Opinion: First Rehab Clinic for Gamers Opens in the UK

Ah now this is incredibly irritating isn’t it? No doubt the paranoia merchants at the Daily Mail will be having an utter blast over today’s news that Britain’s first rehab unit for game addicts has opened its doors (Shout out to Diane at GirlGamersUK for the initial coverage!)

Based in Weston-Super-Mare, The Broadway Lodge plays home to many individuals addicted to a range of serious and life-altering vices such gambling, drug abuse and alcoholism. The centre has decided to add gaming addiction to their Minnesota Method Twelve-Step programme, allegedly adopted by such upstanding figures as pop singer car-wreck Amy Winehouse.

Wino: The true face of gaming addiciton?

More ranting below:

The programme is said to slowly wean individuals off their source of addiction through a series of group therapy sessions, motivational videos and recreational activities such as washing up and cleaning, which is sure to save the lunatics running the asylum a fair few bob in janitorial duties I’m sure.

Now then…What is this really? Do these quacks actually believe that: “Between 5 and 10 percent of parents will know someone who is addicted to a video game” or are they just riding the ignorant, stigmatised fear train that the Daily Mail and other blinkered idiots have been kicking back in first class for so many years?

If someone is addicted to a game, it is quite clearly a knock-on effect of their personality outside the game, nothing to do with the evil warlocks at Rockstar North devising new ways to poison the minds of our nations youth. So maybe you should find out what far-reaching issues these individuals had before they decided to get addicted to gaming first, no? Or is that not cost-effective enough for you?

However, the management at this institute should be aware that the generation gap is closing, the technophobes are dying out and in time, there will be no-one left to believe this utter dross.

</rant>