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Gaming Disorder or just bad parenting?

Games consoles nowadays have every parental control you could possibly want. You can set the hours they can be used to largely whatever you require. If you've left your kid on a game long enough for them to become addicted, you have your parenting skills solely to blame.

The real question, in my view, is why are the kids becoming addicted to something in the first place. If they're becoming addicted to video games as kids, then it's logical to assume they'll be at risk of becoming addicted as adults, or even to other substances/activities - so it's worth tackling the problem when it first rears its head, rather than just sweeping it under the carpet.

Although I would question the usefulness of a specific diagnosis for video-game addiction, certainly, but I think there is clearly merit in treating the behaviour.
 
I just missed out on the explosion of computer games in the mid-1980s. I played Gorf and Space Invaders in the local cafe during school lunch break, but at the time me and my friends were more worried about nuclear annihilation by the Soviets or getting 'the AIDS' off a toilet seat which might have been used by a 'bender'. I didn't realise at the time how lucky we were because it looks like 'Gaming Disorder' is the next ailment that the taxpayer is being asked to fund via the NHS. Last week the World Health Organisation (WHO) classified it as a mental health condition and a London hospital is set to launch a centre to treat the condition.

Naturally enough it's being launched by a fragrant someone called Henrietta Bowden-Jones, who says “Gaming disorder is finally getting the attention it deserves. The distress and harm it can cause is extreme and I feel a moral duty on behalf of the NHS to provide the evidence based treatment these young people and their families need.”

The previous week there was story in numerous papers about a nine year old girl who wet herself rather than take a break from playing the game Fortnite.

Apparently much of this addiction is being suffered by children and this leads me to ask why aren't the parents intervening in their kids' activities to make sure it's not having a negative effect on their lives, Are they incapable or just don't care?

The other thing I note that when the parents of these kids appear in the media it always seems to be the Mum and not the Dad that speaks up. The role of the father seems to disappear from the conversation on these issues.

My gut feeling is that if there is such a thing as Gaming Disorder it is a symptom of a wider malaise that has been brought about by poor parenting and family breakdown.

I do consider myself to be of the original gamer generation, and definitely am a gamer - computer, console, board games, RPGs, you name it I've probably played it, and still do.

"Gaming Disorder" is utter bollocks - it's an excuse for bad parenting, and a refusal to set limits for kids. Too many parents have no interest in what their children do, and leave them to the electronic baby sitter. No controls, no limits, no understanding of the possibilities, advantages and disadvantages.

If you don't take an interest in what your kids are up to, you can't complain if it all goes wrong.
 
The real question, in my view, is why are the kids becoming addicted to something in the first place. If they're becoming addicted to video games as kids, then it's logical to assume they'll be at risk of becoming addicted as adults, or even to other substances/activities - so it's worth tackling the problem when it first rears its head, rather than just sweeping it under the carpet.

Although I would question the usefulness of a specific diagnosis for video-game addiction, certainly, but I think there is clearly merit in treating the behaviour.

Video games can be highly addictive, and don't necessarily mean you're any more likely to become addicted to something else later on. Certain types of games are more likely to cause addiction than others, especially games with a persistant world that you log into, such as Warcraft, Eve Online, and all that. They require unbelievable amounts of time investment to get anywhere, and more yet to maintain it. It's seldom someone is addicted to video games, more that they're addicted to a particular game. As such games require you to interact with other people, it becomes more difficult to notice that you've not been out in 5 days as you're still talking to your mates and continually meeting new people.

If your family are quite happy for you to spend countless hours on these types of game with no intervention, a kid can very easily get sucked into the 'must keep unlocking the best stuff' mentality and thats when it becomes a problem. Parental settings that disable games at a certain time force the kid to do something else for a few hours and generally snaps them out of it.
 
Video games can be highly addictive, and don't necessarily mean you're any more likely to become addicted to something else later on. Certain types of games are more likely to cause addiction than others, especially games with a persistant world that you log into, such as Warcraft, Eve Online, and all that. They require unbelievable amounts of time investment to get anywhere, and more yet to maintain it. It's seldom someone is addicted to video games, more that they're addicted to a particular game. As such games require you to interact with other people, it becomes more difficult to notice that you've not been out in 5 days as you're still talking to your mates and continually meeting new people.

