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I have always viewed addiction as depending on something so much that you cannot willingly quit for an extended period of time.
there are two types of addictions: physical and mental, obviously gaming is only a mental addiction.
I myself have at times bordered video game addiction. I once played a game called astroempires (a browser-based MMO) it was based on timers, and I would find that at times I would skip class to make sure that my fleet landed safely, or I would stay up until 5 when I had work the next morning just so that I could crash a gate. I even cut a weekend trip with a couple of my friends short so that I could get hime in time for a big server event. I played that game for over 2 years before I got tired of it and quit.
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On February 23 2011 08:25 BrenttheGreat wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2011 08:23 Torte de Lini wrote:On February 23 2011 08:22 BrenttheGreat wrote:
When things that don't really matter in life are made a priority over things that matter more.
Example: Not having a job and living in your parents basement.
Example: Not paying your bills because you are too lazy/busy playing a game to take care of it.
Example: Avoiding social opportunities and being determined to be FOREVER ALONE! All those examples could be manifestations by some other aspect of one's life. How would you determine if it's due to your gaming interests? By the way, if I'm replying to you, I'm just trying to play Devil's Advocate :3 I have no idea. You win.
You'd have to take each example on a case to case basis. Just because one of these examples could stand for something else, doesn't mean that the original definition is flawed as a whole.
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"Addiction" only applies when there is a chemical addiction. If the body doesn't have a recognizable physiological response to the loss of the activity/drug, then you are not addicted.
Here are some things we know someone can become addicted to:
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Crack
Cocaine
Meth
Sleep
Oxygen
Sugar
Protein
Water
If you aren't chemically addicted, then you aren't addicted. Claims of addiction that do not meet the chemical requirement are just opinions.
Hypothetical:
I watch TV 8 hours a day. Other activities bore me. If I don't get to watch TV for a day, I am grumpy because I normally am able to watch the amount of TV I desire. Being grumpy about not getting to do what I want does not make me addicted. The amount of time I spend doing something does not qualify as addiction.
Now, if you watch TV for 8 hours a day that might qualify as a behavioral issue (if you are unhappy with the consequences but are unwilling to stop), but it isn't an addiction.
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On February 24 2011 00:40 sleepingdog wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2011 08:17 Manifesto7 wrote:
I dont think an game addict is different than other addicts. If gaming is something that negatively impacts other important aspects of your life, and creates an imbalance, then it is a problem.
Continuing behaviour that contributes to this negative impact makes you an addict. Huh, it's not often that I find myself having to disagree with you - but on this one I think you are quite wrong. I work at the university teaching and researching law...[other stuff]
I agree with most of what you're saying. But I still think that addict is slapped onto people who game for extreme amounts of time simply because there's no other quick way to define it. You say so and so is addicted to [game] everybody knows that it means they just play it too much. I doubt anybody is thinking that there's some physical dependency on the game. That's just schematics.
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On February 23 2011 09:31 Spekulatius wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2011 09:24 101toss wrote:On February 23 2011 09:19 Spekulatius wrote: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. Well then thread this is pointless, seeing as what constitutes "addiction" is entirely subjective. Coming to the solution that there is no solution is quite a success imo.
Obviously there is no one universal definition of addiction (or video game addiction) which includes all examples of addiction-related symptoms and can stand up to all counterexamples. There are, however, a range of addiction related symptoms for video gamers that I think could lead you, on a case by case basis, to determine someone as an addict. These symptoms could include but are not limited to gamers who feel they struggle to think about other things besides the game when not playing it, gamers who spend 6 or more hours a day playing, gamers who feel large amounts of regret for the amount of time they spend gaming, gamers who feel their gaming has caused significant problems in their normal life, gamers who feel they game to "forget" the real world, gamers who feel they have little or no life beyond their gaming, and so on. I think there is such a thing as a "gaming addiction" and that not necessarily all hardcore gamers are addicted.
