Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 11, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
On Wednesday, 09.04.2008, the Bundestag’s Committee on Culture and Media held an expert hearing on the subject of “online addiction”. The potential risks of excessive use of online games were also discussed. The German Interactive Entertainment Software Association (BIU) would like to state its position on this point.
The academic experts present explained that the term “addiction” should be used very cautiously in relation to behaviour and that too little knowledge is available so far for a conclusive scientific assessment.
Policymakers were therefore advised against taking hasty measures. The German Interactive Entertainment Software Association (BIU) endorses this nuanced view. Because the vast majority of computer and video games have a finite playing time, excessive gaming behaviour occurs only in exceptional cases.
To prevent such excessive gaming, suggestions were therefore made to limit the duration of gaming sessions by technical means. Providers have already been using such systems for some time. Operating systems, consoles and online role-playing games offer settings that make it possible to limit and regulate playing time. This applies both to computer and console use as such and to individual online functions.
It is possible, for example, to set up playing-time accounts or to restrict computer use to specified times of day. Children and young people in particular can thus be protected from excessive media consumption. Furthermore, relevant games with unlimited playing time already display warnings at regular intervals recommending a break from playing.
The BIU does not consider the addiction warnings on game packaging suggested by some participants during the hearing to be effective . From the industry’s perspective, it is hardly possible to identify in advance games that encourage excessive gaming behaviour. Generalisation is fundamentally impossible.