What?!?! I cant quit when I want to!

Gaming fanatics show hallmarks of drug addiction

 

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8327

 

 

Now they are comparing computer addictions to drug addictions. I have never disagreed with these 'addictions' to games (I actually agree with them), but have always found them humorous. I mean look at everything in 'the world'. I think a more appropriate study would be 'Why do so many people allow themselves to be overtaken by video games'

Interesting article, I agree that video game addicts exists, but I don't understand why they are singled out. Are there that many more cases of video game addiction than other times of addictions? If we're looking into video games, lets look into other media as well. How about TV? Movies? Books? The Internet? Cell phones?

 

Hell while we are talking about drugs vs. video games, lets include: Shopping, Food, Alcohol, Sitting, Football, Pets, etc, etc, etc. All of these are legal entertainment (to an extent), but I wonder why people are seeking to "help" video game addicts over other addicts? People have addictions or obsessions with all kinds of weird things, and they always will.

Video game addiction is a relatively new thing. Most people's extent to video games is the playstation\xbox. Most people haven't been exposed to the vastness and depth to which computer games have been taken.

 

Last I saw WoW said they had around 500,000 US accounts. Lets just say that numebr is 1 million. Of those 1m, probably 30% are addicted pretty good.

 

So, 300,000 for WoW. Lets give a STRONG 10 MMOs with similar numbers. 3 million people addicted to games. You think there is more of less people in the US addicted to alcohol? tobaaco? And don't even go there with caffine.

 

Alcoholism is understood by almost everyone in the sense that people are firmiliar with alcohol, its effects and addictive traits. But how many people a firmiliar with the addictive traits and effects of video games. A large majority of those guesstimated 3million people wouldn't even realize the signs of being addicted to video games.

 

Look at FP itself. One of many guilds on our server, which is one of many servers.

 

We are already to the point of scheduling times in real life we are all going to play the game together. And its not 5-10 of your buddies for a drinking night, its FORTY PEOPLE! When was the last time you had to work with 40 people at once. Even more so on a project (Onyxia) that has to be coordinateed and effectivily executed in under 10min?!

 

Ive lost where I was going with this, but I think its amazing what computer games have brought to society and how society is reacting to them.

I agree with shoop

 

Yeah!

 

The writter of "the thief of time" (forget his name) pointed out that what made human beings so messed up is that we have conquered every challenge nature has thrown at us so far. Thus we are a really bored race and we gotta make up problems among ourselves in order to have a purpose to living. Preservation of the species is not the goal anymore.

 

 

You can get addicted to pretty much everything out there. It's just a matter of hanging out around it for long enough for the dopamine secretors to become stimulated by the thing.

I agree with shoop

 

Yeah!  

 

The writter of \"the thief of time\" (forget his name) pointed out that what made human beings so messed up is that we have conquered every challenge nature has thrown at us so far. Thus we are a really bored race and we gotta make up problems among ourselves in order to have a purpose to living. Preservation of the species is not the goal anymore.

 

 

You can get addicted to pretty much everything out there. It's just a matter of hanging out around it for long enough for the dopamine secretors to become stimulated by the thing.

 

Our lord and savior, Terry Pratchett.

YAY!

 

thanks gynis

I don't think the level of addiction described in the article approaches 30%. It seemed to me they were describing people who quit work and abandon friends to play games. In any case, there are worse addictions, and there are more prevalent ones. I would not be surprised if there were more people addicted to TV than to video games.

i know im addicted. to video games, addicted to video games.

I think it'd be interesting to see what the uber addicted poeple have in common from a psych-profile stand point.

