This evening, thanks to the unique way in which the BBC is funded, Panorama is set to air what we assume will be a piece of sensationalist shock journalism about video game addiction. We’ve published our own piece about video game addiction, it was praised as being very balanced and fair to both sides in the debate. It will be a surprise if tonight’s Panorama enjoys the same high praise.
Now, we could be wrong in our assumptions about the show but it’s fair to say that video games haven’t had much fair treatment at the hands of the mainstream press. Whether it’s Daily Star staffers inventing stories that play on the emotions of recently-bereaved family members or it’s a gardener and two hypocrites talking about stuff they can’t begin to comprehend in the presence of Tim Ingham. The outdated “mainstream” doesn’t seem to understand the world’s largest grossing entertainment medium at all.
So, Panorama will air tonight at 20:30 on BBC1 and the most offensive parts will probably hit YouTube before midnight for those of you who can’t access the UK’s supposedly impartial television network. We will reserve our judgement (mostly) until we’ve seen the show in its entirety but we expect, as with the Watchdog PS3 YLoD report, we’ll be writing another letter of complaint.
TIGA, however, are fully prepared to pre-empt Panorama by issuing the following statement this afternoon:
TIGA has yet to see the Panorama documentary, so cannot comment on specific points raised in the show. However, what we can say is that there is absolutely no proven link between video games and addiction. The World Health Organisation has no official medical diagnosis of video games addiction. Playing games is a hobby and people can certainly become passionate about them. This is no different from a passion for a particular book, TV programme or sport. In addition, playing games such as Wii Sports of Xbox Kinect can improve fitness. Games can also be educational. A fifth of UK games businesses make educational or serious games.
There is a world of difference between people who claim, in the colloquial non medical sense, that they are addicted to games, music, football or a TV programme and people who are clinically addicted, in scientific parlance, to drugs or alcohol. People may claim to be addicted to something like games or football, but in most cases they are not.
TIGA would welcome additional independent research in to this topic and takes this issue very seriously. As with all hobbies we advocate that video games are played in moderation, with gamers taking regular breaks. Parents and retailers should also ensure that children only play games that are age appropriate. Games are clearly marked with PEGI or BBFC age ratings to inform parents about which games are suitable for their children.
We might not be ready to disagree with Panorama, not having seen it ourselves yet, but we’re certainly fully in support of this statement from TIGA.
BIGAL-1992
I’ll hold fire until I see it.
rht992
same i do hope they’ll be smart about this and not just aim for an easy story. i also hope they get someone who actually knows what on earth they are talking about
Bilbo_bobbins
oh dear, I like Panaroma as they normally put alot of effort into their programmes, I can’t comment yet on it, but it seems it’s not going to be positive for the gaming industry.
rainydays458
It’s obvious that all panorama will do is slate the gaming industry. They might also do a bit on repomsiblity of the parents.
It’ll be to watch
rainydays458
meant to say “it’ll be fun to watch”
lol
KillaScorp
Just so you dont miss it – its 8:30 on BBC1, not 9:00 ;-)
colossalblue
oops, apologies for that. I’ve amended the original post.
rainydays458
heads up, for bbc wales it’s on at 23:05 not 20:30
Sympozium
Gosh thats late!
hannes_truce
I’m reserving judgement until around 8.32 this evening.
deadwelsh
‘UK’s supposedly impartial television network’
‘The World Health Organisation has no official medical diagnosis of video games addiction’
TSBonyman
I saw something about this this morning and sent a link. This was the bit that interested me..
“Games designer Adrian Hon, chief creative officer of SixToStart, said producers use a simple technique based on a 1950s study of rats feeding themselves by pressing a lever.
The “variable ratio of reinforcement” (or operant conditioning) basically sees people acting a certain way because they are rewarded for that behaviour.”
Can anybody shed anymore light on that?
colossalblue
That’s one of the founding studies in psychological “conditioning” if my half an A-level is doing me justice. Also, look up “Pavlov’s dogs” on Wikipedia or something.
Basically, if a rat got food for selecting the appropriate lever then, over time, they learned to hit that lever. Just as gamers, over time, learn to grab the rocket launcher from a side-room before they try to take down the helicopter. It’s learned response picked up for the perceived benefit that it will present, very basic psychology and present in almost all animal interaction (which obviously includes humans).
TSBonyman
Thanks, i thought something along those lines but i also want to know how relevant that study is today.
TSBonyman
Also i thought this was all about games potential to change peoples behaviour. But if they’re basing their studies on research that was done in the 50’s – long before video-games existed – it doesn’t seem very sound.
tonycawley
You read this in the metro right? Basically what that article was referring to was certain elements of gaming that are included purposely as a means to get and keep people addicted. The main thing i can think of in this respect for gaming is levelling up, you play, earn xp, level up your character and enjoy the benefits as a result of that. This leads to people wanting to come back for more. The whole just one more level thing.
gazzagb
I read that in the Metro too, and as Cb says, it’s basic psychology. It means that if an action has a consequence, you will automatically link the action with the consequence without thinking. In videogames this is often done by rewards such as XP, levelling up etc.
However, the action does not necessarily have to have a reward, even if the consequence is negative, it will still become a conditioned response.
In this context, they’re saying video games cause you to become addicted to getting the consequence which is normally a reward. Pretty much everything has this though, films are designed to make you feel good about yourself, thus you watch it again, or watch the sequel.
tonycawley
Well obviously we can’t all comment on the specifics of the documentary until it’s been aired. What i can say though is that gaming can definitely be addictive. To me, an addiction is something that you do that occupies your brain the majority of the time and causes you to be late or absent from work, or in other ways impairs your normal functioning. This may not be the medical definition of addiction (the body’s dependance on something to function normally) but it’s a definition that works. Many of my students miss lessons for reasons no other than gaming, they were playing until the early hours, or they stayed at home to play. As far as i’m concerned, that’s an addiction and should be treated as such.
DJ Judas
The show supposedly features a surprisingly accurate theory about deliberate promotion of addictiveness, likened to a Skinner box type technique. I wrote something about the subject a few months back. Although I fully expect the show to use the design theory in a ‘attacking those most susceptible’ type way.
DJ Judas
I should’ve read the other comments that were posted in the time it took me to write that.
It’s the reward that’s the addictive property, and the longer a person plays, the more willing they are to play for longer periods without reward, such as taking longer to level up…….grinding.
The most blatant exploitation of this technique is in the Call of Duty games from MW onwards and the achievement system in WoW. Funnily enough they’re both Activision published and the most popular games in the world ;)
Dany2Step
http://www.cracked.com/article_18461_5-creepy-ways-video-games-are-trying-to-get-you-addicted.html
its definately a thing, i think the majority of the truely addictive stuff is confined to subscription based mmo’s though.