Game Addiction is real??? I say BS

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Gaming is often a scapegoat. People can't fathom that they're legitimately less interesting than multi-million dollar projects made by the newest technology specifically to be entertaining thus they concoct allegations and scenarios where the item somehow cheated and brainwashed you into enjoying it more than than their wonderful selves.


Our society has always moved towards the best way of doing things and it is clear that most of the time two people interacting is not the best way to have fun. Only while fulfilling one the base needs of our species (food, sex, shelter) do we crave human interaction and slowly but steadily gaming is encroaching on those areas too. Not as much physically but more mentally mind you as a form of escapism but it's there and it's getting bigger.


If people feel other people play too much games and that somehow annoys them, it is the society's ways that cause that, instead of institutionalizing people or branding them problematic they should just take a step back, inspect society as a whole and try to better it by not being so self-centered any more.

 

[SimuLord]

Games are compelling because they are an active form of entertainment. TV and movies bore me horribly, since I don't like passively consuming my media. I don't like it spoonfed. The only thing TV is good for is white noise to make it easier to sleep. I'll cue up a show on Hulu or a rerun of a sporting event on ESPN for that purpose via the Internet.

I'm not "addicted" to video games any more than someone who sits slack-jawed in front of the idiot box to release their stress is "addicted" to TV. If anything, I'm more functional than they are because I can hold a conversation about something other than moronic reality shows.

 

[Nemesis729]

You by definition CAN NOT be addicted to games, Just ignore them, People like that are usually just looking for a scapegoat and think games are an easy target

 

[TheTaco007]

There is no physical stimulant that can possibly make you addicted to video games. Sure, you may have an OBSESSION, but very few people have that, and it's far different from an addiction.

 

[AwesomePeanutz]

Only drugs are physically addictive. Anything can be psychologially addctive. Still, psychological addiction can be as bad as physical addiction, because the person feels the need to do whatever makes them feel good, and will continue doing this unhealthy activity for an indefinate amount of time.

 

[BlackWidower]

Is there such a thing as book or movie or television addiction?

Actually there might be something to this. But the probability that any one individual is addicted is slim to nil.

Here's the problem. You tell the older generation, that being anyone over the age of 30, then they will automatically say anyone who plays games at all must be addicted. But like I said, if that's true, then there must also be people who are addicted to movies or books, but that's not considered a problem for some reason.

There are people who are addicted, these would be the people who play games at the expense of everything else, including their own health and the health of others, like their children...so WoW players.

 

[Fawful]

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.

Wow, dude, acquire a better mother, that shouldn't be happening no matter what you did to piss her off, and from a cop as well, yikes.

OT: Gaming addiction does exist, there is proof of that, however it is very rare and it's unlikely that you are addicted (for the rest of this post I'm assuming your not.) Your family sounds like they got swept up in a sensationalist current affairs show or something, "Hope it blows over" is about the only advice I can give because no matter what you do to counteract their thinking they will think your addicted because your trying to deny it. It's the whole "I'm not Jesus" "The true Jesus wouldn't say that he's Jesus" "Ok, I am Jesus" "He's Jesus!" thing.

 

[Iron Mal]

Video games can be addivtive in the same sense that listening to music, reading books and playing with yourself can be addictive.

Video game addiction, contrary to the moral guardian's belief, is not as potent as drug addiction (in the case of drugs it's your nervous system telling you that you need more otherwise you'll likely start suffering withdrawal symptoms, take a gamer away from their games and they'll more likely than not either do something else or just be really bored).

Where you do see cases of people who develop an unhealthy obsession with games it's likely because they're trying to escape from something that is chronically bothering them in reality (video games are a form of escapism) rather than because 'big, scary, evil games are trying to brainwash your baby'.

Sadly, it's unlikely that anyone who firmly beliefs in video games being addictive and harmful like drugs is going to change their mind even when presented with very reasonable counter-arguements (we're an easy target in the older media's eyes, it's as simple as that).

 

[RatRace123]

The only addiction I've got is vicodin addictionnothing, no addiction at all.
Yes, I acknowledge that video game addiction exists, but acting like it's more addictive and dangerous than drugs is just insane.

