Peter, the DSM might call your condition Pathological Fishing Disorder. 😉
It feels like there has been a trend toward naming many childhood behaviors as pathologies in the last 20 years or more. My son is autistic, but did not get a diagnosis until age ten, when his social skills and other characteristics were more noticeably different from his age peers. He is highly intelligent, which led people to believe he could not be autistic. Schools were cruel to him before and after diagnosis. As a teen he had mental health issues, was suicidal, and violent outbursts. I kept telling people that he was experiencing trauma from school, but of course I was rebuffed. Meanwhile, he saw different psychologists and psychiatrists at his many hospitalizations. It was suggested that he had:
Videogame addiction
Bipolar Disorder
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
And, was misdiagnosed as autistic and was actually highly gifted (actually he's both!)
He was on three medications and not improving. I stopped making him go to school. He dropped out. After some adjustment time, he wanted to take the GED. He passed easily. As an adult, he asked his doctors to let him titrate down on the meds. The refused, so he did it cold turkey.
Fast-forward to today. He is 25, lives independently, and has worked hard to learn all the adulting things. His mental health has vastly improved with NO MEDS and NO COUNSELING. Violence and suicide are not in the picture at all. He’s applying for work while studying college-type subjects independently. Somehow, dropping out of school cured him of all those disorders.
I have long felt that many 'conditions' and 'disorders' are only a problem because the people who have them don't fit into the single-sized and single-shaped hole that is the school system (it's horrendous here in the UK too). Let People Be and the 'problems' disappear...
I have commented several times here and on other substack pages about the dysfunctional high school hallway. Especially for those of different intellectual natures. Much of our politics today resembles that high school hallway.
A very impressive argument sir. My first game as a child almost 40 years ago was Zelda. Now, I have recently bought my child a Nintendo switch and we play the new version together. There are conversations in the villages and I make her practice reading them out loud with amazement at some rather large words she pronounces with ease. There are puzzle trials along the way, more then once (i wont admit to more, lol) she was instrumental in solving them. There are maps and compasses to follow that require geography and topography knowledge and the graphics are breathtaking. She normally just hands me the paddle when monsters become difficult and require some additional hand eye coordination (but what else are Dads for?) She is learning to follow event storylines and investigate worlds and characters that challenge her senses. However, with all the benefits I witness the back of my mind crawls with angst of addiction. I realize now, thats the word my father used when he wanted me off video games and wanted me outside playing football with the kids. Dont get me wrong. It was an activity I enjoyed as well but video gaming never led to pulled hamstrings and disjointed muscle attachments. Now that I think about it. My father was giving me a choice between physical violence and logically working my mind.
My husband played football his entire life (it was the only way he was able to attend college, being born into poverty) and we have recently been exploring how harmful the game was for his body. Another important point when we compare “virtual” and “real” worlds. I am a former teacher and now work as a tutor with families whose children are not learning how to read in the conventional system. One parent told me, maybe it’s because we play too much Minecraft and should be reading. I told her- NO! Play MORE! It’s crazy how loud and wrong mainstream “experts” are, and how many parents and their children suffer in silence by taking their misguided and harmful advice.
Peter, I realize I have RD Reading Disorder, thru college and I returned to it when I was 70, I'm 80 now. I read 3 books a week, 85% fiction, and I read 3 hours daily. 2 upon awaking and 1 at night before sleeping. I could not understand people binge-watching streaming UNTIL I saw that I BINGE-READ fiction books. I laugh at the LABELS we use to support our POV. Sorry I cannot attend your first Zoom meeting Sat Feb 22. I have a Memorial Service to attend. Hopefully I can make it in March. I love being a PAID subscriber now. Thanks for the PUSH.
My daughter had "Minecraft Disorder" when she was younger, I guess! (I hope the exclamation point conveys my light sarcasm here.)
Our family rule was that she could play as much as she wanted, but if Mom or Dad requested help or her presence, she had to pause/save her Minecraft work without whining and complaining and come to dinner, do her chores, leave for an event, or whatever family life required her to do.
She learned quickly to moderate herself, and as she's grown to adulthood, is far better at managing deeply engaging screen-based activities than many people far older.
When parents obsessively moderate children's impulses for them, instead of gradually allowing age-appropriate natural consequences (she memorably missed out on an impromptu family stop for ice cream after she chose to stay home from an afternoon errand and continue playing Minecraft), they do not learn how to moderate their own.
