In een filmpje op Youtube (terug te vinden op http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVyzeZA5p7Q) wordt er onder andere gepraat over de sociale gevolgen van World of Warcraft. De mensen die heir worden geïnterviewd zijn allemaal fanatieke spelers van het spel.
Het opvallende van de documentaire is dat iedereen wel een ander opvatting heeft over de gevolgen. De een die maakt volop virenden online en de andere helemaal niet. Afspraken met vrienden worden wel eens afgeblazen, zodat ze kunnen WoW’en, maar daar tegenover staat dat als de mensen aan het spelen zijn, dat ze vooral met hun vrienden online aan het spelen zijn. Bij een van de ondervraagde is eht sociale leven erop vooruit gegaan, omdat er nu vrienden bij hem langs komen met hun laptop, zodat ze met alle kunnen spelen.
In het filmpje “World of Warcraft: Hobby or Addiction?” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hcECv8w4YY&mode=related&search=) wordt er gepraat over dat er relaties zijn stukgelopen door World of Warcraft en dat er geen tijd meer aan school wordt besteed.
Ook komt er een artikel voorbij dat een kind was gestikt doordat de ouders te druk bezig waren met World of Warcraft en geen aandacht besteden waren aan hun kind.
(Dit artikel is terug te vinden op: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=59697)
Het is alleen de vraag of het door Wold of Warcraft komt of doordat het gewoon slechte ouders zijn. Het artikel op ‘http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2005/6/21/547’ Gaat hier op in.
Door dit soort incidenten is er in Amsterdam een afkickkliniek gestart voor gameverslaafde. Uit dit artikel blijkt dat mensen die game verslaafd zijn ook echt afkickverschijnselen hebben als ze te lang niet meer achter de computer zitten. ‘ Games zijn net zo verslavend als Drugs en Gokken’ wordt er gesteld in het artikel (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13210136/). Dit artikel is ook terug te vinden in de bijlage.
Laurens de Gier
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BIJLAGE
Detox clinic for gamers to open in Netherlands
Video games can be as addictive as drugs, says program director
By FIA CURLEY
Updated: 5:45 p.m. ET June 8, 2006
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - An addiction center is opening Europe’s first detox clinic for game addicts, offering in-house treatment for people who can’t leave their joysticks alone.
Video games may look innocent, but they can be as addictive as gambling or drugs — and just as hard to kick, says Keith Bakker, director of Amsterdam-based Smith & Jones Addiction Consultants.
Bakker already has treated 20 video game addicts, aged 13 to 30, since January. Some show withdrawal symptoms, such as shaking and sweating, when they look at a computer.
His detox program begins in July. It will run four to eight weeks, including discussions with therapists and efforts to build patients’ interests in alternative activities.
“We have kids who don’t know how to communicate with people face-to-face because they’ve spent the last three years talking to somebody in Korea through a computer,” Bakker said. “Their social network has completely disappeared.”
It can start with a Game Boy, perhaps given by parents hoping to keep their children occupied but away from the television. From there it can progress to multilevel games that aren’t made to be won.
Addiction can start young
Bakker said he has seen signs of addiction in children as young as 8. Hyke van der Heijden, 28, a graduate of the Amsterdam program, started playing video games 20 years ago. By the time he was in college he was gaming about 14 hours a day and using drugs to play longer.
“For me, one joint would never be enough, or five minutes of gaming would never be enough,” he said. “I would just keep going until I crashed out.”
Van der Heijden first went to Smith & Jones for drug addiction in October 2005, but realized the gaming was the real problem. Since undergoing treatment, he has distanced himself from his smoking and gaming friends. He says he has been drug- and game-free for eight months.
Like other addicts, Bakker said, gamers are often trying to escape personal problems. When they play, their brains produce endorphins, giving them a high similar to that experienced by gamblers or drug addicts. Gamers’ responses to questions even mirror those of alcoholics and gamblers when asked about use.
“Many of these kids believe that when they sit down, they’re going to play two games and then do their homework,” he said.
However, unlike other addicts, most gamers received their first game from their parents. “Because it’s so new, parents don’t see that this is something that can be dangerous,” Bakker said.
Tim, a gamer who is currently under treatment, agreed to discuss his addiction on condition of his last name not being used. He said he began playing video games three years ago at age 18. Soon he wouldn’t leave his room for dinner. Later, he began taking drugs to stay awake and play longer. Finally he sought help and picked up other hobbies to occupy his time.
Symptoms of addiction are easy to spot, Bakker says. Parents should take notice if a child neglects usual activities, spends several hours at a time with the computer and has no social life.
Bakker said parents of game addicts frequently echo the words of partners of cocaine addicts: “’I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what it was.”’
© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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