Is it possible to be addicted to video games?

[OlLiE]

i am one of those people that needs to finish what i start

in that way games that involve levelling and grinding gear could be seen as an addiction,

but i'm not addicted to the game, i'm addicted to finishing what i started

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Playing video games is basically the thing i have done most in my life.

Maybe it's a special interest, i dont know, but since i am 8 this is something i realy enjoyed, younger i was unlocking my classmates in games they were stuck. The only reason I worked at school was in order to get video games, I never had a real ambition , a dream job.

Now this is still one of the few thing i do when i managed to do something.
I would say that it was fine untile i played in MMORPG like Wow and other online games like league of legends.

Because unlike older console games , online games are also designed to be addictive.(Like social media are designed to be addictive also, you can find that easely on the web).

And like any drug , it's hard to get out of it when you didnt know it.

Now , well, honestly , the only thing you can do as a parent is being harsh on him with video games, I mean, even being ASD isnt an excuse ( depends on the case ofc but lets say for HFA).

I mean , in the end , you will always have to restrict your child, not at 100% but kids doesnt know limits until they take them in the face, it's also part of the parenting job to sound strict. How to do it the good way is hard thought.

No online games mmorpg and such
Strict gaming schedule.
Games with local multiplayer to have fun with friends
And balancing video games with IRL activities. ( basically buy nintendo games )

I dont regret the fact that I have almost only video games in my life, it sounds sad, but this is my life, i never felt that i had a choice or that anything else than this felt better, Iv learned so much thanks to it.

Today i play less , but i dont do anything more, I would say it is quite the opposite, when i was younger and could enjoy video games as much as i wanted i was realy more productive.

So, drawling the line between special interest and addiction is hard, since one lead to another , and when you reach the addiction , well, to me it sound impossible to just stop playin video games, so how to do it without getting addicted again is hard to imagie.

 

[VioletHaze_03]

I think addictions can shed a lot of light on a person's struggles, especially since they are a form of escapism. For a lot of people, a video game addiction isn't about the game itself, but the idea. It's an addiction to a world where they matter, a safe space that they control, or a life that they can deal with on their own terms. I hear about people becoming addicted to video games to cope with the death of a family member or friend, or a fight with someone they love, or an unstable parent. these people can't trust or cope with the world around them, so they went and found their own. they're hiding in the game because the npcs outside of the screen aren't repetitive and easy to ignore, but rather judgemental and unpredictable. they're hiding in the game because experience points won't get you the promotion at work you need to make ends meet. They're hiding in the game because their daily boss-battle is an infinite loss that spreads nasty rumors and insults everything about you at school, and the npc teachers don't acknowledge it. the way to curb a video game addiction is to make the game equal real life. You need to make these people understand that they do have control, and that real life can be as rewarding as a video game. but first, you need to make the "real life simulator" as i call it, a safe space. going cold turkey will just slash your metaphorical hp, especially if the player isn't ready.

 

[Progster]

Thank you for your replies, I shall write to the student's mother tomorrow and pass on some of the suggestions (this thread is confidential and shall not be mentioned or quoted directly). Your posts and feedback are very useful to me, as I have to deal with both the student and the parents. I belong to an older generation and I don't play video games personally, and have very little experience of them, so it is hard for me to understand and relate to what he is experiencing.

 

[StephF]

I spent a long time addicted to World of Warcraft

 

[Iamnotarabot]

But first, you need to make the "real life simulator" as i call it, a safe space. going cold turkey will just slash your metaphorical hp, especially if the player isn't ready.

Well i also agree with you, in fact it depends on the age of the person , maybe you can do something like that with kids. "Real life simulator" , but eventually they will need to learn that life is not only about control and reward. How to do it i dont know, giving them little responsibilities in the house /homework with rewards ( and not just video games as reward)

Your first point is also correct, when i was a kid, my familiy was a mess, my half brother left home because it was impossible for him to stay with my parents, and it was not on good terms, i would say it was not horrible but it was not realy calm , always shouting etc for years. And the more i found real life hard to deal with i played more.


And when i said being harsh , i meant that , even if its a litte restriction, your kid will take it badly what ever you do around it , they will have to deal with this fustration, and the parents will need to be strong and not give up.

