Game Addiction: Myth or Reality? - Page 3

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Absolutely! Gaming addiction is a very real possiblitly for those who lack the discipline to "switch off". It's an entertainment -- not a lifestyle choice. At least, it shouldn't be.

Even for pro gamers who have gaming as their "job" (which is fine, in my book), could see themselves develop a problem whereby they are unable/unwilling to switch off. People can become addicted to their work; gaming as a profession would be no different in this regard.

As an entertainment medium, gaming is tremendous and we all enjoy it. But when an individual lacks the discipline to turn off, then psychologically they have a problem and it needs to be addressed.

I also dont believe gaming is a "special" area of concern:-- that it's not any different to any other addictive problem, is what I'm saying. Sure, the problems associated with it are specific, but I think its a mistake to single out as being "especially harmful", etc, as some pundits in the media have. The usual hysterics surround this topic in the public mind and I dont believe we need to be irrational in anaylsing the crux of the issues at hand in relation to gaming addiction.

Not only children are addicted to online games. My Ex-boyfirend 33 years old. He plays that game night and day, every free minute. He comes from his job and plays he wakes up on a weekend first thing he does is playing until the next day. I tried to talk to him but he wouldn´t listen, he just ignored me. I have been trying to understand why for three long years. Now 2 days ago I just told him to to leave my house. Never heard from him since. Was it the right decision? Maybe I should have helped him more, try harder to talk to him but as I said he would not listen. That game ruined our relation ship. Maybe it will ruin his life, but I don´t know how to help him, he doesn´t talk to me anymore.

Hi Lilly, I sent you a Private Message on my situation if you want to talk about things you are more than welcome.

I am trying to think about how bad I got in to games, and back when I was about 14 or so I had my head so far in to games I simply ignored my family. My family have never really been there for me anyway but with gaming I got to keep completely isolated from the people around me and got to find new friends online. The people online kind of became my new life, and the games I was playing my new hobby. I would go to sleep in the early hours of the morning and wake up in the early hours of the afternoon.

Thing is it was not that hard for me to stop gaming, so in that respect it cannot really be called an addiction for me. I gamed because I did not have anything better to do, and because it was so easy to do I done it all the time. But then in a way gaming has been the thing that has lead me to where I am today. It has shaped my life and I am right now happier than I have ever been before.

If it was not for computer games I would not have got in to the computing industry and if it was not for all my gaming I would not have got a job in a computer shop to pay for expensive hardware for the PC. And if it were not for my job I would not have got promoted to the sales department in the new distribution call centre. And if it were not for that I would have not met the girl of my dreams working on the reception desk.

And now I can say today that I have not plaid a single game for three weeks. But of course she goes away on holiday tomorrow for a day and I am meeting her on the sat so I don’t know if I should spend all day gaming or go out on the Superbike. But all I can say for me it was someone that I really cared about that made me stop playing games.

That should be really horrible for wives who have children. One of the reasons why I kicked him out too. He wanted to marry me and have children. But how am I going to marry somebody that creates his own world in front of a computer and does not spend time with his family?

Wow that must have been really hard for your wife. I am glad that you did the right thing in the end.

I really don´t understand how somebody can get addicted to online games. Once I asked my now ex to let me play his carachter of Lineage II for a while because I wanted to see what is so special about it, he was beside me telling me what I had to do what to click and stuff and I really must say it was really boring for me just killing some monsters running around from one place to another with other carachters, weired thing! I did not like it at all. I don´t understand how somebody can get addicted to it.

To me it wasn't really the game that addicted me, it was the feeling I got when I was playing it. I was the best player on my clan and I could do things in the game that no other players on my team could do... then I log off and realize I'm just a normal dude with a boring job and an ugly house.... so reality wasn't nearly as fun as my virtual world where I had power and clout.

