Video Game Addiction

[Steezie]

True but nowhere near the level of MMORPGs.

How so? There is NOTHING preventing you from stopping and walking away.

Games are much more interactive than movies or books. Generally speaking.

Initially yes, but with games theres still a limit to how involved you can get

 

[MauiMamma]

Ok, so well said, all, up to this point.
Thank you so much for your replies and information.

I apologize for resurrecting an old thread, but after doing a general search on my search engine this is one of the FEW Christian options regarding Gaming Addiction.


To recap, I don't think Gaming itself is THE problem.
I am not here to criticize and put out of business video games.

I agree that the combination of people who are prone to getting addicted or needing an escape from the problems that plague them becoming involved with these high endorphin increasing, instant gratification, time consuming games is what creates a problem. These games seem to feed and fulfill what the addict is missing in their lives.

As a friend here put it so well:

1)It relieves loneliness (and boredom).

2)It allows a person to *take the easy road*. It gives an illusion of much being gained with real little effort.

3)It breeds/promotes selfishness. All of the personal time spent on oneself and pleasures.

Again if a person is not prone to those characteristics, it might not be a problem.

I do know from experience though, that in my *if you can't beat them, join them* approach to my husbands problem, I signed up and played with him. Although it wasn't something ultra interesting to me, the game itself demanded much time of me. It is the way they are designed. So not only do they provoke an addictive personality, they naturally require at lot of time and involvement.

I think also, that this problem is not readily acknowledged for fear of:
1) the games themselves getting a *bad rap* and potentially doing harm to the business.
and 2) people that are addicted having to admit and face their problem.

To respond to the OT:
I read on another Gamers anonymous type of site, that the traditional 12 step program seems to be a reasonable and helpful solution.
Ultimately, I believe it's about putting God first. Period. Then living according to His guidelines.
I am learning that unless an addict (of any kind) realizes they have a problem, there is nothing anyone else can do about it. It has been one of my biggest frustrations. I have also found relief in giving up helping my husband. Only God can do that. It is very sad though, because in the end it may be too late to save our marriage and for him to be able to have some custody of his child.

To Steezie:

My husband neglects our son by ignoring him for 7 hours straight while I am at work. He neglects me by playing his game ALL DAY LONG and only muttering a few words occasionally.

 

[Dannager]

How do we identify those prone to addiction before they get addicted?

To my knowledge, you don't. Perhaps some day down the line we'll be able to determine this somehow, but as it stands you can't begin to deal with the problem until it manifests itself in some way.

Many games have great replay value and can be played indefinately. All games reward players with more content if they invest time in the game.

Not all games, and with nowhere near the pull that MMOs have. The progression in an MMO is slow, long and constant, with a (mostly) uniform sense of achievement.

So then it would seem that problems arise when un-healthy behavior is engaged in by the person with regards to thier own life choices, not behavior caused by the game.

Yes. The issue is one of balance. For most mental health specialists, something becomes an addiction when your use begins to interfere with things you would normally engage in.

I'd also like to know why games are any different than movies or books.

They create a much more personal feeling of accomplishment. Whereas in a movie or book some character (who is "owned" by the book's author) is progressing through the story, in a game you share in your character's achievement because you feel that you have helped the process along.

 

[Dannager]

How so? There is NOTHING preventing you from stopping and walking away.

Nothing aside from an addiction-prone personality.

Initially yes, but with games theres still a limit to how involved you can get

With MMOs the limit is usually far beyond the threshold of addiction.

 

[Steezie]

My husband neglects our son by ignoring him for 7 hours straight while I am at work. He neglects me by playing his game ALL DAY LONG and only muttering a few words occasionally.

Then he needs one of two things
1. A rolling pin to the jaw (Figuratively or literally although literally is more direct)
2. The boot
I leave it up to you to decide which one best fits your situation

Allow me to share a few ducats of experience.

When I was younger, I had no friends. Most people who want to plant a shotgun shell in thier forehead generally have atleast one person to talk to. Me? Zero. I had no social life and an over-whelming desire to hurl myself into oncomming traffic when I found a game. That game was SimCity 2000 and it brought me into the world of gaming.

As I became interested in games, I found something interesting. The more I played the games, the less I felt like trying to find out what a loaded gun tasted like. They got me to where I actually have three things I lacked during the time that I would pray that Indepedence Day was a documentary sent from the future, a beautiful fiancee, great friends, and a future.

Now that experience was enough to lauch a decade long career of gaming. I have 200 games and I have played in excess of 500 (demos and non-PC games included). I have the full ability to step away from a game, make love to my fiancee, go out to dinner, hang out with friends, or go to school.

Now I am the epitome of what a gaming adict should be. And I am also the epitome of someone who can game seriously and STILL, shock of shockers, actually have an active social and love life.

Now to me that says a few things.

One, people have an un-ending talent for wanting to blame problems on things beyond thier control, ergo taking responsibility for the problem AWAY from them

Two, most people dont understand the mechanics of addiction

Three, that oh my gods people actually DO get enjoyment out of clicking a mouse for three straight hours

1) the games themselves getting a *bad rap* and potentially doing harm to the business.