My parents always gave up when they tried to restrict things like that when i was a teenager. Well i dont realy blame them, i love them, this is just the way it is^^'

 

[Progster]

I can relate to the idea of video games being a form of escapeism, in my case it was not through video games, as I wasn't exposed to them at that age, but through books, sci fi and fantasy, foreign countries, learning about a foreign country and it's languuage, the feeling of not fitting in with my own culture and longing to be elsewhere.

 

[tducey]

I think so. I used to game a lot when I was younger.

 

[Mary Anne]

I agree that video games can be a huge addiction and that is can become detrimental, but there's still a massive difference between drug abuse and video game addiction.

I believe that video games in moderation don't cause any harm, it's not something that should be demonised as totally bad so children or adults are denied from playing them, but all drug misuse is in my opinion harmful and more often leads onto a much more serious addiction. People addicted to video games are not always unhappy, many don't mind and enjoy playing them, it is a problem when other things suffer in their life, but there's rarely an agonising downside like with drug misuse.

Wow, let’s be clear that you are mentioning two different things in your entire post. First you talk of addiction, then you talk of playing in moderation. But for both you make the same assessment that it’s not bad like drug addiction. You are misguided. “happily addicted “ gamers, that they do not have a real “addiction”, but more a compulsion to do something they enjoy a lot. That’s not addiction, for which there is a real criteria.

I spent two years studying to be an addictions counselor. I worked with people with life threatening addictions of all kinds the past 4 years. I too battled addictions for most of my life.

There is plenty of scientific studies showing that video game addiction not only rampantly exists, but is in every way as destructive and abusive as drugs, alcohol, or gambling addictions. If you NEED links, I could find some for you. There are now, video addiction treatment clinics. They are working on writing video game addiction into the upcoming DSM 6 (which is years away). There have multiple deaths world wide attributed to video addiction - usually heart attacks resulting from blood clots after not moving from the game consul for 2-3 days. It happens more then you know.

There have been arrests due to parental neglect of children, and even death of children. Those sound extreme to you, but depending on where you are in the world, the diagnosed addictions run very rampant in Korea, Japan, as well as in America. Maybe you are not tapped in to reading about this sort of addiction as it might not be in your local news or social media, but doctors and scientists, and addictions specialists are very aware of it. I have worked with clients who described their video game addictions. It’s a nightmare to those trapped in it.

There are already scientists saying that children of certain young ages should only have 1/2 hour maximum of exposure to gaming per day. Brain scans have proven marked differences. Video gaming changes the brain and increases endorphin rushes the same as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, etc. Brain scans show marked differences of those who do not play video games at all.

We are indeed addicting our children in the first formative years of their lives! I see parents giving phones to toddlers who know how to play games. I see toddlers for an hour or two in a restaurant keeping quiet by playing games. CRAZY. Why not just feed alcohol or cocaine in a baby bottle. It’s plain wrong.

Just wait til these youngsters grow up. They have been predisposed to addiction early on, and it will not be only video games they cannot stop. Addictive brains are prone to any and all addictions be it food, sex, gambling, shopping, substances, etc.

Please do not minimize TRUE video game addiction. It is real- and life and societal disruptive. It wrong to say to other people, oh, it’s not a problem, you are just enjoying yourself. They might indeed have a serious problem!

 

[Mary Anne]

I agree with @Full Steam - it's possible to be addicted to anything. To identify addiction, look for these signs:

Consequences - undesirable consequences naturally occurring (not artificially imposed) as a result of the behavior.
Obsession - When not engaged in the behavior, constantly thinking about it.
Isolation - Withdrawing from social contact because of involvement in the behavior or deliberately seeking to be alone to engage in the behavior.
Loss of Control - Inability to moderate one's own behavior.
Secrecy. Hiding the behavior from others, for fear of being being judged, punished, or made to stop.

I heard about these signs on a talk show over a decade ago. I reordered them and labeled them the "C.O.I.L.S of addiction" to make them easier for me to remember.

Great acronym for addictions. Thanks.

Video game addiction can be a little harder to self identify though. Many do not see any “consequences” other then weight gain, and fattening waist line due to inactivity. Video gamers do not believe they are in “isolation.”

