Slashdot Mirror
Coping with Gaming Addiction
Several readers submitted this story in the Washington Post about gaming addiction in adolescents and adults. The main sources of the story are two people who get paid for solving this problem, so they have an incentive to make it sound scary and widespread, but on the other hand, most Slashdot readers probably have a... friend... who spends too much time playing video games.
Here's a hint: if you're one of those idiots who insists on giving your kid a name with "unique" spelling, at least don't pick a "gaye" name.
John
pay me to do a slashdot addiction survey. please.
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insert sig here,here, and here
I have a friend who plays them addictively... I watched him kill bugs for an hour in Everquest to build experience points (I made fun of him till he quit). I'm sorry but that's just a waste of time.
I think he's addicted to these games because it gives him a sense of accomplishment, something that doesn't come so easily for him in the real world.
could be that way with a lot of gamers...
How many addicted gamers do you know who have a life you would call satisfying away from the computer?
Oooh! Doom 3! [CARRIER LOST]
I do quite well with it, thank you very much.
try and play doom3 on a radeon 9200 . that should scare you away from video games for a few weeks.
Marge, get me your address book, 4 beers, and my conversation hat.
but instead, play games all day.
Can have a problem with just about any activity.
If you don't know someone who's addicted to gaming or online chat, I'm sure you know someone who's a work-a-holic - not just a hard worker, but someone completely obsessed with the trivialities of their work.
A lot of people are addicted to television. People who literally can't cope properly without it. You've seen them. I saw plenty them the last time a hurricane knocked the power out around here.
I don't need no instructions to know how to rock!!!!
I don't have a video game addiction, I only make them, play them, and spend every waking moment thinking about them ...
This goes with spending all my free cash on them, dreaming about them, and of couse the occasional pleasuring my self over them.
- MOSKIE
Call me when they have something to cure a slashdot addiction.
When I was growing up, a lot of kids spent all day watching TV. They'd come home from school and watch TV. Weekends meant watching TV. Guess what, its not games, its kids. When a young person can find something entertaining to do (homework tends not to be entertaining) they'll stick with it. I'm an avid gamer (at the age of 29) but it is not an addiction. Gaming is more entertaining that any TV show I've ever seen, and at least online gaming involves SOME interaction with other people. Of course the best alternative would be some sort of sport.
Am I the only one who thinks that the best solution is to simply take away the games or the computer?
Gamers anonymous would rock, atleast I could get some cheat codes and strategies while being "helped"
who is dangerously addicted to Warcraft III battlenet games. He works shifts and when hes not working, hes playing the game... and swearing constantly, banging his fists on the desk and using the F word quite excessively. It scares me and my cat. When I've had enough, I log into the good ole Linksys and block ports 6112 through 6120 and the problem is solved for a little while. At this point he does something constructive, like laundry or cleaning his room. This a good solution for those who have control over their home networks. :)
I'm not addicted, I've /quit games hundreds of times
I'm sick of there being addictions to everything. Dr Pepper addiction. Sex and the City addiction. The fact is people are lazy and have no will power and allow themselves to form habits.
Want a REAL addiction? Try crack or heroin or be quiet and learn some self discipline.
"Its not a problem until you can't afford to pay for it anymore."
It's pretty simple, parents need to take responsibility too.
An addiction is when your "addiction" creates negative consequences in daily life. An example would be having to play before going to school, and constantly being late for class and failing the class. If you play for 13 hours straight, eating while you play over a saturday night because nothing better is going on or you're going through a social life slump, that is not an addiction.
i'm not an alcoholic. i'm a drunk. alcoholics go to meetings.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.
-Oscar Wilde
Poor guy. I understand the problem. A lot of sports, when practiced intensely, are linked to drug abuse. This poor kid is probably doped up to his eyes. His parents must, for his own good, take him off these dangerous sports fields and let him stay home! Why not buy him a couple of video games?
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Mad science! Robots! Underwear! Cute girls! Full comic online! http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/
Mostly, it seems to stem, in most of the addicts I'v talked to, from a combination of state run education and depression. Most techies aren't preppy, and infact most of them have had a lot of bad problems early on in life, especially with social rejection and the realization, subconsciouncly, that things were fucked and had to cope with them.
