Study: Game Addiction Similar to Autism

Research presented at the British Psychological Society's Annual Conference this week suggests that people who show signs of being addicted to videogames exhibit many of the same symptoms as those with Asperger's syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism.

The University of Bolton's Dr. John Charlton and Ian Danforth of Whitman College questioned 391 gamers, focusing on the relationships (if any) between addiction, "high engagement" and personality. "Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming," said Charlton.

The more intense the gaming addiction, the more likely the subject was to display three character traits commonly associated with Asperger's: neuroticism, a lack of agreeableness, and a lack of extroversion. In other words, people who do nothing but play videogames tend to be obsessive, shy, and unpleasant. Well, duh.