*Before I go on, I made a search and although the topic of addicts came up quite a lot, it never entirely hit the issue I wanted to talk about. Feel free to close it if you feel otherwise wise TL Staff (and I apologize). - Thanks
So today I went on my e-mail or my community's e-mail, my community being here at Concordia University (we're a Starcraft Club/Community supported and funded by our student council) and I got an e-mail today from a student in journalism as it reads the following:
Good morning!
I'm a journalism student from UQAM doing a video project about video games addictions. I was wondering if you knew anyone who would be an addict or an ex-addict. Our video is a school project and therefore won't be aired.
Please let me know if you know anyone or not. Thank you!
His/Her Name His/Her Number
I immediately felt defensive, but strangely, I was unsure of whether what I was feeling was just a defense mechanism, so I inquired: + Show Spoiler +
Addict is a very strong and potentially misused word. You will have to define it and not via examples. Video-gamers are sometimes misconstrued as addicts or those without the ability to restrain themselves. We're all passionate video-gamers and thus the word "addict" is a word we tend to avoid because of its social stigma and misunderstanding.
Please be specific, though I don't believe we have any addicts, just passionate people who enjoy video-games over other social outlets.
Cheers, Concordia Startcraft
Her response was more or less not what I wanted to hear and I construed that in a civil way, but perhaps I was too harsh in my response. But this exchange of e-mails had me wondering: What exactly defines an addictive gamer. Here are the follow-up responses and will finish out with an open-ended question: His/Her Reply
We do not want to miscontrue passionate video gamers; I am myself an adept of online gaming, and although I can spend a few hours a day playing games, I wouldn't like to be called an addict. By addict we mean people who don't do much else than playing at video games, and do not have any other social interests. I just thought of asking your group if you didn't know anyone in this position, because my team and I are struggling with finding some addict-gamers (I'm not sure of the term I should use anymore. Maybe it varies from French to English).
Thank you anyway for your quick answer! Best regards,
I think the main issue is trying to define addicts in general. You won't find anyone who will say he/she is a serious addict and if he was previously, who's to say his views of addiction are not distorted by the conventional views of society and socialization?
When it comes to video games, the distinction becomes even harder because of the social interaction of online games now (thus assumption of the seclusion and anti-social behavior of gamers is voided) and especially with casual games giving the illusion that simplicity equates to non-addicted level of knowledge (think of Zygna games/Facebook games). Additionally those who spend a lot of time in games could simply be experience a field of work they would enjoy, which makes the topic vastly more diverse and difficult than addictive smokers and drug addicts.
Unfortunately we don't have any "addicts" in our group because we feel that the parameters of "time spent playing video games" or "people who don't do much else than playing at video games, and do not have any other social interests" is not a very accurate or sufficient parameter to define an addict, especially when related to video-games or the convenience of the online socialization (Facebook is an easy indicator). Additionally, we are a group of collaborate individuals who want to remove the stigma or poor views of video-games and all its aspects, including ones that create a distance between a passion of gaming (thus spending numerous hours playing with others as well as alone) and a passion of another occupation, pastime or interest.
To conclude, in my opinion, you might want to alter your topic to the addictive nature of games or perhaps the quality of games that ensue addictive behavior and get some psychological and sociological experts' views and opinions or to reverse your problem: find out what the general population views as an addicted gamer. We'd be more than likely to help you with those endeavors or journalistic topics.
I'm sorry we couldn't be more help, Concordia Starcraft [Michael Cohen]
I will admit that my response is perhaps too impartial or bias towards my view of things or even mistaken or misunderstanding of her intentions. I will admit to many things and perhaps I am just entirely wrong and I'll admit to that.
But what I want to know is how everyone else defines an addictive gamer without examples. It's very easy to say that an addictive gamer is some WoW Nerd who doesn't get laid and spends all his time alone in his room with the lights off ignoring the basic human necessities of eating and bathing, but that's perhaps just an extreme example and doesn't really set a general line for others to base their definitions off of.
So to conclude or (tl:dr); how do you define an addictive gamer, one who is different from say those who are just generally interest, passionate and contributory to the gaming world, industry and society? Do you use a measurement of time to underline one's addictive behavior towards games? Amount of games played, etc.? Are those addicted to games no different than those who are addicted to cigarettes or drugs? Are video-games a safer or much healthier emotional outlet than some other forms of adi
"the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma."
That's essentially how I define an addict. If a person is so into video games that they actually cannot stop playing them, then I consider them an addict. If a person can take a day and be like "Alright, no games today" and just do other things, they aren't an addict in my book.
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.
If someone has drastically altered their life so that it centers around their game, and they have stopped doing what they previously enjoyed doing to the extent that video games seem all that defines life for them, then they are addicted. Even if they play video games 6 hours a day, but still are getting good grades and do other things besides just games and have other interests, then they are not addicted IMO.
"the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma."
That's essentially how I define an addict. If a person is so into video games that they actually cannot stop playing them, then I consider them an addict. If a person can take a day and be like "Alright, no games today" and just do other things, they aren't an addict in my book.
