PC player not be labelled addicts
( 2003-11-05 16:20) (Agencies)
Computer game fanatics should
not be labelled addicts, although many players say they are hooked on a hobby
that is affecting their social lives, scientists said.
Some evidence exists that games stimulate the same areas in the brain as
alcohol and other drugs, psychologists, sociologists and others were told at a
conference.
But unlike the addictive substances, there was no medicine to deal with
compulsive gaming behaviour, they heard.
"Is (the popular online game) Everquest addictive? Well, it's no more
addictive than school or work. The time invested in those also make them
addictive," said Florence Chee, a research student at Simon Fraser University in
Canada.
Scientific interest in the multi-billion dollar computer games industry has
mushroomed in recent years, after teenagers in several countries killed
themselves and others after playing violent games. Various governments have put
pressure on the industry to add a health warning to games
packages.
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