BBC Investigates Game Addiction

[s4fun]

If they really wanted to make a case, or a least blur the lines, BBC needs to compare gaming (as in computer games, video games, etc.) to gaming (as in casino cards, poker, slots, and gambling) and talk about gambling addiction.

 

[knowom]

[citation][nom]husker[/nom]What about people who watch the BBC for hours at a time? Are they suggesting that no one has skipped school or missed sleep in order to watch the telly?[/citation] I highly doubt many people have skipped school or work in order to watch BBC.

As a long time gamer I can fully admit game now a days are generally more addictive then when I grew up on them. Most games in this day and age are by design addicting and time consuming particularly MMO's.

 

[knowom]

[citation][nom]s4fun[/nom]If they really wanted to make a case, or a least blur the lines, BBC needs to compare gaming (as in computer games, video games, etc.) to gaming (as in casino cards, poker, slots, and gambling) and talk about gambling addiction.[/citation] No they don't gambling addiction is all ready very well documented and talked about by comparison.

Game addiction is a lot like alcohol addiction people know it exists and is a problem, but most choose to ignore it and refuse to admit they have a problem with it.

 

[justinjkiss]

i just admitted i had a problem and canceled my wow and deleted most of my games. I am also going though a separation in marriage, hopefully i will be able to completely kick the addiction and save my marriage. True story, i was up to 4.5hrs a day on WOW after work and school...

24hrs day
-9 work
-3 school
-1 driving to and from work/school
----------
11hrs left
6-8 sleeping
----------
3-5hrs remaining
4.5 wow
------------
either sleeping is affected or i got 0.5hrs to satisfy my wife, do projects, clean our house, share joint responsibilities, do shopping, hang with friends, ect....

DONT LET GAMES or TECHNOLOGY ruin your life as it has for me... As long as you can control it play it...

Life sucks right now.

 

[eddieroolz]

Interestingly, at the same time BBC is producing their show, an English scientist studied game and violence and concluded that there weren't enough evidence to link the two.

Seriously, I fail to see how an entertainment lasting 3-4 hours at most has more influence on violence than peers that people spend half the day with.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

The reason gaming addiction doesn't exist in the medical texts, is that for something to be an addiction it has to have a chemically visible consequence during abstinence. There is however a lot of debate that compulsion disorders and addictions are to be treated the same. The first is primarily a psychological problem, and the latter primarily a physiological. But both present themselves with the same sort of problems and consequences of abstainence. One example could be someone who is a gaming addict, or someone who are sex addicts. If you look at the behavour and consequences of abstinence, they're very much the same as someone addicted to alcohol or cigarets.

In short - that one statement by some doctor person in the news piece isn't nessecarily wrong, but it's clearly being abused by removing the context.

 

[llcjay1]

[citation][nom]beardface2[/nom]For anyone who watched the show, it did show balance. The point being, some people have addictive personalities. You can be more prone to becoming addicted to something. And when this compulsion, replaces all other "hygiene" factors in your life (eating, washing, socialising etc), it is dangerous. To use some of the extreme examples above (though I've not heard of anyone reading books at the expense of all other things), it would be of a similar concern.[/citation]

This.
This study could be done on any extracurricular activity. Of the people who are addicted to video games, there is almost certainly a level of psychological dysfunction that manifests itself in addictive behavior (OCD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, etc.). The neurological symptoms associated with gaming addiction is similar to those of other addictions, such as gambling, sex/pornography, thrill-seeking behavior, etc. The act of pursuing pleasure is one of the basic functions of human personality. One of the underlying mechanisms of motivation (cf. Freud's concept of the Id) is to reduce anxiety and increase pleasure.
In short, a person who has a symptoms of a psychological disorder (either acute or chronic) has a high likelihood of becoming addicted to whatever provides them pleasure, even a video game.