 

[FreeDiver]

Video game addiction can be a little harder to self identify though. Many do not see any “consequences” other then weight gain, and fattening waist line due to inactivity. Video gamers do not believe they are in “isolation.”

It's funny that we talk about video game addiction. The thing is, we are just about addicted to everything involving the use of a screen(video/TV display). Social media, Youtube etc. Soon we will have Virtual reality and we will all be plugged into "The Matrix". What will happen to our psychical bodies? Get overweight? Get type II diabetes?

Back when I was a kid. The things we did back then were roller/ice skating, swimming at the pool or waterpark, riding your BMX dirt bike and climbing trees. and mow the lawn once a week to earn a little money. Even hanging out at the mall was something to do back then.

One thing I would love to see make a comeback are water slide parks and ones that don't have a lazy river in them. Like the ones, they had back in the 80's. Not only were they fun as hell. But they also gave you one hell of a workout as well. Have fun and stay in shape as well. Too bad that all those places are dying as well.

I wonder what the generation after the millennials will do. After all, we can't stay glued to a screen for the rest of our lives.

 

[Mary Anne]

It's funny that we talk about video game addiction. The thing is, we are just about addicted to everything involving the use of a screen(video/TV display). Social media, Youtube etc. Soon we will have Virtual reality and we will all be plugged into "The Matrix". What will happen to our psychical bodies? Get overweight? Get type II diabetes?

Back when I was a kid. The things we did back then were roller/ice skating, swimming at the pool or waterpark, riding your BMX dirt bike and climbing trees. and mow the lawn once a week to earn a little money. Even hanging out at the mall was something to do back then.

One thing I would love to see make a comeback are water slide parks and ones that don't have a lazy river in them. Like the ones, they had back in the 80's. Not only were they fun as hell. But they also gave you one hell of a workout as well. Have fun and stay in shape as well. Too bad that all those places are dying as well.

I wonder what the generation after the millennials will do. After all, we can't stay glued to a screen for the rest of our lives.

What will happen is that there are people already getting implants. The internet will mix and meld with the brain and body. The virtual world will take over and real nature will become a thing of the past. Many movies show holographic environments one can change at a whim. I want no part of any of it. For every “advancement” in technology, we are losing our evolutionary freedoms. We don’t even realize it. The first to be “sold” are always the children. They embrace everything new because they do not have the life experience or memories to know anything different. It’s already a brave new world. There already is the potential for the matrix, replicants, and androids. I am a diehard science fiction fan, but over 61 years, it’s no longer the future- it’s now and it’s not very attractive.

 

[pjcnet]

Wow, let’s be clear that you are mentioning two different things in your entire post. First you talk of addiction, then you talk of playing in moderation. But for both you make the same assessment that it’s not bad like drug addiction. You are misguided. “happily addicted “ gamers, that they do not have a real “addiction”, but more a compulsion to do something they enjoy a lot. That’s not addiction, for which there is a real criteria.

I spent two years studying to be an addictions counselor. I worked with people with life threatening addictions of all kinds the past 4 years. I too battled addictions for most of my life.

There is plenty of scientific studies showing that video game addiction not only rampantly exists, but is in every way as destructive and abusive as drugs, alcohol, or gambling addictions. If you NEED links, I could find some for you. There are now, video addiction treatment clinics. They are working on writing video game addiction into the upcoming DSM 6 (which is years away). There have multiple deaths world wide attributed to video addiction - usually heart attacks resulting from blood clots after not moving from the game consul for 2-3 days. It happens more then you know.

There have been arrests due to parental neglect of children, and even death of children. Those sound extreme to you, but depending on where you are in the world, the diagnosed addictions run very rampant in Korea, Japan, as well as in America. Maybe you are not tapped in to reading about this sort of addiction as it might not be in your local news or social media, but doctors and scientists, and addictions specialists are very aware of it. I have worked with clients who described their video game addictions. It’s a nightmare to those trapped in it.

There are already scientists saying that children of certain young ages should only have 1/2 hour maximum of exposure to gaming per day. Brain scans have proven marked differences. Video gaming changes the brain and increases endorphin rushes the same as heroin, cocaine, alcohol, etc. Brain scans show marked differences of those who do not play video games at all.

