ESA rubbishes game addiction study News

America's Entertainment Software Association has rubbished an Iowa State University study published in the Psychological Science magazine that claims that 8.5 per cent of children aged 8 to 18 are addicted to videogames.

The main bone of contention is the data collected from 1,178 people used for the study. This didn't come from a random selection, but rather an opt-in online survey that rewards participants with redeemable points to spend on gifts.

"As you are likely aware, such a sample is not truly representative of a national population group," ESA boss Mike Gallagher tells Psychological Science magazine's Dr. Robert Kail in a letter, reported by Gamasutra.

"Thus the results cannot be projected onto the broader population of children in this country. And the sampling error of plus or minus 3 per cent that Dr. Gentile cited in the study is also meaningless."

Gentile later conceded he had not known this, but Gallagher argues that Gentile had plenty of time to verify the source, particularly as the data was from January 2007 and hardly time-sensitive.

In conclusion, Gallagher calls for the Psychological Science magazine to "note the deficiencies" of the article and explain all to its readers.

"Failure to do so will inevitably lead your readers to believe information that is not accurate," writes Gallagher.

"I have no doubt that you value your publication's credibility and reputation. Therefore, I hope this clarification is made quickly so that future readers of your publication are informed that the claims made by Dr. Gentile are not supported by the survey he has based them on.

"It would be unfair and misleading for a respected publication to leave on the record such knowingly mistaken information," he adds.