Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

AirstrikeIvanov — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:54 GMT

I have Asperger's Syndrome, this is actually pretty interesting to know.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

dhomeli — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:53 GMT

People need to find balance, you can play MMOs and still have a life.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

kingdutch — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:52 GMT

TYVM

I think I'm a very social person in real life with a healthy game addiction...

What do you guys think?

Ps. 1h typing sucks but <3 ice cream

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

BradfordTaylor — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:51 GMT

My wife always said she thought I showed signs of Aspergers .....better not show her this news.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Mentalfloss — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:50 GMT

That is ridiculous, what are they gonna say when they see gamers as they age showing a much lower percentage of alzheimers?

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

samilasam — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:49 GMT

This is interesting, i already knew my husband has a Social anxiety problem, now i guess we know one more of the treasons that help add to it huh.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

ryan2army — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:48 GMT

I also have been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, and i agree with Airstrikelvanov, it would awsome if there was a more in debth article on this.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

NutOnTheLose — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:47 GMT

My thoughts on this... As a gamer and i also have a friend with Aspergers, i have none of the traits that are even near to what my friend has. So i find this article a load a horse *** to be quite frank.

But the fact of the matter is yes gaming addiction is near enough to drug addiction... if you don't get your daily fix, you get withdrawls.

"The researchers questioned 391 computer game players, 86 per cent of whom were male."
^^ take note of this... it says only 391 gamers.... and that would be out of the 250 million people that play various games around the world.

As i know one person with Aspergers and his youngest brother with Autism and i can say the scale of how these go

Aspergers - Minor form of Autism, social interaction sometimes can be a problem.

ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) - More So and the people with this are always doing something OR one thing repeatedly to get attention.

HADD (Hyperactive Attention Deficit Disorder) - You could say that the people with this are big trouble makers, NOPE, this is the closest to Autism, as they not only are trying to get attention of whomever BUT also they have personality shifts.

Autism - this comes in many forms, where something as simple as interaction with a none familiar face can cause major stress and fear, but also if the person dont have that they have the disability of not being able to read or write.
people with Autism can also have major personality shifts if they become angry or over excited.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

ManawydanUK — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:46 GMT

It will be interesting to see this research - what games the subjects played (were they contact based, such as WoW, or soloplay games, such as Civilization); what percentage of players were considered as having personality traits associated with Aspergers and if there was any relation to age/sex/background considered; how the comparison to game players and engineers/mathematicians/computer scientists was made and if this is more to do with systematic approaches rather than game playing; what was considered as addiction.

391 players really isn't that great a sample to take and I hope this research will be used positively.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Belaur — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:45 GMT

It'd be more interesting to see if they thought to do any fact finding about their subjects. What were the chances these people were likely to do this anyways before gaming? How likely is it that addictive gaming is where people with that predisposition end up in higher concentration? Was there any breakdown of the numbers according to puzzle games, first-person shooters, types of online games or consoles?

I'd hope very much that they included usefull information like that. It smacks of junk science on the face of it.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Achlorn — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:44 GMT

I have ADD and some other stuff I'd rather not talk about. I am not social usually and can't focus on anything for very long. If I don't have anything to do at all I also get very ancey and don't know what to do. My WoW gives me something to do no matter what. I'd proll go crazy for real without it.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Kermitizer — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:43 GMT

I think this study was actually a "ploy" to make video gaming look bad. Quite frankly, the study only had 391 gamers, which is practically nothing compared to how many video gamers there actually are. One of my best friends has Aspergers and I don't seem to show any symptons of it, even though we play about the same amount of video games. Also, I would like to know what kind of gamers they were. If they were primarily solo players, who played primarily single player games, then this would make a lot of sense. However, knowing that the large majority of video game addicted people (myself included) play online, socially interactive games, I don't see how it can actually hurt your ability to socialize and meet new people. But then again, this is only my opinion and I am eager to see how this actually turns out.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

redblade1530 — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:42 GMT

Is the video game causing something new? no. I have seen people do it with reading books, watching television, obsessing with sports, and so on. Whether it is more healthy to have no interest in gaming I find to be a questionable conclusion. Games provide a challenge to problem solving skills that mindless television watching does not. It is a form of entertainment that benefits the player with the interaction. For many it keeps them busy so they do not go out and get in trouble out of sheer bordome.

I find their control group to be suspect. More like they kept the candidate who fit a preconception and sent those who didn't fit the theory home. World of Warcraft has an enormous subscriber base, and 391 players is hardly a drop in the bucket.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Lyrx — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:41 GMT

Notice the reference. This is a psychology journal which means it is written by non-physicians and specifically by a group whose own psychological disorders are the highest of any professionals. These guys look for the worst in others in order to explain or justify their own abnormal behaviors. The field is rife with poor research and unscientific studies that have questionable validity.

In short, this is not a very credible study.

Computer game addicts like people with Aspergers

Bloodycandle — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:09:40 GMT

i know a few people who have aspergers and believe this is just a bunch of crap. These "psychologists" are basically throwing people who like computers more than people into a single group... its pretty common in my opinion. Liking games over interacting with people does not make you have a disorder; its just a bunch of people wanting to get in the news so they make up stuff.