Gaming addiction - your thoughts?

'I ignored my children to play video games'

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co ... y-47333027

Read this article this morning and while video game addiction has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a real thing I remain somewhat sceptical. I guess that stems from the fact that gaming has played a positive role in my life rather than produce anything negative. If the World Health Organization is correct then given my own life long anxieties and hang ups then surely I'd be the perfect candidate for becoming a "gaming addict".

Thoughts?

One of his clients, 18-year-old Liliana - not her real name

I've always wanted to know who chooses these fake names. Lilliana?

Had a bit of an addiction in my late teens/early 20s.

Ended up doing just fine life/career wise I think, but I'm sure it set me back a few years.

6th gen I owned a Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox and GameCube and they were all regularly used

I have times where I am addicted no question. Ignoring food, sleep and other bodily functions to play, when I’m not playing I’m thinking about playing. Ignoring the wife to play. So yes I believe addiction is a real thing.

I've realised I use gaming almost exclusively as a distraction these days. My life, the future of my life, has never been so uncertain so I use gaming to get away from that. I think it's why I fell into Destiny so much: it's largely mindless busywork that's fun but requires very little actual thought.

It's replaced watching TV as my default. Nothing to do? Boot up a game. Lesson cancelled? Game. Time for bed? (Sometimes I try to fit in a) game.

I do worry about it sometimes. As someone who now writes for money I really should be reading or listening to educational podcasts/videos on the subject but no. I have to force my mind off games to do those things.

Can't say I've ever experienced it myself (Football Manager doesn't count, right? ), but can easily see how gaming could become a serious problem for people that have addictive personalities or are regularly them using as a form of escapism from their miserables lives. This is doubly so if they're playing games that have really addictive elements to them, like lootboxes, levelling and online competition.

I'm a bit split on this though - I think if you've got kids or people who genuinely depend on you for their survival then you need to grow up, stop trying to escape your responsibilities and put down the controller. But I realise that in the real world most people suffering from gaming addiction are genuinely vulnerable people that need sympathy, not Nietzschean condescension.

Tafdolphin wrote:I've realised I use gaming almost exclusively as a distraction these days. My life, future of my life, has never been so uncertain so I use gaming to get away from that. I think it's why I fell into Destiny so much: it's largely mindless busywork that's fun but requires very little actual thought.

It's replaced watching TV as my default. Nothing to do? Boot up a game. Lesson cancelled? Game. Time for bed? (Sometimes I try to fit in a) game.

I do worry about it sometimes. As someone who now writes for money I really should be reading or listening to educational podcasts/videos on the subject but no. I have to force my mind off games to do those things.

If you feel like your time spent gaming is at detriment of other things in your life then your concern is justified. But sitting down for some escapism and distraction from life is not inherently a problem, and gaming is no worse or better than watching TV or even reading a book (you can engage or not at various levels with any of them).

Not everything you do has to be noticeably productive, and I stress noticeably because even though playing a game might feel unproductive when you could be learning up on something relevant to your job, finding the time to relax is productive in the long term to avoid burnout and to stay healthy. I imagine it's a lot harder to do when you are self employed, as in a 9-5 style job there is a clear distinction between "working" and "not working".

Sorry if this is verging on a lecture or analysis that was unasked for, but I know personally that it's easy to berate oneself for not being productive every waking moment (and even the unwaking ones), but balance and downtime is important. At university I definitely didn't spend enough time working, but that isn't to say some of my down time wasn't justified!

OrangeRKN wrote:

One of his clients, 18-year-old Liliana - not her real name

I've always wanted to know who chooses these fake names. Lilliana?

I assumed you got to pick your own pseudonym

Hexx wrote:

OrangeRKN wrote:

One of his clients, 18-year-old Liliana - not her real name

I've always wanted to know who chooses these fake names. Lilliana?

I assumed you got to pick your own pseudonym

"Another sufferer, 38-year-old Sonic - not his real name - even dresses up as a bright blue hedgehog..."

Gaming can be addictive (certain games especially) but I personally think if you do get additive it's less about the games and more about the person life and mental well being.

I think I have - and possibly do - use gaming as a way of taking my mind away from "real" life. I don't personally think I am addicted (I don't play that much, really) but it's hard to step back and look at yourself.

I can see why some become addicted although I also wonder if another fixation would fill that gap were gaming not the thing.

OrangeRKN wrote:

Tafdolphin wrote:I've realised I use gaming almost exclusively as a distraction these days. My life, future of my life, has never been so uncertain so I use gaming to get away from that. I think it's why I fell into Destiny so much: it's largely mindless busywork that's fun but requires very little actual thought.

It's replaced watching TV as my default. Nothing to do? Boot up a game. Lesson cancelled? Game. Time for bed? (Sometimes I try to fit in a) game.

I do worry about it sometimes. As someone who now writes for money I really should be reading or listening to educational podcasts/videos on the subject but no. I have to force my mind off games to do those things.

If you feel like your time spent gaming is at detriment of other things in your life then your concern is justified. But sitting down for some escapism and distraction from life is not inherently a problem, and gaming is no worse or better than watching TV or even reading a book (you can engage or not at various levels with any of them).

