Obsession/escapism

[expwnit]

I had written a long question about what it means to be an escapist, etc, and then my browser crashed and I lost it. So the cliff-notes are as follows:

At what point does an obsession with gaming become actual escapism? Does thinking about gaming (characters, setting) on a daily basis imply any kind of unhealthy attachment? What if you fantasize about being a part of a setting inside of a game, or even prefer it? I'm gathering that true escapism would require the neglect of responsibilities in reality. In which case, are many MMO players (as an example) just obsessed, or is there indication of some other concern? We've all heard rumors about gamers who have gone without tending to their children or pets with tragic results. Those rumors could be interpreted as allegory warning of the potential dangers of obsession. While only a small number could be affected so immensely, there must be even more of us who either as obsessed but not enough to ignore real life, or are content with the indulgent fantasies of escapism on a part-time basis.

I ask because I am one of those people who can game literally all day. When I lay down to sleep, I usually think about gaming environments and characters. I wouldn't consider gaming to have consumed by life, but I do find sometimes in conversation I need to stop myself from bringing up gaming and talk about something else. I'm not starving my dog because I'm too busy playing, but there is a slight concern since the subject is so frequently on my mind. I should also consider one last thing. Like many of my generation, I grew up gaming. Maybe it's natural for an activity that you've been consistently participating in for decades to become a large facet in your life. Maybe that experience alone makes me less likely to become unhealthily attached, I don't know.

So... What say you?

 

[Arenari]

That is certainly an interesting look at this. Like you, I can game for a full day and not care at all and I do think about games and characters a lot. I tend to not bring it up much in conversations unless I'm talking to another fellow gamer.

I don't think gaming has consumed my life. I really enjoy getting out and doing other things. I would say I have two separate lives. One life is the full on, game for four days straight gamer (which I have never done.) and my normal living with everyone else.

 

[darth.pixie]

I'm like you. I could play games all day long (usually not MMOs) and sure, I'd be interested on the settings of them and wish to actually go there. I'd love to be a part of the fantasy world or sci fi because it would be less dull than this world and being a rogue/mage/barbarian sounds better than "i do tech support".

To that point, I am neither really obsessed with them, nor neglectful of my real life. I believe it to be of an almost stupidly low attention to your environment if you let your pets die or your child simply because you had to save the world.

It's a hobby. My sister has two aquariums and talks about them non-stop. She wouldn't want to be a fish but is still constantly preoccupied with them. My mother likes painting and does it constantly, not to mention talk about it. It's normal to think about hobbies all the time and bring them up.

It's not necessarily unhealthy attached as "this is what I make time for and I love it"

 

[Chris646]

I say that I have been around video games since about day 1 of my life. I see nothing wrong with imagining game environments and characters throughout the day and/or as you fall asleep. I say that because I do that as well. But I'm the wrong sort of person to be asking. People outside our culture see it in many different ways. Some would see it as a form of addiction, while others would say it's "the product of the Devil! Think of the children!" They may be right, they may be wrong. I say that if you don't think that you game excessively, and you don't think that you are unhealthily attached, then you aren't.

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

I can quite happily sit and play a game for 8 hours and when I eventually stop I realise "Fuck, I'm really damn hungry."

But at the same time, I have a great relationship with my girlfriend, I'm doing well at University and I have a healthy social life (Playing games/watching films with friends or going out for drinks). In light of these things I wouldn't say I have an unhealthy attachment to games because I can easily divide my time between what I consider my 'gaming life' and 'real life'...

...

If that makes sense?

 

[expwnit]

Like asking the other residents of the loony bin if you're crazy? No; that's a poor analogy for the subject matter.

I think to an outsider, many of the common activities of gamers seem odd. So if I were to poll popular opinion, we might well be considered to be indoctrinated. But public opinion sucks.

It's a question that's difficult to articulate, but what I'm trying to determine is when the 'interest' or 'hobby' becomes an abnormally significant part of life. People getting gaming-related tattoos, writing fanfiction, attending conventions, cosplaying, developing modules... Are these all within the realm of the norm?

 

[Geekosaurus]

I think the simple answer is this: escapism occurs when you're playing the game, and only when you're playing the game. It becomes more of an obsession when you start to dwell on these things outside of the game.

