Game Addiction is real??? I say BS

[LawlessSquirrel]

Game addiction is real, and it has lead to people getting themselves killed as a result. For example, there have been numerous reports right here on the good ol' Escapist about people in Korea playing games enough to die of fatigue.

By a technical standpoint, a lot of people are addicted, but I honestly think that's just because of the standards set up to handle addictions like drug use. There's a fine line between enthusiast and addict if you trust official guidelines.

Oh, and I might as well throw this out there: games do indeed create a chemical reaction in the brain similar to drugs, which is why they're addictive. It's called Dopamine. It's not AS addictive or harmful as narcotics, but it's addictive in the same way.

 

[ecoho]

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.

ok heres what ya do man first sit THEM down and talk with them tell them first and formost that games them selves are not addictive but people with addictive personalitys can become addictive. Next inform them that they have no right to tell you how to live your life and that you are talking with them as a courtisy. (i asume your 18) Now if your mother picks a fight with you and it get physical let her hit you then when shes done tell her if she EVER hits you again you WILL see her ass thrown in jail and walk away. If all else fails ex-commencate yourself from them tell them that if they wont accept you for who you are you dont want to see them.

 

[UberNoodle]

There is so much ignorance and confusion by lay people in regard to "addiction". There are substances which are chemically addictive, yes, but that is not the only means of addiction. Anything can be addictive. To come out and say that video game addiction is impossible, is short sighted. Addiction is a complicated issue and definitions vary. Be careful that when defending something that you love, you don't do so blindly. It is perfectly normal for things to not be perfect. Certainly, it does the issue no good to bicker over definitions. Even if it is somehow "proven" that the word, "addiction" is inappropriate in this context, it does nothing to change the actual issue of gaming as a potentially dangerous compulsive behavior, which is what we should be discussing.

 

[AnthonTheSkabot]

The same can be said of books or cinema.

 

[VivaciousDeimos]

To me, gaming addiction occupies the mental corner of my mind where things like shopping addiction and gambling problems hang out. The semi obsessive/psychological aspect of addiction, rather than the physical need and withdrawal you get with drugs or alcohol. I think it's real, but in a different category than drug dependancy.

I play them to get away from boredom after I get my homework done, Its not like I need them.

But the simple fact that you said you play after you get your homework done tells me you know how to prioritize. If you were addicted to games I don't think silly things like homework would get in the way of you playing. I guess that would be what I would, calmly, point out to your mother and aunt. You still get your work done, and it isn't negatively affecting your life, i.e neglecting your friends/schoolwork/sleep, things like that. To me that's when hobbies or activities cross over and become an addiction, when it becomes a compulsion that is negatively impacting you.

 

[UberNoodle]

This is not worth really reading into, it's those same morons who think there is a serious connection between video games and becoming murderers. The morons who need something to blame for the country's issues, so they choose video games as an easy target, since they let people pretend to get headshots. While, yes there are some people who have video game issues (the same people who shoot themselves if they cant play WoW anymore and yes it has happened) but they are a small minority of the community of gaming. Video games are no more of an addiction then books or movies, they just apear to be because they are more time consuming then movies and more popular then books (with a certain market of people). You would never see someone yelling at a kid for reading a book for the equivalent hours of the day that most people would play video games. The simple fact of the matter is that it is BS that doesn't deserve the attention that it gets. If anyone is actually "addicted" to gaming, then it is more likely a pschological issue then an actual addiction.

They are not the same people and both stances are not even remotely the same. What you're doing here is drawling lines that frankly, are tenuous. Book addiction? Seriously? There is a big difference between the way the brain and mind reacts to a game than to a book. There are people who are addicted to games, and it is a problem. Is it a pandemic? No, not at all, but to be so dismissive of the phenomenon when it is the people who misconstrue it who you are opposed to, is not doing much to explore the issue.

And your last line is puzzling in that it shows a narrow view of what addiction is and how it works. The term itself has expanded in scope over time, and it now can include dependency on activities to the detriment of personal wellbeing or the wellbeing of others, ie, people letting their kids starve because of a dependency on WOW. This is termed more specifically as "Behavioral Addiction" and it is no less real or harmful because it doesn't involved psychoactive drugs.

 

[Savagezion]

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

-snip-

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

I have heard it and I think it is a load of shit. A problem in society today is that if something doesn't fit the generalized term of "normal" it must be diagnosed. Video game addiction is just another pebble in that well.

