Anthony Holt
ENGL 1010
Barbara Duffey
April 2, 2012
Video Games: Favorite Past Time or Dangerous Addiction
An Annotated Bibliography
I am an avid video game player and I play an average of 10 hours a week. Oftentimes while I am
playing I see other people who seem to have been playing continuously, non-stop. They are
online when I sign into the game and are still online when I sign off. Are they just having fun? Or
are they struggling with addiction? It is hard for me to fathom that video games are addictive
because I know what video games mean to me, which is just entertainment to pass my free
time, so I decided to research whether or not video games are addictive.
“AMA votes against video game ‘addiction’.” Mental Health Weekly 9 July 2007: 7 Academic
Search Premier. Web. April 2, 2012
This article includes information from Reuters which states that only ten percent of
individuals who play video games play in excess. It also states that the American Medical
Association (AMA) have suggested that further research be conducted into the “addictive
potential of video games” it failed to include video gaming as an addiction in the then current
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
The article is in informational in nature so its main appeal is a Logos appeal. I will include
this article in my writing as it gives the viewpoint from an established and well respected board
(AMA). If the board was not willing to include it into its official manual as a cause for mental
disorder, is the thought of video game addiction limited to someones personal views of video
games?
Van Rooij, Antonius et al. “Video Game Addiction and Social Responsibility.” Editorial. Addiction
Research and Theory Oct. 2010: 18.5 489-493 Academic Search Premier April 2, 2012
The information included in this article is mostly references to other articles. The
information is detailed but it then lists the source and almost a quarter of the article is the
names and titles to the publications referenced. It does, however, include sources of
information from many countries. It details the signs of video game addiction for all ages and
instead of giving information to help individuals, it gives information for society as a whole to
help with the prevention of addiction from government legislation to video game developers
making more socially responsible games.
The appeal for this article is an ethos appeal. I would include this article in my research
paper as it gives a new perspective into the treatment of video game addiction. Instead of
treating individual cases of addiction the focus is suggested on more socially responsible
gaming.
Weinstein, Aviv Malkiel. “Computer and Video Game Addiction – A Comparison between Game
Users and Non-Game Users.” American Journal of Drug & Alcohol Abuse 36.5 (2010): 268-276
Academic Search Premier April 2, 2012
The article is a comparison of certain behaviors between users of video games and nonusers. It also includes detailed brain scans and the results of which are included in the article. It
seems to be a research paper of sorts.
The articles appeal is a Logos appeal. The author is a doctor (Ph.D.) and he wrote the
article for other doctors. It includes many detailed findings of different tests done on patients. I
will not be including the article in my writing as it is much too academic in nature although the
results of his findings were very interesting.
Young, Kimberly. “Understanding Online Gaming Addiction and Treatment Issues for
Adolescents.” The American Journal of Family Therapy 37 (2009): 355-372. Academic Search
Premier. Web. April 2, 2012
This paper is written for parents who think they may have a child or young adult who
may be suffering from video game addiction. It gives some detailed background information
into video game addiction and also lists early warning signs that parents may look out for. It
also gives steps that parents may take to prevent their child from becoming addicted to video
games.
This articles main appeal is a Logos appeal. It was published in a family therapy journal
and probably written by therapist or social worker, although it did not state the authors
credentials. It contains a lot of useful information and it will be useful in my article. The one
downside that I see with this article is it only includes signs for children and young adults. It
does not specifically state if the signs of addiction or treatment is the same for teens and
adults.
Most of the information I have found is written for the identification and treatment of video
game addiction for adolescents. Very few articles I found were included information on adults.
This leads me to believe that video game addiction is a condition that is normally focused on
while the person is young in age but then is quietly forgotten when the person becomes a teen
or an adult. Is this really a true addiction then? Or is it just something parents use to justify that
they have a child who really likes to play video games? I also did not find much information
regarding the individual themselves, more specifically, if the individual is more prone to
addiction in general. Would the person who is considered to be addicted to video games
become addicted to things that were proven to be causes of addiction like drugs? I think writing
a research paper on this subject at this time would require the reader to do a lot of personal
interpretation. What does excessive video game use mean to them and how does the limited
research done so far regarding this issue affect that view?