Probably one of the most significant factors of addiction in general is the addiction's cyclical nature. For example, if a gamer wishes that they could stop playing a game or feels significant regret for the time they've spent playing it, but then cannot bring themselves to stop themselves playing it, then feels bad about their inability to stop, then games more, and so on, I would consider this an addiction.
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On February 23 2011 10:00 TALegion wrote:
For me, it's someone that would rather play games than actually be social.
Real Life Example:
There was a party in my town, and I knew a guy who didn't go because he wanted to play Civ 5. He wasn't playing with/talking to anyone. He was playing the game alone, by himself.
IMO, that's sacrificing real life for a video game (and it's not like he's pro or anything, he gained nothing tangible), and therefore addiction.
Not example:
Some guy doesn't hang out at his friend's hosue because he's playing Halo with some of his other friends.
That's not what I'm saying. This guy is being social with his friends, it's just that he's doing THROUGH Halo. He could, and probably would, be social if he didn't have Halo. It's just the method that he chose.
It also depends on frequency, I think.
If that guy who didn't go to a party because he wanted to play Civ 5 did that all the time, he might have a problem. If it was just once in a while, I don't see a problem.
I don't know much about Civ 5 but could it be considered a "social" game in any way (like SC2 1v1 wouldn't be social but playing UMS with friends could be considered social)?
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On February 24 2011 00:48 Obsolescence wrote:
"Addiction" only applies when there is a chemical addiction. If the body doesn't have a recognizable physiological response to the loss of the activity/drug, then you are not addicted.
Here are some things we know someone can become addicted to:
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Crack
Cocaine
Meth
Sleep
Oxygen
Sugar
Protein
Water
If you aren't chemically addicted, then you aren't addicted. Claims of addiction that do not meet the chemical requirement are just opinions.
Hypothetical:
I watch TV 8 hours a day. Other activities bore me. If I don't get to watch TV for a day, I am grumpy because I normally am able to watch the amount of TV I desire. Being grumpy about not getting to do what I want does not make me addicted. The amount of time I spend doing something does not qualify as addiction.
Now, if you watch TV for 8 hours a day that might qualify as a behavioral issue (if you are unhappy with the consequences but are unwilling to stop), but it isn't an addiction.
What would you call a gambling addict? His response to not being able to gamble goes well beyond "being grumpy" and it's a good example of someone ruining their lives for some "behavioral issue".
I can understand being defensive when being called an addict. It's not easy to simply say "yeah, so what?" when someone tells you you don't have a life, even if it's true. It's another thing entirely denying it to yourself and probably a sign that it is affecting your priorities, and as such, it is an addiction. I mean there's nothing wrong with not socializing at all (imho) unless you think it's an important thing to do.
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On February 24 2011 00:59 Equinox_kr wrote:
For me, it's someone that would rather play games than actually be social.
Real Life Example:
There was a party in my town, and I knew a guy who didn't go because he wanted to play Civ 5. He wasn't playing with/talking to anyone. He was playing the game alone, by himself.
IMO, that's sacrificing real life for a video game (and it's not like he's pro or anything, he gained nothing tangible), and therefore addiction.
Not example:
Some guy doesn't hang out at his friend's hosue because he's playing Halo with some of his other friends.
That's not what I'm saying. This guy is being social with his friends, it's just that he's doing THROUGH Halo. He could, and probably would, be social if he didn't have Halo. It's just the method that he chose.
What, that has nothing to do with addiction at all and is an absolutly horrendous example. People pulling in social aspects of someones life into addiction also makes no sense, or saying if you skip work and play games that means you are addicted, Addicted has nothing to do with the other parts of your life. If a guy really hates his job, and his favorite activity is X, then if he were to skip his job some day, he is likely to spend it doing X. Maybe the civ5 guy does not like "partying", that suddenly makes him an addict to whatever he is doing when a party is going on? Actually, if someone skips playing civ5 because they are going to a party, i think that guy/girl is a party addict.