Why dont we ask Joe Cammel about that? Addiction doesnt slow a business down.

2) people that are addicted having to admit and face their problem.

Y'know it was always kinda funny to me. You were an addict if two things happened. One, you SAID you were, or two, someone AROUND you said you were. If someone said "Hey, dipstick, you are an ADDICT pal!" ya couldnt really say anything. Because, hey, if you deny it, you just dont want to face up to thier problem.

Now dont get me wrong, there are people out there who put the real world in the backseat and move games up to shotgun. Allthough why the gaming public who can resist the urge to do lines of crushed up caffiene pills off a World of Warcraft jewel case so they can stay awake longer and play should suffer for the actions of someone who knows Azeroth inside and out because he hasnt left there, or his seat for that matter, in days is totally beyond me.

Nothing aside from an addiction-prone personality.

Tell ya what, you show me some hardcore scientific data that conclusively proves that games THEMSELVES are addictive and dont just make a select group spend all thier gold on that +8 sword and then we'll talk about further regulation

With MMOs the limit is usually far beyond the threshold of addiction.

And you can demonstrate that how?

 

[Dannager]

Tell ya what, you show me some hardcore scientific data that conclusively proves that games THEMSELVES are addictive and dont just make a select group spend all thier gold on that +8 sword and then we'll talk about further regulation

Perhaps you misunderstand me. I don't feel that games require regulation. I'm a gamer. In fact, I'm probably one of the more hardcore. Regulation would be terrible. Games are addictive to those who have addiction-prone personalities and like playing games, just like chocolate is addictive to those who have addiction-prone personalities and like chocolate. Anything that is pleasurable or fun can be potentially addictive to those who are prone to it. Most people are not prone to it. Some are. That's the long and short of it.

And you can demonstrate that how?

I imagine most self-described WoW addicts would agree with me. Are you interested in a case study, though?

 

[Steezie]

Perhaps you misunderstand me. I don't feel that games require regulation. I'm a gamer. In fact, I'm probably one of the more hardcore. Regulation would be terrible. Games are addictive to those who have addiction-prone personalities and like playing games, just like chocolate is addictive to those who have addiction-prone personalities and like chocolate. Anything that is pleasurable or fun can be potentially addictive to those who are prone to it. Most people are not prone to it. Some are. That's the long and short of it.

That theory forgets one thing. With an addiction, there is an escilation that occurs with use. A tolerance. There is only so much time that can be spent playing games and so many games that can be played. Why do people not grow tolerant of games?

 

[Dannager]

That theory forgets one thing. With an addiction, there is an escilation that occurs with use.

No, that's not necessarily true. This occurs with chemical addictions because your body develops a physical tolerance for the chemical in question, and thus requires more and more to achieve the same result. This isn't a requirement of all addictions, though.

There is only so much time that can be spent playing games and so many games that can be played. Why do people not grow tolerant of games?

Because escalation of need isn't a necessary characteristic of addiction, nor is it necessarily unlimited when it does apply.

 

[Steezie]

No, that's not necessarily true. This occurs with chemical addictions because your body develops a physical tolerance for the chemical in question, and thus requires more and more to achieve the same result. This isn't a requirement of all addictions, though.

Then what is causing the addiction in games? They do not directly chemically effect the body.

 

[Dannager]

Then what is causing the addiction in games? They do not directly chemically effect the body.

No, but the action of playing the game can trigger feelings of accomplishment and progress as a learned response. I'd guess that, in extreme cases, it could trigger that sort of response even in the absence of making any real progress in the game. This is pretty uniform regardless of the action or stimulus a person is addicted to.

 

[AWorkInProgress]

Then he needs one of two things
1. A rolling pin to the jaw (Figuratively or literally although literally is more direct)
2. The boot
I leave it up to you to decide which one best fits your situation

Allow me to share a few ducats of experience.

When I was younger, I had no friends. Most people who want to plant a shotgun shell in thier forehead generally have atleast one person to talk to. Me? Zero. I had no social life and an over-whelming desire to hurl myself into oncomming traffic when I found a game. That game was SimCity 2000 and it brought me into the world of gaming.

As I became interested in games, I found something interesting. The more I played the games, the less I felt like trying to find out what a loaded gun tasted like. They got me to where I actually have three things I lacked during the time that I would pray that Indepedence Day was a documentary sent from the future, a beautiful fiancee, great friends, and a future.

Now that experience was enough to lauch a decade long career of gaming. I have 200 games and I have played in excess of 500 (demos and non-PC games included). I have the full ability to step away from a game, make love to my fiancee, go out to dinner, hang out with friends, or go to school.

Now I am the epitome of what a gaming adict should be. And I am also the epitome of someone who can game seriously and STILL, shock of shockers, actually have an active social and love life.

Now to me that says a few things.

One, people have an un-ending talent for wanting to blame problems on things beyond thier control, ergo taking responsibility for the problem AWAY from them

Two, most people dont understand the mechanics of addiction

Three, that oh my gods people actually DO get enjoyment out of clicking a mouse for three straight hours

Why dont we ask Joe Cammel about that? Addiction doesnt slow a business down.

