Game Addiction is real??? I say BS

[JohnReaper]

According to News, Doctors, And even websites, Video games are as addictive as drugs.... What?


I'm not joking, this is insane.... My aunt hit it with me today at a so called family meal. I play games to much. was what she said I responded with "Yea but I'm not like your drug addicted daughter." well i didn't say that I said "I play them to get away from boredom after I get my homework done, Its not like I need them." the message was clear, I am not addicted. But my "Denying" the fact I have a problem led her into beliving I do. Soon the entire family went into full blown intervention mode..... I nearly walked out of the room twice.

So my question to you is, Have you heard of this Bull crap? If so are you addicted?

I know I'm not, Now if you don't mind, I need to go blow up Mister X on RE2

 

[SomeLameStuff]

I'm not addicted to gaming! I can stop whenever I want! I just don't want to stop just yet...

 

[Radeonx]

You can be addicted to anything, pretty much.
In some cases, people can get as addicted as drug addicts are, but it is much more rare. And for your situation, do you live with your aunt or something? Because if not then she really has no place telling you what you spend too much time doing if you don't see her all the time.

 

[gring]

tell them they are addicted to whatever crappy television shows they watch, then tell them to fuck off about what they dont know, just because they read some stupid article.

 

[BioHazardMan]

It's not addictive as drugs, but I do feel a need to play them to a degree.

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

It's funny because I use video games to avoid drugs!

 

[JohnReaper]

tell them they are addicted to whatever crappy television shows they watch, then tell them to fuck off about what they dont know, just because they read some stupid article.

Yea, what should I tell them when I'm picking my teeth up off the floor? Seriously my mom listens to her alot and I see my mom a lot, {small town, One of the problems.} and well my aunt feeds her this bull crap and I deal with it, OT: there are websites for this stuff? Are we really considered addicts to the world??
Edit: my mom is also a cop, and my aunt is scary when she starts going into Justified yelling mode, (I've actually been punched to my ass by my mother.) and well I know what will happen if I piss off my aunt, Lets just say shes less than kind to people that tell her shes wrong , even when shes wrong.

 

[Fenring]

It's a real thing, but just like drugs, you can use and not be addicted. Absolutely denying it exists is just dumb. Everything in moderation.

 

[webby]

I disagree with any comparison linking video game addiction to a drug addiction. Mainly because a drug addiction is an actual physical need where withdrawal symptoms can become so severe they can cause serious physical harm and even kill. Comparing an obsessive compulsion to play a game to that sense of severity is somewhat insulting to everyone involved.

Put simply, drug addictions are actual physical dependencies, addictions to games/gambling/tv shows are more mental compulsions. It may seem like nit picking but it is a pretty major difference.

I also agree that video game addiction is vaguely nonsense. Sure, everyone gets "just one more turn/level/game/whatever" syndrome from time to time but an actual addiction?? Seems a bit far fetched, but what do I know??

 

[Geekosaurus]

Sure it exists. Anything can be addictive.

 

[viranimus]

Well, From a psychological standpoint Gaming does have attributes that mirror typical and more commonly known addictions.

Two aspects stick out.

They produce at least at first a sense of enjoyment.
Then later on once the enjoyment level has diminished you can find yourself in a place where not partaking in that activity seems harder than partaking.

Two of the most common standpoints of any addiction, Luring you in with positive experiences, and distorting a sense of reality when not experiencing what the medium provides resulting in diminished levels of satisfaction from every day mundane experiences.(IE: finding yourself playing games when your bored, but then realizing that you are bored with everything moreso because its not as enjoyable as what you perceive gaming to be)EDITED: for clarity.

There is grounds to stand on. Look at some of the worst case scenarios, especially as it relates to the levels of addiction related to MMORPGs. Cases of suicides stemming from events related to the game, Parental neglect as taking care of a virtual child ended in the death (if memory serves correctly) of a couples real life child. People who have lost jobs, marriages, family ties due to how much time one would invest into a game, People sinking real life money into a game to the point of real world financial bankruptcy just to partake in the game.

I agree with the notion of the OP that yes its Bullshit that people would allow themselves to let a video game destroy their lives in such ways, but the fact is that there are people with addictive personalities who do just that. Its not to say that these types of people would not have found something else to be addicted to had it not been for the presence of games, but as the technology and accessibility increases with the notion of gaming becoming a commonplace aspect of modern existence we have to accept the notion that there are going to be worst case examples for something so prevalent.