The problem is people want to ostracize gaming and other people just eat that shit up. Playing games is a hobby just like "fixing cars" or following sports. That shit isn't "addicting" but yet we have people getting divorces because they spend all their time on that hobby. Divorce cases like this were common way before WoW started ruining relationships. But fixing cars was never considered an addiction. Sports recently has been sited as an "addiction" in the past few years but not on the same scale as games. Although, it has more to do with the media in that case. (Sports followers still bring in ratings, gamers playing games don't.)
These people are not addicted to their hobby, they are obsessed with their hobby. Why is TV watching not called into question of being addicted when the average person watches TV for the same amount of hours per day I play games?

Addiction and obsession are 2 different things. One is a voluntary act and one is a physical need that compels the person. I hate how often society misuses the word "addicted" nowadays.

They are Obsessions. It is still unhealthy but people sound stupid when they question the ability for a media to form an addiction. No, these things can't form addictions. But people can become obsessed with them. The difference is the only urges they fight/succumb to are ones imposed on themselves, not by the target of their fascination.

 

[UberNoodle]

The same can be said of books or cinema.

Sure it can, but have you taken into account what that would mean? Or, did you say that as a means to dimiss the issue without having to explore it?

Behavioral Addiction is no less potentially harmful or dangerous, just because it lacks a drug dependency. People have died and allowed others to die due to so many forms of this type of addiction. For books and movies, it is more difficult to get to such a level because movies and books ultimately end and for the most part, provide nothing new, no hooks, on repeat useage.

 

[UberNoodle]

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.

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.

And obsession is a seperate thing. Behavioral Addiction is a compulsive behaviour, and it exists and is no less real, potentially harmful or dangerous just because it lacks a chemical agent or other physical dependency. Many people seem to forget that the brain itself is an organ, and in fact it is who we really are. The body is just its interface with the world around it. I see no reason why addiction should be limited to external agents chemically affecting the brain when the brain itself creates its own stimulus to which it could addict itself. Anyway,
Behavioral Addiction applies to compulsions including problem sexual, gambling and computer addiction. In this context, the term describes the recurrance of a compulsion to the detriment of the individual or those around them (such as dependents whom that person does not feed or care for, etc). It differs greatly in definition to an obsession.

And yes there is debate as to whether the word "addiction" is appropriate, but that is the nature of language and study. Words are never immune to change or expansion. To allow discussion to devolve into the pointless splitting of hairs over definition, is to do the discussion a great diservice. Terminology aside, it is the meaning intended which should be discussed. Proving somehow that the word "addiction" is not appropriate does not change that the issue exists, and will only prompt another word to become attached.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Anyone who says you can't become addicted to video games, I point you to World of Warcraft players, and kids in South Korea. It is not B.S., as I think I am slightly addicted as well. There are days were I simply cannot think of anything but playing video games. I turned everything off for a week once, and it was HARD. The addiction is as real as anything else.

 

[GodofCider]

Well...of course.

When it comes down to it, literally 'anything' can be addictive, given the appropriate setting.

There are specialized clinics established for individuals addicted to water; think about that for a moment.

That said, are video games inherently addictive? No more so than a book is inherently addictive I'd imagine. As, upon beginning a novel, you'll likely see it through to the end regardless.

 

[stormcrow5]

Anything can be addicting, but i can hardly see someone going out stealing games for a fix of whatevers new.

Heartless time

WoW on the outher hand has clamed lives of stupid people, but hell i just think of that as population control (drugs or games) if they are that weak to not eat sleep or drink while playing a game for days and die who cares they picked it and ended it that way, if they cant get off the chair and get something what use would they be to anyone. With actual drugs it makes more sence and they i guess could be cut some slack for the death by drug addictiong because some actualy get a physcal NEED for whatever it is and end up overdose and die. Hear about a druggy that dies its kinda heh to sad, hear about someone die playing a game for to long its just .....idoit cant live in the real world let em rot in the ground

 

[UberNoodle]

Well...of course.

When it comes down to it, literally 'anything' can be addictive, given the appropriate setting.

There are specialized clinics established for individuals addicted to water; think about that for a moment.

That said, are video games inherently addictive? No more so than a book is inherently addictive I'd imagine. As, upon beginning a novel, you'll likely see it through to the end regardless.

That's not the same. Addiction in the context of games is Behavioral Addiction which denotes a recurrant, complusive behavior to which the subject is dependent. Such subjects do this to the detriment of themselves and those who depend on them. This is much different to the idiomatic useage of the word in the sense of "addicted to a book" or a TV drama.