I am going to agree with Obsolescence's definition, unless it is an actual chemical addiction and it has actual physical repercussions that come directly from not doing it, its not an addiction.
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On February 24 2011 01:10 Cloud wrote:
I can understand being defensive when being called an addict. It's not easy to simply say "yeah, so what?" when someone tells you you don't have a life, even if it's true. It's another thing entirely denying it to yourself and probably a sign that it is affecting your priorities, and as such, it is an addiction. I mean there's nothing wrong with not socializing at all (imho) unless you think it's an important thing to do.
How is something affecting your priotitize an addiction? I am sure it has happened a billion times that someone skips work to go on a holiday or go to a party or to meet a friend or to watch a movie or to play a video game or to go to a stamp collecting convention, are these people all addicted to their respective activites then? There cant be a clear cut of what a gamblig addict is, in the same way there cant be for videogames. And a gamblig addict is not truly addicted to gambling. He is just a weak minded short sighted person who really likes gambling and does not see the greater consequences of things.
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Skipping work like once a year does not affect it. Being a top student then dropping to the average because you've been playing sc2 everyday does affect your priorities, especially when you're suddenly not being able to muster up the willpower to fix it and feel all guilty afterward, as seen in so many blogs in here. A weak or strong mind has everything to do with how easily you become addicted to something.
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On February 24 2011 00:48 Obsolescence wrote:
"Addiction" only applies when there is a chemical addiction. If the body doesn't have a recognizable physiological response to the loss of the activity/drug, then you are not addicted.
Here are some things we know someone can become addicted to:
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Crack
Cocaine
Meth
Sleep
Oxygen
Sugar
Protein
Water
If you aren't chemically addicted, then you aren't addicted. Claims of addiction that do not meet the chemical requirement are just opinions.
Hypothetical:
I watch TV 8 hours a day. Other activities bore me. If I don't get to watch TV for a day, I am grumpy because I normally am able to watch the amount of TV I desire. Being grumpy about not getting to do what I want does not make me addicted. The amount of time I spend doing something does not qualify as addiction.
Now, if you watch TV for 8 hours a day that might qualify as a behavioral issue (if you are unhappy with the consequences but are unwilling to stop), but it isn't an addiction.
Yerp. There has to be both a psycological and physiological dependence for it to be an addiction. And I've never met someone that will physically go through withdrawl without video games.
And to the people using examples, Please Stop. Please? They make no sense.
Just the other week me and my girl decided to stay home and watch a movie instead of going to a party full of people we hate(except the person hosting it). Does that mean we're addicted to movies? As Torte mentioned there are so many factors in why a person decides to do something(or not do something) that it is impossible to blame it on just one.
JD Salinger is a recluse; he must have an addiction. That is where that logic gets you, so please, for the sake of intellectual conversations everywhere, stop talking.
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On February 24 2011 01:19 Earll wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2011 00:59 Equinox_kr wrote:
For me, it's someone that would rather play games than actually be social.
Real Life Example:
There was a party in my town, and I knew a guy who didn't go because he wanted to play Civ 5. He wasn't playing with/talking to anyone. He was playing the game alone, by himself.
IMO, that's sacrificing real life for a video game (and it's not like he's pro or anything, he gained nothing tangible), and therefore addiction.
Not example:
Some guy doesn't hang out at his friend's hosue because he's playing Halo with some of his other friends.
That's not what I'm saying. This guy is being social with his friends, it's just that he's doing THROUGH Halo. He could, and probably would, be social if he didn't have Halo. It's just the method that he chose. What, that has nothing to do with addiction at all and is an absolutly horrendous example. People pulling in social aspects of someones life into addiction also makes no sense, or saying if you skip work and play games that means you are addicted, Addicted has nothing to do with the other parts of your life. If a guy really hates his job, and his favorite activity is X, then if he were to skip his job some day, he is likely to spend it doing X. Maybe the civ5 guy does not like "partying", that suddenly makes him an addict to whatever he is doing when a party is going on? Actually, if someone skips playing civ5 because they are going to a party, i think that guy/girl is a party addict. I am going to agree with Obsolescence's definition, unless it is an actual chemical addiction and it has actual physical repercussions that come directly from not doing it, its not an addiction.
