The group decided to recommend that more research be conducted before Internet addiction could be listed as an official disorder in the United States. Charles O’Brien, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania and chair of the working group that will determine whether such disorders make an official list in the United States. Some had damaged relationships with family members one found himself unemployed and unable to dig out of a rut.īut can these obsessions be classified as Internet or gaming addiction?įor an expert opinion, I turned to Dr.
The obsessions came with real consequence for these young men. Others said they had contemplated suicide or played for up to 20 hours per day. We met a 17-year-old who said he felt like online games were “pulling him” away from the real world. There we met with three young men who had been in some form of treatment for their obsession with video games – everything from “talk therapy” with counselors to “virtual-reality” treatment, which is designed to create negative associations between the player and the game they can’t stop playing. Late last year, a video producer and I visited South Korea, which is said to be the global hub for gaming addiction, as well as gaming addiction treatment.