Thank you. My 5- and 9-year-old grandsons love playing Minecraft and Roblox games. A few adults around them feel concerned they're too involved. The 5-year-old is learning to read without knowing he is and keeps upping his game thanks to his older brother. The nine-year-old's teacher commented on how he was able to connect a line of understanding from a topic at school to his Minecraft game, which the teacher applauded. They have their conflicts now and then, but they enjoy the play, so it continues.
Thanks again for applying clear thinking to a loaded topic. We seem to have a propensity for pathologizing symptoms instead of addressing core issues. It's much easier to take away a device than it is to heal psychological illness. If the use of video games and social media is not interfering with the person's well-being, relationships, or work (including school), it is not an issue. It might be an imbalance which happens to me whenever I write a book or when my architect husband develops a project. When your actions serve a greater goal like self-mastery, they are not pathological, but if they are working against you, then something is going on. Let's not stop at the symptom and let ourselves off the hook that easily. That's what an "Internet Gaming Disorder" would do.
What an excellent article! As someone who has been playing video games for over 40 years and involved in the gaming industry for about 30, this deeply resonates. I continuously argue against the supposed addictive nature of video games and back it up with my observations and research. But it's an uphill battle.
When I started my reply I just quickly exceeded a reasonable limit of words since there is a lot on my mind. So I decided to write a short article over at LinkedIn. Thank you for the inspiration!
I agree with your recent posts on this topic, but there's an aspect that I that I think is very material that I don't think you've touched on: Most popular video games offer a _much_ higher reward/work ratio and/or more immediate reward than something like fishing. I strongly suspect that for some people, playing lots of games reduces their ability to pursue other activities that have a lower reward/work ratio or more delayed reward - important activities like jobs (even meaningful ones), study, exercise, and even socialization.
If this is true, it would surface as many of the characteristics above - but as you point out they also overlap with "healthy" hobby obsession. It seems to me like the key distinction would be that video games may _reduce many people's ability_ to do other healthy things in life (through "reward desensitization"), not just _distract_ them from doing those things as with fishing. Something like fishing could conceivably even do the opposite (sensitize people to small/slow reward).
Modern media like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are even worse in this way since they require almost zero work and yet are more rewarding than something like traditional TV.
So while I agree that games have the great benefit of being "hard fun" that build the brain, I still think there is reason to worried about their effects on some people - though I am even more worried about the effects of the kinds of media I mentioned above.
We shouldn't teach kids to care about a reward/work ratio.
Take a reward from no one! Kids shouldn't work. They should play.
I stopped caring about rewards a long time ago. I just follow the fun.
What do you care what other people think, including your bank accountant.
That's the mindset of a good childhood. A good life.
I also play all day, because I'm lucky to be rich. Like Peter Pan, I'm a childish man. Sadly, that's still taboo. "Are you an irresponsible kid? Oh-no! Grow-up. Get back to the kitchen. It's hard to be a grown-up, but at least we belong in the front of the bus. Kids are not like us."
By the way, have you heard about poor play grounds? If you ask kids. Most of them what to play outside with their friends. But playgrounds suck today. Do you have an adventure playground in your neighbor hood? If not, then do as Mike Lancy, and create a playborhood.
I always wonder when people say this, are you talking about yourself? Are you talking about me? Is there an actual person you are thinking of, or hypothetical? It also feels incredibly paternalistic- oh you can’t control yourself, you are becoming stupid, I know what you need. Whew. Sorry I got a bit triggered there, from a childhood of being micromanaged.
More than a decade ago, I had a little fellow in my grade 4 class who had received school support in getting a referral for an autism diagnosis (a two year process here). Around October, this little guy, who pulled out his hair as well as other self harm stimming, and who had very few referencing skills, was assessed. The answer came back that he played too many video games for them to assess for autism. Come back in a year. That was yet another year without support for my student.
Of course, eventually he did get his diagnosis.
Absolutely, some kids play too many video games - it's hard to resist the screen.
I think there is a lot of truth to the idea that text can be very boring when you are used to such a high level of visual input, and that can make it challenging to become interested in reading.
But... when you do not have the capacity to make friends IRL and you may have barriers to doing the kinds of active things that other children do, video games give a person an opportunity to engage in learning - and I'm convinced that learning is very high on the level of needs - much higher than is given credence.