 

[Geo88]

Depends on the definition of addiction that you subscribe to. Some people refer to it as:

1) a physical and psychological dependence on something, while others consider it:

2) the continued involvement with a substance or activity despite overwhelmingly negative consequences.

Number 1 makes no sense in this case because there is no physical dependence taking place. If you go by number 2, however, then yes, video games can be addictive. And while number 2 might be considered more a definition of obsession than addiction, I honestly don't think it matters in this context. Being obsessed with video games or being addicted are both things you don't want to be due to the aforementioned overwhelmingly bad consequences.

For example, I've been in a guild on WoW where a guildmate's wife divorced him because he would spend more time on the computer than with her and their three kids. Call it addiction, call it obsession, call it Bazooka Joe bubblegum if you want, it doesn't really make a difference. Even when threatened with divorce, he chose the game over his family. Also, we've all heard the stories of the rare people who die or let their kids die because they're too busy gaming to realize that it's probably a good idea to drink some water once every couple of days or that leaving their children locked in hot cars is bad.

However, there is a difference between being obsessed with/addicted to games and just playing them during your free time when you happen to have a ton of it. For example, I won't be starting my new job for at least a couple of weeks, so I'm not exactly loaded with things to do. That being said, among the choices of: going to the Latino nightclub up the street when I don't speak Spanish all that well, or driving 40 minutes to the nearest decent bar before driving back after an hour of sipping beer, or reading, an activity that ranks slightly higher than dipping myself in honey and rolling over an anthill on my Fun-O-Meter, or playing Mass Effect and saving the galaxy, I'm going to play Mass Effect and save the fucking galaxy. And because I don't have anything to do until my job starts, I'm going to be doing it a lot.

But the key is that gaming is always my second priority. In school and at college, grades always came first. Now that I'm going to be working, my income will come first. If that's how it is with you, then you're fine.

 

[m1kk1828]

The idea of playing games is to have fun. Sure you want to see what happens at the end of the story, and its a whole lot more fun to play it than to watch it. Yes people get addicted, but people also get addicted to Painkillers, What's worse?

All I ever say to people who don't like computer games is Balls to you, They are fun, I enjoy them who cares if I waste hours trying to get that final heart piece in Ocarina of Time. Tis my life, and there's not a thing anyone can do about it.

 

[Vault101]

I belive It can be addicting especially MMO's

at the moment its hard to say weather I'm addicted or not, Gaming at the moment is my main scource of entertainment since I don't watch tv and havnt been into the movies and I can go long periods of time without gaming and I dont get agitated or irratble like an addict

however I feel like I have to take my laptop with me If we go somwhere (like an overnight trp into the city) incase I get bored, even though I know I probably wont need it Its comforting to know its there..just in case

Is that addiction? I don't know

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

You can get addicted to games in the same way you get addicted to drugs. However, it is much rarer to get addicted to games, because games, unlike drugs, do not "feed" your body with chemicals and feelings like drugs do, so you don't depend on them as much.

However, the whole addiction area is grey.

Why is your aunt telling you this? Is she your main guardian? She sounds like she's a bit intrusive.

 

[Snotnarok]

I'd say it's more like game abuse. There's nothing linking the person, they're just doing it out of desire, there's no real link.

Unless you grind up the disc and snort it.

 

[Cain_Zeros]

It is possible to become psychologically addicted to games. It doesn't happen as often as people think, but it does happen.

 

[RandallJohn]

It's possible, but anything's addictive if you try hard enough.

 

[InnerRebellion]

I may be slightly addicted to WoW. Heh. But that's because my guild master is pretty funny and makes our daily grind amusing.

 

[starwarsgeek]

They are not chemically addictive; however, people can be addicted to anything. Obviously, psychological addiction is far less common, so the "as addictive as drugs" part is crap

 

[TiefBlau]

They're not chemically addictive. Then again, neither is marijuana.

What I'm getting at is this: To the extent at which a person can lose his job, his girlfriend, and his life on a horrible WoW binge that ends in heart failure in an internet cafe is to the extent at which video game addiction is most certainly existent.

Is it a big problem? I'd say this, obesity, gambling, short attention span and drug abuse are all nice and snug under a much larger and still ever-increasing problem: self-discipline. More specifically, a lack thereof.

 

[Mrsoupcup]

Anything can be addictive. It's all in your head. Except for certain drugs which your body get dependent on.