Oh yea, I know how good I've got it now. I certainly hope your ex comes to his senses too. Life is far to short to spend all of it in a virtual world, and the rewards of being a good husband far outweight getting 4 caps on a capture the flag match. lol

That's so true Gamersmom... I've always had an addictive personality but I managed to avoid most things that were considered addiction risks. (I was addicted to comic books and baseball cards when I was younger though... that one was a really odd addiction. lol)

It is not that unique, in fact, everyone has this chemistry, we are all addicted to substances that flow around in our brains and in our bodies. Just having a taste for chocolate, coffee, or even jogging, is driven by body chemistry. The difference is in whether you let your addictions run your life, or whether you take control over your life.

There are people really addicted to coffee/caffeine as well.

Maybe I did not make myself clear, it is highly likely that there is chemistry involved in why one person will become addicted to the point of self-destructive behavior, while someone else will be able to control him/herself. There is also chemistry involved in what makes up a personality.

I'm not trying to make a point about how this is about self-control, I was making the point that these biochemical processes are at work in every human being and that is not unique as you put it previously but very common, we are biochemical beings. It is very likely you have some addictive tendencies as well. We can try and guard ourselves by trying to detect addictive behavior by ourselves at a very early stage when you can still do something about it.

Everybody has their fair share of addictions, the difference between being healthy or not is in how much you are in control over your own behavior (that control itself also has a biochemical component or might be completely biochemical driven but let's not get into that because it can get real messy).

This is a very in depth discussion and has grown to great lengths. Here is a few cents of my own to add.

While it is a horrible and tragic event, the act of someone ending their own life, for whatever reason; the gaming industry cannot in any way be held responsible for this form of addiction.

The gaming companies do not add things to their games, above and beyond their natural design to make them addictive past the point of good reason.

When I was in Junior High I played a lot of EQ. I wasn't even that good at the game. I didn't have any maxed out characters or anything like that, but my friends played and I enjoyed roaming around the world and talking to people in a world where I could interact with them. It became a serious issue for me. Yet, in the end what balenced it was my Father. That's right, my dad got involved.

He did something unique though, he didn't force me to quit, he knew that to be fruitless. You can't force an addict to quit something they aren't ready to quit. This is a good argument against parental involvement. Forcing a child to do anything they don't already want to do, is an exercise in frustration(personal experience). So, my Father decided that it was to be my responsibility to pay for my game time. That he would not support the habit anymore and that if I was to continue playing, I had to balence the rest of my life. IE: no skipping school, no playing till past midnight. Rules that he stuck to and otherwise gave me freedom to do as I wished.

This was pretty flexible for the situation. It wasn't despotic and it was creative. I had the money to keep playing, but I kept going back to school and eventually my real-world friends and acquaintances started playing other games, or the sun came out and it was Frisbee or water fight season.

This approach is what should be taught. Since it worked so well, I talked with my Father about how he knew what to do. He said, "Your my son. I've raised you and we had been through some similar things with your obsession over the Nintendo before that, when you were a kid. I knew I couldn't force you, so I came up with a plan that let you come to a good decision and let me powerfully enforce what I wanted to happen."

That is what it comes down to. If you don't have people in your life that can point out to you and powerfully relate to what you need to help you make sound and powerful choices your are left with no weapons to defend yourself. There is no amount of labels or industry support groups or any form of entitlement from the government or regulation by the government that will allow a person to have strong interpersonal relationships to help defend themselves against self destructive behavior. Warning labels don't work and you can't fix someone that has already walked the path of addiction, it is with them forever and they must always be mindful of who they are with their addiction.

I wish life wasn't such a go it alone show for a lot of people. I wish parents knew how to better relate to their kids. I wish people could form more healthy friendships.

All this comes down to living a balenced and healthy lifestyle that allows you to make sound and healthy choices. If you stray from that path you are setting yourself up for bad and unhealthy choices and that is what it is: choices.