We're mammals - how do we learn? Through play.
Video games are not really social play. I have a lot of concerns about the lack of social play in our society - among children and adults, but at least they are play and they do feel good because we are challenged and can learn.
By the same token, I am absolutely not in favour of gamifying education. Schools are the place where we can teach learning through social play - what a waste of our students' time to stick them in front of screens.
Praise is a form of gamification. Punishment is too.
Morality is all about gamification.
It rewards you for what to do and not to do.
So you don't use rewards, do you?
-
I hate rewards. But I like good reasons. Gamification is the opposite of critical thinking. It's hand-holding. Learning to fit inside society's mold for no good reason. That's so last season. Am I right girls? Enlightened girls hate conformity. Following orders, that's treason. Because creativity is disobedience. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bC-6cWlhpSA
-
Don't listen to authority or rewards. Follow reason. And have some hard fun.
You need to read Peter’s book, “Free to Learn.” Schools are exactly why children don’t “learn to play” and seek out alternatives. Peter has also showed extensively that video games are social play, so I’m confounded that you would even post that here without some sort of evidence to back it up.
Yeah, but there is good and bad social play. I prefer the kind with out rewards and status hierarchies. It's a rare breed. You're luck if you find it.
Bad social play could be the shaming and blaming game, that so many teenage girls like to play, and that is surely a master piece when it comes to game design. They tell spread false rumors, get boyfriends, like each others dress, and so on.
This also happened in the 50's. Toxic culture is toxic culture, both online, in school and in the free play of recess. I hope that no one prefer the toxic drama queen, over the autistic minecraft gamer. I hope people will pick their friends more carefully. But in school, you're stuck with the class you got.
And I don't like evidence either. It's all to often confused with scientific authority. Which is an oxymoron, for anyone who have read Karl Popper. Or his modern counterpart David Deutsch.
Hm interesting. I’m inclined to disagree. FWIW my original comment was directed at Bettie, not you.
What you’re describing doesn’t sound like play. By Peter’s definition, it’s not play if you can’t quit. As someone who was incessantly bullied as a child, I tend to agree with this.
You got me their :) And that's the same reason why addicts can't play. They can't quit. And that's true for habit you can't quit. Thanks for pointing that out.
What about the evidence part. Do you believe in evidence? ;)
You need to see this video about committing scientism, with scientific evidence. It has nothing to due with the garbage-in garbage-out data problem. It's much deeper than being biased.
I have four children and two of them are boys who enjoy playing video games. One of them has ADHD and often gets very angry when playing video games and takes it out on the family so his time has to be monitored.
I have a few questions. Hopefully, I did not miss your answer to these in the article. Forgive me if you have already addressed these.
1) The title of your substack is "Play Makes Us Human". Do you think that individuals playing games alone makes them human? Or would you instead say that playing with others makes them human?
2) Have you ever had a patient/client with a gaming disorder? I have read stories of some who have had extreme gaming disorder but have never personally met someone with it.
3) If it came down to fishing or video gaming, would you say that there are way more benefits to fishing than gaming? The whole "teach a man to fish" saying comes to mind immediately along with being outside in nature versus being in a dark room by yourself.
Good read! I think the distinction is fixation. A child who only reads books and won't interact with other kids is a sign that intervention and connection is needed and the reading of books is a coping mechanism rather than enjoyment.
You are right. However, if a child is using books as a coping mechanism then they see a rip or tear in the universe due to their knowledge level. Doubtful anything will change their trauma other then changing their environment. They see themselves stuck there and the adults offer zero help in saving them. There are worse things they could use to cope, trust.
Peter, the DSM might call your condition Pathological Fishing Disorder. 😉
It feels like there has been a trend toward naming many childhood behaviors as pathologies in the last 20 years or more. My son is autistic, but did not get a diagnosis until age ten, when his social skills and other characteristics were more noticeably different from his age peers. He is highly intelligent, which led people to believe he could not be autistic. Schools were cruel to him before and after diagnosis. As a teen he had mental health issues, was suicidal, and violent outbursts. I kept telling people that he was experiencing trauma from school, but of course I was rebuffed. Meanwhile, he saw different psychologists and psychiatrists at his many hospitalizations. It was suggested that he had:
Videogame addiction
Bipolar Disorder
Intermittent Explosive Disorder
And, was misdiagnosed as autistic and was actually highly gifted (actually he's both!)
