|
On February 23 2011 08:27 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On February 23 2011 08:25 BrenttheGreat wrote: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. That's no fun ):
If you actually want to play devil's advocate, don't tell people you're playing devil's advocate. They're much more likely to argue when they think you actually hold an opinion contradictory to theirs.
Think of playing devil's advocate like trolling (you're pretending to hold an opinion to cause a discussion on the topic). You can tell people you're trolling to make sure they don't think you're an idiot, but then they won't be trolled. It's the same with devil's advocate. If you want people to argue, you're going to have to make them think you hold an opinion you might not.
|
In my opinion it isn't so much the time that you spend on a game. It's more where you find the time.
If you spent 5 hours a day playing video games, are you an addict?
What if you spent 2 hours a day, but you get this time by cancelling social events or leaving work early?
Not everyone wants to be social or work very hard or get a degree. If a person seems content in playing video games and getting by, what is wrong with that? Why call it an addiction?
There is no such thing as fake hapiness, there is no hapiness that is better or lesser then another. If one person is happy by having a carreer and another by being good at a game (not saying you can't have both) then why should we care?
|
On February 23 2011 09:35 AzaleasFighter wrote:
If you tell yourself that you're going to try and not play for 3 days straight. Then at the middle of the first day you say, why am I even doing this who gives a fuck. Then goes and plays again. been there done that
pretty much
I think I play way too much. Dunno about addicted, because i've done the above a ton but it's more because I rationalize that it's really not effecting me negatively in any way. Got a job, go out a fair amount on weekends (though I might as well be a hermit m-th) and have a gf. to me, it's simply a matter of how I spend my free time. I prefer video games to dumb movies, shitty tv and most other means of entertainment besides sports and reading occasionally
the most it does is dumb shit, like putting off chores or mostly minor shit to go dick around on a game, or suck away time from doing something more constructive like reading or getting an early jump on getting in shape for the spring.
A lot of it is other factors as well. I'm a terrible procrastinator too, so I'm quite sure i'd find a way to do that without games. I also hardly go out at all in the winter because it makes me miserable.
|
An addict is someone who has no control over how much he or she plays. Even if he or she plays as little as an hour a day . . . if he or she cannot stop him or herself from playing that critical one hour no matter what happens and feels uncomfortable if he or she has to, then he or she is an addict.
|
Do you highly prioritize playing video games to the point that you sacrifice personal relationships and other responsibilities? If yes, you're an addict. If no, you're a gamer.
|
In psychiatry addictions are defined the use of certain substance/behaviour/whatever which meet two main criteria, although with a few exceptions:
-The user develops "tolerance": He needs more of the suspected behaviour to obtain the same effect as he used to get with lesser amounts.
-The user experiences "abstinence": He/she develops symptoms related to the cease of use of the substance or to stopping said behaviour.
The other concept which people are using here corresponds to abusive consumption, which is defined by an excessive use of something or certain behaviour which interferes with other aspects of life, such as work, social relationships, law, etc, at this point it becomes a non-adaptive behaviour, and is considered pathological.
These concepts also include time lapses in which they happen and some other details but that's fine for a general description.
Both concepts often intertwine, but I'd say there are not too many video game "addicts" (although it has been described), in comparison to the amount of video-game abusers there are, which I think are a whole lot more than dare admit it, I'm pretty sure I can be classified as having an abusive use of video games myself, many times.
|
Sigh, for those of you that dont know:
THERE IS NOTHING INHERENTLY ADDICTIVE ABOUT VIDEO GAMES
This has been proved by several scientific studies thus using the term "video game addict" should be avoided at all times.
The types of people who do spend all their time playing video games are those who already have an addictive personality, for which playing large amounts of video games is perhaps quite a good option considering the damage you can do to yourself in other forms of addiction.
For more insight I would refer everyone to an episode of Panorama on this subject, which while being biased slightly against the video gaming culture, presents both arguments well and clearly shows that the majority of scientific research is behind video games being no more addictive than say...collecting stamps...or any other kind of hobby.
TL;DR There is no such thing as video game addiction.
|
Ugh.. by so many peoples definitions, I'm a gaming addict =(
Guess I'll give my POV on some of the definitions...
"If you get every achivement in game X".
