EPTIt's probably hard to tell the difference between want and need, and sometimes they sort of overlap, so it might be hard to tell.
How do you define an addictive gamer? - Page 2
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Deadlyfish
Denmark1980 Posts
It's probably hard to tell the difference between want and need, and sometimes they sort of overlap, so it might be hard to tell. | ||
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Mr. Wiggles
Canada5894 Posts
From wiki:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction "Behavioral addiction (also called process addiction or non-substance-related addiction) is a recurring compulsion condition whereby a person engages in a specific activity despite harmful consequences to the person's health, mental state, or social life. Behavioral addiction is considered harmful or deviant if it results in negative consequences for the person addicted and those with whom they associate." I think it's just where you feel compelled to play games, whether or not you enjoy it, to the point where it starts to infringe on other aspects of your life in a negative manner. I wouldn't say it has anything to do with acknowledging its negatively affecting you and still doing it, because I don't think you would say someone is a gambling addict if and only if they acknowledge its negative impact on their life, they would still have been an addict, just now they acknowledge it. I think like the wiki link says, it is an addiction once it becomes a problem, say you start skipping meals and neglecting personal hygiene for long periods of time to instead play a game, or you stop hanging out/talking to friends and family with whom you did so before. It's just once you start to make changes in you life that affect you in a negative way, so that it can revolve more and more around the game, it becomes the sole focus of your life to the detriment of everything else, and this is harmful. | ||
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The KY
United Kingdom6252 Posts
The point is if you spend all your time doing something at the expense of your normal life, doesn't matter what you call it, you've got a problem. | ||
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Trombpwn
United States20 Posts
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NEOtheONE
United States2233 Posts
"The APA defines mental disorders in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Since the current edition, DSM-IV-TR, does not list “video game addiction,” the APA does not consider “video game addiction” to be a mental disorder at this time. If the science warrants it, this proposed disorder will be considered for inclusion in DSM-V, which is due to be published in 2012." Proponents of making Video Game or Internet Addiction an actual diagnosis would want to lump it in with other "process addictions" such as gambling. After reading through many articles on the matter of Internet and Video Game "addiction," I conclude that the term addiction is unwarranted. However, compulsion may indeed be warranted. Compulsion implies something similar to addiction, but it does not go as far as to label people as addicts. People are compelled to continue in such activities despite consequences to other aspects of life. In order for someone to meet the level of compulsion, there must be interference with the individual's daily life. This can be seen in lowered work or school performance, decreased time spent sleeping, thinking about the game repeatedly when unable to play, etc. The key concept when it comes to any psychological diagnosis is the concept of impairment. This impairment is seen in one or more of seven areas of life: family, spiritual, interpersonal, physically, self, vocational/educational/leisure, and cognitively. | ||
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aidnai
United States1159 Posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction Basically, there is not enough consensus among experts right now to define video game addiction or use it as a formal diagnosis. However, that doesn't change the fact that people use and abuse games the same way they do other obsessive/compulsive activities such as gambling. | ||
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Half
United States2554 Posts
Ie Crack addicts will say how awesome there life was when they've gone clean for a few months years, but they still end up using again. | ||
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Deadlyfish
Denmark1980 Posts
On February 23 2011 08:52 The KY wrote: I get into arguments with friends sometimes over whether weed is addictive; they give me the spiel about how it's not medically addictive blah blah blah and I tell them they're using semantics as an excuse to sit around all fucking day doing fuck all except blazing. The point is if you spend all your time doing something at the expense of your normal life, doesn't matter what you call it, you've got a problem. Pretty sure anything can be addictive. Just because it isnt substance addictive (as someone else mentioned) doesnt mean it cant be addictive. Everything from so called "adrenalin junkies" to people who feel a rush everytime they run a marathon. You can be addicted to the feeling of doing something. Although i feel like it's almost impossible to tell the difference between addicted and something-i-like-doing. | ||
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Tarbosh
United States127 Posts
Someone who lies to their friends and family about gaming, saying they are sick to avoid doing something when really they just want to play. Someone who doesn't eat in favor of playing games. Skipping a meal here and there is certainly no problem but not eating anything for entire days at a time. Someone who can't concentrate in other aspects of their life because they are always thinking about games. Daydreaming once in awhile is not an issue but if it is all the time, then it might be. These characteristics in a person would make me consider them somewhat of an addict. I don't really think addict is a strong negative word though either. People make choices and if they can get through with their life in the way that they want to then that is fine. They may not do as well as they'd like in other aspects of their life but as an addict, they can still get by just fine. | ||
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Isomer
United States186 Posts