What trauma would you get if you weren't playing games? Boredom? I'm not being sarcastic, but generally unsure of the repercussions of not playing games.
On February 23 2011 08:20 Zerokaiser wrote: I would say a game becomes an addiction when you play it obsessively past the point of enjoying it.
I don't think it should be labelled as addiction of you play a game constantly just because it's awesomely fun.
Enjoyment is a bit of an ambiguous word. I'm sure many people find their games or how they play their games unenjoyable but the achievement of an accomplishment or the end-result of playing something (either beating a very challenging part or reaching a new level) is an enjoyable aspect of the game one would pursue.
I define addiction like Draconicfire. I don't think it's sufficient to say that the gaming negatively impacts other aspects of your life. That is not an addiction, because there are plenty of things that do that. A lot of people procrastinate, and that often negatively impacts academic performance, but I don't think you can say someone is "addicted to procrastination."
In my opinion, the activity needs to be habit forming, and, as Draconic's dictionary definition said, cessation of the activity itself has to have certain effects. Most people will not start shaking if they stop gaming, as opposed to people who try to stop their alcoholism or smoking cold turkey. Those two have intense side effects when you try to stop.
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!
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
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
You can use scholar.google.com if you need to find articles. Use your university account (if the university facilitates e-journals) to acces some papers.
A quick search came up with this (for example).
Fisher (1994) Identifying video game addiction in children and adolescents
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 ):
On February 23 2011 08:26 AllNight wrote: You can use scholar.google.com if you need to find articles. Use your university account (if the university facilitates e-journals) to acces some papers.
A quick search came up with this (for example).
Fisher (1994) Identifying video game addiction in children and adolescents
This isn't for a paper, I want your general opinion. Just yours
On February 23 2011 08:22 DTK-m2 wrote: I define addiction like Draconicfire. I don't think it's sufficient to say that the gaming negatively impacts other aspects of your life. That is not an addiction, because there are plenty of things that do that. A lot of people procrastinate, and that often negatively impacts academic performance, but I don't think you can say someone is "addicted to procrastination."
In my opinion, the activity needs to be habit forming, and, as Draconic's dictionary definition said, cessation of the activity itself has to have certain effects. Most people will not start shaking if they stop gaming, as opposed to people who try to stop their alcoholism or smoking cold turkey. Those two have intense side effects when you try to stop.
This is why I added the second line to my post. Thebehaviour has to continue even though the person knows about the negative consequences.
As for the physical thing, we recently had a thread about over-stimulation and its effects. I would venture that someone who is addicted to games would get quite jittery if not exposed to that stimulation.
If you focus heavily on one area of your life it'll generally take from the others. That's an inevitable part of the way you prioritise your time so negatively impacting other areas isn't enough. I feel it has to be more severe than that to qualify as an addiction over a passion. For example, gaming instead of actively seeking a promotion in your free time when you're doing okay would be negative to your career but could be a rational and logical choice in terms of your overall standard of living. Gaming over showing up to work and losing house/family is most likely not. The choice has to be short-termist and irrational to prove addiction in my opinion.
There should be a more clear distinction between someone who just plays alot of games and someone who is addicted. Right now most people just think, wow he plays 6 hours of games a day!? He MUST be addicted. Which is a very wrong though IMO.
As Draconicfire has said someone who cannot let go of gaming on their own ( thus without help ) is addicted. And I would definitely agree on saying that if somebody can just say, alright no games today or this week then they are most likely NOT addicted.
Even if they play video games 6 hours a day, but still are getting good grades and do other things besides just games and have other interests, then they are not addicted IMO.
I'd say this is something else, if someone is addicted to gaming then it will ( in most cases ) consume his life more and more. The very definition of 'being addicted to' means that you can't go without it. You NEED to do it, even if you still get good grades and have other interests/activities, you could still be addicted to games. ( You might still be in an early stage of 'the consuming process' ). But I believe someone can be addicted to 'a daily dose' which would basically mean someone having to play starcraft every day. He/she doesn't need to play it alot ( and it doesn't get to be more over time, the amount of time stays the same ) but he/she does need the daily dose even if it is just for 1 or 2 hours.
As for your response to his/her email's about addicted gamers, I think you weren't too harsh at all. He/she was really careless in formulating their intentions. That email could have very well been interpreted as: "hey is your club/you addicted to games and could we talk to you?". Pretty bad imo.
I guess over-stimulation would depend on the person because anecdotally, I've been heavily exposed to video-games (between my job and at home/leisure time).
So would you say the journalist was right on how she defines video-game addicts?
Edit: haha, someone answered the question, thanks!
I think the addiction of an activity is vastly more different than how one's addicted to the consumption of a drug or cigarettes (I know I keep using these as example, I apologize). So the techniques we're using to define it or at least identify it seem a bit off the mark (Thanks Kwark).
Yea i dont think you can be addicted to gaming the same way you can be addicted to drugs. Being addicted to games = feeling like you NEED to play, not that you WANT to. That's probably the best way i can describe it.
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.