State run education comes in when it makes learning boring and monotonous compaired to videogames and TV. Really, the kids who play videogames are far better prone to be self-learners than slowed down by everyone else. Lord knows when I switched to learning on my own I started learning 3 or 4 times faster, and that's been steadily increasing over the past 2 years. Kids who watch TV just learn take what they're given and sit there until ordered to do something.
I think, mostly, it's getting them away from the games, advertising, TV and this whole screwey culture for a good 3 or 4 months. You'll notice that the kids who have no TV tend to have fewer social problems and fewer problems in life in general, namely because their identity of reality is based off of something solid. When you spend 6 hours a night watching TV, it becomes part o your reality. When you play games, likewise, it becomes a part of your reality. Gamers tend to become more dependant on their medium, namely becuase it integrates more throughly into their reality. By playing games (not shitty arcade games or football, we're talking the heavy stuff, doom, quake, evercrack, ect, games that require thought to win), you begin to understand intrinsically how a lot of things work and how to think through situations.
The last reason, I believe it happens, is becuase kids get something, psychologically, they don't get from the rest of their reality. If they have no control over their lives, then they may like playing a major RPG game or engauging in something that makes them feel important and in control. Same goes for adults. Some kids get a sense of social acceptance through the internet by playing games with other people. It can also be a heavily spirtual, if even tribal, experience where kids can hit an almost meditative, sublime minerva-type state. I know that, for quite some time, that was why I played games. It's hard to get to that high, but baby when you hit it is it ever so gooooooood (especially when you've got music pumping).
As for that article, it's truely scary. They're equating videogame addiction to crack addiction (which isn't as nearly as bad, imho, the word evercrack is satire afterall), then talking about "guides" to help parents "identify" the problem, from the sound of the article, it's the same thing with school teachers usingdugs to medicate problem kids. Really, it's about learning to like other things. When you're all consuming desire for 13 years is supposed to be slow, boring learning and sleep, games can become the number 1 thing you do. This becomes a problem, because kids just can't develop into real people like that, unless they're in a gaming clan inwhich older people usually talk to em' and help to set em' straight.
Candy-Coated Knowledge
I attended an instructional technology conference last month where a doctoral student presented her research into Never Winter Nights. A brief discussion followed where several "former gamers" commented, I being one of them.
When the session was over, one of the other recovering gamers approached me and told me going cold turkey was really difficult. He then asked me how I quit. The only answer I could give him was, "I got married."
I'd rather have someone respond than be modded up.
There are some pretty clear differences between a "hobby or passion" and addiction. I believe psychologists start using diagnostic language like "addiction" when the activity in question starts to interfere with the other aspects of your life, like holding down a job, paying bills on time, keeping up with friends, etc...
Also, just because someone "bounces back" from an addiction doesn't mean they don't have a problem... alchoholics, compulsive gamblers, and others may have a cycle of trying to give it up every so often when things start get get really out of control, then relapsing once they've gotten their act together.
My father in law was an alchoholic, but had been sober for over a decade when he died. He told me that drinking and going cold turkey were both possible for someone addicted to alchohol, but that the sign of a true alchoholic is that they can't drink in moderation. The idea of drinking only one or two drinks per day is inconceivable to them... and I believe this is true for other addictions as well. This is why 12 step programs don't talk about being "cured"... you're always an addict, and you're either clean, or you're not. There is no middle ground.
The measure of addiction is not the impact it has on those around you- it's about your state of mind, and how easily you can quit. Your example of someone quitting a job and playing Evercrack until they're broke is a perfect example of this... outside circumstances (poverty) forced them to stop. I can't think of a better description of addiction.
-R
"Ordinary" games such as first-person-shooters provide this sense of progression to a lesser degree. The more you play the better you get and when you perceive the progress you get your serotonin rush. However, after a while you get tired or hungry, your performance suffers and ends the reward of continued play. MMORPGS are less skill-intensive and continue to reward the player for button-mashing until they can no longer keep their eyes open.
The community of MMORPG players can also reinforce this addiction, by providing a surrogate to a "real life" community, thus making it easier to withdraw from personal contacts and harder to start them up again. Cults use much the same technique to make it difficult for members to leave and rejoin the larger community.
How many times do we have to go over this?
BLAME THE PARENTS...
First it was Ozzy Osbourne records, then D&D, now video games.
Case in point... This woolley lady...
The mother of a 21-year old EverQuest addict who killed himself last Thanksgiving morning is filing a lawsuit against Sony Entertainment on the grounds that the addictive nature of the game weakened her son to the point of suicide. Elizabeth Woolley of Osceola, Wisconsin says that her son, Shawn, was so addicted to EverQuest that he surrendered everything - his home, family, and job - to play the game.