I wont lie. im addicted to wow, but thats cuz my family (from moms side) is prone to addiction. they all smoke, some do drugs. I rather be addicted to woW and be around doing drugs or drinking like there is no tomorrow

I wont lie. im addicted to wow, but thats cuz my family (from moms side) is prone to addiction. they all smoke, some do drugs. I rather be addicted to woW and be around doing drugs or drinking like there is no tomorrow

 

I hate to tell you or anyone else this, but addiction is a choice, the human mind is a power full thing and can tell us we can't live without something, and the only way to live without it is to just give it up. No offense to you or your family members I am currently 'addicted' to WoW, along with cigarettes, but i have given up another 'addiction' to marijuana, wanna know how? I just stopped doing it. I understand not everyone has the (I dont really know how to put this) umm mental strength we'll say, to break out of a cycle, of drug/alcohol use/excessive gaming, because it does take alot of power to overcome these things, the advice I would give to your family members that have addictions is first of all you have to want to quit, if that desire isnt there you never will quit, second of all if you cant do it on your own, please find someone to help, and remember NO ONE can beat your addiction but you. Yet again, I mean no offense to you or your family.

 

The sad truth is, a video game addiction can destroy your life just as much as a crack addiction.

 

B

Please dont boot me from the guild for that post...

Addiction is choice only if you have a strong enough will to change.

Oh I know that. However you can't ignore that in our little heads there are some chemical procceses, in the head of some of us those processes favor some things over the other.

 

Even tho addictions are indeed a choice, your biological make up may make you more vulnerable to them, like some people are alergic to peanuts... exept not in the same context

Oh I know that. However you can't ignore that in our little heads there are some chemical procceses, in the head of some of us those processes favor some things over the other.

 

Even tho addictions are indeed a choice, your biological make up may make you more vulnerable to them, like some people are alergic to peanuts... exept not in the same context

 

Very true.

You know, it seems to me there are more worthwhile epidemics to look into, like skipping class or caffeine.

Or why boobs are a no-no on TV but showing someone getting there head blown off is jsut fine.

I think we can safely say that the human race is screwed up

I think we can safely say that the human race is screwed up

 

Compared to who? Bears? Weird IS normal

Can we lump Forumcraft into Videogames?

No I think forumcraft actually has a life of its own.

Human beings are very social creatures. In fact our ability to survive is dependent on our society building abilities. Throw a singular human being into the wild and he'll die. Throw 10 000 into the wild and they'll build a city and wipe out the indigenous life forms. That's our strength.

 

Hence, when we see human beings disregarding society (I.E. becoming reclusive as is the case with most addictions when that addiction takes priority over socialization) it seems very weird and unnatural. How many of you would look at someone who never left their house, yet had all their needs provided for, as weird? They are no less sucessful at surviving than any other human being because their needs are met, but we still look at it as inferior. I'm sure that mentality has developed out of necessity from our earlier attempts at survival as a species.

 

One thing that always bothered me though was that the Internet isn't considered socialization from an academic standpoint. The main justification for this is that you yourself are not visible to other people. Rather a persona you create that may be entirely different from your true self is presented for others to interact with. However, I don't necessarily see that as sufficient reason to say MMOs are not social environments.

 

It's sort of like the 1900s with physics: before then we used to think in absolutes. For example if you're on a sled traveling 500 meters per second and you throw a ball forward at 5 meters per second, the ball is traveling at 505 meters per second to anyone on the ground in the "rest frame" (in other words not moving). However, after the 1900s we discovered that regardless of which frame you're in (moving or "rest") we all measure the speed of light to be the *exact* same value. That sort of throws a kink into absolute rest frames since if you turn on a flashlight on that sled from before, then the photons from the light will be traveling at c + 500 (where c is the speed of light). But they don't, they travel at c. We had to redefine physics in relative terms (and as a consequence discovered it's impossible to determine a "rest frame" since no frame is prefered for measurements).

 

That's the sort of revolution I expect social sciences to undergo. There is no "real" person in my opinion. The social interactions we undergo is true socialization are really just a physical act of the exact same thing we do online. We are who we are, and present what we wish to present.

 

Anyway, that's my $0.02 on the subject, I agree that video game addictions exist, but I don't believe they are necessarily a bad thing (except when people don't take care of survival).

There is no \"real\" person in my opinion.  The social interactions we undergo is true socialization are really just a physical act of the exact same thing we do online.  We are who we are, and present what we wish to present.

 

Exactly, there is no period during which a human being is not "presenting" himself or herself.