 

[Rigs83]

What the hell is a "was: Rosested"

Anyway, anything can be an addiction if you take it to extremes. Sadly the depths of human fail is limitless. People get addicted to anything, masochist are addicted to pain (their own), sadist are addicted to causing others to suffer, some people get addicted to fear and take insane risks like jumping out off perfectly good airplanes.

 

[Nazulu]

I guess it's possible. I've been really addicted to games before like with Lineage 2, I stayed up 2 whole days and nights fighting in a clan war and I didn't even think about stopping until the we won.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

According to ... Video games are as addictive as drugs...

They aren't as addictive as physically addicting drugs (caffeine, nicotine, heroine, ect.). However, they can be as addictive as drugs that have a purely psychological addiction (e.g. marijuana). In fact, the sort of person who would get addicted to a psychologically addictive drug, like marijuana, would be quite likely to get addicted to video games, as both forms of addiction simply result from one's inability to deny themselves something that gives them pleasure.

Also, some games (MMORPG's being the worst) are designed specifically to be psychologically addicting so you will pay the developer more money.

In conclusion, video games aren't the heroine the media makes them out to be, but they're probably about as addictive as pot.

 

[GodofCider]

That's not the same. Addiction in the context of games is Behavioral Addiction which denotes a recurrant, complusive behavior to which the subject is dependent. Such subjects do this to the detriment of themselves and those who depend on them. This is much different to the idiomatic useage of the word in the sense of "addicted to a book" or a TV drama.

That's the point I was hinting at. As others have pointed out as well, 'addiction' is broad; allowing for easy blanket statements, justifying ones own dislike of the material at hand.

Like the religious suddenly discovering 'new' verses in their texts to justify their pre-existing dispositions.

 

[TrevorGruen]

Ubernoodle,
Hmmm, i see your logic and i feel i may have mispoken what i meant. I simply mean that people will put all kinds of harsh claims to the video games industry, and that claiming that there is some kind of serious addiction to gaming that requires intervention (as said by the original poster) seems like a very over the top reaction to something i dont feel is especially hazardous or problematic. I will definitely take time to reflect on your criticisms, as i really would not want to make the same mistake twice of making myself sound as obnoxious as you made it seem. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

If you play games to get away from your life and for a VERY long time that it affects your work performance and health, then that doesn't mean you have an addiction, but you DO have a problem.

If you only play games for enjoyment and if they don't affect your health or job or social life then you don't have an addiction, but a HOBBY.

Decide for yourself which of the above points best suits an accurate description of you.

And just because you do something you enjoy on a regular basis doesn't mean you are addicted to it, it means you have something to do to enjoy your life more and your aunt (i'm assuming she's old and doesn't do allot of interesting things in her life other than talk about flowers or something) just doesn't understand that you are actually just living a richer, less dull life than her. She doesn't understand that people actually play games for fun and that it is closer to a have a hobby of admiring an act at the theater than a drug you take to make the frownies go away.

 

[UberNoodle]

Anything can be addicting, but i can hardly see someone going out stealing games for a fix of whatevers new.

Heartless time

WoW on the outher hand has clamed lives of stupid people, but hell i just think of that as population control (drugs or games) if they are that weak to not eat sleep or drink while playing a game for days and die who cares they picked it and ended it that way, if they cant get off the chair and get something what use would they be to anyone. With actual drugs it makes more sence and they i guess could be cut some slack for the death by drug addictiong because some actualy get a physcal NEED for whatever it is and end up overdose and die. Hear about a druggy that dies its kinda heh to sad, hear about someone die playing a game for to long its just .....idoit cant live in the real world let em rot in the ground

I think you're not taking a vital factor into account - drugs affect the brain/mind and a user becomes dependent on those effects. Many drugs also create other issues which drive a user to continue consuming. In many cases, it is what those drugs supposedly do for the user that addicts them. Many people forget that the brain is an organ and is so incredibly complex, I see no reason why it cannot create its own stimulus to which it can addict itself to. The addicting agent need not be am external chemical. Behavioral Addiction is therefore defined by an activity that the mind has become dependent on for any manner of psychological reasons, and if that activity is not done, certain "withdrawals" and an inability to fuction can occur.

These could be just as devastating as those of drug addictions, and could involve dangerous behavior, inability to fuction, mental shut down and so on. How can you then say that such people have been "weak"? DOn't forget that you ARE your brain. That's you. Your body is just its interface with the world. You cannot be independent from it because it is you. The world as you see it is subjective and dependent on how your brain processes the stimulus it receives. In many ways, there is no "reality" except what your brain interprets. If it interprets that WOW is more vital than feeding yourself, then that's what you'll invariably do. So now, how different is that from many kinds of drug addiction?