That wasn't my example 
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On February 24 2011 01:46 VeNoM HaZ Skill wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2011 00:48 Obsolescence wrote:
"Addiction" only applies when there is a chemical addiction. If the body doesn't have a recognizable physiological response to the loss of the activity/drug, then you are not addicted.
Here are some things we know someone can become addicted to:
Cigarettes
Alcohol
Crack
Cocaine
Meth
Sleep
Oxygen
Sugar
Protein
Water
If you aren't chemically addicted, then you aren't addicted. Claims of addiction that do not meet the chemical requirement are just opinions.
Hypothetical:
I watch TV 8 hours a day. Other activities bore me. If I don't get to watch TV for a day, I am grumpy because I normally am able to watch the amount of TV I desire. Being grumpy about not getting to do what I want does not make me addicted. The amount of time I spend doing something does not qualify as addiction.
Now, if you watch TV for 8 hours a day that might qualify as a behavioral issue (if you are unhappy with the consequences but are unwilling to stop), but it isn't an addiction.
Yerp. There has to be both a psycological and physiological dependence for it to be an addiction. And I've never met someone that will physically go through withdrawl without video games. And to the people using examples, Please Stop. Please? They make no sense. Just the other week me and my girl decided to stay home and watch a movie instead of going to a party full of people we hate(except the person hosting it). Does that mean we're addicted to movies? As Torte mentioned there are so many factors in why a person decides to do something(or not do something) that it is impossible to blame it on just one. JD Salinger is a recluse; he must have an addiction. That is where that logic gets you, so please, for the sake of intellectual conversations everywhere, stop talking.
Why are you disregarding already acknowledged truths? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behavioral_addiction
inb4 gimme a real source.
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All non-chemical addictions are simply false.
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United States5162 Posts
On February 24 2011 01:53 ecdN wrote:
All non-chemical addictions are simply false.
I wouldn't say they are false, they are just highly variable and non-standard between each person.
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I would consider being addicted to a video game to be when the person feels as if they are under duress when they are no longer able to play the video game. If a kid gets grounded and isn't allowed to play his game, if servers go down and people can't log into WoW, etc are examples where someone that is addicted to gaming would actually feel a large amount of stress/sadness/anger. For those of us that are passionate about gaming and had a rough day at work/school and were looking forward to playing a game to find that we couldn't... Our response, I believe, would be more along the lines of dissapointment/frustration.
I'm guessing that most people who refer to someone as being addicted to video games are people who don't play video games at all or girlfriends of gamers lol.
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On February 24 2011 01:30 Cloud wrote:
Skipping work like once a year does not affect it. Being a top student then dropping to the average because you've been playing sc2 everyday does affect your priorities, especially when you're suddenly not being able to muster up the willpower to fix it and feel all guilty afterward, as seen in so many blogs in here. A weak or strong mind has everything to do with how easily you become addicted to something.
What if you skip twice a year? three times? 4? 5? 6? 23? What I am saying is the only real addiction to anything is physical, Anything else is just Branding a behavioural pattern although the behaviours themselves may or may not have no connection to how "addicted" someone is to something. 99%(actually 100%) of people who skip work and are "addicted" to games, arent really addicted, if they were hungry in the woods all alone I am sure their priorities would change pretty quickly. Lets say i skip 28 days a year to play starcraft, I am sure out there somwhere there is someone who are alot more "addicted" to starcraft, e.g they have alot more of a compulsion to play than me, yet have never skipped a day of work in their life. Am I then addicted more than this person just because I prioritize my work less?