I believe that you can't really compare it to cigarettes/alcohol/drugs, as those are substance addictions.
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.
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.
IMO, the amount of time someone spends playing video games has nothing to do with being addicted. If a pianist practices 10 hours a day, because she loves it and wants to spend her life doing it, is she a music addict? No, she is just hardworking. Playing video games is just as legitimate a way of spending your time as anything else.
I have a BA in Psychology and I am working on my MA in Counseling. Video Game "addiction" is not an actual diagnosis on the books. A quote from the APA (American Psychological Association)
"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.
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.
Idunno if its ever an "addiction", but it becomes problematic when the compulsion to play that supersedes the actual and known marginal benefit one gets from playing.
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.
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.
Someone who misses class or work for a game, I would consider an addict. With few exceptions such as release day of a new game/expansion, to play in a tournament with a high possibility of monetary benefit, or something similar that happens rarely. 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.
Let's take some leads from one of the leading experts on addiction in neuroscience, Karlton K. Erickson. In his "The Science of Addiction," he addresses many of the concerns we might bring up in this thread. Let me quote some of his passages:
"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.
I like the comment that gave the definition of addiction. I agree that if not playing causes some sort of severe trauma or discomfort, then you are addicted. Beyond that, I'm not sure if you can generalize a whole lot.
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.
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?
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?
Um, I'm a counselor, does that count? And please refer to my post above.
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.
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?
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)!
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.
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?
Um, I'm a counselor, does that count? And please refer to my post above.
Ok, then.
On February 23 2011 08:54 NEOtheONE wrote: 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.
Alright, so first you say compulsion is one level below addiction. That seems reasonable.
Then, you say compulsion consists of interference with the individual's daily life. That's what I addressed when I said that describing the symptoms doesn't get the level of precision to be able to get a diagnosis. Those symptoms are common for 100% of addicts (compelled?) but don't describe it really. That's like saying an illness of the internal organs is defined by feeling sick (I'm slightly exaggerating). It's not the point.
I'd agree with the state of science that you quoted that there isn't a definition yet; I also don't see one.
What I meant with "we need psychiatrists" is that the solution imo can't be found in describing behavior but in a change in the neurobiological process of the persons concerned. Drugs have such an effect, compulsion should have one too (that might be harder to see because it's 1. not physical in the classical sense and 2. not as strong as a drug addiction, as you pointed out). And yea, neurobiologists should be doing fine there too.
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.
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
Any athletes can fit numerous criteria listed here. Which is why I think addiction is subjective as well.
If you add 'as long as you get paid/make career, you're not addicted' to your definition of addiction, you can get around that.. but that makes addiction a useless phrase if that's the only clear difference between addicted vs pro athletes.
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
addiction and social science are Pseudo-science, As far as I know. It is wholly dependent on the observer's bias. which does not make for good science in the least. It is all dependent on personal beliefs.
On February 23 2011 09:36 whiteguycash wrote: addiction and social science are Pseudo-science, As far as I know. It is wholly dependent on the observer's bias. which does not make for good science in the least. It is all dependent on personal beliefs.
I wouldn't go so far as to call them pseudo-science. But I agree: As long as noone defines it, everyone's gonna set their own standards.
The problem is to find the limits, where addiction starts and where it ends, giving examples and individual cases doesn't help.
(from Spekulatius, in response to my post I think)
Spekulatius I'm saying that this discussion is difficult because I don't think there are clear limits, places where a gaming addiction starts and ends. There are some things that are clearly a problem, like killing someone over a video game, as a previous post mentioned. But I think if you want to know if someone has a gaming addiction, you have to look at that specific individual and his or her life. You can't just apply a formula and say that he is or isn't addicted because he does or doesn't fit within certain boundaries that you have already constructed.
I think you took my comment out of context and misconstrued it a little bit. When I was talking about individuals, I was saying that there could be a lot of things going on in a person's life that contribute to what looks like a gaming addiction. Thus, it's hard to generalize about gaming addictions because different things come into play in each person's life. So, you have to look at an individual and what is behind his or her gaming habits to see if they have a gaming addiction rather than applying a set of rules or limits.
I think addicted gamer is an overused term, I don't doubt that people can become addicted to gaming but people seem to forget about that people live by habbits.
Addiction is characterized by dependency. If not playing games generates a negative physiological or psychological effect in you, then you are addicted. For example, if you get really angry when you can't play, or aren't playing, you are addicted. If you start trembling uncontrollably and vomiting when you have no computer for Starcraft 2 around you, you are addicted.
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.
People call the wow nerd who's progressing at end game in a top guild(or any gaming equivalent) addicted because it's the easiest way to describe those habits. In the big picture it's the same as how somebody hooked on hard drugs lets their life waste away only to care about their high. A serious gamer neglects everything to play their game(s) of choice. It doesn't matter if gaming doesn't have any physically addictive properties in it. From an outsider point of view it's doing the same thing addictive drugs would. Causing the person to alienate themselves from family/friends for the sake of their vice with nothing to show for the time wasted.
