【衛報】遊戲上癮的真相

來自專欄英語高階閱讀

I don』t have serious arguments with my kids very often. My 12-year-old twin boys are well-mannered and cooperative. But last week they had me spitting mad. I had to ask again and again, and finally to cajole, bribe, and threaten to get them to turn off their Playstation and get in the car. Their screen time wasn』t up yet, they shot back. I don』t care, I hissed: we have to go shoe shopping. But we』re in the middle of a game!

我很少跟孩子吵到不可開交的地步。我有一對12歲的雙胞胎，兩個兒子都很乖，平時很聽我的話。可上周他們真把我給氣壞了。我說了一遍又一遍，一哄二騙三嚇唬，好不容易才讓他們把遊戲機關掉去坐車。他們抗議說，打遊戲的規定時間還沒到。我不管，憤怒地低聲說，我們得去買鞋子。可我們遊戲才打到一半！

Of course video games can seem addictive. Almost every parent, or adult gamer, appreciates that. So the fact that the World Health Organization (WHO) just added a 「gaming disorder」 diagnosis to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), fitting snugly next to substance use disorders, pathological gambling and the rest, isn』t a big shock. But is addiction to video games a 「real」 addiction? Is an obsession with Fortnite as bad as an alcohol problem?

電子遊戲看起來當然會上癮。幾乎每一位家長，或者每一位成年玩家，都會同意這一點。因此，世界衛生組織把「遊戲障礙」列入《國際疾病分類》，與藥物濫用、病態賭博等其他行為妥妥歸在一類，這也就不足為奇了。但，電子遊戲上癮是不是「真正」的上癮？對「堡壘之夜」的迷戀是和對酒精的無法自拔一樣糟糕嗎？

Experts have pointed to parallels between behavioural addictions, such as gambling, and substance addictions, like drugs and booze, for years, with brain research bolstering their findings. Both addictions are defined similarly: as a compelling activity you find difficult to stop despite the fact that it』s wrecking your life. Both correspond with differences in brain structure and function that look remarkably similar. The people (whether children or adults) who are most prone to either kind of addiction are more likely than others to score high on impulsivity and low on measures of inhibition, decision-making and cognitive control. And they are more likely to have suffered psychological problems such as depression and anxiety, often resulting from childhood experiences such as parental neglect or abuse.

專家已經指出了行為成癮（比如賭博）與物質成癮（吸毒、酗酒）之間的相似性，而數年來針對大腦的研究也不斷支撐他們的發現。兩種成癮有一個共同點，即都被定義為一種難以克制、不由自主的行為，儘管它已經對你的生活造成了負面影響。兩者都伴有腦部結構和功能的變化，而且變化還驚人的相似。最容易上癮的那些人（不管兒童還是成人），不管是哪種上癮都更可能表現出高於常人的衝動性和低於常人的剋制力、決策力和認知控制的能力。他們也更可能受到心理疾病的折磨，比如抑鬱症、狂躁症，這通常是因為童年時期受父母忽視或虐待而導致的。

But video game-playing is rarely addictive. That makes it a very different animal from, say, gambling or binge eating. Experts estimate that problematic play is exhibited by 0.5% of the general population and less than 1.0% of adult gamers. For these few, the 「addiction」 label may apply. But a similar fraction can get addicted to almost anything that』s attractive or fun, including shopping and sports. Is it meaningful to invent a 「disorder」 to fit that fringe? Might it even cause more harm than good?

但電子遊戲很少會上癮，這就使它和賭博、暴食之類的行為完全區別開來了。根據專家的估算，在所有玩家中，只有0.5%的人表現出了有問題的遊戲行為，成年玩家中，這一比例也不到1%。對這些少數人來說，「上癮」的標籤可能的確不為過。但同樣的上癮比例也會出現在任何一種有吸引力或好玩的活動中，比如說購物和運動。憑空生出一個「障礙」來針對那一小部分人真的有意義嗎？甚至還可能弊大於利呢？

Not only does 「internet gaming disorder」 have no adverse effects on health, socialising or physical activity, but there has been an outcry from researchers and scholars, warning of the dangers of pathologising a normal behavioural outlet. In China, teens are being hauled off to 「boot camp」 for spending more time online than is deemed appropriate. The danger for us may be creating a mental 「illness」 that didn』t previously exist.