He was on three medications and not improving. I stopped making him go to school. He dropped out. After some adjustment time, he wanted to take the GED. He passed easily. As an adult, he asked his doctors to let him titrate down on the meds. The refused, so he did it cold turkey.
Fast-forward to today. He is 25, lives independently, and has worked hard to learn all the adulting things. His mental health has vastly improved with NO MEDS and NO COUNSELING. Violence and suicide are not in the picture at all. He’s applying for work while studying college-type subjects independently. Somehow, dropping out of school cured him of all those disorders.
Ha ha! I love your last sentence!
I have long felt that many 'conditions' and 'disorders' are only a problem because the people who have them don't fit into the single-sized and single-shaped hole that is the school system (it's horrendous here in the UK too). Let People Be and the 'problems' disappear...
So true!
Beth, my daughter (now 22) has thanked me several times for not sending her to "typical school." (We were un-schooling homeschoolers.)
Like your son, she does very well studying at a college level independently. So glad your son is doing well as an adult.
I have commented several times here and on other substack pages about the dysfunctional high school hallway. Especially for those of different intellectual natures. Much of our politics today resembles that high school hallway.
A very impressive argument sir. My first game as a child almost 40 years ago was Zelda. Now, I have recently bought my child a Nintendo switch and we play the new version together. There are conversations in the villages and I make her practice reading them out loud with amazement at some rather large words she pronounces with ease. There are puzzle trials along the way, more then once (i wont admit to more, lol) she was instrumental in solving them. There are maps and compasses to follow that require geography and topography knowledge and the graphics are breathtaking. She normally just hands me the paddle when monsters become difficult and require some additional hand eye coordination (but what else are Dads for?) She is learning to follow event storylines and investigate worlds and characters that challenge her senses. However, with all the benefits I witness the back of my mind crawls with angst of addiction. I realize now, thats the word my father used when he wanted me off video games and wanted me outside playing football with the kids. Dont get me wrong. It was an activity I enjoyed as well but video gaming never led to pulled hamstrings and disjointed muscle attachments. Now that I think about it. My father was giving me a choice between physical violence and logically working my mind.
My husband played football his entire life (it was the only way he was able to attend college, being born into poverty) and we have recently been exploring how harmful the game was for his body. Another important point when we compare “virtual” and “real” worlds. I am a former teacher and now work as a tutor with families whose children are not learning how to read in the conventional system. One parent told me, maybe it’s because we play too much Minecraft and should be reading. I told her- NO! Play MORE! It’s crazy how loud and wrong mainstream “experts” are, and how many parents and their children suffer in silence by taking their misguided and harmful advice.
I think, as a child, I suffered from:
ERD (Excessive Reading Disorder)
AOOCD (Avoidance of Other Children Disorder)
DD (Daydreaming Disorder)
Now, at my advanced age, I definitely suffer from:
OOD (Occasional Obsession Disorder)
CACD (Codeword and Crossword Disorder)
CBD (Colouring Book Disorder)
DOCTWD (Delusions Of Changing The World Disorder)
:) :) :)
Peter, I realize I have RD Reading Disorder, thru college and I returned to it when I was 70, I'm 80 now. I read 3 books a week, 85% fiction, and I read 3 hours daily. 2 upon awaking and 1 at night before sleeping. I could not understand people binge-watching streaming UNTIL I saw that I BINGE-READ fiction books. I laugh at the LABELS we use to support our POV. Sorry I cannot attend your first Zoom meeting Sat Feb 22. I have a Memorial Service to attend. Hopefully I can make it in March. I love being a PAID subscriber now. Thanks for the PUSH.
My daughter had "Minecraft Disorder" when she was younger, I guess! (I hope the exclamation point conveys my light sarcasm here.)
Our family rule was that she could play as much as she wanted, but if Mom or Dad requested help or her presence, she had to pause/save her Minecraft work without whining and complaining and come to dinner, do her chores, leave for an event, or whatever family life required her to do.
She learned quickly to moderate herself, and as she's grown to adulthood, is far better at managing deeply engaging screen-based activities than many people far older.
When parents obsessively moderate children's impulses for them, instead of gradually allowing age-appropriate natural consequences (she memorably missed out on an impromptu family stop for ice cream after she chose to stay home from an afternoon errand and continue playing Minecraft), they do not learn how to moderate their own.
