Mid-June, doctors urged the American Medical Association (AMA)
to consider recognizing video game addiction in its report entitled “Emotional
and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games” (see
original Word file).
After reviewing the report, the AMA refrained from classifying
video gaming as an addiction, but instead called for more research on the
long-term beneficial and detrimental effects of video game and Internet use.
“While more study is needed on the addictive potential of
video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and
societal effects of video game and Internet overuse,” said Ronald M. Davis,
M.D., AMA President. “We urge parents to closely monitor their children's use of
video games and the Internet.”
The AMA will submit the full report and recommendations to
the American Psychiatric Association and other appropriate medical specialty
societies for review and consideration in conjunction with the upcoming
revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Video game ratings, as set by the ESRB, will also be under
review. “We would like to see a ratings system that better alerts parents to
the content of the video game and recommended age of the player, so they can
decide whether or not their child should be playing it,” said Dr. Davis. “Parents
need to more closely monitor and restrict the types of video games their
children are playing and buying, and a clear rating system would help them do
that.”
The call
to examine gaming and Internet addiction may spawn from the widely
reported, but isolated incidents of health issues – and even
death – surrounding massively multiplayer online games, such as the World of Warcraft.
Aside from addiction, the AMA may also look at the emotional
effects of video games dealing with extreme content. Currently under intense scrutiny is Rockstar Games’ Manhunt 2, which has been temporarily suspended
from release due to its ESRB rating of AO
for adults only.