Shawn had more than his share of personal problems - in fact, if you've been reading this site for a while, you can practically recite them along with me. He was diagnosed with "depression and schizoid personality disorder, symptoms of which include a lack of desire for social relationships, little or no sex drive and a limited range of emotions in social settings." He was also an epileptic, and according to his mother, his last eight seizures were due to computer use.
Woolley's lawyer is the "colorful" attorney Jack Thompson, who is most famous for the 1990 debacle over rap group 2 Live Crew. Thompson attempted to get the members of the infamous rap group thrown into jail because their album As Nasty As They Wanna Be contained numerous instances of words that he just didn't like.
Elizabeth Woolley wants a label on games like EverQuest, to warn people of the potential dangers of playing them for extended periods of time. This has two problems with it:
Woolley herself had no need of such a label, as she was fully aware of her son's mental and physical problems, and knew that his game playing was getting out of hand.
Neither Woolley nor her son were likely to heed such a label if it did exist previously, since they both seemed to have ignored the epilepsy warning that came with EverQuest - the same warning that is voluntarily printed in the manual for practically every video game on the market.
Lets blame Sony for making the game, Walmart for selling the bullets, Ozzy for making the records, and leave the innocent parents alone.
There are alot of gamers out there... Im one of them, I go to lan parties, have a ton of cyber friends, but I also have a girlfriend, a job, a car, and many friends in RL... because my parents taught me the ability to differentiate between REALITY AND FANTASY
I wish more parents would do the same.
Fire in the hands of the village idiot is no tool, but a weapon of mass destruction
Any negative results those people experience are because of social and mental problems they have...not because they play games. If someone took away their computer, they'd spend all of their time reading, watching TV, working out or staring at a wall. They are depressed, suffer from OCD, anxiety issues, self-esteem issues...lots of things.
For example, if you know a man who washes his hands every 30 minutes, gets up in the middle of the night to wash his hands and mostly stays at home so he is able to wash his hands at regular times do you say that he is addicted to washing his hands? No, you recognize that he has a mental disorder and get him treatment. Does that make hand washing bad? No, its not the activity, its the illness that should be corrected.
I've been playing games for years and have managed to get an education, maintain a successful career and enjoy a healthy social life. Why? Because I'm a healthy person. I like myself and those around me, I enjoy my days at work, my evenings with friends and family and my evenings gaming. My gaming groups are just friends I hang out with.
In my time gaming, I've come accross people with social problems, anxiety problems, depression and severe self-esteem issues. I think the reason they turn to gaming is because it allows them to interact with others in a social enviornment where there is a barrier that keeps others at a safe distance and keeps their problems secret. They get a chance to be judged just on their gaming skills and their chat humor. They usually find people who like them and maybe who share their problems.
I spend a significant amount of time gaming and will continue to do so until I no longer enjoy it. I do not consider it an addiction and never will. For years, I've played games or read books instead of watching TV. While roommates and family have come home and watched mindless sitcoms and gameshows, I was in the other room reading or slaughtering my enemies. I think my time was better spent.
At least when you're playing Madden NFL 2004 you know your dad won't yell obscenities at the other team, shit on the ref's car hood after the game, or beat you for not "giving it 110%". There's no chance of your coach molesting you, or of losing your first adult teeth to a cleat in the face. And the other players won't stick pine cones up your butt when you join the team.
Freedom: "I won't!"
He plays...*gasp*..."sometimes up to six hours a day."
Amateur.
Joking aside, if he spent six hours a day watching tv it would be considered no big deal. If he spent six hours a day reading slashdot, it would be...okay it would be pretty freaking weird...but still it would be considered no big deal.
But no, he plays games, which, as we all know, are the devil. They have warped his fragile mind. He needs psychological help! Yadda yadda yadda.
Like the violence on TV is different from the violence on a game, and like...seeing...violence makes you an evil monster.
Hell I've been to LAN games that started on friday and didn't end until Sunday around five o'clock. Went to work the next day, did fine. Is it an addicition? No, because I didn't bust down the walls trying to get my fix at any time during the work week. I don't do it often. It's a hobby. It's fun.
God forbid you're not a vapid consumer of "Friends" and "Will and Grace". Games'll rot your mind, you know.
