can go for gamers: when you're on-top of a leaderboard, or streaking across a finish line with the competition in the dust, that happiness is an awesome feeling.

But for some, many can become addicted to that feeling; it makes them forget other things, things in their lives that might be troubling them. People who smoke or drink often do so to escape, to get that little high.

When I'm really enjoying a game, I'll wake up at something like 9AM, and play solidly for 9-12 hours. Now, I only do that occasionally, but there are some who do that every single day, and that isn't healthy. To say that isn't an addiction is false, and addiction is a mental disorder.

I think the real offenders are obviously MMOs, but there are more and more cases of people becoming seriously addicted to FPSes, RTSes and turn-based strategies like Civ. Two issues ago in PCG UK, there was an entire 7-page article on video-game addiction. It exists. One clinic in the UK has started accepting those addicted to gaming, believe it or not, and there are numerous websites on the net for those looking to help.

In that very article, there was one particular case of how there was some guy suffering from epilepsy who was continuing to play games on day-long stints, despite being hospitalised twice for severe fits and severing his friendships, growing more aggressive towards his surroundings as time went by. Call it stupidity, but there is definitely chemical addiction there. My dad has suffered three heart-attacks and a stroke from smoking; despite being an intelligent man, after years of unwillingness or failure to break the habit, he still continues to have 'the occasional cigarette'.

There are many more cases in that article, all hopelessly addicted to gaming, not necessarily 'selfish, lazy people'. You know, I'd love to be able to be a blindly confident member of the whole 'games are harmless' bandwagon, but as gamers, we have a responsibility to admit that for a select few, gaming addiction is indeed a mental disorder. We can't arrogantly stand behind the facade that they don't affect some of us. Indeed, wasn't that the entire attitude behind cigarettes and cigars in the 1920s?

People can get addicted to pretty much anything if they have that kind of personality. It doesn't matter if they pick cookies, video games, or lip balm. It's a mental disorder, but it really doesn't have anything to do with the object of the addiction.

That's actually a very good point.

But is that the same sort of addiction as say, a drug addiction?

Drug addiction actually makes your body crave those drugs, and without them you go through all sorts of pain.

Being 'addicted' to video games, sport, sex, toilet paper or whatever isn't the same thing, it's more like "I like doing this, I want to keep doing this" not "OMFG I'M IN PAIN I NEED A FIX"

If you got stranded on a desert island with a drug addiction then you'll go through a painful withdrawal period, yet if you were stuck there with a video game addiction you'd probably just be bored for a while... before you died of starvation.

Yeah, but for some that isn't the case. I'm not talking about people like us being labelled as addicts because we play alot of games; there are people around who are chemically addicted to it (just like smoking, just like sex, or whatever) and they would and do experience withdrawal symptoms.

My boyfriend and I got in a fight about me playing World of Warcraft once. He didn't want me to start playing.

I have yet to be addicted. It's a game.

I don't think you can be medically or clinically addicted to games unless there's some significant other problem which contributes to an addiction, and games just happen to be in the mix.

It could be closely related to gambling addiction, as I remember news reports on the link of bright flashing colours and instant gratification to the addictive nature of the whole she-bang.

I wouldn't link it to, say, nicotine addiction, in where the body craves its fix.

Videogames would be an "addiction", like any other personal vice. Like, say, television, gambling, gym (I know people who have to go to the gym), white bread...

... basically, what Random Hero said.