Zoned in

AMA wants compulsive video gaming declared a mental illness – a rebuttal
 By Michael Lafferty

Medical profession needs to focus on the true illnesses of this world, not try to make a profit over irresponsible behavior

A true story, just the disclaimer about the names being changed applies. And the opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not reflect the opinions of GameZone.com.

A Sunday soccer game resulted in a damage wrist. It was a painful Sunday night, but early Monday I went to a family clinic to see the docs. It was recommended because of fair and affordable treatment. They must have seen me coming.

X-rays were taken and while I sat in the exam room the doctor placed the X-rays on the lighted glass to look at them. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a colleague wandering by. He called to him and the other doctor wandered in.

The first doc pointed to the X-ray. “That look like a hairline fracture to you?”

“Yep,” said the second doc, smiling. He then turned and left. Not another word was exchanged between the two of them. The wrist was put into a cast and I was presented the bill, which included a $60 consultation fee.

That was the last time I truly trusted the medical profession. They may be necessary, but that does not mean that there are not elements within that profession that are not out to find ways to scrape more money from others.

“Whoa, dude, what brought that on?”

An article in the local newspaper, culled from the Associated Press news service. You can read a version of the story at www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,285558,00.html.

In the newspaper version, the AMA was said to have likened it (compulsive video gaming) to a heroin addiction. Well, that’s a nice use of a fear phrase. And the AMA wants it classified so that insurance will cover treatment. That means that the costs will be passed along to all those who have medical insurance. Can you imagine your premiums going up just because you have a 360 or Nintendo DS in your house? After all, that might be like having a syringe in the house of potential drug users.

I would like to see the AMA report that states that television, with its soap operas, “reality” shows and obsession with Paris Hilton is a degenerative drug, worse than crack cocaine, that dumbs down society and encourages abhorrent behavior. Oops, won’t see that. Why? Because television is a mouthpiece for these groups – which include politicians who would rather take jabs at a high-profile and high revenue-generating industry with few people who are recognizable to the mainstream masses. Take pot shots at television and maybe actors won’t lend their faces for your cause. Or maybe you won’t get your 15 minutes of video fame.

Sure, there are those who can’t handle playing games casually. Just like there are people who can’t handle eating responsibly, or driving and NOT talking on a cell phone, or who spend way too much money on unnecessary plastic surgery, or … well, the list could go on and on.  

In this case, and the reports cite numerous instances of abuse of games. But before we get carried away about the teens that are belligerent, let’s look at a few facts about gaming, as supplied by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA).

  • 69 percent of American heads of households play computer and video games

  • The average game buyer is 40 years old and the average player age is 33. Only 31 % of game players are under 18

  • 62% of gamers are male, and 38% are female

The numbers skew toward adults and as such, adults have to take responsibility for their actions, just as parents need to stop blaming everything else and start parenting. Parents control what kids get to do (or should), and if they don’t then they need to seek help in developing parenting skills. And they should pay for that out of their own pockets, not tax others for the children they brought into the world and then did not do a proper job of raising them. Not every kid is going to turn out to be a charmer, or boon to society, but people (and groups) need to stop trying to find ways to make money off other people’s problems – big or small.

There are real medical problems in this country that need to be addressed. Perhaps more emphasis needs to be put on the ‘less glamorous’ research to find cures for the problems that plague both the nation and the world. 

There is a guy I play massively multiplayer online games with. He is in his mid-30s, a school teacher and has both diabetes and MS. He passed out a couple of weeks ago, and did a header into his kitchen floor, fracturing his skull. We’ve played online together for about three years or more. I hear what challenges he faces and not a day goes by when I am not thinking that more has to be done to find a cure for both of those ailments. And while I wonder about the progress in those regards, I see ads for Restless Legs Disorder (which was once called hyperactivity), or Itchy Back Syndrome (which once meant wear less wool and more soft cotton), with doctors prescribing drugs that dull the senses and anesthetize human beings into a state where there is a pill for every pseudo illness that can be imagine and we want them. After all, if we don’t suffer from something there must be something wrong with us.

Don’t get me wrong. There are serious doctors out there practicing and researching serious medicine.

But here is a random thought … Before jumping into areas that are behavioral and should be within the purview of parents (or fall under the category of responsible adult behavior), how about the AMA concentrate on the core ills of this world. When you have eradicated diabetes, MS, or even AIDS, and you find loads of time on your hands, then invent new illnesses to treat.