Electronic Game Addiction? Part 4 of 4

[wolfman51874]

All to aware . Wish i wasnt though . This stuff can really kill a happy ever after . Thanks for the reply .

[wolfman51874]

Grown up women neglect home for maple story . They dont want help or love . Thanks for your interest in this subject i wish more people realized how serious this addiction is . But it seems worse in mmo . And youre right its not funny at all . Thanx for listening .

[gamerchronicles]

@wolfman51874 Sounds like you're aware of some of the awful consequences. Certainly can be tragic. Thanks for writing.

[wolfman51874]

I think its important to mention spousal neglect and child neglect . These pleople dont neglect friends so much because they are online playing together all day and night constantly in communication. Husbands wives and children suffer for game addiction . These people are selfish and lack priority . They are manipulators . They know how to put on a good face for the rest of the world while treating home team like they dont exhist . When faced with the hurt they cause they are emotionless .

[SavageLegacy28]

I'm proud to announce that I just traded in all of my games for a new shot at life! I have been dealing with withdrawals (dissociative: depersonalization, derealization) for about a month and a half now. Are dissociative withdrawal symptoms normal/common for recovering video game addicts? Thanks for your input, Shavaun!

[gamerchronicles]

@SavageLegacy28 Hi, and thanks for writing. I'd be curious to know more about how the symptoms you're experiencing feel - how intense, when they happen, etc. Anxiety and depression are the most common things I see, but we're all different. Take care!

Shavaun

[SitarKnight]

When I was 18, I was engaged and living in California. Sadly after some events, I ended up becoming homeless and ended up moving to South Dakota with my sister. The distance ruined my relationship, and having no friends in a new area, allowed for depression. With free time on my hands I found an MMORPG, and became hooked. First thing I did when I woke up was play, and I did it all day. Didn't shower, eat, move. I lost weight and life was horrible. Luckily no longer the case, but still scary.

[bigbobgotu]

But even as i drift away from real life i am still able to keep my self ahead of the rest of the kids my age. with all the grass i cut i make at least 5x more cash then any other kids around me. i am also able to keep all my grades above C's. still i feel like im alone in the gaming world. I still feel like i can be very friendly and nice and am able to reach out to people and connect with them to form long lasting frendships. i have future plans to become a cop. do u think i should quit gaming?

[gamerchronicles]

@bigbobgotu It sounds like you are doing really well in so many areas - that's great.  I would never tell anyone what to do, but from your thoughtful comment, it sounds like you have some concerns of your own. 15 hours a day is a lot of time to lose, even if it's just on the weekend. Perhaps you can find some ways to moderate the time you spend playing. It would be interesting to weigh the pros and cons in your personal situation.

[bigbobgotu]

I am also one of the many people that play mmorpg's mostly runescape I understand that I have a addiction with runescape but i am able to put real life first when i have school monday to friday i will play less then 1 hour for the hole 5 days. But then on weekend the times i should be the most social i will play for upwards of 15 hours aday and most of the time play throught the night from 8pm to 8as or so. but with every passing week end i feel im drifting farther away from real life. continued

[roughlyhewnstone]

I'm an active player of DDO - its an awesome gaming system - and I have enormous respect for the influence it exerts onto my professional/personal life. I'd love to take the odd day off, turn my phone off 'log out' of every day life and log in to DDO, but I'm an adult who realises there's more to life than DDO. The big difference I think - is not discipline - but being responsible with what you do with your time. Striking up a careful balance between work, play and tangible social interaction

[0x0Muldal0x0]

i know its getting old but really, its not the games its the player that have to realize what really matters.

[wonszlol]

I'm one of those hardcore gamers , I realize that I have a serious problem and I know it'll eventually kill me socially and maybe even literally but my real life is so depressing that it's just easier to RUN AWAY into the virtual world and forget about all the porblems....I have big dreams for my real life tho...I just...lack the confidence to pursue them, I don't believe in myself , that I can achieve anything...I know I'm stupid ... thanks to this video I'll try to quit for good!

[gamerchronicles]

@wonszlol Good luck to you! - Shavaun

[aRMEd8uLL]

Government regulation against video games would be unconstitutional, hell, government regulation against anything is unconstitutional, except if it impairs others freedoms...

[hyperactive10101]

lots of points in the interview were so true. when i was little as 9 i was socially-detached and all i wanted to do was go home and play video games so i could talk with all of my online friends.

it took me 5 years to get out of that hole,and ive had 1 or 2 emotional breakdowns at school just because i wasn't fitting in and connecting with other children, and constantly being teased. it isn't easy, and im glad this lady has had experience with games and is giving a truly professional opinion.