I even had experiences with degrees of addiction to gaming, where it really hurt my daily life for a while. However I do not have the same degree of addictive persona that some people do and once I realized that gaming affected me in such a way, I realized I had to take steps to modify my way of thinking about gaming so that I was in control of my habit and not the other way around. Some people simply do not have the same ability to do this on their own and sometimes the only way they can break such a cycle is with help.

I think there is merit to it, but I also think people in general need to not allow their habits control their lives, regardless if its drinking, gambling, gaming or any other sort of vice.

 

[Polaris19]

Anything can be addicting. Anything. Games, sports, drugs, alcohol, shopping.

Though it sounds to me like your family may be overreacting. But I don't know your gaming habits either.

 

[Kortney]

Have you heard of this Bull crap?

Video game addiction exists. Just because you don't have it doesn't mean it's bull crap.

 

[gring]

look, ive dealt with this kind of shit too w/ my parents, not the same issue, but the same concept, where they are "helping you get better", when in reality, they are misunderstanding the situation.

most the time, you can NOT convince them they are wrong, its just the way people are especially when in preach mode. all you can do is be as mature as possible, dont scream or be violent because in their mind it proves their point, say your piece and move on. you generally cant change what people think, its just a fact of life.

best way to make people see your side, is to flip it. tell them they are addicted to their shows or whatever hobby they have, explain to them that video games help improve hand-eye cordination and are actually way better to play then to watch television, show them that theres both types of "studies" on video games, both good and bad, which proves that majority of studies are naturally bias, both sides cant be 100% right. theres even a study on biasness in studies as well, lol.

let them know you are aware of video game addiction, because it IS a real thing, but there is addiction to everything. tell them to look up the meaning of the word and see if it actually applies. if it does, maybe you ARE addicted lol.

anyways, good luck. thats the best advice i can offer you.

 

[kakaomasse]

life is addictive.

 

[twistedheat15]

It's a real thing, but just like drugs, you can use and not be addicted. Absolutely denying it exists is just dumb. Everything in moderation.

This, we've all read the stories of mmo and such addicts who end up neglecting their children to dead, like one mother who left her 3 y/o in a car during the summer because she wanted to check WoW before she left and got stuck on it for 6 hrs killing the kid. Others get extra agitated when they have to get off to do irl responsibilities, constantly thinking about when they're gonna be able to get back on. You can say it's not just like being addicted to drugs, but either way addictions are still addictions.

 

[HentMas]

ok, addiction is normal with anything
but as "DR House" once said, being addicted doesnt mean having a problem, after all, if you are still a functional human being that lives his life, works and contributes to society, well, then you dont have a problem

the thing about drugs is that they create a chemical need on our bodies, something that Video Games cant do in such amout as we "needing" it...

i dont know if i make any sense
EDIT: and yes, i know there are cases of people that do, but it only means that there are people mor suceptible to such things, except they went to videogames instead of say... coke or heroin

 

[CCountZero]

The fact that you got free time on your hands, don't want to spend that time sitting in a corner being bored to death, and thus decide to play videogames - as opposed to watching TV, taking a walk, playing boardgames or calling your friends and staying on the phone for a couple of hours - does not mean you are addicted.

It simply means that videogames is what you find most entertaining of all the options laid out before you.

If hell has already frozen over and you actually haven't ever taken a walk or read a book, then try it before you (don't) buy it, but otherwise you're pretty much in the clear.

Everyone has their preferred way of entertaining themselves, and it's perfectly natural that a person would want to stick to it as much as possible.

A lot of laymen define "videogame addiction" as: "When you don't immediatedly come running when Mom/Dad yells for you to do the dishes", but that's a very uninformed idea, as it could just as well mean that you're a decent, caring person who doesn't wanna leave online gaming friends hanging when they depend on you to finish whatever you're doing at the time.

I disagree with any comparison linking video game addiction to a drug addiction. Mainly because a drug addiction is an actual physical need where withdrawal symptoms can become so severe they can cause serious physical harm and even kill. Comparing an obsessive compulsion to play a game to that sense of severity is somewhat insulting to everyone involved.

Put simply, drug addictions are actual physical dependencies, addictions to games/gambling/tv shows are more mental compulsions. It may seem like nit picking but it is a pretty major difference.

This is absolutely true.

I know people who get actual shakes when they stop drinking Cola for a month. Why? Caffeine and Sugar.

Ask anyone what happens to them if they don't get their morning coffee.

Videogame addiction is definetely real, and it definetely has the potential for physical symptoms of withdrawal, given that it works on the chemistry of the brain (like pretty much everything else), but it's a massively overstated and overexposed problem.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

It's the games that are addicted to me!