That most seemingly
benign of vices

Saying the issue needed more research, the American Medical Assn. passed on declaring excessive video gameplay a mental disorder this week, reports the L.A. Times.

Instead of pegging video games as an addiction, the AMA simply forwarded the issue to the American Psychiatric Assn. with a look of concern. They also did not include the matter in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, considered the authority on mental illness.

However, Maressa Hect Orzak, director of the computer-addiction studies center in Belmont, Mass., said that, regardless of the AMA's decision, gamer behavior remains out of control and interferes with a person's mental health.

The AMA plans to lobby the Federal Trade Commission to improve the video game rating system, currently run by the industry-funded Entertainment Software Rating Board, to make it better at alerting parents of questionable content.