Selection and Description of The Current Event
For most of the members of the young generation, gaming can be a fun activity and gets even better when their friends and relatives are equally addicted. BBC (2019) details the story of James Wisniewski, who has been addicted to gaming for a couple of years now. Wisniewski describes internet gaming as the priority of his life, stating that it is the first thing he thinks of when he wakes up and indeed is the last thing that he does before going to bed. Wisniewski admitted to having had the internet games consuming him and preventing him from dating anybody seriously. BBC (2019), therefore, has sufficient proof to report that Wisniewski is suffering from the internet gaming disorder, which has been classified as a mental condition under the DSM-V classification. When asked about his relationship life, Wisniewski did not hesitate to affirm that he does not want a serious relationship with anybody unless they will be sitting around him playing video games. He will not imagine being on a date with a potential partner and, at the same time, thinking about going home and playing a game.
Wisniewski states that he plays video games anywhere between 6 and 14 hours a day and may not engage in the other activities of his typical day (BBC, 2019). Wisniewski realized that he had a potential addiction in internet gaming based on his inability to focus on the other activities and phases of his life, such as dating. He believes he could have developed an unhealthy gaming condition since he spends most of his life glued to the monitors. While speaking to the radio, Wisniewski said that he did not previously consider that he might be addicted to internet gaming as it made him feel pleasurable (BBC, 2019). However, it was then crystal clear to Wisniewski that he had a problem managing his gaming disorder.
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According to BBC (2019), the World Health Organization integrated update to its guidelines to include gaming disorder as a mental health condition in 2018. The WHO update was in line with the DSM-V classification of the mental health disorders released in 2013. According to the WHO, gaming disorder is defined as the issue where a particular individual prioritizes gaming over all the other activities in their lives, even if doing so has adverse consequences to their health and other conditions such as finances (BBC, 2019). The addicts of gaming, according to the WHO update, will regard playing internet games as their mood influencers. The outcomes of their games will often determine their prevailing mood. Just as people put so much time and dedication to something expecting a particular return, Wisniewski will always invest deliberate effort and dedication to his gaming to gain his mood boost. BBC (2019) integrates a more in-depth approach to Wisniewski's gaming condition to gauge his mood changes based on his winnings and losses. When he wins a game when playing with his friends, Wisniewski will often feel excited and celebrate his small wins.
On the other hand, Wisniewski reports that during a gaming occasion with his friends, he threw his controller across the room and broke the charging wire, as a reaction to losing the game (BBC, 2019). The physical cost of Wisniewski's gaming habits is that he barely has enough sleep in a day. He works in a job that requires him to drive and will often start his gaming at 6:30 pm pretty soon after coming home from work until around 1 am when he retires to bed (BBC, 2019). The newspaper reports that as of June 2018, there were 2261 active games in the United Kingdom and suggested that the companies encourage their target customers to take regular breaks and enhance the parental controls to save the teenagers from the internet gaming disorder.
Selection and Description of The Textbook Concept
The internet gaming disorder has been classified as a mental condition, according to the DSM-V classification of psychological disorders released in 2013. However, the disorder requires more clinical research to be performed regarding it to ensure that there is enough evidence to classify it formally as a mental condition in the DSM-V classification. According to Maddux and Winstead (2016), the internet is an indispensable part of human life and has connected people across the globe. However, scientists in the world have identified the recent trends of the use of the internet in online games. The authors have identified that the victims of the internet gaming play compulsively at the expense of all the other activities in their lives, at the same time risking their physical and mental health (Maddux & Winstead, 2016).
