A rehabilitation clinic for those adicted to computer games has opened in Amersterdam.
According to the director of the company, computer games can be just as addictive as gambling or drugs.
Now, I undertand that it could be as addictive as gambling. But drugs?
There is a differentiation that needs to be made between psychological addiction and physical addiction.
While a person can be both psychologically and physically addicted to some drugs, they cannot be physically addicted to gambling or computer gaming. I would therefore humbly submit that a crack addict can hardly be compared to a socially retarded high school student who plays Doom imagining that the school bully is an alien until 6 AM.
Nevertheless the Dutch “detox program” will run from four to eight weeks starting in July and includes efforts to direct computer game addicts to other activities.
What is interesting about the article is that several gamers became so addicted to computer games that they turned to drugs in order to be able to play longer. They then ended up with two addictions that needed treatment. Luckily the organisation that is starting the gaming rehab also takes care of drug rehab!