Not discounting the remainder of your post, the fact whether or not gaming companies do enough to avoid gaming addiction is up for debate I think. The very gameplay model of MMO's like WoW is based on (potentially) addictive elements and I think you're way too quick with a totally dismissing the industry itself as a responsible party in this.

Not that I'm pleading for a ban or anything, but some proper healthcare warnings and guidelines for parents would be the least of possible measures.

This is where I think you cut too many corners. It's definitely not yet been proven (or disproven) in court whether (for example) the developers of MMO's have built in too many addictive game play element or not. Problem is, you cannot add up MMO's just like you can add up all cigarette brands. Every MMO product has its own characteristics (and possibly its own addictive qualities). However, that has not stopped legislation on gambling for instance (where you can make the same point).

I'm not at all in favor of legalizing this whole issue but just declaring that gaming is all about personal choices and thus there is no responsibility with the industry or retail, is rediculous. Just change the word "Gaming" into "tobacco", in the second part the quote above to illustrate why I think thats rediculous.

I'm yet another person who has played many, many online games (both MMORPG and FPS titles).

While my initial gut reaction is to think of this as poppycock, after some careful consideration I have to concede the argument has merit; though really only to MMORPGs, and then only some.

I've known people that one could "say" were addicted to Counter Strike, but Counter Strike does not actively have any ingredients to foster the "addiction." EQ and WoW both offer incentive-based rewards systems throughout game play to keep someone playing. This can really be said for virtually every MMORPG, though it certainly feels more pronounced in the two games afore-mentioned.

However, that being said, it really is still a person's own responsibility to control their actions; to know themselves and know if they can become addicted to anything. The companies’ only motive is to entice a monthly subscription fee, they certainly aren't advocating people abandon their lives. That would be most counter-productive towards obtaining said fee, if the subscriber cannot afford to pay the subscription.

In fact, Square Enix has a nice disclaimer that greets players every time they login in to the FFXI game world. It urges that they not forget about their family and friends, jobs and personal lives. I wouldn't mind seeing this on every online game, but that would be where the line is drawn. Further litigation and legislation would only propel the Jack Thompsons of the world farther in their quest for a puritanical society.

I feel that personal and parental responsibility is really where the focus needs to remain on this issue. I'm not denying that addictions can be forged towards games, but it depends on the person playing more than anything else and from what I understand of addiction, those who are most susceptible to it would not benefit from a warning against something's addictive properties to begin with.

I will say that I know many whom others might consider have an "addiction" to MMORPGs simply because of the amount of time they spend playing. Indeed they do spend a majority of their free time playing, but certainly not anymore than your average American spends watching TV daily. It’s their escape from the tedium of everyday life, much as others play music, read or watch TV.

If there is a problem with this, it’s that the escape is too good, and feels better than facing reality. This is not really surprising; things in the game world are predictable, everyone is strong and valiant, sickness does not exist, those who bother us we can permanently ignore (or kill) and death is never forever. Sometimes that can be a panacea, in more extreme cases the game world might even be seen as Utopian. What we should really be questioning (if and when there are tangible numbers to go off of) is why it’s so easy for so many to choose a make-believe world over reality; what about how our society works is so disdainful that such escapism is indulged in the first place.

Good post Cafuddled

I can also say that I've played games sometimes not just because it was fun but because its kept me sane.

Life can stack a wall around you so high it can never be scaled... Gaming is sometimes the only thing that's kept my mind off my personals problems long enough to gain enough clarity to actually solve them. That being said, I have a good enough grasp on my own psyche to know when depression is hitting and life is ready to trample me underfoot. I think it gives me an element of control that I fear others likely don't have in the way of satiating the escapism, but not succumbing to it.

