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Discussion: General Forums / General Discussion - Addicted to Gaming - Are you addicted to Gaming?
Do you belive there is such a condition or is
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09-21-2006, 01:05 PM #1
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Addicted to Gaming
Are you addicted to Gaming?
Do you belive there is such a condition or is it way to hide from other issues?
I live in the UK and recently parent have started to complain that their kids are addicted to games. Personally if you let your kid play games for 14 hours maybe you need to reevaluate yourself.
With people dropping dead in internet cafes from mamouth 36 hour sessions is it starting to affect everyone.
This should be a topic of hot debate considering that all people here have a computer and play games on a regular basis.
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09-21-2006, 01:17 PM #2
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
No, it's not an addiction. Some people like to go running, some people like to go to the gym, some people like to watch tv. We choose gaming. Are any of thse things addictions? No. Of course, there may be a rare case where people become obsessed or fixated on a certain game, but these cases are rare and can be seen in any outlet, not just gaming.
The guy you spoke of that dropped dead in the internet cafe has been gaming for much longer than 36 hours. In addition, he hadnt eaten or drank anything for the duration of time he was there, and acquaintances of his said he had lost his job just 2 weeks before and hadnt been eating or sleeping well. The cause of his death was not gaming, but neglecting his own health.
People have been screaming about kids being "addicted" to gaming for years in the US. However, there have been several major university studies with published results that prove that gaming is not addictive any more so than lifting weights. I dont even believe its necessarily a way to hide from issues. Sure, people may play games to de-stress, but the same can be said for almost any activity that people do recreationally. Thats the point of recreation, ITS NOT WORK.
As far as parents letting their kids go nuts on the computer, absolutely they need to check themselves. The kids need to have standards set for them. Theyre kids, no matter how mature they appear to be.
|TG-6th|Ferris Bueller
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09-21-2006, 01:28 PM #3
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Gaming is like watching TV, that's just what we find fun to do. If we didn't game, we would just find something else to fill the void and then would we be considered addicted to that?
We all have real lives and things to do outside of gaming.
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09-21-2006, 03:42 PM #4
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
I'm addicted...I admit it. I'm online gaming just about everynight for at least an hour or so. If I'm offline for a few days I'm jonesing for some FPS action....
But I'll also add that I'm a 41 y/o professional who works 8-10 hours a day at my day job and gaming for me is somewhat of a reward or escape. If gaming replaces healthy normal activity than it's a problem not an escape.
And I'll also add that my gaming is almost exclusively done in and around the TG community. Highly unlikely I'd play as much as I do if TG didn't exist. I enjoy the relationships I've built here at TG just as much as the games themselves, perhaps more.
PS ...my wife thinks I'm crazy, hates (for the most part) the time I spend gaming and thinks I'm actually regressing instead of growing. ( I took up serious gaming only 2 or 3 years ago)
Good Topic for TG !!|TG-1st|Grunt
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09-21-2006, 04:38 PM #5
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Doing various things on the computer is what I enjoy more than any other form of entertainment, and I do lots of it, but I'm not addicted to it. I do have passing obssessions with things which keep me up all night, but I still wouldn't call it addiction.
Peace through fear... since 1947!
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09-21-2006, 05:07 PM #6
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
The guys who refuse to goto AA meetings also wouldn't call their condition an addiction. :-p I'm not sure what it takes for something to be an addiction, but it seems like one can be addicted to working out, or addicted to eating McDonalds, or addicted to watching TV. These phrases aren't obviously false. And, it's not clear that only in extreme cases arey the true.
I regularly say things like, I'm addicted to sushi. But, of course, I don't eat sushi much. Whenever I have the chance to, I will. Maybe that's just using the word addiction loosely. Some signs of a problematic addiction seem to be if the acts in question are in some way harming other areas of your life. This is regularly mentioned when talking about drug addictions or gambling addictions. Can it be that you play video games so much that your grades are hurting because of it? That seems entirely plausible. Do you find yourself playing video games when you should be working on that term paper? If so, it wouldn't be odd to say things like "you're addicted to video gaming," especially if it happens often. This isn't even an extreme case. I wouldn't say that such a person is obsessed with video games. I bet it happens to more than half of male college students.
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09-21-2006, 05:19 PM #7
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
I belive that like almost anything in life, so too gaming should be in moderation.
