# Gaming Addictions?



## McMurphy (Dec 15, 2007)

Not all that long ago, I had posted a similar topic in the Lounge about possible forum addictions across the internet.  I have been secretly kicking myself ever since for not realizing a good point of discussion could be used for this board based on all the game related responses that thread had received.

Obviously, there are some strong opinions about the amount of time that could be considered acceptable for the average player, and what is considered just too much time spent to deny that an addiction is at hand.

How much time is just too much for gaming?  What types of games encourage the addictions?  Do you even feel an addiction to games is a relevant trend taking place today?

As more and more of the population spend their free time playing video games, and more long lasting demographic barriers are shattered, the more paramount in importance this topic may be.

Thoughts?


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## Commonmind (Dec 15, 2007)

McMurphy said:


> Not all that long ago, I had posted a similar topic in the Lounge about possible forum addictions across the internet.  I have been secretly kicking myself ever since for not realizing a good point of discussion could be used for this board based on all the game related responses that thread had received.
> 
> Obviously, there are some strong opinions about the amount of time that could be considered acceptable for the average player, and what is considered just too much time spent to deny that an addiction is at hand.
> 
> ...



 I often find the phrase “video game addiction” is misused, in the sense that individuals are improperly labeled video game addicts and demeaned for taking enjoyment in a viable pastime simply because the audience hasn’t grown to encompass a larger demographic (read: older folks). The term is thrown around in such a way that it targets the entire video gaming public – much in the same way that all rock and roll musicians were labeled devil worshipers and blasphemers in a time when the genre was new and misunderstood.

  Take television and the internet for example; both are considered acceptable sources of entertainment and education. However, shortly after its inception television was thought to be an indulgence of the sedate that was highly addictive and would cause everything from weight gain to innumerable psychological disorders, due to the fact that it required the viewer to sit down for long periods of time and make large emotional investments in fictional characters. 

Ironically, reading, an acceptable form of entertainment prior to watching television required almost the same level of on-rear commitment as the boob-tube. It also required an emotional investment, an arguably more intimate one.

  The internet was pegged as the metaphoric dive-bar of the modern world, occupied by self-serving perverts who did nothing but search for nude pictures of Kathy Ireland all day; shady characters whose sole purpose in life was to rob the innocent of their hard-earned dollar through the cunning use of "hacking;" and socially inept, psychologically disturbed hermits whose only intention in using the internet was to act out their psychopathic fantasies on message boards and chat rooms web wide. 

As television became more accessible and more commonplace the sentiment faded and it became completely acceptable to spend the majority of your week watching your favorite programming. And the internet? Well, everyone’s image of the internet user has changed. Now, instead of sallow faced perverts, digital thieves and murderous fantasists, we see the faces of grandmothers and ten-year-olds; everyone from the highest paid individuals in the modern world to individuals barely making ends meet - who still find staying “connected” is a necessary commodity and always budget so that their ISP's are paid on time every month.

  These former "addictions" have been graciously assimilated into our lifestyles and as such they’re no longer approached with the same cynicism as video games are today. It’s completely acceptable to sit on your ass and watch copious amounts of television these days, even if the time you spend in front of the television could be considered physically unhealthy, with channels like TLC, The History Channel, Discovery, The Science Channel and 24 hour News broadcasting, it’s very hard for anyone to fault you for it. We all watch television; it’s a pastime of the individual and the family, a monument of the home.

  And as we well know, the internet has become the backbone of mainstream society. This is no longer the information age, this is the information eon, and sitting in front of a computer screen for the majority of your day is not only acceptable, it’s almost a requirement of our generation. Whether you're a pre-teen or a retiree, your life is attached to the web.

  Video games are entertainment, and like the television and internet, they’re a platform to help educate and sharpen minds. The simple fact is that outside the current demographic, video games are considered an unnecessary evil and until that demographic expands, and I believe it will, spending four or five hours a day with a controller in your hand, or a keyboard at your fingertips, is going to be far less acceptable than spending the same amount of time watching your favorite shows or news broadcasts, or spending your day searching the far reaches of digital space...or curling up with your favorite book.

  Are video games addictive? Of course they are, but so is reading, watching television, knitting, baking pies and having sex. Anything that we find enjoyable and seek to do at an extent that is physically and mentally unhealthy is an addiction.

Gaming is no more addictive than any other form of entertainment, it’s only labeled as such because the demographic is smaller and more contained and those outside it are also outside the realm of understanding and therefore prone to pointing fingers and making judgments. And my opinion is that as that demographic grows the issue will actually become less of an issue. Like television and the internet, the more it becomes acceptable, the less reason folks will have to view it in a negative context. Can you think of the last person who told you watching TV was bad for you? Or that the internet was "evil?" I bet if someone said those very same things today the majority of the population would view them as out-of-touch, leftovers from another generation - yet they were saying the very same thing decades ago and folks were listening and taking their side.