Thank you. My 5- and 9-year-old grandsons love playing Minecraft and Roblox games. A few adults around them feel concerned they're too involved. The 5-year-old is learning to read without knowing he is and keeps upping his game thanks to his older brother. The nine-year-old's teacher commented on how he was able to connect a line of understanding from a topic at school to his Minecraft game, which the teacher applauded. They have their conflicts now and then, but they enjoy the play, so it continues.
This is great. And I love how you use "FD" after establishing its validity as a disorder equal to IGD.
Thanks again for applying clear thinking to a loaded topic. We seem to have a propensity for pathologizing symptoms instead of addressing core issues. It's much easier to take away a device than it is to heal psychological illness. If the use of video games and social media is not interfering with the person's well-being, relationships, or work (including school), it is not an issue. It might be an imbalance which happens to me whenever I write a book or when my architect husband develops a project. When your actions serve a greater goal like self-mastery, they are not pathological, but if they are working against you, then something is going on. Let's not stop at the symptom and let ourselves off the hook that easily. That's what an "Internet Gaming Disorder" would do.
What an excellent article! As someone who has been playing video games for over 40 years and involved in the gaming industry for about 30, this deeply resonates. I continuously argue against the supposed addictive nature of video games and back it up with my observations and research. But it's an uphill battle.
When I started my reply I just quickly exceeded a reasonable limit of words since there is a lot on my mind. So I decided to write a short article over at LinkedIn. Thank you for the inspiration!
I agree with your recent posts on this topic, but there's an aspect that I that I think is very material that I don't think you've touched on: Most popular video games offer a _much_ higher reward/work ratio and/or more immediate reward than something like fishing. I strongly suspect that for some people, playing lots of games reduces their ability to pursue other activities that have a lower reward/work ratio or more delayed reward - important activities like jobs (even meaningful ones), study, exercise, and even socialization.
If this is true, it would surface as many of the characteristics above - but as you point out they also overlap with "healthy" hobby obsession. It seems to me like the key distinction would be that video games may _reduce many people's ability_ to do other healthy things in life (through "reward desensitization"), not just _distract_ them from doing those things as with fishing. Something like fishing could conceivably even do the opposite (sensitize people to small/slow reward).
Modern media like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram are even worse in this way since they require almost zero work and yet are more rewarding than something like traditional TV.
So while I agree that games have the great benefit of being "hard fun" that build the brain, I still think there is reason to worried about their effects on some people - though I am even more worried about the effects of the kinds of media I mentioned above.
We shouldn't teach kids to care about a reward/work ratio.
Take a reward from no one! Kids shouldn't work. They should play.
I stopped caring about rewards a long time ago. I just follow the fun.
What do you care what other people think, including your bank accountant.
That's the mindset of a good childhood. A good life.
I also play all day, because I'm lucky to be rich. Like Peter Pan, I'm a childish man. Sadly, that's still taboo. "Are you an irresponsible kid? Oh-no! Grow-up. Get back to the kitchen. It's hard to be a grown-up, but at least we belong in the front of the bus. Kids are not like us."
By the way, have you heard about poor play grounds? If you ask kids. Most of them what to play outside with their friends. But playgrounds suck today. Do you have an adventure playground in your neighbor hood? If not, then do as Mike Lancy, and create a playborhood.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q_wagjIqY0&ab_channel=MikeLanza
I always wonder when people say this, are you talking about yourself? Are you talking about me? Is there an actual person you are thinking of, or hypothetical? It also feels incredibly paternalistic- oh you can’t control yourself, you are becoming stupid, I know what you need. Whew. Sorry I got a bit triggered there, from a childhood of being micromanaged.
More than a decade ago, I had a little fellow in my grade 4 class who had received school support in getting a referral for an autism diagnosis (a two year process here). Around October, this little guy, who pulled out his hair as well as other self harm stimming, and who had very few referencing skills, was assessed. The answer came back that he played too many video games for them to assess for autism. Come back in a year. That was yet another year without support for my student.
Of course, eventually he did get his diagnosis.
Absolutely, some kids play too many video games - it's hard to resist the screen.
I think there is a lot of truth to the idea that text can be very boring when you are used to such a high level of visual input, and that can make it challenging to become interested in reading.
