Members of the American Medical Association will soon decide whether video game addiction should be classified as a psychiatric disorder, but critics say the designation would be a step too far.
"I think the term 'addiction' should be used carefully," Dr. Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, told Â鶹´«Ã½net.
"Most drugs and alcohol addict people, and the reason for that, at least in part, is because when people don't use them they go through withdrawal. It's a chemical process and can be generally treated with chemical means."
As a comparison, he noted the amount of television the average North American watches.
"If you're going to call video game watching an addiction, people watch television an average of five hours a day, and we don't consider that an addiction," he said. "The fact that something can be over-used doesn't make it a psychiatric disorder."
But a leading council of doctors within the AMA believes some children display all the hallmarks of addictive behaviour: spending hours in their rooms, neglecting school and acting belligerent towards their families.
The council's report to the AMA claims up to 90 per cent of U.S. youth play video games, while as many as 5 million, or 15 per cent, may be addicted.
The AMA, which is holding its annual policy meeting in Chicago this weekend, could vote on the council's proposal as early as Monday.
If the council succeeds, those suffering from the disorder in the U.S. could get treatment paid for by their insurance companies.
Joyce Protopapas of Frisco, Texas, told The Associated Press her 17-year-old son, Michael, was an addict.
She said the teen began spending hours each day playing the popular massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft. His grades soon slipped, he failed two 10th grade classes and rarely left his room.
"My father was an alcoholic ... and I saw exactly the same thing" in Michael, she said.
"We battled him until October of last year. We went to therapists, we tried taking the game away.
"He would threaten us physically. He would curse and call us every name imaginable. It was as if he was possessed."
A therapist eventually told the family Michael suffered from video game addiction, and they sent the boy to a therapeutic boarding school. It cost them US$5,000 each month -- money not covered by their insurance company.
Liz Woolley, of Harrisburg, Pa., created the after her son shot himself in 2001 while playing an online game.
Both youth and adults post messages to the site, describing their behaviour and relating how video games have negatively impacted their lives.
However, Peterson said video games can actually be beneficial to a child's development and their ability to solve complex problems.
"There's good evidence they raise fluid intelligence," said Peterson. "And it's proved very difficult for psychologists to find educational processes that reliably increase fluid intelligence, which is, by the way, a very good predictor of later-life success."
With files from The Associated Press