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## ice.monkey (Dec 15, 2007)

I agree with Commonmind. It's incredible how "the majority" when encountering something they are unfamiliar with that is pursued by a minority are more willing to brandish it evil than to understand it. This applies across the board. Unable to look into something for themselves and come to an informed decision of their own they take the opinion of someone else - which usually comes via the media who are only interested in creating confrontation and demonising things.

Anything can become an obsession or addiction. There's a line where the pursuit impacts too much on the individual's life in so far as they begin to neglect other areas for the worse. This is where the pursuit has become "dangerous" (for want of a better word). And if the individual can't get a balance back into his life then he's addicted and the addiction is detrimental to him. That's when the activity is being pursued too much. So if you've got an individual who's bunking off college and who's grades are slipping just to play games then he's playing too much. But if he chooses to spend all his spare time playing games and it's not detrimental to the rest of his life then that's his choice and good luck to him. If that's what flips his switch.


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## McMurphy (Dec 15, 2007)

Wow!  Those were amazing responses!


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## Lith (Dec 15, 2007)

> Can you think of the last person who told you watching TV was bad for you? Or that the internet was "evil?"


Television IS bad for you. And the internet IS evil. (Do you have any idea how many books I could have read in the last seven or so years?)

And those statements give me the authority to declare video games an addiction. Okay, _can_ be an addiction. An addiction the game makers are more than happy to encourage. Why else would RPGs advertise how much time it takes to complete the game? And with MMOs, it's almost a race to see who can pour more and more of their life into the game. There's no reason you should have to put dozens and dozens of hours into killing bunny rabbits in order NOT to be killed by other players the moment you step out of the training areas. 

As for the most addictive form of game, it's probably the MMOs. They're ones I haven't played, and know better than to try. No one would ever see me again if I should get hooked- I know myself well enough to know that.  As for other games, I haven't had time to indulge my addiction in the last year. I can't concentrate on them anymore, I feel too guilty that I'm not writing. 

Of course, no one bats an eye when you play sports or attend games for hundreds of hours a year- and arguably they do as little for you (especially if you're just a fan and not a player).


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## Commonmind (Dec 15, 2007)

I wasn't claiming they were good for you, only pointing out how they're considered to be socially acceptable forms of entertainment and education - like you I find both to be highly distracting for the creative individual.


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## Quokka (Dec 16, 2007)

This got a bit of discussion in another thread that got a bit off topic and as others have said  I think its more a case of the behaviour than the product, people get addicted to just about anything and yet the vast majority continue to use it in a way thats either a plus or at least not all that harmful. I think gaming addiction does exist but its not as simple as putting a set number of hours on it.

Take something like second life, awhile back I was amazed at the amount of people it was claimed spend the majority of their life on the game. Taking sleep out of the equation they spend significantly more time on it then they do offline. Obviously this is still a fairly small number % wise. Now its easy to say that this is gaming addiction and the poor dears should have the internet banned from their house but what about people who have very poor social skills or for whatever reason have few friends and social outlets, for someone this may give them a level of social interaction and fun that they just couldn't maintain in the 'real' world. For others they maybe just prefer it? It's certainly not my choice and if pressed I'd say for many (this level) is probably not a healthy thing but hey if it floats your boat...

TV's already been mentioned, some people think that those people that live in citys are crazy for not interacting with another 'real' world more, others would struggle to understand how a hermit/recluse could be entirely happy with their life.

There's always another side to the coin and for some people gaming does negatively affect their lifes in bigger and bigger ways, losing jobs, friends, partners etc so I think that it is fair to say gaming addiction exists but as to what's right for each person in my opinion that's a very individual thing.

I posted once before that I never tried WOW or any of the other bigger MMO's, I know that I'd have the tendancy to get really into it and other things would fall away, its just too big an investment for what I want, which kind of settles my gaming addiction issue I'm not about to make a judgement on someone elses. I also think we are only scratching the surface of how the internet and its successors will change the way we live, interesting times to be living in for sure but I'd also guess that no other social phenomenon has been as closely studied as the internet and so we have to be a little careful about reading too much into things.


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## Kissmequick (Dec 16, 2007)

> but what about people who have very poor social skills or for whatever reason have few friends and social outlets, for someone this may give them a level of social interaction and fun that they just couldn't maintain in the 'real' world.


There's plenty of that. The reason I got addicted to WOW wasn't that it _demanded_ hours and hours. It was that as I was virtually housebound, I had hours and hours to spend. And it wasn't the game itself that was addictive - many people find it's the social aspect that keeps them coming back. I made lots of friends ( and quite a few like me who had health problems, so it was their main way of intereacting with the outside world). If you stop playing, you lose those friends, because they are all hundreds of miles away( I keep in touch with a few, but much more rarely now I don't play). It's only now as I'm starting to recover and am able to get out more often ( and my hubby works from home now so I'm not alone all day) that I managed to kick it. I still miss the fun we all had ( hubby too in the evenings), but I don't need it now, so I don't play. But it was something that helped me through a really tough time when I was lonely and incapable of going out, so I can't diss it. But there are plenty of people who let their lives slide because of it, lost wives, girlfriends, jobs or Uni places, and that's bad.


