I Knew It! Playing Video Games is a Mental Illness!

I Knew It! Playing Video Games is a Mental Illness!

by | Jun 27, 2007 | Culture

Well, almost. The AMA still needs to do more research, but they sound close to making excessive video gaming “a formal psychiatric addiction.” I almost cannot contain the laughter. But it is not funny. Listen to this poor child: Jacob Schulist, 14, of Hales Corners, Wis., says he’s certain he was addicted to video games and that the AMA’s vote was misguided. Until about two months ago, when he discovered a support group called On-Line Gamers Anonymous, Jacob said he played online fantasy video games for 10 hours straight some days. He said his habit got so severe that he quit spending time with family and friends. “My grades were horrible, I failed the entire first semester” this past school year because of excessive video-game playing, he said. “It’s like they’re your life.” Poor guy! If he had only known the dangers of Play Station, perhaps he would be a happy little guy who liked to read instead. Maybe excessive compliance on the part of parents should be included as a psychiatric illness too. We’re almost there – we have almost made laziness a nationally recognized illness. Ha! I knew I was not responsible for being irresponsible. What will be even more interesting is if we do with a Play Station what we have to do with a package of cigarettes: Warning Labels. “The Surgeon General states that using this device for more than thirty minutes at a time may be addictive and hazardous to your mental health.” Huh, I’ve been saying that for years. Why didn’t they ask me? Really, it isn’t funny. Consider this statistic from the...