by Paul Baggarley

Created on: June 30, 2009   Last Updated: July 03, 2009

The problem when discussing gaming addiction is that gaming is far too varied for the umbrella term of 'gaming' to encompass completely. For instance, it is beyond doubt that an addiction to a Massively Multiplayer Online RPG such as World of Warcraft can in some instances be damaging. This is down to the potentially unending nature of the game, combined with communicative aspects which not only serve to fulfil social needs that would otherwise necessitate a break in playing time, but also on some level discourage time away from the game. Often certain in-game events (such as WoW's 'raids') are scheduled by a group and everyone is expected to be there at a specific time and for a specific, often prolonged, length of time. Nobody likes to let down their friends, and online friends are no exception. MMORPGs can create conditions whereby addiction can cause health issues, that much is at least confirmed by anecdotal evidence.

Now, before I begin to receive accusations of writing on the wrong side of the debate, herein lays my argument. Only a small portion of 'gaming' as a whole comprises of MMORPGs or other games requiring the kind of time investment needed to endanger one's health. With the length of games decreasing, even those in the RPG category, possibly due to development costs increasing with the advance of technology, the average game lasts between 3 to 10 hours. Many RPGs still hit the 30hr+ mark, but social requirements, toilet breaks, food cravings, etc are usually enough to drag someone away from even the most engaging of stories. After all, the ability to pause the game facilitates easy breaks, even if the player does just end up eating a cheese sandwich while carrying on with the game.

Once a game has been completed, even someone who is massively fanatical about gaming will tend to take a break. Financially speaking, a gamer cannot usually afford to go out and buy a new game straight away when one is completed. If someone is addicted enough to be playing instead of having a job, then they will hardly have the income to sustain a habit. At the risk of controversy, this particular writer has never heard of someone selling their body for gaming money. Not even massive crazes such as Pokmon have been enough to cause damage even close to scratching the surface of 'real' addictions like drugs or gambling. Again, that honour lies almost exclusively with the realms of the MMORPG.

Of course there will always be people who will pursue a leisure activity

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