-That's more of a completionist thing imo, it bugs me to see something unfinished, if I start a puzzle, I need to finish it, if I get to the last level of a game, and die and have to start over from the very begining, I have to do it (until I get so frustrated that I make less and less progress).
"Avoiding social events in favor of games."
-I just feel awkward at most social gatherings, since they rarely have thesame interests as me... I don't know the current soccer standings, I can't relate to norways different fishing spots, and I don't know whats good/bad about every snowmobile brand... It usually just ends in awkward silence.
"If you lie about your gaming habbits".
-This has to do with the public view on videogames, If I tell someone I like to play videogames, I'll 9 times out of 10 get a speech about how bad it is. For thesame reason I lie about the ammount of alcohol I drink. I hardly drink at all (as in, maybe 1 or 2 glasses per year), I get thesame speech about wasting my life. It's just easier to lie a bit, get a wierd look, and then not be bothered anymore.
"If you tell yourself you won't game for X days, but give up after Y days."
-This depends on the reason your're quitting. If you're doing it just for the hell of it, and instead of gaming, you watch Top model reruns all day, I'd go back to gaming fairly quickly. But if those days had things planned, a work trip, fishing trip, family gathering, then I have no problem at all with quitting for a few days. What's the point of quitting something you enjoy just because other people disagree with it?
"Does your gaming sacrifice personal relationships"?
-Depends, I meet people less frequently IRL than I do online, but that's because most of my current friends share a passion for gaming, and gaming has evolved into each player having his own gamestation/PC, and playing online. We do get together on LANs and/or a friday evening on someones couch playing xbox. But before online play, we'd gather up at someones place almost daily to play.
|
The definition of an addictive gamer surely must be someone who gets people hooked on gaming?
|
On February 24 2011 04:01 mordk wrote:
In psychiatry addictions are defined the use of certain substance/behaviour/whatever which meet two main criteria, although with a few exceptions:
-The user develops "tolerance": He needs more of the suspected behaviour to obtain the same effect as he used to get with lesser amounts.
-The user experiences "abstinence": He/she develops symptoms related to the cease of use of the substance or to stopping said behaviour.
The other concept which people are using here corresponds to abusive consumption, which is defined by an excessive use of something or certain behaviour which interferes with other aspects of life, such as work, social relationships, law, etc, at this point it becomes a non-adaptive behaviour, and is considered pathological.
These concepts also include time lapses in which they happen and some other details but that's fine for a general description.
Both concepts often intertwine, but I'd say there are not too many video game "addicts" (although it has been described), in comparison to the amount of video-game abusers there are, which I think are a whole lot more than dare admit it, I'm pretty sure I can be classified as having an abusive use of video games myself, many times.
Seriously, thank you for this post. All those posters here who bring up examples of addicted gamers or usual behavior of addicts miss the point. Yours is actually a definition I can live with.
Are you studying psychiatry (I should say: specializing in psychiatry)?
|
I would say non addictive would be gaming with any and all free time.
Addiction would be making free time to play IE ditching friends, school/work.
|
I would probably consider myself an addict by definition. I acknowledge the problem, I say I will fix it, but I never do. I basically wake up, get ready for work, get home from work finish the mundane chores and cook myself a meal. Then I either start playing a game or watching TV for the rest of the night (rinse and repeat). I do go out occasionally, but my circle of friends is small(due to not going out enough).
I can also chalk this up to being lazy and taking the easy way out. By living day to day and not looking towards my future. It is a tough habit to break, hopefully I do it soon.
|
On February 24 2011 06:17 Kralic wrote:
I would probably consdier myself an addict by definition. I acknowledge the problem, I say I will fix it, but I never do. I basically wake up, get ready for work, get home from work finish the mundane chores and cook myself a meal. Then I either start playing a game or watching TV for the rest of the night (rinse and repeat). I do go out occasionally, but my circle of friends is small(due to not going out enough).
I can also chalk this up to being lazy and taking the easy way out. By living day to day and not looking towards my future. It is a tough habit to break, hopefully I do it soon.
Step 1: Admit you have a problem.