[Milliondollarloser]

with human interaction, there's always going to be someone who insults, degrades, ect people because they get entertained by the reactions.

[weedtaz]

ive used my grandpa's card for the last year 0.0

[luthinen]

true. it takes more than a warning sticker on the cover to reduce gaming adiction and the result of theyr mental and physical health. i to agree that the games should go a more healthyer direction. i am 25 yrs old and i clame that i am quite messed up by the huge amoundt of game time i have spendt feels like my head is imploding and some few other disorders, i want the old me back. i hope there is a cure or treatment for it. how i feel makes me realy uncomfortable day by day

[andrey91pireu]

mmo's are bad

[andrey91pireu]

mmo's suck

[baerabas]

I broke and trashed my WoW CDs never to play again, but one good thing that did come out of the crap of that MMO is that I met a wonderful family through that game, we met in real life and are still friends since then, even if none of us (except one) still plays. It is great to realize we had other, non-MMO interests that got us to be real good friends!!

[gamerchronicles]

@baerabas That's great! I made some great friends too. One bright spot.

[CatMan221]

This lady is amazing. Great interview. 5/5

[MaxwellSDSU]

Sometimes I wonder if we’re arguing from a false premise on a lot of these topics, e.g. “mmo’s have a social aspect, thus bc I get some social fulfillment when I play it’s okay to game 5+ hours a day”

Seriously? How did we ever allow the idea of rather the “social” side of mmo’s compares to being social in real life to become an argument?? The idea should be laughable, and that this is even a question in some people’s mind is depressing. We need to stop giving merit to some of these arguments

[gamerchronicles]

@MaxwellSDSU Thanks for making that point.

[BodofLegend]

I"m glad I don't suck at video games... I get or rent them and have them beat in a week.. so I can be done with it.. the ONLY games I play that are not boring to me are Left 4 dead 1 and 2 and guitar heros.. but I don't play every day like a lot of gamers.. they like never miss a day

[WHENSTUFFATTACKS]

I've spent over $3000 dollars on farmville cash and it's paying off! Video games aren't addictive, their just better than anything else. My mom wants me to get a job and move out, but I have a job; Farmville!

[skaterobban]

very very good documentary. i believe in everything she said. coming from a hardcore wow addict.

[skullface443]

I'm not enjoying the MMO I play as much as I did before, it was most enjoyable when I just started playing. But I try to have events with friends rather than just train my character.

[junhua123]

How i wish my mother to be like you!!!

My mother will never understand me because she don`t understand english and thats a big problem and 2nd.

i cant read chinese and she can,so we cant play games together if she don`t learn english so is just sad that they will never understands me.....

But i can see my older sister is trying to get in to the game and understand me but....

when she is playing the game.

Her mind think that the zombie is real LOL xD L4D2 btw so is was like OMG OMG OMG....

[Stupidsquire]

she brings up a good point. when you think about it, MMO's are really creepy in that u never know who the person behind the avatar is. 8 year olds interacting with 70 year olds.

[patoooo1]

I've spent 10 bucks with my mom's card, but it was by accident.

[daLiLman1]

takin away games would be rediculous n would piss off millions of ppl . ppl like swords , guns , fightin , blood n gore n 4 lil kids playin stuff like dat is da parents fault . dats why t games have a rating on da front cover ... if a kid can shoot ppl on a game it might keep em from doin it n real life . think about it

[rdfresson]

really interesting videos. I think i can relate to alot of things said here even though i play 2-3 hours a evening i think i play to much epsically when i miss thigns for computer games.

[gamerchronicles]

The time adds up quickly and it's super easy to slide into the habit of gaming instead of putting out energy in other directions. Thanks for your comment :-)

[Poll5]

It was informative to look at it from other person's eyes. I've been playing games for like 10 years now and I would say that the reason I do play (not as much as I used to before) is because I am bored.

As with many things there are good and bad things and she did not mention any good points of gaming - as keeping people occupied and away from trouble.

(As a side note, her smile kinda irritates me - it is totally unrelated to what she'd be talking about.)

[gamerchronicles]

Sorry about smiling - I enjoyed the person I was speaking with ;-)

Shavaun

[Poll5]

I never expected anyone's reply to be "I" as in person who was in video :(

Hope it (comment about smile) did not offend you too much; I surely feel a bit ashamed - like I gave a slap in face for someone who is trying to help.

Sorry about that!

[gamerchronicles]

No problem! I did smile a lot (I always do). And yeah, my husband and I are "gamerchronicles." Thanks for taking the time to watch and leave feedback :-)

[Climo55]

i'm so glad she has expirence with games unlike that lady that was against the game mass effect

[rykerkmartin]

you know every time i watch things on video game "addiction" it always pissed me off. but shes got a good point and she has actually researched this very in depth and has been a part of the experience of online gaming, and i will admit sadly there had been days where i didn't shower or do anything but play video games. but the problem i have with most people is that they don't actually look into what the hell there talking about and know absolutely nothing about whats going on.