We are indeed addicting our children in the first formative years of their lives! I see parents giving phones to toddlers who know how to play games. I see toddlers for an hour or two in a restaurant keeping quiet by playing games. CRAZY. Why not just feed alcohol or cocaine in a baby bottle. It’s plain wrong.

Just wait til these youngsters grow up. They have been predisposed to addiction early on, and it will not be only video games they cannot stop. Addictive brains are prone to any and all addictions be it food, sex, gambling, shopping, substances, etc.

Please do not minimize TRUE video game addiction. It is real- and life and societal disruptive. It wrong to say to other people, oh, it’s not a problem, you are just enjoying yourself. They might indeed have a serious problem!

There may be a few cases of serious issues that cause short term death with gaming addiction and other serious consequences and from experience I agree it can be a real addiction that causes detrimental effects including poor health and neglecting everything else, but times that by at least 100 times for hard drug addiction and I know from past experience (as I said I've been clean for over 15 years). There is also no way gaming addiction is even close to as serious worldwide or on average as detrimental as drug addiction, even though there are obviously some exceptions. Does gaming addiction cause a very high proportion of crime, are the prisons full of gaming addicts? No, of course not, although there may be a few, prisons are instead rampant with drug addicts and ex drug addicts, many are only temporarily forced to stop and will score drugs again as soon as they're released even after it's physically out of their system. I've been addicted to computers for 38 years and I was definitely very addicted to gaming for a good while and I still enjoy games, but I was fine with my gaming addiction as long as it wasn't taken away from me even though it did cause some issues with not wanting to do anything else unless forced to, my parents did control me to prevent me literally staying up for days as I would have done if I could (I'm not capable of that now with sleep apnea and other medical issues, but I still very often fall asleep at my PC desk and can't stop until my body forces me). You can usually force a gaming addict to stop temporarily, the person misses it, can get really upset / depressed and can't wait to start playing again while thinking about nothing else, but try forcing a heroin addict to stop temporarily until they really rattle, the withdrawal is 100 times worse, if not 1000 times and many heroin addicts will viciously attack you before they succumb to being forced to stop in total utter desperation to obtain it any way they can, but many of them were normal people before their addiction. If you'd experienced a full blown heroin withdrawal as well as other hard drug addiction you'd surely agree with me? I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy however.

All enjoyment increases endorphins, but it's created because you are truly enjoying yourself if you like video games or most other things, with drugs however they create dopamine and endorphins directly and artificially, in other words it's a fake feeling of enjoyment that the brain is being tricked into believing.

 

[Iamnotarabot]

Surely not strong as hard drugs addiction but , i try to stop playing league of legends for years,i'ts been like years also that i dont realy feel good while playing game ( any game at all except botw maybe) and I keep coming back to the game even if it makes me want die sometimes or burst out of rage.

 

[Mary Anne]

There may be a few cases of serious issues that cause short term death with gaming addiction and other serious consequences and from experience I agree it can be a real addiction that causes detrimental effects including poor health and neglecting everything else, but times that by at least 100 times for hard drug addiction and I know from past experience (as I said I've been clean for over 15 years). There is also no way gaming addiction is even close to as serious worldwide or on average as detrimental as drug addiction, even though there are obviously some exceptions. Does gaming addiction cause a very high proportion of crime, are the prisons full of gaming addicts? No, of course not, although there may be a few, prisons are instead rampant with drug addicts and ex drug addicts, many are only temporarily forced to stop and will score drugs again as soon as they're released even after it's physically out of their system. I've been addicted to computers for 38 years and I was definitely very addicted to gaming for a good while and I still enjoy games, but I was fine with my gaming addiction as long as it wasn't taken away from me even though it did cause some issues with not wanting to do anything else unless forced to, my parents did control me to prevent me literally staying up for days as I would have done if I could (I'm not capable of that now with sleep apnea and other medical issues, but I still very often fall asleep at my PC desk and can't stop until my body forces me). You can usually force a gaming addict to stop temporarily, the person misses it, can get really upset / depressed and can't wait to start playing again while thinking about nothing else, but try forcing a heroin addict to stop temporarily until they really rattle, the withdrawal is 100 times worse, if not 1000 times and many heroin addicts will viciously attack you before they succumb to being forced to stop in total utter desperation to obtain it any way they can, but many of them were normal people before their addiction. If you'd experienced a full blown heroin withdrawal as well as other hard drug addiction you'd surely agree with me? I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy however.