Now go watch some damn TV.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
If you spend most of your free time (free meaning time that you have to do whatever you like with) playing games because that's genuinely what you like doing. Many Americans have this obsession with games somehow being bad. It's ok to spend 4 hours at the bar chatting with people and drinking, it's ok to watch 3 hours of TV, but playing games? Must be something wrong with you!
Different peopel find different things entertaining and for some, games are the most entertaining. There is nothing at all wrong with that.
Part of the problem is we have a cultural overemphasis on being social. Being an extravert is seen as good and normal, whereas being an intravert is seen as bad and problematic. Now it's quite the opposite in, say, Japan. There being a quite introvert is valued and being an extravert is frowned upon.
This isn't to say that no social contact is healthy, we are a social species. However different peopel have different amounts they like. Just because someone is generally an intravert and doesn't want to be in social activities all the time, that's fine.
As the parent noted, it's only a problem and thus an addiction if it starts interfering with your life. If you are late to work and missing important events all the time because you are playing games, you have a problem. If you choose to spend your free time playing games, you do not have a problem.
I bought a Mac
in bed.
If you spend six hours a day watching TV and I am your friend then I am going to tell you to get out more. I don't consider that normal. If you spend six hours a day reading Slashdot then not only am I going to tell you to get out more but you are also a good candidate for one of those internet addiction programs. In fact the only situation I can think of where it is considered normal to sit there like a vegetable for six hours or more is work :)
This is different than someone who goes to LAN parties, which is basically a social function. Like you said, you went to a LAN party and then went to work the next day. This is like a late night party with a lot of drinking. It doesn't necessarily indicate a drinking problem because there is no pattern and it isn't necessarily interfering with the rest of your life.
Kids who spend six hours a day playing video games are missing real life experiences. I know this from experience, because I was a compulsive gamer when I was young. I think this problem should be recognized so that kids and their parents can starting doing something about this problem.
henceforth known as a "Ghetto Name". A Ghetto Name implies a lack of education or sophistication
on the part of the one who gave the name. By no means is having a Ghetto Name indicative of anything
negative about the individual unfortunate enough to bear it.
The list applies only to those of us who are native born black Americans. I will leave the list of Red Neck names or
Trailer Park names to Jeff Foxxworthy or someone else. This list is mine.
#1. If your name is misspelled, it is a Ghetto Name.
#2. If your first name includes an apostrophe, it is a Ghetto Name.
#3. If your first name includes the sounds "eeta", "ona", "eekwa", "onda" or "eesha", it is a Ghetto Name.
#4. If your first name is an adjective or an adverb, it is a Ghetto Name.
#5. If your first name is the last name of a former president of the US, it is a Ghetto Name.
#6. If your first name consists of a regular name preceeded by "Ne", "La"
#7. If your first name begins with the sound "My"/"Mi", "Ty", or "Shy"/"Shi", it is a Ghetto Name.
#8. If your first name consists of a monosyllabic word repeated two or more times, it is a Ghetto Name.
#9. If your first name is the same as a City, State, Country or Emotion, it is a Ghetto Name.
#10. If you have never known of another human being who bears your name, it is a Ghetto Name.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
If I am a gaming "addict" and I game 2 hours a day, every day, at times that don't interfere with some other part of my life, who the hell cares?
If someone smokes 3 cigarettes a day, who the hell cares? That guy is smoking less than a pack a week! I get more secondhand smoke than that!
So no, my argument is NOT faulty. Time and quantity is the heart of the whole issue. If your "addiction" doesn't interfere with your life, your job, or alienate your family, then its not a big deal, and YOU should get to worrying about something that actually matters, rather than spending your dissaproval on a moderate and in control habit.
Makes me sick. I've seen alcoholics that can take a quart of vodka A DAY, or a pack of cigarettes at ONE MEAL, and you talk about fiddling nothing habits? Addicts don't stop. Thats practically the definition. A smoker doesn't HAVE three cigarettes if he's addicted.
If you can't drag someone from his computer, if he gets the shakes when the power goes out or freaks out when the cable dies, yea, get him some counsiling, but just because he games 6 hours a day, that means NOTHING.
So spare me your moralistic babble. If I read 12 hours a day, which I do sometimes, you'd think it was great, but I've had a hell of a lot more trouble putting down a book than I've ever had turning off a damn computer.
ad logicam Claiming a proposition is false because it was presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.