Top 10 Video Game Injuries

02. Death (by Video Game Addiction)

When we were growing up in the Atari 2600 generation we often heard our parents yell at us for spending so much time in front of the TV, warning us we would go blind or crazy, but they never told us that true game addiction could lead to death... Can you imagine that? Gaming yourself to death? That sucks!

We know you have heard about these cases - and for some reason they seem to happen in Asia more often than anywhere else, though they have happened elsewhere.

Most recently there were two cases that received a lot of publicity: a 32-year old male gamer was found dead at a Taiwanese Internet cafe following a non-stop three-day gaming session, and another male gamer also died in Taipei during a five-day gaming binge.

We suspect that at least part of the reason that these deaths made the headlines was down to them happening in gaming and net cafes - that part of Asia being unique in that it actually has 24-hour net cafes in business, so this sort of thing CAN happen that way.

A little research on the subject though reveals that there are a LOT more gaming related deaths than at first it appears!

You see the fact that gaming was involved when these deaths happened in homes is rarely ever made part of the official record. So the deaths are charted as natural causes like heart attacks, strokes, and organ failure from dehydration!

It's important to remember though that this sort of injury only happens to a very small minority of gamers, and its root cause really is addictive behavior.

Some serious research has gone into the phenomenon, and the results may surprise you. The experts believe that these deaths - the root cause anyway - boils down to the constant positive reinforcement that is experienced in video games.

To put it more simply, being constantly rewarded while playing the games leads a certain type of personality to seriously over-indulge in gaming and in rare cases, that overindulgence leads to their deaths.

If you are skeptical, consider this: In May 2013, the American Psychiatric Association published the fifth edition of the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" or DSM-5 - the book that is used to help define legitimate treatable cases.

For the first time in its history, the DSM-5 included "internet gaming disorder" (IGD) as a psychological condition that warrants future research.

If you think you - or someone you know - may be at risk, here are the signs - and you/they only need to find any FIVE to indicate you may have a problem:

(1) preoccupation with internet games;

(2) withdrawal symptoms when internet gaming is taken away;

(3) the need to spend increasing amounts of time engaged in internet gaming,

(4) unsuccessful attempts to control participation in internet gaming;

(5) loss of interest in hobbies and entertainment as a result of, and with the exception of, internet gaming;

(6) continued excessive use of internet games despite knowledge of psychosocial problems;

(7) deception of family members, therapists, or others regarding the amount of internet gaming;

(8) use of the internet gaming to escape or relieve a negative mood; and

(9) loss of a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of participation in internet games.

Mates, to be clear, we believe that gaming can add positive things to life - but when it starts to add negative things - like this - it is time to take a step back and maybe go to bed! Well that and see a shrink.

Posted: 28th May 2015 by CMBF
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