Related topics: At-risk students and Counseling resources

Introduction
A 19 year old freshman male walks into your office looking disheveled, lacking personal hygiene, with red eyes, and has lost weight. The student avoids eye contact, seems uncomfortable, angry, and anxious to leave your office. The academic report on your desk shows that he is frequently absent, falls asleep in class, and his assignments are late or nonexistent. During the interview, you learn the student has few friends, procrastinates, isolates himself in his room, has carpel tunnel syndrome, eats irregularly, sleeps two hours each night, has migraines and backaches.
 
A 40 year old senior female wants help studying for the GRE exam she is taking - tomorrow. Procrastination is a pattern with this student. Although her GPA and ACT are high, she admits to exhaustion because she sleeps two or three hours each night and lives on chocolate and caffeine. Assignments are turned in on time but only after pulling several 'all nighters.'
 
What do these two students have in common? Insights garnered from answers to your questions lead you to believe that the source of both problems is overuse of the internet and the playing of computer or video games: Gamer Addiction.
 
WHAT IS GAMER ADDICTION?
Gamer Addiction is an obsession with video game playing that usually begins in elementary and middle school. By college, the individual progresses from simple to elaborate games and the student is game-hooked. An activity becomes an addiction when it is used to change an individual's mood. It becomes abuse when it interferes with 'one's work or school, or disrupts personal or family relationships, and becomes increasingly necessary to feel good' (Orzack, 2005a, p. 1).
 
Addiction takes away from life and reduces motivation to do anything beyond the focus of the addiction (IGDA panel). Niolosi (2002) found that video games are part of the daily routine for 65% of American girls and 85% of American boys. NBC News ( 5-19-05 ) reported that one in eight gamers develops patterns similar to other types of addiction and abuse. Tournemillie (2002) noted that a survey of 1500 teenagers indicated 25% were compulsive video gamers. Fifty per cent of those surveyed used the word 'addiction' to describe a friend's gaming behaviors.
 
Today's video games are available in a plethora of venues that draw individuals into the world of the game. Games are designed to keep the player riveted to action. Players experience a sense of control when they enter into the fantasy world of speed, realism, violence, new morals, and interoperability. Many games offer on-line anonymous interaction with other people; a 'hook' is a sense of family or belonging in the form of a pseudo persona the player develops when repeatedly playing the game. The longer the game is played, the more the pseudo persona can replace reality.

Symptoms: The two major indicators of Gamer Addiction are withdrawl and isolation. The common thread in addiction is an emotional dysregulation. Individuals are often depressed, lonely, angry, shy, afraid to go out, in a high family conflict situation, and have low self-esteem. This affects significant relationships with roommates, fellow students, parents, friends, faculty, and advisors. Players can have difficulty separating the game or fantasy world and reality. The compulsive playing tends to cover these underlying psychological problems (Cromie, 1999).

COLLEGE AND GAMING
 Nicolosi (2002) found that 65% of girls and 85% of boys are game players and one in eight gamers develops patterns of addiction. In a college/university with 10,000 students, that would mean that 960 students are addicted. For many students, choosing gaming over academics has become the norm. Students stay up too late or all night, miss class, skip assignments, and if confronted, can exhibit belligerent behavior with instructors/advisors. Orzack (2005b) noted that 'Many counselors and deans of students report an increased association between inappropriate and excessive computer use and rule infractions, relationship problems, and academic difficulties (p. 1).'
 
Game playing often begins from boredom; the excitement becomes the reward. This behavior is reinforced on an intermittent reinforcement schedule - the most powerful type of reinforcer. The college classroom comes into direct competition with the daily reinforcement from the video games. Playing provides an alternate reality in which problems are solved and success and reward is possible. When life seems out of control, the game provides a sense of control. If life becomes difficult or stressful, the game will provide an avenue of escape from responsibility and reality.

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ADDRESSING GAMER ADDICTION
Gamer Addiction - also referred to as Stimulus Addiction, Narcissistic Self-Stimulation or Feelings Management Technology (Meunier, 2003) - is a very complex issue and requires professional psychological treatment. The lines between work/play/school have become unclear and vague. The student needs professional help to develop adequate coping skills and address underlying issues hidden by Gamer Addiction.
 
In the academic environment, the responsibility for dealing with Gamer Addiction falls in three separate but overlapping functional areas. Individuals within these groups must coordinate, cooperate, and communicate effectively to ensure success in reducing Gamer Addiction:

1. The following chart(with its list of four focus areas) can assist in identification of possible addicts

2. School administration is responsible for establishing policies, programs, and procedures to ensure that identified gamer addicts have the available resources and adequate psychological services. Services for Gamer Addiction could be an expansion of already existing services for drug and alcohol abuse. Information about Gamer Addiction needs to be distributed on the institutional web sites, provided to parents of incoming freshmen, and students must be informed about the addiction to aid in identification with themselves and others.
 
3. Students must understand the importance of addictions.They need to develop the self-discipline and prioritization skills necessary for successful work/school/academics.Accepting help for the addiction is imperative! Therapy should focus on the underlying cause of the addiction and development of appropriate and effective coping skills.
 
IMPLICATIONS FOR ADVISORS
Academic advisors need to add Gamer Addiction to our 'Advising Tool Kit!' Utilizing a Gaming Addiction Screening Questionnaire I developed, I administered the questionnaire to a graduate class. Results showed 1 in 8 of these students were addicted to gaming. Further organization-wide administration of the questionnaire is planned for the 2005-2006 academic year.
 
Identification and referral are the required dual approaches to identify students with Gamer Addiction. Orzack (2005a) noted that 'Normalizing computer uses is more and more a requirement in our modern society (p. 1).' The challenges that face academic advisors are manifold in this world where the lines between academics, work, home, relationships, and gaming - the real and the fantasy worlds - can become vague and unclear. We must identify gamer addiction early in the students' college career if we are to help ensure students' academic and life success.

Lee Kem
Murray State University
College of Education

References