The various cultural dimensions of psychopathy can be incorporated into the social worldview perspective of internet gaming disorder. The impact of the world on the outlook of the issue relates to the increased use of the internet across the globe. According to Maddux and Winstead (2016), the world has embraced the use of the internet to connect people socially. Mainly, the gaming addicts usually want to play their games with the people whom they share interests. The social view of society based on internet gaming disorder indicates that various individuals view gaming disorder differently based on their age and geographical location. For instance, adolescents and jobless middle-aged individuals, or those with flexible working schedules, may not view internet gaming addiction as a disorder since they are often looking towards gaining pleasure from their gaming experiences (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). On the other hand, the more focused individuals in society tend to view internet gaming as a problem facing modern society with particularly adverse effects on the victims both physically and mentally.
The role of gender, race, and class in psychopathology, according to Maddux and Winstead (2016), has furthered the discussion on the internet gaming disorder as a recently recognized mental disorder in the DSM-V classification. While the disorder may affect the people from various classes, most of the individuals targeted by the internet gaming disorder are the teenagers and young adults from the families associated with more wealth (Gentile et al., 2017). Research has also embarked on identifying whether internet gaming disorder as a mental condition affects more male victims than the individual victims. Maddux and Winstead (2016) report that more in-depth clinical research reveals that particular pathways of the addicted gamers' brains are directly triggered by their compulsive gaming habits similar to the individuals with drug and substance abuse problems.
Continuous gaming over a long time has proven to trigger neurological reactions from the brain that result in the feelings of pleasure among the victims during and after the gaming (Maddux & Winstead, 2016). The authors agree that more research is needed to identify the patterns of excessive internet gaming and the various responses that are triggered in the brain. Additionally, the current research is limited to the discussion of online gaming and does not include other addictions such as online gambling, social media addiction, and the general use of the internet (Kerr et al., 2020). The psychological assessment and clinical judgment of the issue of the internet gaming disorder involves a series of steps and processes that aim at the maximization of benefits to the victims while enabling them to cope with the withdrawal symptoms of the internet gaming disorder. Additionally, as Maddux and Winstead (2016) report, clinical researchers continue to unearth the innovative practices of the modern psychotherapeutic approaches to the issue of internet gaming to reduce its effects on the unsuspecting victims or those that discover that they are suffering from the condition later.
Integration and Synthesis of The Textbook Concept with The Selected Current Event
Maddux and Winstead (2016) enhance the information that BBC (2019) provides regarding the Wisniewski case involving gaming addiction. First and foremost, the definition of internet gaming disorder in the book is related to that of the world health organization, as explained in the newspaper. Therefore, the information contained in the book introducing readers to the internet gaming disorder integrates with and synthesizes the information on the current event regarding Wisniewski's game addiction case. BBC (2019) attempts to unearth the correlation between the addiction to gaming with various responses of the brain. For instance, the newspaper states that the mood of Wisniewski is determined by his winning or losing of gaming and especially among his friends.
Maddux and Winstead (2016) expand the observation by detailing the responses of the brain to the continuous addiction to the gaming activities in terms of the neurological responses that are concerned with the derivation of pleasure from the gaming activities. Therefore, the brain is triggered by the games played by an individual to give responses that determine the mood of the individual. The book also enhances the newspaper's statement that Wisniewski is unable to have any serious relationships in life due to the issue of gaming addiction. According to researchers, internet gaming disorder makes the people living with the mental condition to prioritize their games over the other activities that may go on in their lives, including dating. Therefore, Maddux and Winstead (2016) liken the gaming addiction to that of drug and substance abuse since the same effects are realized.
References
BBC. (2019, October 9). 'My gaming addiction stops me from having relationships'. BBC . https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49978427
Gentile, D. A., Bailey, K., Bavelier, D., Brockmyer, J. F., Cash, H., Coyne, S. M., ... & Markle,
T. (2017). Internet Gaming Disorder in Children and Adolescents. Pediatrics , 140 (Supplement 2), S81-S85.
Kerr, C., Francis, B., Cross, K., Guide, G. C., & Games, I. (2020). Net call: Internet Gaming
Disorder and Internet Addiction Disorder are not the same. Heart .
Maddux, J. E., & Winstead, B. A. (2016). Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding (4th ed.). Routledge.