Again, I still think that people can become addicted to games, but its just like alcohol in that respect, it only happens as a result of the stuff going on in your life. It may start as an outlet and turn into an obsession, but its not actually the game causing it; its the need to escape reality. Alcohol in and of itself is hardly chemically addictive, merely the effect it has on the brain and body when drunk can be psychologically addicting. Its not the same with tobacco, heroin or cocaine...I think what everyone needs to understand is the difference between psychological and physical addiction.
They are two very different problems, with different causes and different solutions. Gaming has absolutely no way to be anything but psychology addicting. The crux of it is that psychological addiction really requires some mental duress to really take hold to begin with.

Again, I don't want my post to be taken to mean that I don't think help should be made available; I do, but I don't think its the game companies fault. I also want to stress that the game addiction likely won't be able to be cured until the root cause is found and corrected. Of course all of this needs to be examined and researched by professionals.

The full articile says that it needs more research.

I believe there is game addiction, because I have experienced it. When I was playing EQ, I was burning 40+ hours a week on top of a full-time job. I was going to sleep at 4AM, getting up at 7AM and going to work in a daze. My work suffered. My marriage suffered. This went on for a long time.

All I could think about was what I was going to do the next time I played, what boss my guild was going to raid, what gear I was going to upgrade next. Ultimately I broke the cycle, and things are under control now. But I don't play EQ any longer, and my gaming is typically 10 hours a week.

I don't blame Sony or other gaming companies. I know its my issue.

Hi my name is spixtar and i was mmorpg addict....

It all started with runescape but i started getting bored with it so a mate that played runescape with me said wow look at the graphics on WORLD OF WARCRAFT you have to get it.

Talking about the vivid dreams i used to get those i even dreamed about killing elites in my sleep i even told my wife once
baby i killed it... while sleeping and she was like WHAT???And i said the level 60 elite on the hill how freaky is that
i used to go to sleep at 2am and then had to go to work at 5:25am and when i was at work guess what i was thinking about yes you guessed it WORLD OF WARCRAFT what items am i going to get what big bad boss are we killing next.Whenever my wife called me my words would be one second or i will be right there or after this raid .When she talked to me and i would just ignore her rather looking what someone typed than listening to what she said sometimes she repeated herself like 3 times or got so fed up and would rather walk away in a huff i used to play about 40 - 60 hours to me that was normal since my 'so called friends' played that amount of hours aswell oh yeah and dont forget the weight gain i put on about 3 to 4 stone while i played this when i started i was nice and healthy now im unhealthy my sleeping patterns is totally messed up i cant sleep for longer than 4 to 5 hours even on my days off thank goodness there is some light for me at the end of the tunnel i decided to quit world of warcraft 4 months ago i still miss the game so much believe me its so hard but i promised my wife i wont play it anymore i played the game for 3 years and i count myself lucky to still be alive to be honest.


I know people think its so easy to quit but its not ask anyone thats addicted to anything like alcohol or cigarettes or even drugs.

I just want to thank GOD for letting me see the light before it was to late.

I will never EVER allow any of my kids to play mmorpg and i will never EVER buy anyone a mmorpg NEVER EVER!!!
To all the parents out there dont let your kids play mmorpg it will mess them up and you wont have your happy fun loving kid anymore...

If anyone reads this and i hope they come to there senses and stop playing good for you dont let the games rule your world.

Reality.

I completely disagree with placing the blame on the video game designer. This is just the standard American way of shifting the spotlight to try and avoid responsibility. If you cannot take responsibility for you or your child's actions (letting Mr.Xbox and TV parent your child instead of becoming mart of it) then you better be fully prepared to face the consequences that come with those actions, or lake thereof.

It is not the responsibility of the game maker to be your parent or source of morality. They are there solely to provide an entertainment service to those that wish to participate. There is a reason they are called games, meaning that they are not real, they are there to entertain you.

As I was saying earlier about responsibility - if you or your child grow up in an environment where the only thing you know is games... what do you think you are going to learn? You are going to learn exactly what you see happening in the games and (children especially) need parental involvement to explain that it is a game and needs to be treated as such.

