Video Game addiction

So, because you do not see anybody with X, Y, and Z Disorders, V Disorder must not exist?
 
People can become addicted to almost any activity. Some people have more addictive personalities than others. If people can become addicted to, for example, gambling then why not gaming?

Gaming offers a very immersive and compelling form of entertainment so for some people it could well become addictive. I don't see how facing facts like this makes gaming any less "normal".
 
Contrary to reading or watching movies games often have some kind of reward system (e.g. better loot, hardcore mode...) and especially online games also have a social aspect.
The three guys I personally met who have a gaming addiction also have other psychological disorders, so I am not sure if the gaming addiction is the disease or the symptom.
 
I think the issue is, and you alluded to it, time spent playing video games is often labeled as addiction even if it is not, while time spent doing other more main stream activities or activities considered more healthy gets a free pass. For example, what essentially is the difference between watching multiple football games on a saturday or sunday for hours on end vs playing multiple hours of video games in one session on a saturday or sunday afternoon? Nothing really, both are spent on your butt in front of a screen, yet the gamer is the one who gets flak and comments like you are so addicted to that game! The football watcher might still get flak too, especially from family if he's ignoring them or his responsibilities, but it's not as common for outsiders to criticize. When co-workers find out I spend 3 hours on video games a night on average they're often like wow that's a ton, but I only have to ask them in response, how much tv did you watch last night? The main difference is people who don't play video games just do not understand why they are fun and they have some sort of reaction like wow that is such a waste of time! Reading is considered a healthy activity but video games stimulate your brain as well and both are not physical so I don't see much difference, although a wide variety of reading can help your general knowledge level considerably.

Of course you do have to be careful because video games can be a very real addiction. Consider how many people are simply addicted to the internet (social sites, yahoo, youtube etc) and then take it to another level of interaction and immersion that video games provides and it's very easy to see why you could get hooked. I've heard addiction described as not being about the time spent on X activity, but it's when X activity begins to interfere in the rest of your life. If you are staying up late gaming so you can't function at work, or function at your top level, that's a problem. If you skip family functions or have become unusually anti-social that's a problem (not everyone has to be a social butterfly, some people just don't have many friends, but if you lose friends or never see them solely because of your gaming habits that's bad). And another big thing is, can you live without it? Could you replace your video gaming with other equally satisfying entertainment options if you chose to do so? I can take a night off gaming to watch a movie with my wife and it's just as fun, as long as it's not a stupid romance lol.

For me, I pretty much don't play video games until my little girl is asleep. I don't love every single activity we do together (swim class, library hour... not my #1 choices but fun for her) but I love spending time with her and being a dad. Video games can wait.
 
Samez said:
Contrary to reading or watching movies games often have some kind of reward system (e.g. better loot, hardcore mode...) and especially online games also have a social aspect.
The three guys I personally met who have a gaming addiction also have other psychological disorders, so I am not sure if the gaming addiction is the disease or the symptom.
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Addiction is without a doubt a personality disorder, it just comes in different flavors and degrees. Gaming addiction would be a symptom of and underlying disorder imo, though gaming offers a very easy level of entry that can make it more appealing and justifiable (no real financial risk like gambling or physical risk like drugs or alcohol).
 
Neglecting social events/contacts for gaming is probably a sign for a gaming addicting.
Funny thing is a friend just sent me this: A report on "gaming thrombosis"
It includes some interesting number like:
-average gaming time in the US 13h/week
-4%of all gamers play 48.5h/week (i.e. 29%)
-in 2012 37% of all gamers were older than 36
 
I think it is definitely subject to addictive behavior such as the ones Samez referenced. Neglecting social responsibilities, family, work, nutrition, exercise. Sort of like internet addiction.
 
Its not really any different from other addictions to non-drug using activities, like gambling, as far as I am concerned. Indeed, there are far too many games (especially "free2p(l)ay", MMORPGS and casual/facebook 'games') which are largely or even entirely designed to prey upon and trigger the same dopamine releases that gambling can cause and get people addicted, since they largelym ake money off 0.5-2% of players who are addicted and have (or can find until they run out) $1000s or even $10,000s to throw down the drain at these games.