Y'know it was always kinda funny to me. You were an addict if two things happened. One, you SAID you were, or two, someone AROUND you said you were. If someone said "Hey, dipstick, you are an ADDICT pal!" ya couldnt really say anything. Because, hey, if you deny it, you just dont want to face up to thier problem.

Now dont get me wrong, there are people out there who put the real world in the backseat and move games up to shotgun. Allthough why the gaming public who can resist the urge to do lines of crushed up caffiene pills off a World of Warcraft jewel case so they can stay awake longer and play should suffer for the actions of someone who knows Azeroth inside and out because he hasnt left there, or his seat for that matter, in days is totally beyond me.

Tell ya what, you show me some hardcore scientific data that conclusively proves that games THEMSELVES are addictive and dont just make a select group spend all thier gold on that +8 sword and then we'll talk about further regulation

And you can demonstrate that how?

Im sorry, but to even try to rationalize your arguements is a waste of time.

If a player's life is more involved in nothing, it means they have a problem and figure their life out. For once you pull the plug from their servers, nothing is about all you have achieved.

2 Chronicles 7:14

"14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. " -God

Was the passage my step dad shared with me that became the plan to my salvation. I see this in play in many other forums of recovery.

 

[Steezie]

No, but the action of playing the game can trigger feelings of accomplishment and progress as a learned response. I'd guess that, in extreme cases, it could trigger that sort of response even in the absence of making any real progress in the game. This is pretty uniform regardless of the action or stimulus a person is addicted to.

The brain grows tolerant to any chemical that is boosted beyond normal levels.

Activities that the brain finds pleasurable must be expanded uppon to remain pleasureable. A fisherman will go out fishing more than once, a woodcarver will carve more than one thing, a collector will collect more than one thing. This is true even of non-addicts.

And it may interest you to know that tolerance is one of the first critera for the highly disputed diagnosis of Game Addiction ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_addiction )

 

[Dannager]

The brain grows tolerant to any chemical that is boosted beyond normal levels.

Activities that the brain finds pleasurable must be expanded uppon to remain pleasureable. A fisherman will go out fishing more than once, a woodcarver will carve more than one thing, a collector will collect more than one thing. This is true even of non-addicts.

And it may interest you to know that tolerance is one of the first critera for the highly disputed diagnosis of Game Addiction ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_addiction )

In some addictions, the escalation of tolerance is certainly a factor. In video game addiction, though, from my experience I've seen it become very extreme, very quickly and then level off once the individual's "free" time has been completely consumed, at which point it remains semi-constant.

 

[Steezie]

In some addictions, the escalation of tolerance is certainly a factor. In video game addiction, though, from my experience I've seen it become very extreme, very quickly and then level off once the individual's "free" time has been completely consumed, at which point it remains semi-constant.

That does not follow the normal pattern of addiction.

 

[Dannager]

That does not follow the normal pattern of addiction.

Yet it's addiction all the same, whether it adheres to the norm or not.

 

[Steezie]

Yet it's addiction all the same, whether it adheres to the norm or not.

If I take three spoonfulls of what appears to be rice and I eat them all and one of them tastes like chicken, its a pretty sure bet that that last one probably was not rice.

Video game addiction is non-existant

 

[Dannager]

If I take three spoonfulls of what appears to be rice and I eat them all and one of them tastes like chicken, its a pretty sure bet that that last one probably was not rice.

You cannot pin addiction down into following a strict set of guidelines like that. Violating one norm of addiction does not suddenly make it no longer addiction.

Video game addiction is non-existant

No, it's not. It exists.

 

[Steezie]

You cannot pin addiction down into following a strict set of guidelines like that. Violating one norm of addiction does not suddenly make it no longer addiction.

Well I hate to break it to you but there are classifications of such things for a reason and we cant arbitrarily switch them around when we want to

No, it's not. It exists.

And yet you can show no viable medical evidence to suggest this

 

[Dannager]

Well I hate to break it to you but there are classifications of such things for a reason and we cant arbitrarily switch them around when we want to

It's not a matter of switching them around. The classifications in this case exist as symptoms, and I'm sure you're well aware that in the case of any medical issue not all symptoms need to be present for a diagnosis.

And yet you can show no viable medical evidence to suggest this

I'd like to establish that it is possible, in principle, before I start hunting studies down.

 

[Tariel]

Video games are the most recent in my long list of addictions. I get depressed when it's time for class or even meals because that's a few hours that I'm not spending in front of my computer. Nevertheless, my social life is more active than it's ever been, thank you very much. It is possible to spend 6-8 hours gaming, another few hours writing, a little while for homework...and still have a real life. I do it, and I've been doing it for as long as I can remember (though the exact addiction has changed). And on the subject as to whether or not gaming is an addiction....I'd say that anybody who stays up all night long either playing video games or researching obscure facts about any work of fiction simply because he or she finds it so enticing that it is difficult to stop is addicted to whatever it is.