A Comment on “Problems with the Concept of Video
Game ‘Addiction’: Some Case Study Examples”
Nigel E. Turner
Received: 14 July 2007 /Accepted: 13 August 2007 /
Published online: 18 September 2007
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Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007
In “Problems with the concept of video game addiction,” Richard Wood provides a great
deal of insight into the nature of excessive video game play and has selected case studies
that highlight the importance of caution in assuming that video game play is an addiction.
Wood characterises the excessive media focus on video game as an addiction as a moral
panic (Cohen 2002). He gives case study examples of how the judgement of parents,
teachers and other people have been impaired by their focus on the video games rather than
on what caused the person to seek out the video games. I particularly agree with him when
he discusses the issue of moral panic in the media about video games and how this can lead
to an overreaction with parents and teachers regarding video game play. Overall the paper is
an important contribution to the literature on the issue of video game related problems.
There are a few of shortcomings of the paper. Many of his points that he uses to argue
against the classification of video game play as an addiction can also equally be applied to
alcohol, gambling, and other addictions. In fact historically both alcohol and gambling have
been the subject of prohibition precisely because of moral panics that exaggerate the
problems associated with these behaviours.
Wood argues that if video games were inherently addictive, than a large proportion of
the population should be seriously addicted to video games. He cites the fact there are
8 million people who play World of Warcraft and suggests that too few people suffer severe
consequences. However, if we take this as evidence against the addictiveness of video
games, than we must also question the idea that gambling and alcohol are addictive. For
example, the majority of people in Ontario gamble (80%; Room et al. 1999), but the
proportion of people who are pathological gamblers is relatively small (1%). Are we to
assume that gambling is not addictive? Similar arguments can be made about alcohol
because most people drink alcohol in a non-problematic level. Overall involvement is a
misleading measure of addictiveness because it includes people who engage in the activity
very rarely, in a less problematic manner (e.g., low stakes, wine with dinner), or in less
addictive forms of the activity (e.g., lotteries, wine). In addition, although statistics suggest
that there are as many as 100,000 pathological gamblers in Ontario, in 2005 Ontario
Int J Ment Health Addiction (2008) 6:186–190
DOI 10.1007/s11469-007-9125-1
N. E. Turner (*)
SPHPR, Centre for Addiction & Mental Health, 33 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S 2S1
e-mail: nigel_turner@camh.net

Problem Gambling Help Line received only 2,500 calls from individuals concerned about
their own gambling problem (Sadinsky 2005). Nonetheless we cannot assume from the low
service utilization that gambling is not addictive.
In addition, Wood argues that consequences are an inherent part of the definition of an
addiction. In particular he states that
Unless it can be shown that the inherent structural characteristics of the of video
games can, in themselves, cause problems for relatively large numbers of people, then
there is no firm basis on which claims about the “addictive” properties of video games
can be made.
Consequences actually have little to do with the definition of an addition. Consider tobacco
which has very little short-term consequences, and yet it is considered to be one of the most
difficult addictions to quit. Yes there is a potential for lung cancer, but many people smoke all
their lives without suffering from lung cancer. Similarly, caffeine is arguably the most common
andmost often abused drug in the world. Many people are psychologically dependant on coffee
to get up in the morning. In addition, many people have to continue to drink coffee on the
weekend to avoid caffeine withdraw which consists of a sleepiness, irritability and very nasty
headache (Studeville 2005; personal experience). However, other than withdraw, there are
little in the way of serious problems associated with the addiction.
Furthermore, Wood under-emphasizes the consequence of video game play. He focuses
mainly on loss of time as a consequence of video game play, but there are other
consequences he does not discuss. Consequences can include repetitive strain injuries
(Kirkwood 2007), job loss, poor grades, social isolation, weight gain, social problems, and
aggression especially after losing (observations of my children). There are also some
financial consequences of video game play including, the cost of consoles (from $100 to
$600
1
), peripherals (e.g., from $12 to $40 for a controller), the games (from $15 to $70
each), and online access (e.g., one game costs $13 to $15 per month). These costs pale in
comparison with the financial cost of gambling, but one has to keep in mind that for youth
these cost might seriously impact their financial well being.
Wood also argues that the people who play video games excessively are actually
suffering from a pre-existing emotional problem. He gives an example of a boy who is
being bullied at school and the parents think that his increasing social isolation is due to the
games rather than the bullying. The problem is that evidence also shows that many
gamblers, alcoholics, and drug users also suffer from an underlying emotional disorder
related to poor coping skills, impulsivity, depression, or anxiety (Gupta and Derevensky
1998). In these cases the addiction is often a solution to an already existing problem.
Addicts use maladaptive coping strategies (Gupta and Derevensky 1998) which may solve
their emotional problem in the short term, but do not address the problem in the long term.
In addition, maladaptive coping strategies often have their own consequences that
exacerbate the problem. In the case described, the boy who was bullied used game play
as a means of dealing with his problems rather than addressing the problem. But this coping
strategy may lead to even greater social isolation.
Wood argues that excessive video game playing is more likely to be a symptom of some
other disorder than an addiction per se. It is likely that the same could be said about most
other addictions. People who have no other problem other than gambling make up a
1
Estimated costs are in US dollars.
Int J Ment Health Addiction (2008) 6:186–190 187