「網路遊戲障礙」並不會對健康、社交或肢體運動有負面影響，不僅如此，還有研究人員和學者發出呼籲，警告人們把正常的宣洩行為也歸入病態的危險性。在中國，青少年的上網時間如果超出了父母認為的正常範圍，就會被送去「戒癮訓練營」。危險的是，我們有可能正在「創造」以前並不存在的精神疾病。

That isn』t to say that we shouldn』t be concerned. Heroin was a technological advance over opium. And my favourite, scotch, is a big improvement over the brews of yesteryear. But video games reflect technological evolution at an unprecedented scale. Their appeal may increase exponentially, and what we see today may be the beginning of a new age of compulsive play. In fact, the attractiveness of video games says more about the brilliance of designers and their stunning technology than anything else. There is no regulating body in place to control the addictiveness of commercial products, unless they happen to be booze or drugs. So game players young and old are at the mercy of corporate giants motivated primarily by profit. And they are moving fast.

這並不是說我們不應該擔憂。海洛因是技術升級淘汰鴉片的產物，而我最愛的蘇格蘭威士忌，也是釀酒技術不斷進步的產物。但電子遊戲以前所未有的規模反映出了科技的革命。它們的吸引力以指數級速度在增加，而我們今天所見的，或許只是一個引人入勝的遊戲新時代的開端。事實上，電子遊戲的魅力更多是在於設計師的奇思妙想與技術的狂拽酷炫。目前還沒有相關職能部門來控制商業產品的上癮程度，除非它們是酒類或藥品。所以，大大小小的遊戲玩家只能任由主要受利益驅動的企業巨頭擺布，而這些企業正馬不停蹄地在行動。

Yet gaming has unique benefits, as well as potential pitfalls. Firstly, video games are a lot of fun. Second, they can be good for you. Dozens of studies have shown correlations between video game use and improved spatial processing, multitasking, attentional control, and perseverance. And (sorry to have to add this, parents) the games many of us hate the most – first-person shooters – get top grades for cognitive enhancement. Games also improve emotional self-control and social skills. Today』s kids play games with teams of other kids, who may be friends from school or strangers from across the planet, people whose real names they』ll never know but whom they learn to care about and trust. And lastly, recent research reveals a Goldilocks effect. One to two hours of daily screen time (including WhatsApp, movies and video games) are optimal for teens』 「mental wellbeing,」 that is to say, better than either no screen time or more than three or four hours daily.

但遊戲除了有潛在的陷阱，也有獨特的好處。首先，電子遊戲的確很好玩兒；其次，遊戲可以是有益的。幾十項研究已經表明，電子遊戲有利於改善人的空間處理、多項任務處理和注意力把控的能力，並能培養堅持不懈的耐性。而且，（各位家長，抱歉我得加上這個）我們大多數人最為討厭的遊戲，比如第一人稱射擊類遊戲，通常是最能促進認知的。遊戲也能提高人的情緒控制和社交能力。現在的孩子是和其他孩子一起組隊玩遊戲，他們也許是同校的朋友或是來自世界各地的陌生人，對方的真實姓名或許永遠也無法得知，但他們學會了互相關心和信任。最後，是最近的研究揭示出的「金髮女孩效應」（譯者註：意指凡事都應有度，而不能超越極限）。每天1至2小時的「屏幕時間（包括用WhatsApp、看電影和玩電子遊戲）」對青少年的「心理健康」是最理想的，也就是說，它要比完全不玩電子設備或者一天玩超過三四小時要更好。

A new direction in gaming research is to use the inherent appeal of the games – the thing that makes them so attractive – to help to improve child mental health. The Playnice Institute develops and tests games that are potent at counteracting childhood anxiety, the most serious psychological problem facing US families. Rather than try to drag anxious or depressed kids to the therapist』s office once a week – a strategy that has only limited chances of success– psychological researchers are teaming up with designers to structure game environments to help anxious kids to control their emotions and build self-confidence, both on the screen and in what we like to call real life.