Not everything you do has to be noticeably productive, and I stress noticeably because even though playing a game might feel unproductive when you could be learning up on something relevant to your job, finding the time to relax is productive in the long term to avoid burnout and to stay healthy. I imagine it's a lot harder to do when you are self employed, as in a 9-5 style job there is a clear distinction between "working" and "not working".

Sorry if this is verging on a lecture or analysis that was unasked for, but I know personally that it's easy to berate oneself for not being productive every waking moment (and even the unwaking ones), but balance and downtime is important. At university I definitely didn't spend enough time working, but that isn't to say some of my down time wasn't justified!

This actually made me feel better, surprisingly, as I hadn't really thought of it like that. Often times after few hours of gaming I'll feel super guilty about it. I don't think that's going to stop any time soon but it's interesting to see another perspective.

Gaming helps me chill out and unwind. I game every day, or at least try to.

I see it as no different than say watching the soaps, reading, or listening to a piece of music after a tough day, (or any regular day), at work, school or whatever. However, unlike those other pastimes I do feel there is this underlying belief that if you game every day you're somehow an "addict" which is why I'm somewhat sceptical to the whole true blue gaming addiction thing.

Gemini73 wrote:Gaming helps me chill out and unwind. I game every day, or at least try to.

I see it as no different than say watching the soaps, reading, or listening to a piece of music after a tough day, (or any regular day), at work, school or whatever. However, unlike those other pastimes I do feel there is this underlying belief that if you game every day you're somehow an "addict" which is why I'm somewhat sceptical to the whole true blue gaming addiction thing.

I think your issue is with the definition of gaming addiction, rather than whether it is real or not.

I'm a firm believe that you can get addicted to anything if you're using it to fill a void in your life in an unhealthy manner. That doesn't necessarily mean gaming every day. But if you're gaming every day for hours on end at the expense of your responsibilities, relationships, health etc then that obviously is a problem. If you can't recognise that problem and keep doing it then yes, I think it's fair to categorise that as a gaming addiction.

I have always found it difficult to separate the definition of "being addicted" and "really liking" something. They aren't the same thing right? Isn't being addicted like a biological / chemical dependency? And even then I'm not sure if that helps. Fun releases endorphins (I think), so it's still hazy to me as to how they are separated.
Is it an addiction if you do it even if you are not enjoying it anymore? Because otherwise it just sounds like prioritisation of choice more than addiction - I would rather play a game than watch TV.

jawafour wrote:I think I have - and possibly do - use gaming as a way of taking my mind away from "real" life. I don't personally think I am addicted (I don't play that much, really) but it's hard to step back and look at yourself.

I definitely use gaming as a coping mechanism for dealing with my physical health issues and the difficulties associated with severe disability but I don't see it as a bad thing because I still genuinely enjoy gaming and don't simply carry on doing it out of habit.

Games are a big part of my life but they don't define it.

Tomous wrote:

Gemini73 wrote:Gaming helps me chill out and unwind. I game every day, or at least try to.

I see it as no different than say watching the soaps, reading, or listening to a piece of music after a tough day, (or any regular day), at work, school or whatever. However, unlike those other pastimes I do feel there is this underlying belief that if you game every day you're somehow an "addict" which is why I'm somewhat sceptical to the whole true blue gaming addiction thing.

I think your issue is with the definition of gaming addiction, rather than whether it is real or not.

I'm a firm believe that you can get addicted to anything if you're using it to fill a void in your life in an unhealthy manner. That doesn't necessarily mean gaming every day. But if you're gaming every day for hours on end at the expense of your responsibilities, relationships, health etc then that obviously is a problem. If you can't recognise that problem and keep doing it then yes, I think it's fair to categorise that as a gaming addiction.

Yes that does make more sense put like that.

I'm definitely of the view that it's possible to be addicted to games (just look at Vernon Kay) but think it would have more to do with the individual and their personality rather than something inherent in games themselves. For me playing games serves two purposes: a way of relaxing and unwinding, and a bit of escapism from life and whatever's going on. Both of those I think are healthy and no different to watching a film or TV, going to the theatre or reading a book - all perfectly valid forms of entertainment and escapism. The issue comes when gaming (or anything else) encroaches on other areas of your life and has a detrimental effect. If you're forgoing sleep, eating, spending time with friends and family (regularly) then yes it's probably a sign that something's not quite right.

Even at my most 'active' time playing games, i.e. when I was a teenager and had loads of free time, I was nowhere near being addicted. Certainly not these days when I'm lucky to get a couple of hours a week in.

I don’t think I am the sort to get addicted to things like games. I have never really had much of an urge to gamble and I get bored of games if I play too much of them.

I believe it is actually a thing though, even if I don’t suffer from it myself. It’s no different to the people that spend thousands of pounds in fixed odd betting terminals.

kazanova_Frankenstein wrote:Isn't being addicted like a biological / chemical dependency

Addiction and dependency are similar but distinct. Dependency is when you suffer physical symptoms from withdrawal, whereas addiction is psychological, from what I understand. You can be addicted to something without being dependent, and you can be dependent on something without being addicted.

I think it's possible to be addicted to playing games, but you can't become dependent on it.

This is probably too simple because I'm ignoring how mental state can affect physical health, but I'm not a doctor