playing doctor
Do you spend all of your free time playing or reading about computer and video games? Ask your doctor about...
It's not as far-fetched as it sounds, especially now that the American Medical Association is looking to get video game addiction recognized as a formal diagnostic disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - think of it as a strategy guide for mental disorders. A report entitled
Emotional and Behavioral Effects, Including Addictive Potential, of Video Games (click for HTML version) presented by Dr, Mohamed K. Kahn explores the possible dangers of excessive video game play (over 2 hours a day...uh oh) and makes several recommendations as to how the AMA should handle said problems. In addition to suggesting a formal classification, the paper also calls for the improvement of the ESRB ratings system, an official recommendation that children be limited to 1-2 hours of 'screen time' overall, including television and gaming, and that the CDC and other organizations fund research to further explore the detrimental effects of video games in children.
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Kotaku