 

[suitepee7]

That is certainly an interesting look at this. Like you, I can game for a full day and not care at all and I do think about games and characters a lot. I tend to not bring it up much in conversations unless I'm talking to another fellow gamer.

I don't think gaming has consumed my life. I really enjoy getting out and doing other things. I would say I have two separate lives. One life is the full on, game for four days straight gamer (which I have never done.) and my normal living with everyone else.

i honestly can't put it better myself. particularly the end bit. it is a rather interesting take on gaming though, addressing that it can be a large part of your life, but not just labelling it as addiction.

 

[Fishyash]

I think anything that people like can become an obsession. Who knows, I may be thinking about gaming, but if I was a reading fanatic, I would probably just as much be thinking about reading.

Also, sometimes I may spend all day playing WoW, but other days, I am spending all day playing and improvising on my piano, tuning myself out of the outside world.

I think quite a lot of hobbies could be put in a similar light if you look hard enough to see what the fanatics are up to.

Obviously gaming isn't alone on this, which makes me wonder why such an activity is made such a big deal out of?

 

[Blue_vision]

That's funny, because I would have thought that the progression is escapism>obsession. We all play games to relax, forget about the world, and immerse ourselves in a different one, but we don't all become fixated on this world to the point that it's all that we think about. So I'd say that you have your definitions a little skewed.

But, I'm definitely not a person who's absolutely obsessed with games. I love games just as much as the next entertainment medium, but it hardly dominates my mind. In terms of time spent actually playing them, I might play for like an hour a day on average. I love games, but I don't think I'd be able to tolerate them being the main thing I do. I still love reading books, listening to music, watching movies, and most of all going outside and having fun in real life with some friends.

In terms of thinking, it's similar. As with all media, I'll sometimes find myself thinking about what's going on inside a video game, or video game ideas or what have you. But I don't usually spend that much time doing so (it's usually same old same old, fighting poverty, economic injustice and climate change.) So I absolutely love video games and started playing them when I was 4, but I'm really not obsessed at all.
... Yet still, when I bring up a gaming topic, I get funny looks as though I spend 15 hours a day playing World of Warcraft.

 

[expwnit]

I understand there is some debate over how escapism can be interpreted. I'm using the psychology dictionary definition which is essentially an extreme case in which the subject either cannot discern reality from fantasy or spends a large percentage of their time invested in the fantasy.

But that's besides the point.

Unwillingness to connect meaningfully with the world is universally considered to be unhealthy, but what of the subject that can find meaning in both reality and fantasy, or one that acknowledges the tangible but would prefer to embrace the artifical, if it were an option?

 

[darth.pixie]

I think it would be normal. Who doesn't want to escape in movies or book settings or games? It seems like a much simpler world. What would be unhealthy is a constant dream of it to the point where that occupies all rational thought and starts pretending.

As long as someone acknowledges that it would never happen, I will just see it as a hobby or wishful thinking (ecouraged by games/movies/books where a normal person enters fantasy world)

 

[Legion IV]

Gaming is my passion in life. I always think about it. I dont think theres been a time where it was clearly out of my thought. I'll tell you what i tell everyone. As long as you can have a roof over your head support yourself and have a job and keep healthy and do this all on your own it dosent matter what you spend all your time on. its your life. oh and have a few friends if thats your thing.

Once you start leaching of off people not going to work then its an issue.

I have my own place i am in decent health (Stupid genetics) Have a great supporting job (work at the greatest gaming store ever) plus i have some close friends so i am in no way shamed that gaming is my pasion in life. I am not ashamed i think about it all the time. Thats it.

 

[blipblop]

I can quite happily sit and play a game for 8 hours and when I eventually stop I realise "Fuck, I'm really damn hungry."

hapends to me all the time, should be a name for it, like "the gamer diet" or something

 

[Tips_of_Fingers]

I can quite happily sit and play a game for 8 hours and when I eventually stop I realise "Fuck, I'm really damn hungry."

hapends to me all the time, should be a name for it, like "the gamer diet" or something

If Kerry Katona can have her own DVD then we can sure as hell write a diet book about this shit!!!!