There's are many reasons why, say, WoW has over 10 million subscribers, and it has little to do with being a good game.
 
grandad1982 said:
People can become addicted to almost any activity. Some people have more addictive personalities than others. If people can become addicted to, for example, gambling then why not gaming?

Gaming offers a very immersive and compelling form of entertainment so for some people it could well become addictive. I don't see how facing facts like this makes gaming any less "normal".
Click to expand...

This is pretty much the truth, and any 'addiction' might just be a favored symptom of an underlying problem.
 
Samez said:
-4%of all gamers play 48.5h/week (i.e. 29%)
Click to expand...

How is this even possible ?
Maybe they have no Jobs or just part time work ?
 
If you don't have much (ie casual or part time) or any work or responsibilities (or if you're willing to shirk some, like some people I know or have played with who are/were in Uni/college), its definitely possible. Also there are some very well off gamers as well who don't need to work.
 
I consider myself to have an addictive personality. Ever since i was a kid if i liked something, then i tended to do it over and over and over again. This trait has continued into adulthood. I do many things that some people cant really comprehend. Here is a short list of some of them:

I have read each Harry Potter book about 15-20 times each.
I have completed half life the original about 40-50 times.
I have watched Aliens about 70-80 times.
I have listened to the song "Otherside" by the red hot Chilli Peppers about 500 times.

So as previous people have said, addiction is often a personality trait. Some people have more, some have less. I have more. As Civver rightly points out, it only becomes a problem when activity "X" starts to dominate and take over your life. Even though i have an addictive personality, and at times some things have threatened to take over, i have always reigned myself in because i know deep down that you should try and do things in moderation, and not excessively.

So i have a job which i go to every day. I have a girlfriend who i see twice a week. I have friends who i go and see. I study for exams etc.

I therefore think that although i play alot of computer games (usually about 25 hours per week), they have not taken over my life and this is therefore acceptable. I dont really care whether people think im addicted because that term in itself is only relative to an individual. I know what my personality is like, i know what i enjoy, and thats about the end of it. I consider watching TV a waste of time and can quite happily live without one.

There is a lot of ignorance concerning computer games. I think this is a generational thing. many of the people who write articles, conduct research etc did not grow up in a generation where games was a mainstream media. Even when i grew up (im 29), games were a relatively obscure form of media. Now they are massive and the big titles gross far in excess of major film releases. I confidently predict that when i am an old man, most computer games will be viewed much like TV and films are today.

What irks me is when some nutter, who plays computer games, goes off and kills someone, and then loads of other "experts" blame the killers actions on the playing of computer games. This is utter nonsense. It might have been a symptom, but that entirely ignores the underlying problem which existed anyway.
 
Eh, I don't see violent video games being blamed for socital colapse like they used to be. Doom and mortal kombat were controversial back in the day but I think the media is pretty much over that and on to more political reasons for the crazies.

As far as 48.5 hours, a lot of athletes play video games in excess. Also consider if you are a single dude and you play 12 hours on weekends which still gives you plenty of time to sleep 8-10 hours and shower, exercise a bit, eat well. Then you *only* have to play 5 hours on weeknights to hit that number, and ok, 5 is a lot, but if you work 9-5, you can play from 7-midnight and still get a good 8 hours sleep. If you're a college student you can easily sneak a few hours in between classes. I'm not saying it's the healthiest thing, but in college there were definitely weeks when I played 50 hours of warcraft.
 
civvver said:
Eh, I don't see violent video games being blamed for socital colapse like they used to be. Doom and mortal kombat were controversial back in the day but I think the media is pretty much over that and on to more political reasons for the crazies.