That is why I think people who game in all their free time are looked down on. Sure there are other hobbies that can lead to seclusion and isolation. Like maybe a musician who spends a month in a studio making music. He may have neglected his social life too. But he has accomplished something and has something worthwhile to show for it. Same for a writer who isolates themselves to write a book. With gaming you have nothing tangible to show for yourself or your time spent gaming. And no, e-achievements or game items are not tangible.
I even call myself an ex-wow addict even though I know there's nothing physically addictive about it at all. It's just the easiest way to describe how I was. My character and guild was probably top 1% in the us pre-wrath. It doesn't even matter I have nothing to show for it. At least I learned that if I apply that kind of dedication and effort to anything else in life I'll be awesome at it too and actually get worthwhile returns for my time spent. Which has been the case since then. I do not think ill of gaming, never will. I only feel bad for people who cannot moderate their time in said games because I know that time invested into games has no returns for the majority of people playing.
That leads into one reason why I think e-sports should be taken seriously. It would give serious gamers something realistic to strive for. Something awesome to show for their efforts and time invested. Starcraft is doing that, even though it's still got a ways to go.
There are a lot more qualifiers with "video game addiction" than perhaps drinking or smoking crack. You cannot get a job smoking crack or drinking alcohol. So, for some it could be integrated as a work schedule. Either way if game/s stop you from doing what you're supposed to be doing you are addicted. This goes from work, paying the bills, to bathing, or going out with friends.
So, did he/she expect to email a video game group and get them to answer yes we are antisocial video games addicts who have no life or no other interests? You should send her Day9 daily #100 to help her understand how gaming can be a passion without being an addiction, which is the difference you were trying to make that wasnt completely understood from what I see. After seing Sean cry while talking about Tasteless supporting him at WCG, theres now way you can still equate passion of video games with antisocial.
If you think something bad is going to happen because you're not playing your video game and it causes you stress, you probably have some kind of mental illness whether it be OCD or game addiction or whatever you call it.
The problem is to find the limits, where addiction starts and where it ends, giving examples and individual cases doesn't help.
(from Spekulatius, in response to my post I think)
Spekulatius I'm saying that this discussion is difficult because I don't think there are clear limits, places where a gaming addiction starts and ends. There are some things that are clearly a problem, like killing someone over a video game, as a previous post mentioned. But I think if you want to know if someone has a gaming addiction, you have to look at that specific individual and his or her life. You can't just apply a formula and say that he is or isn't addicted because he does or doesn't fit within certain boundaries that you have already constructed.
I think you took my comment out of context and misconstrued it a little bit. When I was talking about individuals, I was saying that there could be a lot of things going on in a person's life that contribute to what looks like a gaming addiction. Thus, it's hard to generalize about gaming addictions because different things come into play in each person's life. So, you have to look at an individual and what is behind his or her gaming habits to see if they have a gaming addiction rather than applying a set of rules or limits.
I don't think we greatly disagree on anything both of us said. It's true, generalizing a diagnosis is extremely difficult when every person is different, has different mechanisms to deal with motivation and self-control, has different social lives. The reason the diagnosis of lung cancer is easy because everyone has a lung and so the diagnosis is based on the same standards. This reasoning does not apply to the less physical, more psychological problem of addiction/compulsion. I completely agree with you there. I still think that if we want a clear answer, we can't measure every person on its own, because then we can come to different conclusions in most cases (addiction yes/no). Maybe there is no clear answer, but the OP was "How do you define an addiction". If we wanna try to answer this, saying "well, there are no parameters, we gotta take all the circumstances in account", we basically say that there is no actual definition, only hints. Maybe it is like this and maybe you're right there, but my scientific mind just would not agree
so why do we care? are we going to create support groups for game addicts or something? people just lack self-control. spoiled teenagers-> addictive adults i m o
This is a very touchy subject especially on a gaming forum lol but here is my 2 cents, gaming for me is a hobby, i spend maybe 30 hours a week playing starcraft, i have a job (6 hours a day 5 days a week) and spend the rest of my time either staying in with the girlfriend or out with the lads, i find that gaming has quite a relaxing effect on me and while other people would say that i am addicted i would say to them i probley play computer games as much as they watch television and would they say they are addicted to that?? Ofc not lol IF YOU CAN MAINTAIN A NORMAL LIFE ASWELL AS BEING A GAMER, NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU PLAY ITS ONLY A HOBBY, If gaming gets in the way of ur friends, relationship or schoolwork then its an addiction.
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 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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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)?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
"the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma."
That's essentially how I define an addict. If a person is so into video games that they actually cannot stop playing them, then I consider them an addict. If a person can take a day and be like "Alright, no games today" and just do other things, they aren't an addict in my book.
What trauma would you get if you weren't playing games? Boredom? I'm not being sarcastic, but generally unsure of the repercussions of not playing games.
What trauma would you get if one of your relatives died? There, you got your answer, addictions don't have to be physical, all you need is to grow emotional attached to it.