I salute you.
|
Myself, I know I am something of a Starcraft II addict in that I feel a strong urge to play it after several hours of not, but I am not dependent on it. However I don't allow it to impact my life and I still work hard at school and partake in more social activities. Starcraft, to me, is like a very enjoyable hobby, and I would not like it taken from me, just as a surfer would not want to give up his or her board etc.
|
Personally an addict to me is when whatever you are addicted to interferes with the things you do in your life such as a job or school. If you have enough time in your day to play 6 hours of video games, but you still get everything else done that you are supposed to, then there is no wrong being done.
I know this from personally experience because I used to be horribly addicted to video games and payed a price. I used to play a lotttttt of WoW, and when I say a lot I Mean a whole lot. I would play from around 2 in the afternoon until 4 in the morning. Racking up around 10 hours a day? I would raid in a top top level guild because I wanted to be the best and got so caught up with it that I would literally just spend all day on the game. I had to drop out of classes because I did so bad. The day I unsubscribed was the day I got my life back.
Thank god I found starcraft though, I love this game to death but it is not addicting in any sense. If I lose a bunch I will get pissed and stop playing for a little while. I cant play this game for 10 hours like I could WoW and I LOVE it. So games can be addicting, you just need the self-control to not let it effect the things that are important to you in your life.
|
I think there is certainly some complicated areas of this, personally I really dont get on well with school before I owned a computer or my xbox this was the case and just all round school life angers me alot and I sometimes take time off school just a day or 2 because the frustration gets to me and in this time off I play starcraft. Its not really a case of I take time of to play starcraft, I take time off and in that time I end up playing starcraft because i have nothing else to do. But this is my side of the story from the view of my parents and freinds this might come across as im addicted to games and im taking time of to fill my need for video games. Its complicated is really what im trying to say and there will no doubt be people who are the other side of me who dont go to school or work to play games.
|
On February 24 2011 06:17 Kralic wrote:
I would probably consider myself an addict by definition. I acknowledge the problem, I say I will fix it, but I never do. I basically wake up, get ready for work, get home from work finish the mundane chores and cook myself a meal. Then I either start playing a game or watching TV for the rest of the night (rinse and repeat). I do go out occasionally, but my circle of friends is small(due to not going out enough).
I can also chalk this up to being lazy and taking the easy way out. By living day to day and not looking towards my future. It is a tough habit to break, hopefully I do it soon.
But is it really a "gaming addiction" that is you're problem?
I talked myself into being addicted for quite a while, when my real problems had nothing to do with gaming or a specific game. I didn't do anything with my life, but it didn't matter if I would play WoW, watch TV Shows all day or hang around in the interwebz. And I think most people that are called gaming addicts are really just hiding from another problem and gaming is just a convenient way to spend all their time.
|
When you forget to eat and die of stavation. This may sound stupid but I think it has happened to 5+ people. All were playing either WoW or SC.
|
Addiction of most things is just people blaming the problems they have on something to scapegoat. "Well I am playing WoW so I am obviously addicted and that's why I don't have a girlfriend or a job. It's nothing to do with me it's all something or someone elses fault" That kind of attitude makes you feel better then the alternative. So folks run with it.
No you are not playing WoW all evening and ignoring your child/significant other due to the game you are ignoring them because you don't like them and you'd prefer to not just tell them for one reason or another.
The other thing I've noticed is that you are called addicted to anything that isn't accepted by other people. It's disgusting that people can't be proud of what they enjoy. I enjoy reading, if someone called me a book addict everyone would laugh at him. But replace book with game and suddenly I am the bad guy. I am proud to play games, I am proud to have a passion in life, if I spend a few all nighters gaming what of it? I've told people no to social events because of gaming. Mind you it makes people feel better if I just say "No I am gaming" instead of "actually I don't want to go, that sounds boring and a waste of time"
It's a whole complicated issue but I find addiction just too strong a word. I don't quite understand how gaming is any worse to spend my time then say..spending that time watching Classic cinema or following the NFL.
|
You're addicted when you can't live without it, simple enough.
I game a lot, I'm on the computer a lot.
But I don't consider myself addicted since I can live without it, the problem is that I have nothing else to do. I love working out, I love going for a run everyday or doing other social activities.
But I'm on the computer still a lot more than the average person should be.
A lot of people, partens, teachers call kids, students "addicted" when they just game the whole day.
But just look it from a different perspective, if you have nothing else to do, if you're still living healthy (Eating healthy-ish, exercise every now and then, are not overweight) I don't think you can accuse anyone of being addicted unless you can't live without it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