I know World of Warcraft inserts game tips that tell you to enjoy the game, but also enjoy real life as well. There are a few others that urge you to get out of the game and socialize. This, I believe, is going above and beyond what is asked of them. You shouldn't have to be spoon fed every f&*&ing moment of your life, especially if you're an adult. You made the decision to play the game, therefore you need to make the decision when/if to stop playing it. For the children - the game shouldn't have to tell them to stop or socialize, the f&*&ing parents need to be there and supervise.

/rant

Don't think I have no sympathy for this kid or any others that have experienced this, but I don't ever think it is fair / right to shift the blame to someone else simply because you or someone you know has a severe lack of responsibility and/or self awareness.

Personal Opinion here based on nothing more than having lived life for 46 years.....this "Addiction" crap is just so much bullshit. Most of what we call addiction in the 21st century is pure and simple a lack of willingness to be personally responsible and accountable for our own lives and actions. Instead we buy into the BS that is the "Victim" mentality.

I cannot express strongly enough that people need to just STFU and accept some personal responsibility, be men not mice ... And the idea that we need "GOVERNMENT" to protect us from these EEEEVIIIIILLLL video games is also patent BS. The government is NOT our Nanny, and has no business infringing on our entertainment nor our rights as citizens. I will remind you all, that the Constitution was a document limiting GOVERNMENT and not the people. Government should stay the hell out of my private life....and yours too.

To GamersMom, I applaude you for finding a way to work with your son...but what worked for you will not work for everyone and some times physical discipline does work. We used both psychological discipline and physical discipline with our childern and guess what? They appear to be happy healthy adults with families too.. go figure.

+1

Exactly! I hate seeing that word, "Victim" tossed around so much.

"Your honor, she did stab her husband thirty-seven times, but you need to realize that she was the victim in this case!" Yeah, okay.

They already do stuff like that in China. They also lock people up that play video games too much and wake them up at 5 A.M. with shock therapy screaming, "THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD!" You probably think I'm just making this up, well, go ahead and google it.

Source: http://ispy.newsvine.com/_news/200 [...] addiction-

Look, if you can't handle things in moderation or get to the point where you'll starve your self or ignore personal hygiene (to a dangerous point) there is more wrong to you than just a fun game. You need to seek help or someone in your life needs to intervene. When you see stuff like "Oh, my poor boy, he locked him self in his room for 5 years playing WoW. Now he is a shell of a person and can barely manage to grunt out a word." What the hell is wrong with people like that? If someone is locked in their room for more than two weeks you need to cut off their internet, remove their computer, and slap the crap out of them. You don't have for some extreme amount of time before you take action... It's not like the internet or games is some "unstoppable monster that must be controlled".

Agreed 100%.

Exactly!

Wow, we're all so lucky to have somebody like you here who can tell us all how to raise our kids and live our lives. Actually my son spends 4 days a week at the Y playing sports, not to mention little league, rec soccer and the all school activities he does, so ya I think he is getting a great start in life. I encourage him to play video games when he's home as a more healthy substiute to watching TV.

But since you like to tell others how their lives are let me tell you about yours. WoW is not to blame for the **** way your life was/is going and god sure as hell didn't "save you". Here's the truth you started playing this game obsesively, probably to compensate for something else lacking in your life. Only when things got even worse did you think "uhm, maybe I shouldn't be spending 40-60hrs a week playing video games". So you finally exerted some self control and will power and gave it up. How about rather then making excuses for why you got in such a bad situation and how you magically broke out of it you accept that you can actually control what you do. It seems to me that it's usually the people who spend their whole life making such excuses and blaming others for what they do that end up with these problems over and over again. Let's just face it we're talking about video games. The only people who have issues with them have some other underlying issue and blaming the games only goes towards ignoring the real problem.

Nah, PR just owned his ass.

Oh yeah. I assume he doesn't have a kid so he doesn't really have much room to talk on raising a kid. Whereas you do, thus you hold more credibility.