All enjoyment increases endorphins, but it's created because you are truly enjoying yourself if you like video games or most other things, with drugs however they create dopamine and endorphins directly and artificially, in other words it's a fake feeling of enjoyment that the brain is being tricked into believing.

I was not comparing addictions to each other. Ask any addict how miserable they feel, and most feel pretty miserable. Drugs and alcohol are very intensive physical and mental addictions. Of course. The suffering of opiate withdrawal is extreme. You seldom die through the withdrawal stage of heroin (though you might think you were, or wish that you could), but people die through late stage alcohol withdrawal.

I think it’s best not to compare addictions unless you have absolutely had them all, and went through full recovery, because for each one, those people are suffering greatly. Imagine if a videoaddict sees your post and how you minimize their pain and making light of it.

Video gaming has been written about quite seriously. It’s sad that most people do not take it seriously yet. Statistically the age range of those seeking video gaming treatment are in their early to mid teens. Their lives and health are being destroyed. Their brain permanently changed. Their families are put in crisis.

It’s heart breaking for the truly addicted. It’s life threatening. I refuse to compare addictions. To someone addicted, their addiction is all that what matters. It is all that is destroying their life.

 

[pjcnet]

I was not comparing addictions to each other. Ask any addict how miserable they feel, and most feel pretty miserable. Drugs and alcohol are very intensive physical and mental addictions. Of course. The suffering of opiate withdrawal is extreme. You seldom die through the withdrawal stage of heroin (though you might think you were, or wish that you could), but people die through late stage alcohol withdrawal.

I think it’s best not to compare addictions unless you have absolutely had them all, and went through full recovery, because for each one, those people are suffering greatly. Imagine if a videoaddict sees your post and how you minimize their pain and making light of it.

Video gaming has been written about quite seriously. It’s sad that most people do not take it seriously yet. Statistically the age range of those seeking video gaming treatment are in their early to mid teens. Their lives and health are being destroyed. Their brain permanently changed. Their families are put in crisis.

It’s heart breaking for the truly addicted. It’s life threatening. I refuse to compare addictions. To someone addicted, their addiction is all that what matters. It is all that is destroying their life.

That's fine, but it's also important not to demonise video games generally either, it's okay to play video games, millions of people love them and enjoy them most days without any adverse issues, well no more than people who sit in front of the TV on a daily basis, only a small minority of people are so addicted to them that it becomes a very serious issue, for them I agree that it can become extremely detrimental to the stage where they need help.

 

[Mary Anne]

That's fine, but it's also important not to demonise video games generally either, it's okay to play video games, millions of people love them and enjoy them most days without any adverse issues, well no more than people who sit in front of the TV on a daily basis, only a small minority of people are so addicted to them that it becomes a very serious issue, for them I agree that it can become extremely detrimental to the stage where they need help.

What do you think of video games showing that they physically and permantly change young children’s brains?

 

[Ezra]

I'm an avid gamer. But I can just as easily spend hours watching youtube clips.

My parents set up firm ground rules from the beginning. They didn't wait until I was a teenager.

If a parent doesn't have a good system of authority set up by the time a kid becomes a teen, it's probably too late.

 

[Mr Allen]

I'm an avid gamer. But I can just as easily spend hours watching youtube clips.

My parents set up firm ground rules from the beginning. They didn't wait until I was a teenager.

If a parent doesn't have a good system of authority set up by the time a kid becomes a teen, it's probably too late.

Meh, I'm just turned 42 and still have to live by my Parents' ground rules even though it'll be 12 years in August since I moved out of home.

 

[Gritches]

I would be careful comparing video games to hard drugs.

You know what happens to people who are addicted to drugs? Trouble. You know what happens to people who are addicted to video games? Their asses stay inside and out of trouble. For someone at a high risk of trouble, or for someone recovering from trouble, video games can provide an alternative addiction that is far, far less bad for you in general than what it's replacing.