[adyboss10]

You got some veeeeery good points there! I liked this "documentary" because its not as people us to think at games as smth bad...games are made for relaxing and there is also a "healthy" way of gaming, online competition! I think its the best to play things online, just for some hours instead of playng a single game for a whole day.

[Severin84]

Nice to see a person who knows what they're talking about for once.

Too often i see psychologists who know jack shit about gaming and very often comparing it directly with drug-addiction (which of course only make them look all the stupider).

I also like the way you portray gamers, you never once patronize gamers by saying they retreat to virtual worlds or such - as a gamer, i find that offensive when ppl believe that, as im fully aware that it's a game. meh, char count running out :(

[rykerkmartin]

@Severin84 your point has merit but when you are calling people stupid please by all that's holy in this world use proper grammar in at least that line. i don't want to look like the grammar police but please just watch what you say. "dumber" or "more stupid" would be the way to say it, it just makes people who feel that way look really bad.

[robby615]

to gglll

Im in the same position as you gglll and im trying to break free of this addiction, in particular wow. These videos speaks volumes of truth to me as well. Its kind of ironic because I am studying psycho-biology currently at a 4 year college and I'm struggling to finish.

MY advice to you is to just quit COLD TURKEY.

If its a mmo, uninstall the game, delete your characters, give away your items and gold to friends, and avoid anything that has to do with the game like its the plague!

[ggIII]

I really appreciate these videos and find them very informative and they ring very true for me, however they aren't really giving me much in the way of advice for breaking free of a video game addiction, which I suffer pretty severely from. What I'd like to know are ways an adult such as myself can themselves overcome this kind of addiction--because so far, nothing has worked for me and I'm getting desperate.

[betwixtX]

just don't play

[DieSonne87]

Just don´t smoke

Just don´t drink

Just don´t gamble

sow easy too say is it not?

[rykerkmartin]

@DieSonne87 my gramps always said talk is cheep. i could say don't smoke don't drink don't gamble. but how many people say this yet they still do? a lot of people smoke drink and gamble and they say they don't like it, as she pointed out. but its compulsive there looking for that only thing that they think might make them happy but in reality very rarely do.

[Kovatt2]

I used to play MMO's, on average, about 4-6 hours a day. 7 days a week. For an adult, with 2 kids(5 and 10) that was too much and I did it for almost 5 years.

I have been off MMO's for almost a year now and what helped me was going back to school. Giving me a "real life" goal to help raise my self esteem, instead of a fantasy world.

For many adults, I think MMO addiction stems from poor self esteem and raising that in real world tangible ways is the best way to break free of that "MMO monkey".

[Eddie6g]

my father has gambling problems also. Is their something wrong with him that he passed it onto me genetically???My family divorced when i was 14, i do believe that depression is a playing factor in my gaming addiction as well sry for the long comments lol. thank you

[Eddie6g]

I play Killzone 2 and FFxi. I picked up a skill in reality long ago which is art...but I allow this skill to be pushed aside and cant grow because of gaming. I've lost my relationship and have remained distant from my family for years. What can i do to save myself as I've just recently takin this all serious now and without a support system I'm grinding my teeth through books and anything to help me stop this compulsion to play and focus on my art. What now?

[gamerchronicles]

I'll send you a message tonight.

[Ullikummi86]

I am FFxi player for 5 long years. I have already made the decision to quit this month. Watching this video, supports my decision, and I am glad that I made it. Thank you so much Shavaun.

[maxzzie]

Why quit?

the reason why you play FFxi is because you like it,

why not just limit how often/how long you play FFxi to a minimal so you can still enjoy it.

[nathanomg]

watching this vidoe really changed my life.

computer adiction is real, and i'm glad to say that i have recently overcome it. i hope my example would ensipre others to quit addicting games and alter the way in which the games are made.

[razzihel]

Im trying to. How did you do it?

[ggIII]

I'd really like to know, too.

[tenuki3]

I'm proud to be MMO games developer. I'm very happy to receive feedback from players who spent sleepless nights playing my games.

I get paid to deliver fun to people. More pleasure = more money.

Most people think, you need good programming or art skills to create an addictive game. In my opinion - knowing psychology of a human is way more important. It's science.

I'm happy to see current level of addiction delivered and I'm waiting impatiently to see what will be available in the near future.

[ggIII]

You're either lying, or a sick human being.

