I have already seen it somethere…

Thank you for your insightful comment. I’ve stumbled across your blog a couple times and found it very useful. You really seem to care about maintaining academic accuracy, so let’s address those two objections:

1) The Yee and Ng & Wiemer-Hastings studies.

“You’re inflating the addiction because it’s a self-report measure where a lot of people have different ideas of addiction, so a person’s concept of addiction isn’t considered so for another person.”

Yes; this is one of the problems I pointed out with those two studies. (see problem 2) Like I said, THESE STUDIES ARE FOCUSING ON QUANTITY RATHER THAN QUALITY. You need both to prove a point. Interestingly enough, the Charlton and Danforth study you referenced also used self-reporting questionnaires. We should recognize the limitations of these studies, but that doesn’t mean we should throw them out.

2) The definition of addiction.

This is a REALLY slippery topic. If you read my last post, you’ll know that I accept a much more liberal definition of addiction than most of academia. On the other hand, your definition (or lack thereof) represents one of the most restrictive definitions of addiction that I’ve ever seen:

“So if a person has lost his job, has no contact whatsoever with family members or friends outside cyberspace, thinks only his video game, does not care for personal hygiene and suffers withdrawal symptoms. Then, there is a serious consideration that he could be an addict.”

Really? Then we only have a “serious consideration” that he might be addicted?

Now the next thing I want to point out on this topic is:

“As of now, there are no definitive diagnostic criteria to determine video game addiction.”

A diagnostic criteria and the definition of gaming addiction are two very different things. A diagnostic criteria means that psychiatrists can look from the outside, judge someone, and determine beyond a shadow of doubt whether they are addicted. My purpose in making a definition of addiction is not to look at someone else and say “ok, you’re addicted.” It is to allow people to take this definition and look at themselves or their kids.

At any rate, the point of this post really isn’t addiction alone. It doesn’t matter whether we call it problem game play, addiction, dependence, or exploding head syndrome. Once an activity, even a good activity, interferes with more important activities, it’s probably a good time to stop or cut back.

As of now, there are no definitive diagnostic criteria to determine video game addiction. There is no definitive percentage of players that can be considered addicted, the latest rate is around 10%. Just ask Dr. Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University.

There are also several things to consider in addiction, is the process of video game addiction and how it is different from other types of addiction. Have you considered the social aspects of MMORPGs?

I personally have no problem with Halo in itself. The problem is when the church espouses it. Halo can be a great medium for reaching non-Christians, just not at the expense of “weaker” Christians. Remember when Paul told the Corinthians how to deal with meat that had been sacrificed to idols? here’s what he told the Romans:

“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.” (Romans 15:1)

We don’t want to be a stumbling block for those who are struggling with addiction or are more sensitive to violence by supporting games like Halo in church.

Alright, this is an excellent learning opportunity because in reality the ESRB is not less permissive than the MPAA. There’s a conflict of interests involved in both cases. According to the ‘05 MediaWise report:
“The ESRB video game rating system, like its cousins in the movie and television industries, is owned and operated by the industry it is supposed to monitor.”

A study from the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 48 percent of the “T” games they studied contained violence not labeled by the rating system. This confirmed earlier studies showing the number was around 44 percent.

If you want to track them down:
JAMA 291 (2004): 856-865
JAMA 286 (2001): 591-598
At the Journal of the American Medical Association: http://jama.ama-assn.org/

><>Brian

>Brian

This Halo idea reeks of compromise. What is our goal-to count bodies in the church building, or to set hearts on fire for Jesus?
Since when does God need a marketing campaign? Or are we so ashamed of the gospel that we have to take the edges off of it before we feel good about presenting it to the most lost in our society?

We do need to reach out to gamers. How? Let’s try the old fashioned, time and Bible-tested way of sharing the gospel with them, straight-up. Don’t they live in our homes, go to our schools and work in our offices? They’re all around us. The power is in the Gospel. Or don’t we believe that anymore?

I heard you today on Wallbuilders live on the radio and I want to thank you for being the voice of God to me. I am 40 years old and have been struggling with video game addiction for years. I am currently in Seminary and for a while that allowed me to pull the focus of games and onto God, but during the winter break I found myself slipping right back into the pattern.

You are 100% right that our purpose in life is to glorify God and especially with me studying for a second career in ministry. Your segment today was the wake up call I needed. I have been praying for God to guide me and he often uses the teaching programs on KDKR 91.3 the radio station I listen to here in the Dallas/Fort Worth area to answer those prayers. Today he did that.

I have deleted my online game accounts. One thing that was said on the radio was that for some of us even a little is dangerous. As you said about caffeine, for me even trying to do a little bit or limit it will only lead to a slippery slope I won’t be able to get off of.

This also settled the discussion we have been having about the possibilty of getting a gaming console for the home. We have decided not to. This will free up so much time for individual studies as well as family bible reading time. My 9 year old daughter also is addicted to Webkinz, a video game related to stuffed animals that have been developed recently. We as a family are going to stop the gaming and focus that time back on what we can do to prepare for ministry.

I will pray that God blesses your work. You have a long road ahead because most gaming addicts are not Christians and won’t be very receptive to your message, but if you reach enough of us who are and we can in turn reach out to those in our gaming circle of influence perhaps we can reduce the devastation that this electronic idol is causing in our country and the world.

Bless you for your calling and thank you for being the wake up call for me.

David Johnson