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09-21-2006, 08:31 PM #8
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Where moderation is defined as anything less than "that freak you read about on the internet".
Originally Posted by Ben
Well I have to admit that I had occasions in the past where I was having so much fun playing a certain little space game that birds chirping would remind me to go to bed and put in 2 hours of sleep before work. The nature of the game promoted this kind of insanity, because once you got on a good squad, you could win all night, and getting on a good squad was all about proving you were worthy enough to fly with the best.
I'm still not sure that really fits the definition of addiction. It was just that when I played it, it would sometimes stretch for many hours because it was so fun. I never felt myself wanting to call in sick so that I could play, and I never skipped dinner with my wife so that I could play. Is there such a thing as temporary addiction?
I think games like WoW and EVE are addiction machines, and I do feel concerned for some of the people I hear talking about those games. I saw how nutso people could get with collecting STUFF in Diablo 2, so I can just imagine what Wow must be like.Peace through fear... since 1947!
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09-21-2006, 09:11 PM #9
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
WoW is a whole nother creature of addiction. Warcrack. A friend of mine got the game and has fallen into its trap.
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09-21-2006, 09:50 PM #10
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
I'd have to say that I'm about 75% addicted to gaming. I spend a majority of my time sitting in front of the computer playing a game with other TG members during the week. Much like Grunt, I work 10 hour days and when I get home, I play if I've got nothing else planned. However, I also know that devoting such a huge amount of time to playing games isn't healthy (physically or socially) so I make it a point to spend time with friends and family as well, doing things like bbq'ing, golfing, and going out to dinner, bars etc. I'm single (though dating), 28, and working, so if I balance all these things out and still be able to game, I think I'm doing just fine.
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09-21-2006, 11:14 PM #11
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
If anyone experiences "severe trauma" from not gaming, then yeah, its a problem. ButI dont think any of us qualify. Ergo, we're not addicts.ad‧dic‧tion /əˈdɪkʃən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-dik-shuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun
the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
[Origin: 1595–1605; < L addictiōn- (s. of addictiō) a giving over, surrender. See addict, -ion]|TG-6th|Ferris Bueller
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09-22-2006, 01:12 AM #12
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Gaming is one of my favorite things to do a lot of the time because it's always just a couple of steps to my computer, but have I been gaming the past few weeks? No. Want to know why? School just started, and because I am now in 9th I am getting a higher workload, and grades now effect where I go to college more than ever (the educational domino effect, so to speak). Because school is now so important I have adjusted my gaming; just before school started I was probably playing around 12 hours a week or so, but now I am gaming less than 2 hours, tops, a week. Keep in mind I enjoy games A LOT and that when i work I could always just hop on the PoE2 server and shoot up some Ukrainians with you guys, but I have school set as a priority. My point is, that after long and constant playing of games which I enjoyed, I have simply stopped playing them, because I know school is more important. If games were addictive I would not have been able to wrest myself from playing games. Gaming isn't addictive, it's just the newest medium of entertainment, and until it becomes a staple of our culture, it's going to be attacked by critics who say "it's addictive" or that it "makes kids violent". Elvis "gyrated" his hips, and parents thought that was absolutely horrible, today we wouldn't give that a second thought.
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09-22-2006, 01:46 AM #13
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Thanks to your comparison, I feel my interest in gaming fading fast.
Peace through fear... since 1947!
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09-22-2006, 03:21 AM #14
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
I'm not an addict, I can quit anytime!
Yeah, right.
I'm replaying F.E.A.R. I have more games installed than I know what to do with. I bought 2 more games that I also don't know what to do with. I don't miss World of Warcraft one bit.
Hello, my name is Mateo, and I'm a Tactical Gamer.
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09-25-2006, 07:51 AM #15
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Re: Addicted to Gaming
Awsome,
What would you describe as too much play time?
2-3 hours every night
4-5 hours every night
Up to 15 hours a week?
Im not saying one a month you have a huge session and thats bad. Every time there is a new GTA I get stuck to my chair until I have finished it.
I play anything up to 8 hours a week due to work and lack of home network. (I take my laptop to my friends house and use his bandwith/network) leave the wife at home on tuesdays and thursdays. Im still addicted to Joint Ops (I know its dated but it rocks when I play). I have maxed out at 9 hours.
What is the longest anyone has played played?Last edited by Happy Shooter; 09-25-2006 at 07:53 AM. Reason: Spelling/Context errors
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