《經濟學人》(2022

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Jan 1st 2022 |

NO BUSINESS WOULD welcome being compared to Big Tobacco or gam山楂乾哪裡買，bling. Yet that is what is happening to makers of video games. For years parents have casually complained that their offspring are “addicted” to their PlayStations and smartphones. Today, however, ever more doctors are using the term literally.

没有任何企業會樂见本身被比作大烟草公司或打赌，電子Ellanse，遊戲開辟商却正面對這一問題。多年来家长們偶然會埋怨孩子們玩PlayStation和智妙手機像上了瘾似的。但是現在，愈来愈多的大夫则認為遊戲确切會讓人上瘾。

On January 1st “gaming disorder”—in which games are played compulsively, despite causing harm—gains recognition from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as the newest edition of its diagnostic manual comes into force. A few months ago China, the world’s biggest gaming market, announced new rules limiting children to just a single hour of play a day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and none the rest of the week. Western politicians worry publicly about some games’ similarity to gambling. Clinics are sprouting around the world, promising to cure patients of近視雷射， their habit in the same way they might cure them of an addiction to alcohol or cocaine.

1月1日，跟着最新版诊断手册见效，“遊戲停滞”（即便已造成危险，仍逼迫性玩遊戲的失控举動）作為一种疾病获得了世卫组织（WHO）的認可。几個月前，全世界最大的遊戲市場中國公布新規，限定兒童周五和周末天天只能玩1小時遊戲，其他時候不容许玩遊戲。西方政客，针對某些遊戲與打赌存在類似性的問題，公然暗示了担心。世界各地诊所纷繁出現，许诺可以或许帮忙患者戒除遊戲瘾，醫治手腕與戒酒瘾或毒瘾千篇一律。

Are games really addictive? Psychologists are split. The case for the defe降血糖茶,nce is that this is just another moral panic. Killjoys of yore issued similarly dire warnings about television, rock ’n’ roll, jazz, comic books, novels and even crossword puzzles. As the newest form of mass media, gaming is merely enduring its own time in the stocks before it eventually ceases to be controversial. Furthermore, defenders argue, the criteria used to diagnose gaming addiction are too loose. Obsessive gaming, they suggest, is as likely to be a symptom (of depression, say) as a disorder in its own right.

遊戲真能讓人上瘾吗？生理學家定见纷歧。辩方認為這不外是又一場品德發急。曩昔，也有人焚琴煮鹤地告诫說電視、摇染髮粉餅,滚、爵士、漫画书、小說，乃至填字遊戲城市讓人上瘾。作為公共媒體的最新情势，電子遊戲只要熬過一段時候，终极會變得没有争议。并且辩方還認為，對遊戲成瘾的诊断尺度過分宽松。遊戲逼迫症极可能是一种症状（好比抑郁症的症状），其自己并不是一种生理停滞。

The prosecution retorts that, unlike rock bands or novelists, games developers have both the motive and the means to engineer their products to make them irresistible. The motive arises from a business-model shift. In the old days games were bought for a one-off, upfront cost. These days, many use a “freemium” model, in which the game is free and money is made from purchases of in-game goods. That ties playtime directly to revenue.

控方则認為，與摇滚樂隊或小說家分歧，遊戲開辟商既有念頭也有手腕，把產物設計得使人没法抗拒。贸易模式變化致使了這一念頭的發生。曩昔，遊戲是一次性前期買断。如今不少遊戲采纳“免费增值”模式，即遊戲免费，而從遊戲里的商品贩賣中赢利。這就使遊戲時长直接和收入挂钩。

The means is a combination of psychological theory and data that helps games-makers maximise that playtime. Psychologists already know quite a lot about the sorts of things that animals, including humans, find rewarding (thanks to a long line of experiments, stretching back decades to those conducted on rats and pigeons by B.F. Skinner). Smartphones and modern consoles use their permanent internet connections to funnel gameplay data back to developers. That allows products to be constantly fine-tuned and tweaked to boost spending. The industry is even beginning to use the argot of the gambling business. The biggest spenders are known as “whales”—a term that originated in casinos.

遊戲開辟商所采纳的手腕是将生理學理論與数据连系，使遊戲時长最大化。生理學家對付包含人類在内的動物受哪些刺激會感触有成绩感，已有了至關多的领會（這多亏了一系列實行，這些實行一向可以追溯到几十年前B.F.斯金纳用老鼠和鸽子所做的實行）。智妙手機和現代遊戲平台經由過程永恒联網把遊戲数据回傳给開辟商，如许便可以不竭對產物举行微调以刺激消费。遊戲财產乃至起頭利用打赌業黑话。最大手笔的買家称為“鲸鱼”——這一術语發祥於赌場。

While psychologists argue the finer points of what exactly counts as addiction, and whether gaming’s design tricks cross the line, the industry should recognise that, in the real world, it has a problem, and that problem is growing. Now that gaming addiction comes with an official WHO code, diagnoses will become more co妹妹on. Clinics are already reporting booming business, as lockdowns have given gamers more time to spend with their hobby. The regulatory climate for tech is getting chillier. And being lumped in the public mind, fairly or not, with gambling and tobacco will not do the industry any favours.

一方面生理學家環抱着事實若何界定“成瘾”的细枝小節，和遊戲設計是不是违規而争辩不休，另外一方面遊戲财產應熟悉到，在實際世界中它存在一個問題，并且這個問題正日趋严重。如今，遊戲成瘾获得了WHO官方界定，會呈現更多确诊。疫情封闭使玩家有更多時候陷溺於快樂喜爱當中，是以诊所買賣兴盛。對付科技公司，羁系情况變得越發严酷。不管公允與否，公家心目中把遊戲與打赌和烟草归為一類，這對遊戲财產一點益處也没有。

It would be wise to get ahead of the discussion. A good place to start would be with hard data. Many of the studies underpinning the contention that games are addictive in a medical sense are woolly: they rely on self-reported symptoms, contested diagnostic criteria, skewed samples and so on. Even basic questions about the amount of time and money spent by users are hard to answer. The industry has an abundance of data that could help. But gaming firms mostly keep details of how gamers behave secret, citing co妹妹ercial sensitivity.

明智之举是先發制人。操纵靠得住数据是個很好的動身點。不少钻研重要從醫學角度指出遊戲會讓人上瘾，但論證都暗昧不清：上述钻研依靠於自述症状，诊断尺度存在争议，数据采樣有误差等。乃至连一些根基問題，好比玩家在遊戲上花了多长治療牛皮癬藥膏,時候和几多錢，都很難获得谜底。遊戲财產具有大量有益数据。但大大都遊戲公司却以贸易敏感性為由，對玩家举動细節保密。

In the long run, that will prove unwise. Gaming firms should make more of their data hoard available to researchers. If—as seems likely—worries about addictiveness are overblown, it is hard to think of a clearer way of showing it. And if not, it is better for firms to recognise the problem now, and do something about it voluntarily. The alternative is that regulators will force them to act. (...)■

持久来看這其實不明智。遊戲公司應向钻研职員供给本身的数据库。若是，并且彷佛确切是，對成瘾的担心是過甚其辞，這是能證實這一點的最佳方法。若是不是過甚其辞，那末遊戲公司最佳如今就認可并自動解决問題。不然，羁系部分就會强迫其采纳举措。(...)