"The word 'addiction' is unscientific. You won't find it mentioned in the best diagnostic manual on mental disorders. Another manual...refers readers to 'dependence syndrome' when they look up 'addiction.'" "'Addiction' is a wonderful world when someone wants to talk about behaviors getting out of hand, but it is imprecise." "The fact is that alcohol 'addiction' is much worse than lingerie 'addiction,' cocaine 'addiction' is far worse than Internet 'addiction' in terms of poor quality of life." Erickson goes on to describe the chemistry and neurology of drug dependencies, and does not use the term "addiction" in his book. The key, for him, is that things like "gaming addiction" do not lead to terrible withdrawal and fundamental changes in brain chemistry in the same way that drug abuse does. So, the usage of DRUGS that are physically entering your brain and altering your chemistry is more influential than playing a game, which might change what your brain itself produces, but will not introduce physiologically abnormal levels of anything into your system. Gaming addiction is really just a habit. Games are designed to make you like them and to make you really desire them, but you won't experience hallucinations and huge headaches and vomit when you stop playing games after a so-called "addiction." Not to say that habits are not bad, but that habits and drug dependencies are two different things, and we should not lump them into the same category with the usage of the word "addiction." So, both categories are definitely bad for you, but I'm just here to use science and rationality to separate them well. | ||
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Almin
United States583 Posts
THAT is what I consider an addict. There is constructive gaming and useless gaming. Grinding achievements for WoW, spending extra money on it, etc. | ||
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Moosy
Canada396 Posts
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Cowpieguy
United States97 Posts
People might seem to be addicted to something when there is a deeper problem. For example, if there are problems in your life that you don't want to deal with or don't know how to deal with, then you might play a game as a form of escapism. You might need to play that game all the time in order to escape your problems, but that doesn't mean you are a gaming addict and that you need to get help for being a gaming addict. It means you need to figure out how to deal with all the other problems in your life. So, I think it's hard to generalize and you have to look at an individual case to decide if there is a gaming addiction that needs to be addressed. | ||
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Spekulatius
Germany2413 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:00 Almin wrote: When you get all the achievements in WoW, all the mounts, Blizzcon pets/going there rewards,etc. THAT is what I consider an addict. There is constructive gaming and useless gaming. Grinding achievements for WoW, spending extra money on it, etc. On February 23 2011 09:02 Moosy wrote: progamers are addicts. perhaps the benefits outweigh the losses for them though. Those might or might not be true; they certainly don't help defining addiction. What is useless (if we even allow that criteria) is highly subjective or socially influenced. I see an eventual addiction as a disease. Where I see the problem is that most people try to define this addiction by its symptoms which is a non-exhaustive definition. The same way coughing can come from a simple cold, a fever or tuberculosis, an addiction can appear as a loss of social life, the loss of a job, health issues etc. It just doesn't explain what it actually is, only what it does. Where are all the psychiatrists when we need them?  | ||
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NEOtheONE
United States2233 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:16 Spekulatius wrote: Those might or might not be true; they certainly don't help defining addiction. What is useless (if we even allow that criteria) is highly subjective or socially influenced. I see an eventual addiction as a disease. Where I see the problem is that most people try to define this addiction by its symptoms which is a non-exhaustive definition. The same way coughing can come from a simple cold, a fever or tuberculosis, an addiction can appear as a loss of social life, the loss of a job, health issues etc. It just doesn't explain what it actually is, only what it does. Where are all the psychiatrists when we need them? Um, I'm a counselor, does that count? And please refer to my post above. | ||
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101toss
3232 Posts
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Spekulatius
Germany2413 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:05 Cowpieguy wrote: So, I think it's hard to generalize and you have to look at an individual case to decide if there is a gaming addiction that needs to be addressed. On February 23 2011 09:19 101toss wrote: If you kill someone over a video game, you are addicted. Again, that's not scientific at all. We all can see a dead person, but to help him, we need to see which illness lead to his death. We all can agree that running a car at 100mph through a city might be a bit too much to allow, but where is the limit we should agree on (let's imagine there are no laws, which basically is the situation with addiction, there is no definition) We all can see an adult when he's 40 years old, but where did he stop being a child? The problem is to find the limits, where addiction starts and where it ends, giving examples and individual cases doesn't help. | ||
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Torte de Lini
Germany38463 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:18 NEOtheONE wrote: Um, I'm a counselor, does that count? And please refer to my post above. He means psychologist. Perhaps he doesn't know that Psychiatrists don't practice clinical therapy anymore (or not that much)! | ||
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101toss
3232 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:19 Spekulatius wrote: Again, that's not scientific at all. We all can see a dead person, but to help him, we need to see which illness lead to his death. We all can agree that running a car at 100mph through a city might be a bit too much to allow, but where is the limit we should agree on (let's imagine there are no laws, which basically is the situation with addiction, there is no definition) We all can see an adult when he's 40 years old, but where did he stop being a child? The problem is to find the limits, where addiction starts and where it ends, giving examples and individual cases doesn't help. Well then thread this is pointless, seeing as what constitutes "addiction" is entirely subjective. | ||
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Kenpachi
United States9908 Posts
On February 23 2011 09:02 Moosy wrote: progamers are addicts. perhaps the benefits outweigh the losses for them though. Thats like saying youre addicted to work | ||
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