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Category Archives: Gaming Addiction

It’s Only a Game. Or Is It?

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gaming addiction

Gaming disorder, recently recognized by the World Health Organization as a disease, affects only a small proportion of people who engage in digital- or video-gaming activities. But for those affected, the addiction can be all-consuming, controlling the mind. Gaming addict Julian Struksheats tells his story in this interview with The Phoenix Spirit. The interview has been edited for length. How did your interest in video games begin? We got our first video game console – an Atari system– when I was five or six. Then we got Nintendo. I remember playing that a lot without any real problem. Around the … Continue reading →

Video Gaming: The Next 12-Step Frontier

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first person testimony

She’s anxious at work because she worries that her boss will catch her playing solitaire again. He’s up at 2 a.m. completing a task in the epic multiplayer game while his wife sleeps. She’s distracted watching her kids at the pool because it’s hard to put down the phone. He’s obsessed with rank and makes appointments for “raids” at family dinner time, causing constant stress. These are just a few ways in which compulsive multi-player and other computer and cell phone gaming are making people’s lives unmanageable. Is it possible to be powerless over technology in the way that many … Continue reading →