[twinter20]

Shavaun, thank you so much for posting these videos. This is the most informed and articulate evaluation of video game addiction I have seen. I've had problems w/ recurring vg addiction in the past, and it was very comforting to hear your professional opinion that was consistent with my own guesses about what has kept me playing compulsively. Your analysis in vid#3 sums it up so well: "[Video games, and esp. MMOG's, are] the most incredibly complex Skinner [boxes] that anyone could imagine."

[LatinoLegendESlove]

this is interesting and gamerchronicles why does it bother you that parents perform physical discipline on there children disciplining children at a young age will make them better adults in the future not disciplining them will most likely end up with a spoiled brat who disrespects his parents

[gamerchronicles]

Great topic for another video. Physical punishment of children is probably more controversial than the topic of gaming addiction, don't you think? I'll work on that one next. Please feel free to call me Shavaun  :-)

[LatinoLegendESlove]

yeah i guess it is but i don't get why the government is against physical punishment because if parents just give there kids everything and let them decide what they want then they end up spoiled and rude screaming at there parents and disobeying them when my mom was young she told me that if she did something bad to her parents she would have to kneel in rice outside in the courtyard of house this is in El Salvador these types of punishments are of tradition.

[fjaoaoaoao]

i applaud her for essentially encouraging game developers to pursue greater social consciousness. :)

big business sucks. :(

[unl1v3d]

excelent, thank you so much for posting this.Finally someone talks about videogames and health on a gamer perspective,

Stil searching for a decent documentary about history of video games. If someone knows one, please do send a message.

[xboobsx9]

playing sports, having sex, smoking weed, drinking anything you fool, ur a dumb addicted ASSHOLE urself probably if you dont know the answer SgTZ4K

[SgTZ4K]

Video games can become an addiction. fact. But, in a world that is run on technology, and there was no video games, what would kids of today be doing?

[mintoO2cOolv2]

go out and socialise,make new friends,play outdoor games and remain healthy,sudy for tests and brighten up their future maybe? but all of that can wait,because we got video games to play!!

[SHFUTS]

drugs then theyd come back and play some more video games while on drugs video games are awsome very veristile

[fjaoaoaoao]

You are right, there are many good aspects about video games -- like keeping violent behavior confined to video games and off the streets.

[Jolt459]

Jesus... little kids stealing credit cards...

I'm 13, and I play games very excessively. But I have never thought, and never have, never will steal my parents credit card. I mean seriously where would you get an idea like that?

[4DUMBASSES]

yeah same, you'll just get yelled at and then your parents hit you (i'm 13 too)

[gamerchronicles]

I hope you're joking about getting hit :/

[4DUMBASSES]

srry but not really, i'm asian

[gamerchronicles]

Ugh - sorry that you get treated that way! That bothers me a lot.

[4DUMBASSES]

it's alright, no hurt feelings

[starryhawk]

She is just saying parents should be parents to their kids if they let them play online games. IAWTC!

[starryhawk]

I think I can recognize the 8 yr olds and I usually end up ignoring those people because I have nothing in common with kids that young.

[owned323]

Listen guys gaming can be addictive but guys its not like crack or acohol games get boreing after awhile, and most of the guys I play with a whole lot of pepole and none of them do a lot of this shit she is saying and hell most of them are in college.. and the guys have wifes that play its kinda funny to see what happpens when they call them because when they do they log out just about immediatly.

[starryhawk]

It might be like crack to some people... how do you know unless you experience it from their point of view?

[GGMcCants]

Well, there are many people who are doing drugs and want to stop in their hearts, but they can't because they're addicted to the point where their bodies yearn for the drugs. This is a very similar case with the gaming addiction. While some people can just stop when they get bored with the game, there are others who may be bored with the game, but they have the compulsion to play, because it can satisfy the deficiencies that exist in people's lives.

[noctu]

a computer is seen by most as a tool to increase prodctivity and society now depends on them, but to the addict it will allways been seen and a system to deliver their fix, a gambleing addict can avoid casino's but I see a day where it will be impossible for a videogame addict to avoid computers, its just a matter of time before people play them on phones. so I must ask is there a solution to a game addict co-existing with machines? and how exactly will they fit into this new society?

[gamerchronicles]

Really good observations and questions.

[mintoO2cOolv2]

will power man...u must have the will power to take control of ur life and make a decision - "whether i want to play and be addicted and waste my life or do i want to be someone in real life?".there is no way that u can prosper having an addiction.new society?? ha!! there is only one rule in the game of real life- u gotta struggle to keep on going...life is tough and challenging i would not want to give away that challenge for something so easy as a computer-game.

[chatoXvato]

i use to have a lot of dopamein when i played call of duty 3,but then it broke. :(

[boykha2]

very rite

[JessieJamison]

yeah smart lady.