PAX East 2013 – Rethinking Gaming Addiction


Ninety-seven percent of all adolescents in the US play video games, & more than half of the adults in this country play video games regardless of their race or income.

The military has discovered that video games decrease symptoms of PTSD in veterans, & with the advent of the iPhone, mobile technology is making social media more prevalent than ever. Despite these numbers, psychotherapists & other healthcare providers are reluctant & uncertain how or when to integrate technology into their work.

When gaming or technology is mentioned at all, it is only as an addiction or liability, never as a powerful innovation. This is in part due to an age-old mistrust & disdain of technology which has its roots in issues of class & psychology. But despite this, psychotherapy has passed the point where learning about technology is negotiable.

This workshop aims to critique the idea of gaming as addiction & further, discuss how understanding and using video games may improve therapeutic outcomes.

Panelist: Michael Langlois [Psychotherapist, Website]

Source: Mike Langlois

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