Don't snatch.

Last night, British television station ITV aired a frightening documentary on gaming addiction, and the terrifying results it can apparently have.

Maybe I was naive to expect an interesting, balanced report on the long-debated nature of an addiction that many still feel does not even exist.  Or maybe it’s just the mainstream media stooping to a new low.  Either way, interesting and balanced it was not.

Those living in the UK can catch the programme on ITV Player for the next month.  I’d highly recommend you do watch it, even though if you know anything about the subject (or watch closely) you’ll find yourself becoming increasingly angry at the horrendousness of the whole thing.  It’s a striking example of how not to approach this sort of subject, yet sadly an all-too-common occurrence.  If you’re not in the UK, or otherwise can’t watch it, a brief summary:

Three years ago, a trio of kids – aged nine to 15 – who spent between nine and 20 hours per day playing games were analysed in a sort of mock-scientific test.  Each had his games machine removed from his room, while a psychologist watched video footage and analysed the children’s resulting behaviour.  Each child showed troubling behavioural patterns, said the psychologist.  For each child, the presenter asked the pscyhologist if she thought they showed signs of addiction.  She did this repeatedly until she got something resembling the answer she was hoping for: yes, perhaps they were addicted to gaming.

One mother was interviewed.  She said one time she disconnected the computer from the mains while her son was playing.  His reaction was to be incredibly angry with her.  The programme decided this was demonstrative of addiction.  Frankly, I’d react in the same way if someone UNPLUGGED MY PC WHILE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF SOMETHING, THUS DESTROYING MY PROGRESS.  Whether it was a game or a piece of work, my reaction would be the same.  You have interrupted and disrupted something I was in the middle of.  That’s pretty bloody annoying.

I’ll try to skim over the rest, as A) I’ll only get increasingly angry if I think about it too much, and B) I don’t want to waste words.  A Dutch man was interviewed, who runs a gaming addiction clinic in Holland.  His choice quote: “Gaming addiction could well be more dangerous than regular, chemical addiction.”  Based on what?  Nothing, we assume, as he says nothing more on the matter.  One of the clinic’s patients is interviewed, too.  He’s a classic gaming addict, and his behaviour is proof, we’re assured.  In fact, according to one of my crafty sources, this young man was also featured on another programme, and was shown to be a heavy cocaine user.  Obviously, his behaviour is far more likely to be gaming-related than drug-related.

It gets phenomenally more problematic.  A distraught mother tells the story of her son’s suicide, in front of his computer.  He’d shot himself.  His mother remains convinced this was due to him feeling terrible about his apparent gaming addiction.  I don’t want to come down too harshly on the poor woman, as she’s experienced a tragedy no one deserves to go through.  But her choice quote?  “It just goes to show these games can be life-threatening.”

We’re then told the incredibly awful tale of a murder, where a German gamer came over to the UK and killed a man after falling in love with his girlfriend.  All three posted on the same gaming forum.  An “expert” of some sort says – and get this – it was because he had spent so much time playing video games that he was unable to separate reality from fantasy, and the games had taught him to plan the murder strategically.

Eventually, the presenter of the show reveals that she believes her own son has an addiction to gaming.  Again, a source points us to an article she wrote for The Guardian, where she reveals her son reteated to videogames after being diagnosed with depression.  So none of that sticks.  It’s assuming a causal effect, but if there is one, it’s plainly the wrong way around.  He’s retreating into digital worlds because he is unhappy in his life.  He’s not unhappy with his life because of video games.

As a gamer, this obviously irks me – it’s irritating to have the mainstream media yet again claim our passtime, our work, whatever, is so damaging.  But what really offended me about ITV’s documentary was its complete disregard for thorough research or fair and balanced journalism.

Its sources were primarily people who had been affected by their own family’s behaviour in relation to games.  So, clearly, biased sources.  It’s so-called experts offered precisely no evidence or even reasoning to support their increasingly outlandish claims.  There was exactly no discussion about the nature or cause of this so-called addiction; it was just drilled home again and again: it exists, and it’s dangerous.

The programme offered one interview with a games industry representative.  He was given around 15 seconds of screen time, during which he was asked the obviously ridiculous question of whether all games should come pre-programmed with time limits.  Of course they shouldn’t, he says.  People should act responsibly.  The vast majority of players do.  And that was it; we cut to the programme’s presenter, once again expressing her concern at these terrible, monstrous games that are destroying people’s lives.

I’ve put in official complaints to both ITV and Ofcom, on the basis of biased reporting and deliberate misinformation without reasoning.  You might want to do the same, if you feel the same way (though I’d stress, ITV is perfectly within its rights to express an opinion about games and gaming addiction; complaints should be because you’re unhappy with the quality of the reporting, rather than the subject matter).

At best, the programme offered those who have experienced tragedy a platform for their unfortunate misplaced anger.  At worst, it actively set about to obscure facts and actual expert opinions, which is terribly worrying.  With its leading questions, its complete lack of evidence and impossibly awful research methodology, I found it actually insulting to watch.

Oh, those kids at the start?  They’re a bit more grown-up now.  Two of them no longer play for more than an hour a day, which seemed to be the programme’s “reasonable limit.”  Both are a lot happier as a result, they say.  The third still plays, but promises to get a job soon, so that he will play less.  He realises he has a problem, he says.

That’s all very nice, and wonderful that they’ve learnt to live a life free of the constraints of the computer or console.  But even they found themselves victims of loaded questions and hungry soundbite-hunting.  The programme was an absolute travesty, an ignorant, misinformed and holier-than-thou piece of nonsense masquerading as documentary research and evidence.  Stuff like this simply must be stamped out.