As far as 48.5 hours, a lot of athletes play video games in excess. Also consider if you are a single dude and you play 12 hours on weekends which still gives you plenty of time to sleep 8-10 hours and shower, exercise a bit, eat well. Then you *only* have to play 5 hours on weeknights to hit that number, and ok, 5 is a lot, but if you work 9-5, you can play from 7-midnight and still get a good 8 hours sleep. If you're a college student you can easily sneak a few hours in between classes. I'm not saying it's the healthiest thing, but in college there were definitely weeks when I played 50 hours of warcraft.
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C'mon, there are plenty of recent examples where the media have portrayed people who play excessive amounts of computer games as though there is something wrong with them. Here is one rather famous example, Anders Breivik:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...rld-of-Warcraft-role-playing-game-online.html

Like i said, excessive amounts of anything isnt really too much of a problem, as long as its not just only one thing in your life, and you become an utter slave when it comes to that thing (i would class girlfriends and friends in this category too). The point being that when that thing is taken away, or you can no longer access it, then that can lead to some people doing some pretty crazy stuff. Witness the crazy people (men, mostly) who murder their whole family because their wife might leave them, along with the kids. I do not consider the leap to be that great. As the Buddhists would say, a life without balance is a bad thing indeed (thats my English translation anyway).
 
Civ001 said:
So I would like to know, what are your thoughts on the subject of video game addiction? It seems really weird that people can become "addicted to video games". Yet I don't see any news stories about people who got so hooked onto reading novels, or watching movies, or tv binging. None would claim that those other mediums are addicting. Yet people can get addicted to video games? IMHO I think gaming addiction is a fake disorder. Much like people demonizing comic books, rock and roll, and roleplaying games. Maybe this whole issue of gaming addiction will blow over and gaming will be a normal activity.
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I believe it can happen to some people. Like those people that let their baby starve as they played an online game. Online games do create a game world that is very enticing.

Regular games aren't addictive at all in my opinion. Because they all have an end, and eventually you do everything possible in the game. My most played game is probably Fallout New Vegas with 700 hours played. Seems like a lot, but I wouldn't call that an addiction. I've easily watched that much tv during my younger years in the same time period.

World of Warcraft I might possibly be addicted to. But I'm also bored of it at the same time. I'm actually thinking of starting up again for a month or two. I can only play a couple months before getting bored of it again. But I can't seem to give it up completely? Why? Is it because I'm addicted? Maybe.

C'mon, there are plenty of recent examples where the media have portrayed people who play excessive amounts of computer games as though there is something wrong with them. Here is one rather famous example, Anders Breivik:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...me-online.html

Like i said, excessive amounts of anything isnt really too much of a problem, as long as its not just only one thing in your life, and you become an utter slave when it comes to that thing (i would class girlfriends and friends in this category too). The point being that when that thing is taken away, or you can no longer access it, then that can lead to some people doing some pretty crazy stuff. Witness the crazy people (men, mostly) who murder their whole family because their wife might leave them, along with the kids. I do not consider the leap to be that great. As the Buddhists would say, a life without balance is a bad thing indeed (thats my English translation anyway).
Click to expand...

I think there was one kid in China who murdered his parents when they took away his computer games. South Koreans also seem to get a bit extreme.
 
civvver said:
Eh, I don't see violent video games being blamed for socital colapse like they used to be. Doom and mortal kombat were controversial back in the day but I think the media is pretty much over that and on to more political reasons for the crazies.
Click to expand...

So what you're saying is you don't watch the news at all? To be fair though, it generally seems to be American media or sensationalist tabloids that blame video games for violence. It seems that every time there's a school shooting in the US, games get the blame, I remember seeing some blame being laid on video games for the Boston bombing, within the last couple of months GTA got blamed for a 9 year old shooting his grandma, so yeah, video games do still get blamed, quite often.

Every time they do get blamed it's just a scapegoat by people who are too afraid to ask the real questions. Like what where the parents doing, why did no-one notice something was wrong, if they noticed why didn't they do anything, etc.
 
Maniacal said:
If you don't have much (ie casual or part time) or any work or responsibilities (or if you're willing to shirk some, like some people I know or have played with who are/were in Uni/college), its definitely possible. Also there are some very well off gamers as well who don't need to work.
Click to expand...

I assume 48.5 hrs and you could probably get in 10 hrs per day on the weekend giving you 20 hrs of gaming. Leaves 5.7hr x 5 weekdays.

Just looking at that is pretty scary. 6 hrs per day gaming is pretty hardcore
10hrs per day is exhausting, I've done that a few times with some games but when you have work coming home to certain games feels like a second less demanding job.

Also I wonder if theres anyone here matching the final option, Rich well of gamer ?
I think there was RS (the wallet camera and pant stolen guy)
 
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