WoW what an addiction!
The island had limited electricity supplied by wind-driven generators and solar cells, so we advised our clients to leave any high-power-consuming devices on the mainland. But this client insisted on bringing a gigantic TV and a bag stuffed with video games. We laughed at his persistency and let him carry it himself out of the car and into the boat. Having arrived on the island we had the usual tour before showing them to their cabins. Everything seemed promising and the spring sun was bright and warm. But as I was returning to the mainland I was faced with a problem. The TV had no 12-volt adaptor and could not be used. It was not a huge problem but getting one would take a few days. What followed was something resembling abstinence-related behavior. A dispute followed involving by a large number of phone calls and attempts to cancel the stay, due to the lack of TV. It eventually turned out well, but I could not help wondering what had actually happened. What did it all mean? My instinct told me I was facing a new kind of addiction.
Much later I encountered stories in the media about computer game abuse and the enormous problems it caused in families. School truancy, quarrels, even fighting, and it all seemed to emanate from conflicts about computer game use. I curiously started investigating the situation in and came in contact with the parental network Fair-Play, the company, different health care companies and dedicated therapists like Owe Sandberg. I also got in touch with the gamer organization Goodgame. Within the government there was the National Institute of Public Health, the standing committee on social issues and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. There seemed to be an enormous and growing, although partly hidden, problem with the negative consequences of computer game use: computer game addiction. And not much research had been done in this area.
This inspired me even more. Since I enjoy challenges I started a parent support group, created an evaluation tool and began offering treatment services to families and social services. We soon realized parts of the established treatment strategies could be adapted and used and we quickly gained valuable experience. The parent support group proved an enormous source of support and help, as parents came to help each other. They all shared similar experiences: the use of computer games (in most cases World of Warcraft – WoW) had taken over the life of the gamers. Several conventional signs of an addiction were present: abstinence, loss of control, increased tolerance, denial, decreased performance in school, serious conflicts with family, criminality, etc. Since I had been working with addiction for the past 20 years, I could see similarities with other types of addiction. They went through the same developmental stages, family members would become co-dependent, etc. But there were also differences. Computer game addiction has its own constitution and must be seen as a unique type of addiction. We met young people whose computer game use had become the predominant activity in their life. The lack of physical activity, sunlight, and real-life social interactions painted a grim picture. How could something as fun, instructive and innocent as computer games have such severe consequences? Some plausible explanations could be the gratifying kicks and the strong sense of group solidarity. Some gamers seem to use computer games as a way to forget about their real life. Irrespective of reason, some gamers develop an almost pathological relationship with computer games, in which looking after oneself, eating and sleeping are heavily neglected.
Our interdisciplinary network contains social workers and psychologists as well as teachers. The diversity is necessary in order to deal with these complex situations. We use everything from motivational interviewing and existential talks to outdoor education and recreation and put a strong emphasis on involving the immediate family. There is a need to strengthen relationships between parents and children especially if the client is young. We offer each patient a customized treatment plan based on where the client is and the needs he or she has. A support centre has been established where gamers and relatives can ask for advice and support and we offer treatment nationwide. In order to determine the different risk factors of the addiction we have also initiated a research project. What started as in incident in the archipelago has become exciting pioneer work!
Sven Rollenhagen
The author was born in 1959 and is a trained social worker with experience from social services and private youth care. He was one of the pioneers in Sweden of non-institutional care as an alternative to institutional care. Since 1991 he has been the director of Stiftelsen ungdomsvård, a non-profit organization offering services to local authorities and individuals.
