To make my claim that video game addiction is real, we must first examine the nature of addiction itself. A report published in the academic journal Alcohol Research & Health (Kranzler, 2008, p. 93) defines it in terms of substance abuse and dependence as "a cluster of cognitive, behavioral and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues use of the substance despite significant substance-related problems”. These criteria can, in fact, be applied to gaming, as excessive game playing can be related to these issues.
Cognitive and behavioral effects were explored in my literature review, particularly in the study on the relations between violent gaming and prosocial behavior. The study suggested links between violent video game playing with both lowered prosocial behavior toward family members, and also lowered empathic concern toward the general public.
On the physiological side, a commonly cited issue is carpal tunnel syndrome, which is believed to be caused by overly-repeated hand and wrist motions that place strain on the "median nerve", colloquially referred to as the carpal tunnel. An article on the subject in Nursing Times notes that the movements may be related to "typing or using certain tools" (2005, p. 30). In regards to video gaming, computer gaming generally involves a lot of keyboard use, and certain consoles have control schemes that may involve a high amount of wrist movement.
Of course, this is only a small cross-section of the possible effects of gaming. As such, an overt amount of game playing may cause the aforementioned "cognitive, behavioral and physiological symptoms" in gamers. Even so, they continue their gaming. So why is this? If the symptoms are apparent, why not just stop? This is the very nature of addiction. Even encountering obvious signs of negative influence from their activities, these pathological gamers find themselves drawn into their habits again and again with seemingly no control. For this reason, I believe gaming addiction is, in fact, an actual existing issue and not a mere fabrication or justification of excessive gaming for others to dismiss.
I have chosen this topic to present my slideshow on because, in addition to being a helpful spot to expand upon my prior topic of how to treat gaming addiction, I feel I can add in some useful imagery to help illustrate the point that excessive gaming can be a real contributing factor to problematic symptoms in gamers.
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Kranzler, Henry R., Li, Ting-Kai. (2008). What is Addiction? Alcohol Research & Health, 31: 93-95. Retrieved from: http://lib-proxy.purduecal.edu:2461/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=098608c7-eba5-494a-8ded-fa7a1887ad46%40sessionmgr111&vid=2&hid=127
Summary/Response:
This report examines the tricky topic of defining the nature of "addiction". Kranzler and Li discuss how the current definitions and criteria for classifying "substance abuse and dependence" seem flawed and inadequate, calling for a revival of "addiction" as a term with more currency. They also note how there are distinct pros and cons between choosing "dependence" or "addiction" as the preferred term, since the inherent negative connotations toward "addiction" can cause a rift between medical practitioners and their patients. My reasoning for using this source is that its succinct identification of the factors of dependence is helpful toward making my case for video game addiction as valid.
CAPOW:
Currency: This report was published in 2008. As such, I believe it is sufficiently current.
Authority: Both authors are M.D.'s, as such I believe their writing is trustworthy.
Purpose: The purpose seems to be mostly reflective, as their last few paragraphs simply overview where the topic of addiction/dependency is covered in the rest of the journal. However, there are helpful informative bits as well.
Objectivity: As far as I can observe, there are no overt biases toward anything in particular to detract from their purpose.
Writing: From my overview of the report, there seem to be no glaring errors in writing style.
(2005, February 1). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Nursing Times, 101: 30. Retrieved from: http://lib-proxy.purduecal.edu:2221/hottopics/lnacademic/?verb=sr&csi=355084&sr=HLEAD(Carpal+tunnel+syndrome)
Summary/Response:
This article defines carpal tunnel syndrome, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis and how to treat it. Not very much to discuss, really. I used this source as clarification to possible causes of the syndrome.
CAPOW:
Currency: This article was published in 2005, so it should be fairly current.
Authority: No individual authors are listed. This was published in a magazine rather than a journal, so checking for authority may be a weak point.
Purpose: Nursing Times is published as a magazine for nurses, so as such I believe the purpose of this article is to help inform nurses about this syndrome.
Objectivity: There appears to be no bias distorting the writing.
Writing: This could simply be a product of transferring the article from print to an online source, but I have some issues with the formatting of the page. It appears that there were meant to be line breaks between each of the sections of "symptoms", "causes" and such, but they are instead all grouped together. This may not be entirely their fault, but it does make reading it problematic.
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Images:
1:
Sony [PS3 controller]. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9781566-1.html
Image 1 will be used in conjunction with image 2, explained ahead.
2:
Micheal Velardo (Recipient of image) [Addiction]. Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/crashtestaddict/4279716410/
This and image 1 will be used in conjunction to introduce my topic, to visualize the challenge that video gaming cannot be an addictive behavior like drug use can. As I introduce the question of game addiction's validity, I will display both images simultaneously with a "not-equal" sign underscoring a question mark between the two images, like so:
Except more cleaned-up, of course.
3:
["just say no" typographic poster] (1997). Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://www.llgc.org.uk/ymgyrchu/Datganoli/Refferendwm/DARE08en.htm
I will display this when I make a point of the fact that preventing video game addiction may not be as simple as just turning away from gaming and saying no to it.
4:
[Carpal tunnel syndrome diagram] (2004). Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://www.medicinenet.com/carpal_tunnel_syndrome/page2.htm
This will be displayed when discussing carpal tunnel syndrome as a physiological problem caused by excessive gaming.
5:
[Addict brains vs normal brains] (2011). Retrieved April 1, 2013 from http://dana825.hubpages.com/hub/Understanding-An-Addict#
I may use this to illustrate the differences between normal brain activity pattern versus activity in the brain of an addict. This will be useful to aid my point if I can find research that provides a link between obsessive gaming and lowered brain activity.