I'd hate to bump this old topic, but in regards to my original post and predicament, the journalist responded back:
Hello again,
We are trying to have several opinions on the subject of addiction to video games, and yours is very pertinent. Would you like to elaborate it in front of our camera? You wouldn't have to show your face if you don't want to. Feel free to accept or refuse. Cheers,
Name Number
PS. If you accept, we can do the interview in French or in English, as you wish.
Should I give my opinion in front of a camera? While I feel strong on my stance, I'm not confident enough that is has flaws or that it can be edited or misconstrued to make it seem like I'm oblivious of other possibilities.
I play video games because they are the most interesting thing to do in my life that doesn't cost a lot of money.
What is better than playing video games with some friends all night? Not much that comes cheaply, that is for sure.
I actually refuse to believe you can be 'addicted' to video games. If possible, it is a VERY small majority of people who play video games a lot. (ie The people who died playing WoW because they didn't eat; I mean wtf seriously lol)
Sorry, only read the first page but im posting directly to the content of the op.
To me a video game addict, or an addict in general is defined thus: An activity, which once was enjoyed with minimal social consequence has eventually led to a lifestyle where the positive experiences of the activity become murred by the negative social consequences associated with the activity, especially to the point where the individual in consideration questions his participation and his motives for doing so
note that whilst this doesnt really sum up the word 'addict' i think it quite accurately defines problems with peoples indulgences. Addict seems to sum up that a person or activity in general can be bad but how i see it, is that complex social interactions create unique problems for people that can only be defined and realized from experience, not principle. Perhaps i am describing a word other than addict but in my opinion what i am describing seems to be a more accurate approach to identifying and solving social problems.
as an example, you could be playing sc2 all day in a korean pro house. Its doesnt create any complex social problems that need to be untangled for the sake of the preservation of positive experience for the gamer or anyone around him/her.
On the other hand what if a pro gamer in a team house lets out fits of rage when he loses and loses often enough that it creates a disturbing social atmosphere? Addiction may or may not be the word that comes to mind but a negative social scenario arises and arises often that needs to be addressed.
On March 11 2011 02:38 Torte de Lini wrote: I'd hate to bump this old topic, but in regards to my original post and predicament, the journalist responded back:
We are trying to have several opinions on the subject of addiction to video games, and yours is very pertinent. Would you like to elaborate it in front of our camera? You wouldn't have to show your face if you don't want to. Feel free to accept or refuse. Cheers,
Name Number
PS. If you accept, we can do the interview in French or in English, as you wish.
Should I give my opinion in front of a camera? While I feel strong on my stance, I'm not confident enough that is has flaws or that it can be edited or misconstrued to make it seem like I'm oblivious of other possibilities.
The sorta Sarah Palin "Gotcha'" effect, y'know?
Sorry Torte unfortunately you have stumbled onto one of lifes/societies biggest problems. That perspectives are always going to be unobjective and can always be cast in a positive or negative manner with much ease. Part of me says dont say anything because my reasoning is that if no input was ever given into the media they cannot easily create a pre-determined opinion to place onto people that do not yet have a reason to have formed an opinion, and thus leaves people open to objectivity of their own personal experiences when the time comes (which is the only time it actually matters)
something that negatively impacts other areas of your life isn't a good definition. if you spend a lot of time doing anything, it's going to negatively impact other areas, but it doesn't mean you're addicted to it. if you're say, doing research that takes up a lot of time, and your girlfriend complains that you don't spend enough time with her, then are you addicted to research? i mean, you might be, but likely not. you're just focusing on something, and that's perfectly normal. everyone focuses on something.
i'd define it as something that you literally cannot live comfortably without. i play video games a lot. basically whenever i have any free time, it's time to fire up SC2 or maybe an RPG of some sort. but i'm completely fine without them. every year i go about two months straight without cell reception, cable, or internet, and i never have a problem. so i choose to game a lot because it's a hobby of mine, yet i don't feel like i'm miserable if i'm not sitting in front of my computer or something, so i wouldn't classify myself as an addict.
On March 11 2011 02:38 Torte de Lini wrote: I'd hate to bump this old topic, but in regards to my original post and predicament, the journalist responded back:
Hello again,
We are trying to have several opinions on the subject of addiction to video games, and yours is very pertinent. Would you like to elaborate it in front of our camera? You wouldn't have to show your face if you don't want to. Feel free to accept or refuse. Cheers,
Name Number
PS. If you accept, we can do the interview in French or in English, as you wish.
Should I give my opinion in front of a camera? While I feel strong on my stance, I'm not confident enough that is has flaws or that it can be edited or misconstrued to make it seem like I'm oblivious of other possibilities.
The sorta Sarah Palin "Gotcha'" effect, y'know?
Sorry Torte unfortunately you have stumbled onto one of lifes/societies biggest problems. That perspectives are always going to be unobjective and can always be cast in a positive or negative manner with much ease. Part of me says dont say anything because my reasoning is that if no input was ever given into the media they cannot easily create a pre-determined opinion to place onto people that do not yet have a reason to have formed an opinion, and thus leaves people open to objectivity of their own personal experiences when the time comes (which is the only time it actually matters)
I know her intent isn't to brutally beat me with poor lighting and manner, but I do know her opinion of video-gaming and addictions are perhaps a bit shallow and generalized (WoW-related). That's my only fear of going in, that she'll misunderstand me, construe it as something else and blow it beyond my own words.
