In response to Panorama – ‘Addicted to Games?’

Words by: Jennifer Taylor | Posted on: Tuesday 7th December, 2010 | Filed under: Features.

There has been a great deal of chatter on the subject of Panorama’s new documentary, entitled ‘Addicted to Games?’, which aired 6^th Dec 2010. Even before I watched it, I knew it would create something of a stir amongst the gaming community. Broadcast on BBC1, unintentionally of course, on the same night in which thousands of people would be out and about trying to grab a copy of the new World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, this title just happens to be the main source of debate. There have been numerous programmes with a similar subject matter to this in the past, in which the WoW gamers have been scrutinised, but few quite so one sided.

I have always been wary that games can indeed take over your life. They can invade your home, and can lead to the washing up being left for several days. I am quite aware, however, that there have been some serious cases in which neglect, debt, and even death have occurred as a result of too much of a good thing, and I’m not just talking about games. Addictions come in all shapes and sizes; I for one have a slight obsession with hoarding, but obviously it could be a lot worse. Alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling, food and sex are just a few issues that spring to mind, but there are many more besides. These are all researched by scientists across the globe, and there are rehabilitation facilities for nearly all cases of addiction, as we can now try to help those with these conditions. The majority of the time, it is not the substance, the object, or the act that is to blame, but the personality of those who abuse it. Addictive personalities more often than not lead to an addiction, hence the name. Those who notice should take being obsessed by something seriously, and the same should be said for the people suffering while playing video games. The presenter of this particular Panorama, Raphael Rowe, clearly thought he was taking the subject seriously, but with so many concerns I have with his argument it is apparent it was not thought through for long enough.

There is no scientific fact to suggest there is such a thing as gaming addiction, but there is enough research dedicated to the subject to propose that in some extreme cases there could be. Everything in life should be kept in moderation; too much sugar can lead to your teeth rotting and other serious health problems, too many drugs and drinks can make you dependant, ill and desperate, too much sex can lead to violence, abuse, and diseases. These are all great things when kept in check, but so often these privileges get mistreated and can lead to something dangerous.

We are all taught from a young age about the dangers of drink, drugs and promiscuous sex, but not once was video games mentioned in that line-up. Sure my mum may have mentioned something about ‘square-eyes’ when watching too much TV, or playing hours of Where in the world is Carmen Sandiago?, but as stated on most game packaging, warning titles, information pages etc you should take a 15 minute break every hour or so to give your eyes a rest.

It was apparent after the first few minutes of ‘Addicted to Games?’ exactly how the documentary would pan out. I was already furious after the seven or so minutes of introductory scenes, in which Rowe enforces the issue of addiction, before quickly stating that there is no actual scientific evidence to back up his wild claims. If I were to watch this as an impressionable individual who knew nothing of video games, this foreword could certainly instil an air of danger, suffering, and pain. I call it scaremongering. The section is long enough for a viewer to feel threatened by the subject then momentarily touches on the fact that it’s not really true at all.

As I have said previously, I have seen many documentaries that follow a similar subject, but have flitted back and forth from positive to negative. This was not the case of Panorama. One, for example was all about WoW, and went between players who have lost everything they own because they devote their lives to the game, and others who’s lives have been uplifted. Some have found the love of their life through the wonders of the game, some have found a reality in which they can actually walk, due to being disabled in the real world, and some who have made life-long friends. There were also those who got so distressed by the game that they committed suicide. One has to wonder how they got into that state in the first place. I fear the majority of players who succumb to such torment by the games they play have underlying issues that need resolving, which have nothing whatsoever to do with the game. The games fill a void in certain lives that needs to be addressed. Rather than simply blaming something that they try to fill it with, why not deal with the route of the problem.

A great example of ignorance was shown in Panorama, in which the South Korean society is so overwhelmed by ‘game addicts’ that they have boot-camp style rehab groups for children with the ‘problem’. One mother states that her son plays too many games, and that he falls asleep in class. I have to admit, I fell asleep in several of my classes all the time, and that was due to boredom, rather than sleep deprivation. We then see many more situations in which ‘game addiction’ is a problem, and then we somehow end back with the mother, who admits she used to hit her son ‘a lot’ and wasn’t previously aware that you are meant to talk and listen to your child to fully understand them. We are then told the games are to blame… again.

Throughout the documentary, we are told time and time again about the dangers of gaming, and that it is a serious problem that is sneaking into our homes at an alarming rate. We are met with scientists, lecturers and game developers who say that there is no proof, scientifically, of a common addiction to gaming. Why then was this documentary even made, if the argument Rowe is trying to enforce is undermined by almost every individual he interviews?

Rowe meets several people during the programme, some of which claim to be addicts. They are young men, sitting in their bedrooms playing Call of Duty, and that disputable WoW again, which talk of three-day stints playing their favourite games, their coursework slipping, and their social lives ruined. During these interviews, the lads have obviously been asked to assume the usual position in front of their screens, tapping away at buttons. As stated by these ‘addicts’ they are actually trying to get their lives back by decreasing the amount of time spent gaming. Surely interviewing them in this way is then somewhat detrimental to their healing process, especially after the gamer ‘Leo’ announced he is trying to go cold turkey from WoW?

The presenter then interviews gamers back in South Korea, where children get hit by their parents, and are then told that games are to blame for their unsociable behaviour. Out there super-fast broadband already spans most of the cities, and gaming bars are on almost every street corner. They even have video game tournaments, in which the winners are almost classed as a celebrity, which is then met with eerie music and is again called detrimental to health. Don’t we have that sort of competition here in the UK? Of course, the case is brought up of a Korean couple who played so much Prius Online, that their baby starved to death. This is obviously a devastating story, and one that should be taken very seriously, but again the game is under fire rather than the parents. After speaking with the psychologist who handled the case, it is told that they were both of low IQ, and suffered from depression. It is also stated that the mother ‘was not that mentally stable to begin with’, so it was probably going to be a case of neglect whether the couple had Prius Online to pass the time, or something just as ‘addictive’. Again, the game is to blame for the death of an innocent child, rather than the parents’ mental stability.

The lack of real knowledge and thought that went into this episode of Panorama is rather problematic to me. As I have said, it is merely scaremongering, without any real evidence of a ‘crisis’ that they are so eager to push. There have been incidences where a game has been involved in serious news stories, such as the suicides and neglects mentioned, and I am not trying to diverge from those, but these are few and far between in comparison to the sheer scale of the positive gaming communities across the world. Yes, I have known friends to get slightly selfish and hermit-like when given titles like WoW, but it is the character of the person that defies whether they fall to ruin, or use it as an entertainment tool, not the game itself. The issues lie with the person who is playing, not the game played, and those issues are often left untreated. Some may be lonely, depressed, abused, or simply scared of the real world, so they hide away in the virtual. Taking the game and disguising it as evil is not the way to help these people, and Panorama seems to insult both those struggling with problems, and those who simply game for gaming pleasure.

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