But... when you do not have the capacity to make friends IRL and you may have barriers to doing the kinds of active things that other children do, video games give a person an opportunity to engage in learning - and I'm convinced that learning is very high on the level of needs - much higher than is given credence.
We're mammals - how do we learn? Through play.
Video games are not really social play. I have a lot of concerns about the lack of social play in our society - among children and adults, but at least they are play and they do feel good because we are challenged and can learn.
By the same token, I am absolutely not in favour of gamifying education. Schools are the place where we can teach learning through social play - what a waste of our students' time to stick them in front of screens.
Teach through social play in school?
Praise is a form of gamification. Punishment is too.
Morality is all about gamification.
It rewards you for what to do and not to do.
So you don't use rewards, do you?
-
I hate rewards. But I like good reasons. Gamification is the opposite of critical thinking. It's hand-holding. Learning to fit inside society's mold for no good reason. That's so last season. Am I right girls? Enlightened girls hate conformity. Following orders, that's treason. Because creativity is disobedience. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bC-6cWlhpSA
-
Don't listen to authority or rewards. Follow reason. And have some hard fun.
You need to read Peter’s book, “Free to Learn.” Schools are exactly why children don’t “learn to play” and seek out alternatives. Peter has also showed extensively that video games are social play, so I’m confounded that you would even post that here without some sort of evidence to back it up.
Yeah, but there is good and bad social play. I prefer the kind with out rewards and status hierarchies. It's a rare breed. You're luck if you find it.
Bad social play could be the shaming and blaming game, that so many teenage girls like to play, and that is surely a master piece when it comes to game design. They tell spread false rumors, get boyfriends, like each others dress, and so on.
This also happened in the 50's. Toxic culture is toxic culture, both online, in school and in the free play of recess. I hope that no one prefer the toxic drama queen, over the autistic minecraft gamer. I hope people will pick their friends more carefully. But in school, you're stuck with the class you got.
Don't reward angry people. Don't spread angry memes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rE3j_RHkqJc&ab_channel=CGPGrey
And I don't like evidence either. It's all to often confused with scientific authority. Which is an oxymoron, for anyone who have read Karl Popper. Or his modern counterpart David Deutsch.
Hm interesting. I’m inclined to disagree. FWIW my original comment was directed at Bettie, not you.
What you’re describing doesn’t sound like play. By Peter’s definition, it’s not play if you can’t quit. As someone who was incessantly bullied as a child, I tend to agree with this.
You got me their :) And that's the same reason why addicts can't play. They can't quit. And that's true for habit you can't quit. Thanks for pointing that out.
What about the evidence part. Do you believe in evidence? ;)
(Wink, wink, it's a loaded question.)
I’m a sucker for data!!!! But also know science must be deeply examined thanks to racism and sexism ableism etc. What can I say, I trust Peter Gray!
You need to see this video about committing scientism, with scientific evidence. It has nothing to due with the garbage-in garbage-out data problem. It's much deeper than being biased.
https://youtu.be/BV6Qice6Lrc?si=izhnfPjyG9Yxr53n
I have four children and two of them are boys who enjoy playing video games. One of them has ADHD and often gets very angry when playing video games and takes it out on the family so his time has to be monitored.
I have a few questions. Hopefully, I did not miss your answer to these in the article. Forgive me if you have already addressed these.
1) The title of your substack is "Play Makes Us Human". Do you think that individuals playing games alone makes them human? Or would you instead say that playing with others makes them human?
2) Have you ever had a patient/client with a gaming disorder? I have read stories of some who have had extreme gaming disorder but have never personally met someone with it.
3) If it came down to fishing or video gaming, would you say that there are way more benefits to fishing than gaming? The whole "teach a man to fish" saying comes to mind immediately along with being outside in nature versus being in a dark room by yourself.
Good read! I think the distinction is fixation. A child who only reads books and won't interact with other kids is a sign that intervention and connection is needed and the reading of books is a coping mechanism rather than enjoyment.
You are right. However, if a child is using books as a coping mechanism then they see a rip or tear in the universe due to their knowledge level. Doubtful anything will change their trauma other then changing their environment. They see themselves stuck there and the adults offer zero help in saving them. There are worse things they could use to cope, trust.
https://www.handinhandparenting.org/2017/01/does-my-child-read-too-much/