I think I'll heed your own paranoia and just not engage. It's a shame that the fear of being misinterpreted prevents one to shine a new light on a misunderstood topic.
Parents will happily let there kids sit on the computer browsing facebook, ect. When a kid plays computer games though somehow it's seen in a different light. I know several people throughout my life who couldn't stand not knowing if someone replied to them on facebook, bebo and twitter. The need to be heard and answered on social networking sites becomes the only thing that matters to a lot of people these days. If an adult let's the kid just sit there playing computer games or browsing facebook or the internet in general, then of course they are going to think that what they are doing must be okay. So that when the times comes when the parent gets fed up and want them to do chores, rather than be a bum, they lash out which is perceived as not being able to let go, when it's actually the parents fault for letting them get used to a life of lazyness.
It's okay to not see friends through out the week, because your chatting to them on MSN, ect It's not okay to not see friends during the week, even though you chat to them over vent, skype, ect, while playing computer games with them
On March 11 2011 02:38 Torte de Lini wrote: I'd hate to bump this old topic, but in regards to my original post and predicament, the journalist responded back:
We are trying to have several opinions on the subject of addiction to video games, and yours is very pertinent. Would you like to elaborate it in front of our camera? You wouldn't have to show your face if you don't want to. Feel free to accept or refuse. Cheers,
Name Number
PS. If you accept, we can do the interview in French or in English, as you wish.
Should I give my opinion in front of a camera? While I feel strong on my stance, I'm not confident enough that is has flaws or that it can be edited or misconstrued to make it seem like I'm oblivious of other possibilities.
The sorta Sarah Palin "Gotcha'" effect, y'know?
Well from what I read that "journalist" is just a "student of journalism", right? And it's for a school project (no airing).
If you should accept I'd recommend that you ask that you get the questions before the interview. It's not uncommon that interviews are handled that way. And you can see in what direction the interview is going (and prepare accordingly).
Overall - it may be a good opportunity for you? To experience this kind of situation. You'll probably encounter similiar situations in you future life - and probably more is at stake then
Just to ask the TL people: Could i be considered a gaming addict? In most of my free time i like to play computer games (Starcraft 2, M&B Warband etc. ive departed from those noskill/rage FPS games) and if given the chance, i see no problem with playing for like 12 hours straight (i will eat and do all the humane stuff). One negative thing i do is that i dont do my homework, or do it rarely, but that has nothing to do with gaming since my parents just hide the screen to prevent me from playing, but i still wont do my homework since i find it extremely tedious. I basically will avoid any activity that i find tedious when im playing games. If given opportunities to do social stuff (go out, see a movie, stuff not involving being in the same car with my parents) i usually do it with no despise. However, my parents consider me an addict and think that i am wasting my life there so they feel the need to limit the time i spend doing it. Just to clear this i have no issue with not "going online" for several weeks. Would you consider me an addict?
Now for my opinion: Basically, gamers shouldnt be considered addicts as your body/mind doesnt develop a need for something(Im pretty sure there are some rare cases though). Mostly why gamers spend alot of time behind is they find the game compelling or they just want to achieve something in that game. And achieving something in a game is much more satisfieing then in the current capitalistic environment we live in where everything revolves around money and income and your class and all that s**t. Just my 2 cents...
If playing games negatively impacts other important aspects of your life, you're addicted.
I miss the good old days when i'd be playing like 10 hours a day, staying up till the wee hours playing. Now I rarely play an hour.
@Guy above me. Can't really tell with your description. If you have nothing else to do, and nothing else is as entertaining as playing, then playing all day long doesn't really matter. It's when you should be doing something else, but you keep playing anyways, where it's a little negative. Hours alone have nothing to do with if you're addicted or not, really. Some people just have lots of spare time, so they can play a lot and still get everything done.
I think the most important thing to consider with addiction is causality. Is the excessive gaming the ultimate cause of the problem? Or instead, is it a symptom of some other issue like depression?
In other words, have they abandoned work/school/relationships because playing the game has become their sole priority? Or have they abandoned work/school/relationships because they're depressed, and they waste time playing games? The first is an addict, the second is not.
Because lets be honest, anyone who doesnt have work/school/relationships has a lot of time on their hands. Of couse depressed gamers are going to waste time playing games, just like how depressed musicians are going to waste time playing music. Taking gaming/music/whatever away from a depressed gamer/musician/whatever is not going to magically fix that person's problems. They are just going to be more miserable, and waste their time doing something less satisfying.
