Source: Daily Telegraph
DISTRESSED families are flooding psychiatrists with pleas for help for children dangerously hooked on computer games and the internet.
The condition known as “pathological internet misuse” is growing so rapidly among adolescents and young adults that it could soon be formally recognised as a mental health disorder.
International mental health experts are considering including “video game addiction and internet addiction” in the next edition of globally recognised Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders “to encourage further study”.
One Sydney mother said her 13-year-old son was so addicted to computer games he attended school only intermittently over the past two years and violently resisted attempts to remove him from the screen.
“He starts punching holes through the walls, throwing things around and threatening you . . all this has to do with the most addictive game World Of Warcraft,” she said.
Reader’s Comment:
There has been research since the 60s to show that aggression may be reinforced by observation (ie television, etc). ……… Fast forward to today and television and film violence is further reinforced by games like Grand Theft Auto and Modern Warfare, games that reinforce violence and model it as an ideal behaviour (for additional game reinforcement rewards like higher levels etc).
Cartoon by Bob Moran
