Games Addicting?

[Wicked Fate DSO]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24245196/

Thoughts?

[Venom DSO]

lol - OMG does that make me addicted? i will turn into that bleary-eyed zombie from time to time for sure..Especially if im caught up in the story or getting to the next level. i mean i can sit all day on one game no problem taking breaks from time to time. I like to complete things and gaming is no exception. it instant gratification too when im out achievement whoring myself, lol...shoot i was that way even as a kid playing my first games...just love the challenge. last biggest bleary-eyed zombie apperance was leveling up on Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - stayed up almost all night to get NEXT rank and unlock more guns and gear...a week later it was all done, now i dont play as much lol...

[Stasis DSO]

While I play a lot of games to get "stuff" for me it is definitely the social factor. I get on so I can get invites and play with people I know. When I'm feeling antisocial, I turn my mic off and go into social alone or do campaign.

Thanks for posting that up! Interesting to read. But quick question, wasn't it a guy who died after playing 3 days straight of WOW in China?

[Maverick DSO]

I'm not going to say whether or not I think it's an actual "addiction" cos I don't really know if I think it is or not.

But in all honesty? It's the same as with anything else in your life. Priorities. If you play Halo instead of take care of your kids.. those are your priorities. If you do drugs instead of take care of your kids.. those are your priorities. I'm not saying that playing Halo is as detrimental as drugs, but my point is that you have to have your priorities straight in your life. I don't think the substance/object of addiction is to blame- it's your self-control.

[Venom DSO]

I agree its ur choice to turn on the box or not. pressing life issues come up an cant be ignored...but its the casual hardcore gamer who has taken time away from normal life and play 3 days non-stop of games like wow and dies from health related issues that gives us all a bad name (no offense to the guy) but we all stay up late sometimes to reach that next level or one more game mentality, its knowing if u stay up late u will be tired in da morning and no one to blame but urself...

[Jaded DSO]

I have to agree with Venom. I can get lost on a game I truly enjoy or in matchmaking with you ladies or my boys. That's why I have to have wireless controllers etc. That way I'm able to roam around my house freely and check on my kids. Lucky for me they won't let me forget about them for too long! ;)
I think it's obsessive to play for days at a time and only live on energy drinks, it's renal failure waiting to happen.

[Wicked Fate DSO]

I'm not going to say whether or not I think it's an actual "addiction" cos I don't really know if I think it is or not.

But in all honesty? It's the same as with anything else in your life. Priorities. If you play Halo instead of take care of your kids.. those are your priorities. If you do drugs instead of take care of your kids.. those are your priorities. I'm not saying that playing Halo is as detrimental as drugs, but my point is that you have to have your priorities straight in your life. I don't think the substance/object of addiction is to blame- it's your self-control.

Excellent points. But we live in a society that encourages people to blame something, anything else rather than taking responsibility.

Just like all forms of entertainment, some people can't process them in a healthy way.

[PWN5TARR]

its an msnbc link, no thanks.

games can be addicting to those who have no self control.
i like to play videogames everyday but i dont let it interfere with my school, social or work life.

[Neon Panthera]

Addiction is a very strong word I think we use far more casually than possibly its original meaning ("I'm addicted to this song / colour / t.v. show!") and in modern society I also think we have a term or a catagory for every possible faux ailment or social behaviour, making us all slightly hypochondriacal - like sometimes giving something a name suddenly adds great weight to it, even when it might only be something trivial.

That being said, gaming is like many other things, like food (see the obesity problem) or sports (this mighn't be considered a negative thing), in that it can be addictive. However, being a game addict is more socially acceptable than say an alcoholic or drug or sex addict. And even within drugs, there are class distinctions, like being addicted to weed may not be percieved as being addicted to heroin.
Its all relative. Years ago, addiction to nicotine i.e. smoking was far more acceptable, like when a man was really a man when he could sit and play cards and smoke Lucky Strikes, rather than today when a person might be heckled by thier friends for wanting to leave the table at the restaurant to sneek outside to have one.

Although, game designers are in the entertainment industry in the same way McDonalds are in the food industry - they want to make their products appealing so they use many, many, MANY different advertising methods and tricks to do so. They are companies and if they are not making a profit, they are making a loss, so for them and their benefactors, it is life or death. (So obviously why would any company in their right mind outright say that they want their games to be that level of addictive? THAT would just be poor publicity - even if it is an undirect aim)

We, as consumers, can either choose to go to our Game Stops and get our GH3's / Halo's / WoW's (i.e. go through the drive through and get our happy meals) or we can skip it and go play some football with some friends (grab some veggies and make a salad). I agree with it all being about values (and moderation).

[Neon Panthera]

its an msnbc link, no thanks.

games can be addicting to those who have no self control.
i like to play videogames everyday but i dont let it interfere with my school, social or work life.


Maybe its not about "self control". Maybe they just dont value their school work or social lives as much as the sense of atchievement they get from levelling up in a game. Its a good article, you should read it.

[DSO Tickles]

“What I see in the population that I’m working with around video games, many gamers are people who were bored and lonely, and this is an addiction which kind of gets its hooks into them,” she says.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

I'm not lonely :shock: I don't know too many gamers that are lonely in their real lives. Most of the gamers I know have lives out side the games. That kinda makes me mad..

[DarkBunnyL1ves]

yes they can be addicting, but who ever said it was a bad thing

[DSO Tickles]

apparently those guys

[ElektraFi]

I'm a gaming addict because I was bored and lonely...*sigh* it all makes sense to me now.

[Maverick DSO]

I'm a gaming addict because I was bored and lonely...*sigh* it all makes sense to me now.

Rofl <3 Yeahhh that's an interesting stereotype to make. People who play video games are bored and lonely..?

Being in a band is soooo boring. Playing shows for people makes me feel so lonely. Not to mention how boring and lonely my life will be going to USC.

[Maverick DSO]

its an msnbc link, no thanks.

LOL are we anti-msnbc?

[Neon Panthera]

[quote="ElektraFi DSO":1i4xuana]I'm a gaming addict because I was bored and lonely...*sigh* it all makes sense to me now.


Being in a band is soooo boring. Playing shows for people makes me feel so lonely. Not to mention how boring and lonely my life will be going to USC. [/quote:1i4xuana]


**** straight.

[DSO Tickles]

having a ton of friends and a boy friend makes me soo lonely.. I wish I could just play some kind of video game to fill that space

[Infernolord13]

Hello my name is inferno and i am an addict :o

Seriously games are not bad things to be addicted to. LOL its like saying humans are addicted to air.(okay maybe not as dramatic as air)

[Echelon DSO]

Well, they didn't mention Halo, so I think most of us are safe from turning into zombies. And, if we're not safe, well I'm building an underwater Sealab for shelter from the zombies. Speaking of which, what would game addicted zombies eat, anyway? o.O

[Infernolord13]

They don't really eat instead they absorb the darkness. That is why the light is so dangerous to game addicted zombies. ;)

[Chelle Fatale]

To this I would say, that video game addictions/reasons for playing video games are both case sensitive. Some may enjoy video games as a means of escape from stress, or even responsibility. Some may like the competative aspect - especially if they are ranked highly and gain praise from such - and some, may like the social aspect and the feeling of acceptance in the gaming community that they may not be able to find elsewhere. I think that, like most things, and I agree with Mav and the many others on the board a lot of it has to do with priorities.
You choose where you spend your time.
You choose how you spend that time.
Whether that be videogames, working, etc.

Practically anything has the potential to be addicting, like most things in life, try to find a balance. Moderation.