If your family are quite happy for you to spend countless hours on these types of game with no intervention, a kid can very easily get sucked into the 'must keep unlocking the best stuff' mentality and thats when it becomes a problem. Parental settings that disable games at a certain time force the kid to do something else for a few hours and generally snaps them out of it.

I agree with you on World of Warcraft. I had to almost physically force myself to stop playing that game and cancel the subscription. It's a vicious life-sucking bitch.
 
You'll see plenty of adult addicts over here playing Poker Machines (I think you call those Fruit Machines over there). They know they've not a snowball's chance in Hell of winning in the long run, but real addicts will tell you they get into a "Zone," and once that happens they won't stop until they're broke and can raise no more money to put in the damn things. One local woman lost over $400,000 on the machines.

The various State Governments which allow the machines are well aware some adults become at the very least problem gamblers and a few become absolute degenerate gamblers such as the woman above, who wasn't losing just her own money but that of her employer as well. Governments are just as much aware of this as they are aware most smokers will develop a fatal smoking related illness, and that one in ten drinkers will go on until they are on meths, or their rotten livers give out and they die.

Yet they do little beside squawk out a few warnings, and the reason is simple, they make too much money out of cigarettes, alcohol, and gambling. And if one were to be brutally cynical about it, by the time an addict of either cigarettes or alcohol develops a real health problem because of it, they haven't much longer to live anyway. Their often premature deaths must save the Government a fortune in pensions they'd otherwise have to pay.

As often as not the kids of gambling or alcohol addicted parents may well be at home playing some PC or Xbox game or other while similarly zoned out, and quite possibly for essentially the same reason; to escape reality or boredom. I'd not be surprised if Governments make a few pennies out of the Xbox and PC games as well.
 
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Games consoles nowadays have every parental control you could possibly want. You can set the hours they can be used to largely whatever you require. If you've left your kid on a game long enough for them to become addicted, you have your parenting skills solely to blame.

Has anyone told the parents?
 
You can't set up the console without actively chinning them off. If they let a nine year old go plugging things into TVs, sockets and sit there creating email addresses the parents probably have some extra issues to address!

Most parents probably aren't tech-savvy enough to properly control their childrens' access to the internet. Beyond the basics I rely on my children and grandson (aged 13) to negotiate me through the technology maze. On my rare attempts at a PS game, my grandson is usually reduced to laughter at my ineptitude. I was unaware until I read this post thread about being able to set the PS to turn itself off and I'm pretty sure my daughter doesn't know about it either. Control in our house is exercised verbally.
 
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You can't set up the console without actively chinning them off. If they let a nine year old go plugging things into TVs, sockets and sit there creating email addresses the parents probably have some extra issues to address!
Or maybe the parents haven't a clue about technology and consider wee Jimmy a technical wizzkid so leave him to set it up not realising the repercussions.
 
My wee lads Ma has an app on her phone that disables any access my wee lad has to his tablet at a chosen time.

He's completely addicted to his Xbox or tablet but I know that's a result of his Aspergers.. We still limit his time on them.
 
Parents don't always know this stuff, a friend bought a cheap laptop for their kid with no dedicated graphics card and then asked me why it won't run the games they'd bought for their kid


But parents with younger kids, the number of times I see them use a tablet as a baby sitting device, with CBeebies stuff or cartoons running on it for hours, I think addiction to technology is not on their radar


I doubt it will change habits, as technology has become another way to keep kids from bothering their parents
 
Much sense said. We never allowed even a TV in bedrooms unless the kids were poorly for a longish period - and then they mainly slept. Computers were in shared spaces only. Controllers have been known to go to work as a punishment. Our kids would often be woken at 4am by others on the phone who were under a different regime. Games are very immerisve - and easily become habitual. Otherwise exellent parents we know may well be reaping a whirlwind of supervices - yet frequent - computer entertainment. Sad.


I fear me that there needs perhaps to be a caring intervention for the Mother of Beavers.......
 

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