All my free time goes to gaming UNLESS I had a responsibility to attend. Still I consider I have a problem with gaming because I literally dropped from 3 years of Physics in school due to BW years ago. Now I'm an Electric Engineer but those young years really showed me how bad it was for me with gaming. Still I don't consider it to be an addiction because I didn't look for help or anything, I just decided enough was enough and dropped gaming to get my stuff done but now that I have my normal life in line again, I just got my hands on a game and don't leave it unless I beat the crap out of it xD
1. Not doing it for enjoyment anymore 2. Feeling like you need to do it to get through the day 3. Always having it on your mind 4. The activity takes the place of other habbits, behaviours, or necessities which don't get replaced
addictivity to a video game is a continuing compulsion to play the game.
addictivity is not defined by negative impact, its defined by the compulsion to play it over and over. People get this confused because 99% of the time you get addicted to something it effects you negatively in the long run. However if there was an addictive drug, which made you smarter, healthier and happier it would not have a negative impact.
Personally, I play about 6 hours of games on a school/work night, and pretty much all day on weekends, but I am nowhere close to a gaming addict. I would say that a gaming addiction is where a person cannot function well in outside life due to the effects of prolonged gaming. For example, if someone thinks about video games whenever he goes to work or school, and is always dying to go back to playing video games and cannot focus on any other task properly, then it would be a gaming addiction. I know I dont have a gaming addiction because whenever I go out for weekends, or go on a month long camp or something, I don't miss video games on bit. It doesn't stop me from enjoying video games while im playing them.
I'll answer the OP before I get off on a tangent about the problem with people not being addicted or passionate to things they love to do in life. There is a point where video games become an addiction, and that point is where every other priority in life comes 2nd or 3rd to video games. The quote from King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters by Billy Mitchell sums up why addiction and/or intense passion is a must for competitive people/sports/gaming.
"...but competetive gaming, when you want to attach your name to a world-record, when you want your name written into history, you have to pay the price!" —Billy Mitchell
I think that even if there is one person we can point to and say they are addicted to video games, there is a whole story behind it. Obviously if a person wants to be top 10 on a video game, they have to be addicted and put in countless hours into getting better. In that case, video games would turn into a lifestyle, much like the Korean Pro-Gaming scene. 12 hours a day, they are playing a game that they enjoy and want to get better at, and since it is what they have devoted this time of their life into, it becomes part of what they live for.
If people look back at all the famous names in history, I doubt you'll find someone who got remembered for doing something average or in moderation. People who are the best at what they do usually have to sacrifice other stuff in their life to be the best. Football players are working out in the gym or at practice hours upon hours per day. Doctors or Teachers who are passionate about their jobs are having long work days to become better at what they do, or help more people.
My problem is where is the line crossed between passionate about video games and addiction to video games. My friends and I play video games together, so it isn't messing up my social life (I guess people can argue it messes up your "love" life). The only harm it can cause to your physical self is a bad back and getting chubby from not working out. The last time I checked video games don't make you go crazy unless you don't get enough vitamin D intake or if you don't talk to other people about the game you play.
I think this is more of a social issue, where most westerners don't feel that video games will get people places in life. It might not allow people to become doctors or college educated, but I think if anyone watches Daily #100 from Day9, they will realize that gaming can help you in life and can be a cause for good.
On March 11 2011 02:38 Torte de Lini wrote: I'd hate to bump this old topic, but in regards to my original post and predicament, the journalist responded back:
We are trying to have several opinions on the subject of addiction to video games, and yours is very pertinent. Would you like to elaborate it in front of our camera? You wouldn't have to show your face if you don't want to. Feel free to accept or refuse. Cheers,
Name Number
PS. If you accept, we can do the interview in French or in English, as you wish.
Should I give my opinion in front of a camera? While I feel strong on my stance, I'm not confident enough that is has flaws or that it can be edited or misconstrued to make it seem like I'm oblivious of other possibilities.
The sorta Sarah Palin "Gotcha'" effect, y'know?
if you appear decent looking/well built/groomed on camera and you're well articulated they can't do much.
obviously the issue of video game addiction leads to a much bigger issue about video games in general. badasses in hollywood are drug addicts, but gamers aren't. there has to be less gamers that sound like people from the big bang theory.
There is this wemon who lives in my town and she was addicted to WOW and droped out of school just to play. This is the best example for an addict that I can think of.
Addiction is a physical ailment, in that if you go without something you are addicted to, your body issues a physical response, such as depression, nausea, etc. When I go for weeks without drinking, or smoking a cigarette, I feel sick, get the chills, have an overall sour attitude, and just feel physically sick. I am addicted to those. when I go without playing a game for 3 weeks, my grades improve, my social life improves, and I find myself bored in between. I do not, however, experience withdrawal symptoms.
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.
this, no need to even write my own thoughts, for it is shared by many others
I think that a video game addict is simply someone who prioritizes a video game which will not benefit him directly in his immediate real life situation over real life in general. So a guy who grinds WoW 24/7 and doesn't make money or anything out of it is an addict, while someone who plays SC2 24/7 and wins major tournaments isn't.
All a matter of how you set you priorities in relationship to their reward. #1 priority has no long-term reward, only short-term personal satisfaction? addicted!
Well, the medical term for "addiction" is when you litterly have withdraws when you stop doing and or playing a certain game or drug. The word addiction is losely defined
I choose to play video games over doing schoolwork because schoolwork is incredibly boring (and it's all I ever do for 7 hours of the day).
