Let me see if I've got this straight: obsessive play of video games is now a mental illness, an addiction, but it's perfectly reasonable to talk to beings that don't exist as long as you call it prayer?

No wonder so many people think the definition of mental illness is based on culture rather than science.

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/18/health/video-game-disorder-who/index.html

If you think somebody close to you is "addicted" to video games, step back & take a look at the gestalt of their life. Gaming might be the only thing in their lives they think is worthwhile. If that's the case, are they really "addicted", or is there a deeper problem involved?

Maybe they're struggling with depression. Maybe they're lonely & games are the only way they can connect with other people. Maybe they're out of spoons after work/school & gaming is all they can do.

And if you're a parent who thinks their minor child is spending too much time in front of a screen, then it's up to you to fix that.

Turning off the screen is easy, but the hard part is offering kids a worthwhile alternative to video games in a world where kids can't even ride bikes by themselves without meddlesome adult strangers accusing their parents of neglect.

@starbreaker that last part really fucks me up

like, holy shit my parents were abusive shits, but i grew up in a time that kids could be kids — unsupervised.

i have literally no idea if i'll be able to just send my future kids off to the park on their own without someone calling the police on me