Don't Stop Me Now Trivia Quiz

Answer: The 90s

In 1980, Roy Traubshaw, a English fan of the role-playing board game Dungeons and Dragons, constructed an electronic version of that game whilst at university. A year later Richard Bartl, a classmate took control over the game, expanding the number of potential players and their action options. He called the game MUD (for Multi-User Dungeons, later Multi-user Domain), and released it onto the Internet.

In the 90s, MUDs became multi-user fantasy games and were electronic adventures run on a large network, usually fuelled by university computers. Players commonly spent many hours a day logged onto alternative realities based on 'Star Trek', 'The Hobbit', or adaptations of McCaffrey's novels about the dragon riders' universe Pern.

A Kevin Kelly report in "Wired" in 1993 noted many players spending over 12 hours per session. This worried parents and university administrators. This was the first known report on video games addiction.

Answer: Yes

In May 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) did not include internet gaming disorder in their fifth edition of the 'Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders'(DSM). This is the manual that is used globally to categorise diseases. However in 2014 Nancy Petry from the American Psychiatry Association proposed that nine characteristics be included for a proposed internet gaming disorder in the next edition of the DSM:

1. Pre-occupation. Do you spend a lot of time thinking about games even when you are not playing, or planning when you can play next?

2. Withdrawal. Do you feel restless, irritable, moody, angry, anxious or sad when attempting to cut down or stop gaming, or when you are unable to play?

3. Tolerance. Do you feel the need to play for increasing amounts of time, play more exciting games, or use more powerful equipment to get the same amount of excitement you used to get?

4. Reduce/stop. Do you feel that you should play less, but are unable to cut back on the amount of time you spend playing games?

5. Give up other activities. Do you lose interest in or reduce participation in other recreational activities due to gaming?

6.Continue despite problems. Do you continue to play games even though you are aware of negative consequences, such as not getting enough sleep, being late to school/work, spending too much money, having arguments with others, or neglecting important duties?

7. Deceive/cover up. Do you lie to family, friends or others about how much you game, or try to keep your family or friends from knowing how much you game?

8.Escape adverse moods. Do you game to escape from or forget about personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression?

9.Risk/lose relationships/opportunities. Do you risk or lose significant relationships, or job, educational or career opportunities because of gaming?

The World Health Organization went a step further and included "gaming disorder" within the 2018 revision of its International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems.

Answer: Gambling addiction

Video games addiction was focused on presumed built-in reward systems of video games to explain their addictivity. Many video games, particularly huge multiplayer online role-playing games (eg 'World of Warcraft', 'Albion Online') and mobile games (such as 'Pokemon Shuffle' and 'Mortal Kombat X') rely on a "compulsion loop" or "core loop" which are a continuous cycle of activities that reward the player and impel them to continue to another cycle, thereby keeping them in the game. Anticipation of such rewards can release dopamine into the body, so that once the reward is obtained, the person remembers it as a pleasurable feeling.

This is similar to the same neurological reaction associated with gambling addiction.

Answer: Increased appetite and increased need for sleep

Other symptoms include:

- Repeated, unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back or stop video game use.
- Feelings of moodiness, depression, restlessness, or irritability when attempting to reduce video game use
- Gaming longer than originally intended.
- Lies to family members, and significant others to conceal the extent of video game involvement.

With children additional symptoms include
- Fatigue, tendency to fall asleep during the day
- Not completing assignments and homework on time
- Falling grades or failing classes
- Stopping school activities, and external clubs and sports.
- Isolated from family and friends just to play video games

Excessive video gaming can also cause physical problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome, dry eyes, backaches, and severe headaches.

Answer: Deviation: The need to appear different to peers

Video games can be used by the disenfranchised (low self-esteem, depression for example) to create on-line personas or "avatars" where the gamer is able to alter their identity and pretend to be someone other than themselves. By logging on and off at will, people with such problems can feel in control again, they can 'meet' new people on their terms and with practice, the gamer can feel they are good at something.

These pseudo-relationships can not replace real-world relationships and they eventually fall short of expectation, exacerbating symptoms.

Answer: Games that do not end

Research has suggested that massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) such as 'World of Warcraft' and first person shooter games (FPS) like 'Call of Duty' tend to be more addictive than other genres like platform games, fighter, racing, and casual games.

It is clear that the most addictive games have certain elements that include:
- Games that do not end meaning play will continue and there is no final pay-off for beating the system.
- Encouragement from the game to develop online social interactions with other players. These dedication and commitment requirements to a team of fellow gamers to accomplish goals, becomes more important than real-world relationship.
- Giving the gamer frequent rewards in the early parts of the game for minimal effort. This is meant to "hook" the gamer to encourage him/her to continue. The reward frequency will taper off later, stabilizing at a level usually carefully chosen to maximize the incentive to keep playing and paying (and thus also increasing the risk of addiction).

Answer: Game transfer phenomenon

According to Angelica Ortiz de Go, the psychologist who termed the condition, game transfer phenomenon "is the transfer of experiences from the virtual to the physical world manifesting as altered sensory perceptions, sensations, automatic mental processes, automatic behaviours and actions with video game content. Most GTP appears to be triggered by game-related cues, although they are not always present, nor are they not always identifiable. GTP can manifest under hypnagogic states or borderline states between being awake and being asleep or while waking up. However, research has shown that in most of the cases GTP occurs in the fully awaken state and many times triggered by associations".

In other words, addicts cannot adequately differentiate between virtual and real-world realities. This is a desperate but treatable condition.

Answer: Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the treatment modality of choice for video game addiction. This involves changing both the thoughts that contribute to unhealthy (excessive and exclusive) gaming habits and modifying a gamer's actions to slowly reduce the amount of time spent playing video games.
Personal one-to-one counselling sessions with a psychologist would also be beneficial but video game addiction specialists are rare.
Family therapy is also beneficial so the whole family can be involved in the affected family member's 'rehabilitation'.

Answer: Complete removal of the individual from environments where video games are accessible

This is a drastic and expensive treatment that is taken as a last resort. It is used for internet addiction as well as more specific forms of media-related addictions such as gambling and video games addiction. Sufferers effectively go into a 'cold turkey' rehab situation for 6-8 weeks where there is no access to electronic media and their days are filled with alternative positive experiences and therapy. Such facilities are becoming more prevalent and necessary.

Answer: Yes, indirectly. Video game addiction can cause fatal deterioration in mental or physical condition

When a person dies a death certificate is issued. The certificate lists the cause of death and any contributing factors. Video games addiction and internet gaming addiction have been listed on death certificates as contributing factors.

There are many documented cases where the overuse of video games has caused extreme deterioration in physical condition such as dehydration and anorexia from ignoring basic biological needs, leading to death. Other serious physical symptoms of overuse of video games include: Headache, neck or back pain, digestive problems, sleep problems, daytime sleepiness and palpitations.

Indirect deaths from mental health issues (usually manifesting as suicide) have also occurred from depression due to inability to advance in a video game. Ostracising of a team member from a virtual group has also led to preventative premature death.

There have been cases where teens have killed themselves when their parents removed their source of video games to break the addiction. There are few things worse than the preventable death of a young person who will have missed so many opportunities in their lives.