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On February 24 2011 01:58 Earll wrote:Show nested quote +On February 24 2011 01:30 Cloud wrote:
Skipping work like once a year does not affect it. Being a top student then dropping to the average because you've been playing sc2 everyday does affect your priorities, especially when you're suddenly not being able to muster up the willpower to fix it and feel all guilty afterward, as seen in so many blogs in here. A weak or strong mind has everything to do with how easily you become addicted to something. What if you skip twice a year? three times? 4? 5? 6? 23? What I am saying is the only real addiction to anything is physical, Anything else is just Branding a behavioural pattern although the behaviours themselves may or may not have no connection to how "addicted" someone is to something. 99%(actually 100%) of people who skip work and are "addicted" to games, arent really addicted, if they were hungry in the woods all alone I am sure their priorities would change pretty quickly. Lets say i skip 28 days a year to play starcraft, I am sure out there somwhere there is someone who are alot more "addicted" to starcraft, e.g they have alot more of a compulsion to play than me, yet have never skipped a day of work in their life. Am I then addicted more than this person just because I prioritize my work less?
Okay.. so people who mess up their lives due to gambling or playing video games or going shopping excessively don't really have a problem because they're not getting the shivers once they stop? Wow I also know some alcoholics who have never skipped a day of work in their lives, guess what? it still messing their lives and i'm not talking about their livers.
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+ Show Spoiler +On February 24 2011 00:40 sleepingdog wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2011 08:17 Manifesto7 wrote:
I dont think an game addict is different than other addicts. If gaming is something that negatively impacts other important aspects of your life, and creates an imbalance, then it is a problem.
Continuing behaviour that contributes to this negative impact makes you an addict. Huh, it's not often that I find myself having to disagree with you - but on this one I think you are quite wrong. I work at the university teaching and researching law...and from time to time I research the whole night and only go home to get some sleep. I hardly ever go on vacation and basicly do this 5-6 days a week. Does this "negatively impact other important aspects of my life and create an imbalance"? Hell yes it does. I could think of a million other things I could be doing instead, going out more often on top of it. You could say that due to the nature of researching, my "social life" also only consists of talking with my colleagues during coffee-breaks. There's not much teamwork/etc. going on, mainly reading, writing and much thinking. Still I'd consider it a bit ludicrous to be called a "law-addict". I work 40-60 hours a week depending on the stuff that's going on and also my personal interests. That's definitely comparable to the job many people are doing. So, what's the major difference between someone who "works long hours" and a "so called" (gaming) addict? Simply the fact that gaming isn't something that's socially accepted! If you sit 12 hours a day in front of the computer writing journal-papers you earn respect. If you sit 12 hours a day in front of the computer playing games you earn disdain. Even if you'd despise people who basicly do nothing else besides gaming, that wouldn't make them an "addict" by definition. Most easily seen when we consider pro-gaming. These people play the whole day because it's their frickin job. Nobody in his right mind would call something like that an "addiction". Nevertheless I don't want to negate that the problem of "addictive" gaming does exist. But in my opinion there are way, way fewer people "addicted" than society seems to believe. An addiction is something "physical", meaning where you suffer when can't satisfy your needs. Many people like to drink, even often, and are nowhere near "addicted" to alcohol. Why? Because it's no physical problem for them to stop. Maybe they get pissed off, but that's about it. With gaming it's the same. Many of us would hate it if we weren't able to play anymore, say because the government would prohibit gaming altogether. But we wouldn't physicly suffer. We would probably get drunk several days in a row and then get on with it. An addict wouldn't be able to do this, an addict would need help from a professional or otherwise he'd have a breakdown. That's the same with a real alcohol-addict who may collapse when forced to suddenly abandon alcohol altogether without any transitioning-phase.
I share your history.
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I think that Addicted player is a guy who has legs on the table while playing. Have no interest in improving just playing. And ofc he has to sucks even he is playing 12hr a day.
if you are good at it you are not addicted 
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EPT