遊戲研究的一個新方向是利用遊戲的內在吸引力（讓它們如此有誘惑力的東西）來幫助改善兒童的心理健康。一家名為Playnice的機構開發並測試了能有效消解童年焦慮的遊戲，而兒童焦慮是美國家庭面臨的最嚴重的心理問題。心理學研究人員並沒有每周一次將焦慮或抑鬱的孩子拖到心理治療師辦公室——這種策略成功的可能性有限——而是與設計師合作構建遊戲環境，從而幫助焦慮的孩子在線上和線下（我們所謂的現實生活中）都能控制自己的情緒並建立自信心。

So the attractiveness of gaming cuts both ways. I hope our kids will be OK because we control their screen time. Other children won』t have that kind of monitoring, or won』t get 「addicted」 until they』ve left home. I recently met a young man who desperately wanted my help, having squandered his entire undergraduate career in his efforts to lead Roman legionaries to victory over the barbarians. And there』s a gaming culture growing quickly among teens and preteens that』s completely beyond most parents』 understanding or control. Not only are kids getting transfixed by the games themselves, they are being ushered into YouTube communities that mess with their very identities, measuring merit in terms of wins, kills, levels, and skins (what their Fortnite avatars wear in battle). Those things make life so much more exciting than schlepping from home to school to sports and music lessons. We don』t yet know whether that is good or bad for our kids. What we do know is that it』s a competition we won』t easily win.

遊戲的吸引力是一把雙刃劍。我希望孩子們同意我們控制他們的「屏幕時間」。有些孩子不需要這樣的監控，或者不會「上癮」，除非他們被單獨留在家裡。最近我遇到一位絕望求助的年輕人，為了在遊戲里幫助羅馬軍團戰勝野蠻人，他荒廢了整個大學期間的學業。在處於青少年時期和青春期以前的孩子中，正快速湧現出一種遊戲文化，而這是大多數父母完全不能理解或控制的。孩子不僅被這些遊戲所捆綁，而且還會因此接觸到一些給他們造成身份認同混亂的YouTube社區——在這裡，勝利、技能、等級和皮膚（堡壘之夜遊戲中他們的角色在打仗時所穿的軍服）成為了評判個人功績的指標。比起拖著艱難的腳步離開家，到學校去上體育和音樂課，這些東西讓他們的生活變得更加令人振奮而又激動人心。我們還不知道這對我們的孩子是利還是弊。我們能知道的是，這不是一場容易獲勝的較量。

schlep /?l?p/: if you schlep something or someone to a place, you go there or take the thing or person there with a lot of difficulty or effort. 遠赴; (費力地)搬運

Defining a certain amount of gaming as an addiction isn』t easy, and the new diagnostic label is unlikely to help. The WHO wants to enable doctors and insurers to decide who』s addicted and who』s not, based on the same stodgy metrics they have used for years: a minimum of 12 months of 「persistent or recurrent」 behaviour of 「sufficient severity」. These arbitrary delineations have never been reliable for deciding who』s depressed or anxious enough to be treated one way or another. I doubt they』ll do better with gaming.

玩多少遊戲算上癮？要確定可不簡單，新的診斷標準也很難有所幫助。世界衛生組織希望醫生和保險商能基於他們老生常談的那套標準來決定一個人是否對遊戲上了癮，即至少12個月內「持續或者反覆出現的」、「足夠嚴重的」行為。如此隨心所欲的描述還從未能用來對一個人的抑鬱或焦慮程度做出可靠的判定，以確定要用哪種方式治療。我就不相信，這套標準在遊戲上癮的診斷上就能有用了？

Psychiatric labels for identifying psychological problems, boxes and baskets, can be useful in getting us to pay attention. Video games are powerful, and they can alter people』s behaviour. But to identify addiction, we have to go deeper – to ask what it is that people are missing that makes them pursue something so compulsively. And that』s a lot more complicated.

用於診斷心理疾病的非此即彼的標籤，也許有助於引起我們的重視。電子遊戲很強大，它們能改變人們的行為。但要確認是否上癮，我們還需要再進一步探索：人們究竟是缺少什麼，才會對某些東西產生難以自拔的追求？這個問題可複雜多了。

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