I just watched this TedEx Talk on video game addiction:
It's pretty awesome because the speaker doesn't actually want to change your beliefs about video games, he's just a guy that was playing too much of them.
One of the bits that really hit home for me was the four reasons people play video games that he cites at 3:20. I think he nailed it, thinking back on when I started playing video games too much.
I'm not sure if I have a problem with video game addiction anymore, but there certainly was a time in my life where that was the case.
I also think that addressing the issue of how much time small children spend with ipads is important. A buddy of mine has kids and one of them is eight years old and can't read but is on his mom's iPad all the time... It's crazy how much screen time little kids get these days (heh, not that us adults are much better).
Anyways, just wanted to share that in case anyone's interested.
I felt that even though his message was fairly clear, the way he spoke seemed to say that video games are bad and the goal is to "stop playing video games". If you stop one addiction completely, you'll just fill it with another. After I quit WoW, I found I had so much more time on my hands. Soon afterwards I replaced that time with Skyrim. A better focus would be to learn how to do it in moderation.
It also doesn't help that there are a lot of games with a progression system that reward players the more time they play. It makes people play a lot more then they would normally play because they are focused on the next tier level or reward as their goal. It also distracts from normal daily activities which, to the gamer, could be spent on working toward the reward.
A lot of games also have a lot of randomness involved, turning the game into a more sophisticated form of gambling. I experienced this with Diablo 2 in high school. Then I downloaded a bot to do all the work for me (there is a joy of seeing a rare item drop after you kill a boss, just as there is a joy when the slot machines pay out). Same thing with finding a shiny in Pokemon.
It was interesting to hear his story, although I am curious about what video games he was addicted to. WoW? Call of Duty?
It's actually similar, if not the same thing. "Addiction" just has a more negative connotation/stigma associated with it, which may lead to people refusing to acknowledge it's a problem in the first place, thus preventing them from getting help/tx.
Something worthy of note for anyone doubting the existence of video game addiction: some psychological disorders are almost nonexistent in certain cultures yet very common in others. Some are even entirely culture-specific. For at least a few countries, video game addiction is a large enough problem to warrant direct government intervention, tons of research into the disorder and extensive therapy for sufferers. It's a real thing, even if you haven't seen it yet.
On October 24 2013 03:38 Leopoldshark wrote: I felt that even though his message was fairly clear, the way he spoke seemed to say that video games are bad and the goal is to "stop playing video games". If you stop one addiction completely, you'll just fill it with another. After I quit WoW, I found I had so much more time on my hands. Soon afterwards I replaced that time with Skyrim. A better focus would be to learn how to do it in moderation.
It also doesn't help that there are a lot of games with a progression system that reward players the more time they play. It makes people play a lot more then they would normally play because they are focused on the next tier level or reward as their goal. It also distracts from normal daily activities which, to the gamer, could be spent on working toward the reward.
A lot of games also have a lot of randomness involved, turning the game into a more sophisticated form of gambling. I experienced this with Diablo 2 in high school. Then I downloaded a bot to do all the work for me (there is a joy of seeing a rare item drop after you kill a boss, just as there is a joy when the slot machines pay out). Same thing with finding a shiny in Pokemon.
It was interesting to hear his story, although I am curious about what video games he was addicted to. WoW? Call of Duty?
It was CoD and Starcraft according to his blog. (Actually that's how I ended up watching the Ted talk).
On October 24 2013 03:38 Leopoldshark wrote: I felt that even though his message was fairly clear, the way he spoke seemed to say that video games are bad and the goal is to "stop playing video games". If you stop one addiction completely, you'll just fill it with another. After I quit WoW, I found I had so much more time on my hands. Soon afterwards I replaced that time with Skyrim. A better focus would be to learn how to do it in moderation.
That's pretty much the impression I got as well. Seemed to me like he was saying that if you're playing video games you're addicted to them and should stop playing completely. I'm glad he mentioned that playing in moderation is fine, but the rest of his talk seems to have overshadowed that.
The reasons he covered for being addicted certainly resonated with me a bit though. I spent several years not really sure what I wanted to do with my life, working in a crappy job with pretty much all my friends being online. Spent most of that time outside work playing WoW pretty heavily, now that I know what I want to do with my life and have/am working towards a job I enjoy, I don't feel the need to play as much. Looking back, I'd also say playing WoW as much as I did helped me avoid becoming depressed.
Video game addiction does not exist simply be cause video games is not a single thing to be addicted to. Is it the social aspect? Sense of accomplishment? The actual gameplay? The need to collect stuff? Etc. I have interviewed psychologists that treat people with video game problems and that is what they say for one.
Problem with video games is they are fucking great value for money, really easy to do (no need to travel, drive etc.) and more fun than a lot of other things out there.
Think about it: you could go to a random club, have some crappy drinks (mark up baby), maybe get drunk or stay in, buy some proper drinks (premium spirits and craft beer woop woop) and go shoot shit up on a space station etc.
It's a ridiculously good way to escape from the doldrums of most places.
I have met so many people that work so hard for their job/school and struggle to face each day because they hate it. No thx.
On October 24 2013 03:19 riotjune wrote: I prefer the term "problematic use."
On October 24 2013 03:29 Godwrath wrote: Or just "growing up".
so you guys say that people can't actually be addicted to video games?
That's what I would say, yes. Excessive use of video games is a symptom, not a cause.
I liked the part of the video where the guy decided to be practical instead of fucking around with semantics and said it doesn't matter if you want to call it "excessive use of video games" or "video game addiction" or "Yolo McMasterBomb". What matters is that people are in this situation and it hurts them.
You could argue that it makes a difference for whatever clinical treatments psychologists have made up so that they can sell their "expertise" to dumbfounded parents, but I don't think that's us here.
We've managed to start a discussion about terminology when the speaker specifically tried to avoid that discussion by tackling the practical problem from a practical standpoint. Don't rush back to the Greek roots of such and such words when it detracts from the actual issues that the actual people are actually having.
Strangely I feel I have more a computer/internet addiction than video games. This last year, I have procrastinated so much on my master degree that I feel bad about it, especially since I'm near the end but should have finished 1year ago (still gave some courses at the university, so it wasn't totally unproductive).
But when I look at what I do with my days these last few months it's consisting of: playing some games, watching forums, watching some youtube videos, reading a book, house cleaning, reading some wikipedia (depending on what I read earlier), eating with gf, spending some hours with gf, watching a film or one series episode. On the other hand, I also had 2 exams for my profession in the year and I had to spend a month for each studying 6-7h a day. Had no problem with it since... I really had no choice and the goal was simple: read a book, do 30 exercises a day, for a month, pass the exam.
So, for me video game in themselves aren't the issue since I spend maybe 3 hours on average. But is entertainment a problem and keeping me away from important stuff. Yeah kinda... but damn does writing that memoir sucks.
But all in all I feel I must first fix another problem, my sleep pattern. I really have to find a way to sleep/wake at ordinary hours when I have no obligation, have so much trouble waking up it's terrible, I hear alarm, push snooze, fall asleep in 5s only to wake again 3hours later.
EPT