I see far too many anti-gamers who obsessively throw around the word "addict" as a means of creating a negative connotation with video games. What's the difference between someone who plays video games for fun (regardless of how long they play) and someone who plays a sport for fun (again, regardless of how long they play)? Physical build? It's absolutely ridiculous that society is so focused on avoiding the "overuse" of technology that they would go to the point of calling people who simply like to relax, "addicts".
Saying that an addiction is choosing to do something without any benefit is also far too weak of a definition. What do I get out of, say, taking an algebra course (despite already having surpassed that level of math) out of pure requirement? Am I "addicted" to classes? Clearly, the only "benefit" is an intrinsic one that could easily be negated if it weren't required.
It's pretty disgusting how people think "passion" is "addiction".
...Actually, I have to write an essay on the subject for my english course. Consider this practice (it's an informal jeremiad, although not necessarily in this tone or voice >.>)
I believe that there are two kinds of addiction: physical and mental.
Physical addiction results in withdrawal symptoms, so you can gauge physical addiction by whether someone suffers from withdrawal symptoms in the absence of whatever they are addicted to. This is probably purely limited to addiction to substances.
Mental addiction is less well-defined, and thus becomes less of a medical question and more of a personal one. I define mental addiction as something that you devote yourself to so to the extent that it starts to overtake your other priorities. Those "other priorities" can be essential things like eating or sleeping, but they can also be things like studying, going to class, or participating in social outings.
Mental addiction is almost synonymous with having a passion for something. The only thing that splits the two is whether the person in question truly believes that they are spending their time well. Thus, the question becomes a question of personal character, and will obviously vary from person to person.
True addiction, however, probably arises when someone knows that what they are doing is destructive to their self, but they do not have enough self-control to combat their habituated impulse. Again, it's never something anyone else can decide for anyone else. In another sense, if the outcome of that addiction is undesirable to you, you have no one to blame but yourself.
I think a truely addicted gamer is someone who wants to play less but they can't control how much time they spend gaming once they start playing. If you can look at a clock and say 'time to do something else' then you have enough self control that you're not addicted. If you have no social life or bad grades, you simply prefer gaming and parent nagging as opposed to being 'normal' and bored.
Many people call me an addict. But I think they are correct in calling me one....
My entire grade 12 year of high school I played world of warcraft from 3:30 when I got home till 2:30 in the morning then i'd wake up and play for another hour before I left to school. My weekends included playing world of warcraft from Noon till 6 AM. I sometimes go entire days without leaving my room or eating just playing Starcraft and World of Warcraft.
Often times I've stayed up for 48 hours + playing WoW. I achieved the realm first level 85 achievement on my realm as well (On a high population one too). With Starcraft according to SC2gears my avg time spent playing just Starcraft a day is upwards of 6 hours.
I enjoy it though. I don't hate it so It's all fun and good. I only hate it after extensive loss streaks where I rage....
I've went through 4 headsets in about 6 months from this game.
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.
You should be banned from posting in these topics.
Every time you end the thread because there is nothing else to say
you can totally be addicted to gaming or anything. when it comes to psychological addiction, you know you're addicted when that thing gets taken away and you get some clear psychological issue going on, like you have childish outbursts or you get depressed and it consumes your thoughts and desires or something. if you can just occupy yourself with other things, but you play video games a lot, you just like video games a lot
Why isn't it defined simply as any other addiction? The difference between being a gaming addict and most other addictions is that it doesn't cost money, only time. We say someone is an alcoholic when he spends all the money he has on alcohol and it interferes with his work/family/life in general, why not say the same about a gaming addict? So when you play videogames for so many hours a day that you can't study/ go to class/ go to work/ whatever, then you are an addict. Of course, progamers get it easy, playing 10 hours a day IS their work
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.
@Tort: I think, if you stick with the above "definition" going in, you'll be fine. Let us know what you did/how it went.
I've been a wow addict in the past and from my experience addiction is where you start losing your grip on reality and instead focus on an alternate one. During the time that I was immersed in wow, I would think about the game all day long even when I wasn't playing it and my thoughts were completely occupied with in-game details. Of course, I would get agitated when 'real life' interfered with my game time.
The way I see it, the people that are most weak to addiction either feel that real life is not stimulating enough, or they do not have the strength to confront real life head on. Both of those cases would lead a person to avoid reality and instead embrace a false reality where rewards easily accessible, situations are easier to control, and of course where stimuli are widely available. I would go as far as to say that this is the motivating factor for drug addiction as well. Of course repeated exposure and physical dependence worsens the situation, but having the mentality of 'turning off' real life primes a person to be more susceptible to addiction.
I don't mean to generalize what I'm saying to all addicts or all gamers because after all I'm pulling all of this out of my ass without any scientific backing but instead from self-introspection. I just wanted to share this because only when I realized that I needed to regain my grip on reality and figure out why I couldn't shake off my addiction, I was only then able to address the problem directly. I still game and smoke weed occasionally, but I try to keep myself firmly grounded and see things for what they really are.
EPT