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## KateWalker (Dec 16, 2007)

Personally, I think I spend too much time on the internet and should be doing more gaming. Not just video games, but things like Chess, role playing. Games to stimulate the mind. 

I still have a crappy slow dial up connection so I can't game online anyway. 

I'm one of those old fashioned folks who still enjoys older board games even though I like video games now too. 


I really love the adventure games like Myst since we didn't have a computer for years, and I'm just now discovering these games. I'll come home from work and play them for hours.


Gaming can be become an addiction, like anything else I guess. If it takes up too much of my life, then I take a break for a bit. Do other things. It can be hard though, I admit. I guess I am a bit of an internet/gaming addict.


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## thecommabandit (Dec 16, 2007)

Gaming addictions are true and exist, but they are purely psychological. I've been through a few (which weren't anywhere near as sob-story worthy as other addictions, I'll admit) and I never realized I was addicted. Fortunately for me, I have an extremist personality, so after a month or so of playing constantly all day, every day, I completely and utterly stopped, cold turkey because I just lost interest. It wasn't painful at all, but I'd imagine someone who has a more persistent problem with gaming addictions might go through a slightly more traumatic (it sounds so weird to use that word) withdrawal.

I think sandbox and MMO games are more likely to spawn addictions, I was addicted to Anarchy Online, Everquest 2 and Oblivion, which fit easily into those categories. A lack of definite goals and endings is the problem, but unfortunately, this kind of design is exactly what nets MMO companies their money, so they are unlikely to stop doing it.


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## KateWalker (Dec 16, 2007)

thecommabandit said:


> Gaming addictions are true and exist, but they are purely psychological. I've been through a few (which weren't anywhere near as sob-story worthy as other addictions, I'll admit) and I never realized I was addicted. Fortunately for me, I have an extremist personality, so after a month or so of playing constantly all day, every day, I completely and utterly stopped, cold turkey because I just lost interest. It wasn't painful at all, but I'd imagine someone who has a more persistent problem with gaming addictions might go through a slightly more traumatic (it sounds so weird to use that word) withdrawal.
> 
> I think sandbox and MMO games are more likely to spawn addictions, I was addicted to Anarchy Online, Everquest 2 and Oblivion, which fit easily into those categories. A lack of definite goals and endings is the problem, but unfortunately, this kind of design is exactly what nets MMO companies their money, so they are unlikely to stop doing it.




My brother is playing Oblivion now. That is, an addicting game. I even like to watch him play it. I'm even addicted to watching others play games!


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## The Engineer (Dec 23, 2007)

one of the most addicting games out there has to be world of warcraft . there are people from 11 to 30 playing tht game and most play for like 3 or 4 years till they get bored. i think it is an amazing game but personally i dont get addicted to it


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## Horizon (Dec 27, 2007)

I find it hard to get truly addicted to games because I get so easily distracted, but the cloest I have ever got to a full blown addiction was the video game equivalent of crack, Lylat Wars (or Starfox 64 to the rest of the world). Short, sharp and a helluva lot of fun to play.


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## Lenny (Dec 27, 2007)

I don't know about addicted, but when I get a new game, I'll play it until I finish it - usually within a week if it's schooltime, or a matter of days if it's holidays.

*Oblivion* is a classic example. When I got it, I'd finished *Resistance* (which I played to death) and was stuck on *Motorstorm*, so I played it to death - for a few weeks I was getting 50, 60 hours a week in. Then the exam period came up, I stopped, and never really got back into it... next thing I knew, I was playing *Assassin's Creed *to death (a weekend and one night), and right now I'm playing *The Orange Box* to death. Talking about Oblivion, with the 170 odd hours I've put into it, I've still got to do the story missions from after Kvatch onwards. 

I think I can see a pattern forming. 

I don't think of it as an addiction as such - I play the game, and that's it. I won't play it for another year, or two, or three. I seem to treat them likes books - if I get a new book, then I'll make every attempt to read it in one sitting, whether it be *Where's My Cow?* or some 1000 page beast. Often I don't get it done, but whenever I've got the time I'll sit down and read. With games I'll try and play them through in one sitting (which could actually be done these days, what with more and more studios churning out 8 hour games - I mean, come on! I spend more time on the computer in a single evening!!  ), but I've never succeeded yet. The best I managed was *Kingdom Hearts 2* in a weekend, with Assassin's Creed coming a close second. So I'll play the game as much as I can until I finish it.


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## fantasy noob (Dec 28, 2007)

well i will admit i dont have the attention span to read all of those responses but ill put my 2-cents in.

i do beleive gaming can be an addiction look at the warcraft community holay crap thats 6 million active players and it is an addictive game not like ciggarettes or crack mind u but addicting in its own way.

but as for oblivion being an addiction i hope not, morrowind possibly but not oblivion

-FN


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