When Gaming becomes an addiction

[Zyni]

I don't think everyone that's really into gaming is necessarily addicted to it. I think addiction means that it negatively impacts other parts of your life. If you miss school or work or family events or sleep or otherwise don't take care of your health then yeah, it could be problematic. Just really loving a game and spending most of your free time playing it doesn't really seem like a bad thing to me. I mean, if you'd just be watching TV instead, what's the big deal, right?

 

[valy]

Hy Prasanna I think you are right, gaming addictions are known to affect the mental abilities. I am addicted to playing games, and when I am not playing I start to be agitated, nervous and mean with all people around me!
I am starting to hate myself when I am like that, that is the reason I am trying to limit the time that my son is spending in the front of PC!

 

[Lexi]

Getting addicted to playing video games is quite easy. I never had a problem with it really, college and a part time job kept me very busy. But I do have friends who were deep into it. It becomes an addiction when you stop handling your responsibilities and only focus on the games. Everything has its limits, you know, too much of something is bad. Gaming is great if you have spare time. You just can't let yourself get too hooked on it. It's sad when something used to escape our daily reality can become a prison to some.

 

[Zyni]

It's sad when something used to escape our daily reality can become a prison to some.

To me, this is a big part of it. Taking a little break from reality, from the daily grind, isn't really a bad thing. Full blown escapism, trying to escape reality altogether, is what seems to lead a lot of people down the path of addiction (and that accounts for many different types of addiction, not just gaming). If you play a game to avoid dealing with things then of course it's going to be easier to get sucked in, play more than you should, and avoid real life stuff.

I think people can learn to do things in moderation. Play for enjoyment, for a break, not to avoid life.

 

[joegirl]

Gaming can be so addictive that it's all you think about day and night. It can be as bad as alcohol addiction or even drugs. The best way to deal with this is to recognise that it's a problem and to take steps to take a pause and step back.

 

[yaorice]

I definitely agree, I feel like I spent most of my childhood years being addicted to games. What are some ways that you guys feel gaming addiction can be overcome (or at least managed)? Asking because I have a younger sibling right now that's spending an inordinate amount of time on the computer, and I don't like how my parents are just yelling/shaming him for playing games.

 

[streettallest]

I think a lot of gamers are addicted to gaming without knowing it. There are some signs that tells if a gamer has become addicted to gaming.

Time management: when someone is addicted to gaming they loose sense of good time management. An addicted gamer because this time wasting habit can lose important appointments.

Bad Eating Habit: An addicted gamer finds it hard to maintain proper eating habit. They often settle for junk food which don't contain the much needed vitamins and minerals.

Possible eye problems may arise due to constant exposure to radiation from PC screen and training of the eyes.

 

[streettallest]

I think a lot of gamers are addicted to gaming without knowing it. There are some signs that tells if a gamer has become addicted to gaming.

Time management: when someone is addicted to gaming they loose sense of good time management. An addicted gamer because this time wasting habit can lose important appointments.

Bad Eating Habit: An addicted gamer finds it hard to maintain proper eating habit. They often settle for junk food which don't contain the much needed vitamins and minerals.

Possible eye problems may arise due to constant exposure to radiation from PC screen and training of the eyes.

 

[streettallest]

I think a lot of gamers are addicted to gaming without knowing it. There are some signs that tells if a gamer has become addicted to gaming.

Time management: when someone is addicted to gaming they loose sense of good time management. An addicted gamer because this time wasting habit can lose important appointments.

Bad Eating Habit: An addicted gamer finds it hard to maintain proper eating habit. They often settle for junk food which don't contain the much needed vitamins and minerals.

Possible eye problems may arise due to constant exposure to radiation from PC screen and training of the eyes.

 

[Zyni]

I definitely agree, I feel like I spent most of my childhood years being addicted to games. What are some ways that you guys feel gaming addiction can be overcome (or at least managed)? Asking because I have a younger sibling right now that's spending an inordinate amount of time on the computer, and I don't like how my parents are just yelling/shaming him for playing games.

I don't think yelling and shaming will work. In fact, it may make him escape further into his gaming habit.

Perhaps creating a schedule would be a better option. Scheduling in time to play games as well but setting a limit on it. Another option is to let him "earn" extra time for gaming by making sure all his responsibilities are met by a certain time or perhaps by doing a couple extra simple chores. That would seem to be a more productive angle, in my opinion.

Setting a timer or alarm can work as well. We used to do this with our kids sometimes. When the timer went off, TV time (or game time) was over.

 

[yunken]

Generally people only fear about addictions to ciggerate, alcohol and porn and other, While these addictions have direct affect on the on our health , what we don't know is that gaming addictions are also found to affect the mental abilities of children, Excessive gaming may also result in a child eventually losing his intellectual ability, so its recommended to limit ourselves from excessive gaming.

Wow! I never knew addiction to gaming has direct effect on our health nor mental abilities of children.
I can't say I am addicted but I like playing games so much, that I don't like a day goes by and I don't play a game, even if it is just once

 

[JaiGuru]

Every gamer must have had a period in life when he or she was addicted to gaming. I went through that phase to. I couldn't drop my controller for 30 minutes back then.

Now, I have lots and lots of tasks to do, chores and endless work and my gaming addiction dropped drastically.

I have to agree with Oursisthefury; it's all about growing up. Only a fool would try to live a life devoid of frivolity, but you cannot live in service to it if you wish to be healthy and happy going forward. Related to, but distinct from compulsive behavior is the physical effects gaming takes on you as you age. At 35 I simply can not be sedentary to the point I was in my youth and remain physically fit. It takes more effort for less reward now. I also have carpal tunnel in my right hand, a consequences of holding the controller, playing my bass on a daily basis for the last 15 years, and having jobs that saw me behind a keyboard in the days before proper ergonimics were a common practice in offices.

 

[tinkerlove]

My mom and I were just discussing this topic and how addictive games can be. I was explaining to her that, the back ground music playing in the game can have a lot to do with how long you sit and play.

 

[Kharyode]

Addiction can become more important than the need to eat or sleep. The urge to get and use to game can fill every moment of a person's life. The addiction replaces all the things the person used to enjoy..
Game become addiction when you refuse to do the house work just because you want to complete a game which you will sit there for hours..

 

[Zyni]

Addiction can become more important than the need to eat or sleep. The urge to get and use to game can fill every moment of a person's life. The addiction replaces all the things the person used to enjoy..
Game become addiction when you refuse to do the house work just because you want to complete a game which you will sit there for hours..

This is where self-control come into play, before it goes too far and one needs to seek help. Once someone sees that they are neglecting other things, it's time to set some limits. Like the tip on the loading screen of WoW even says, all things in moderation.

 

[yaorice]

I don't think yelling and shaming will work. In fact, it may make him escape further into his gaming habit.

Perhaps creating a schedule would be a better option. Scheduling in time to play games as well but setting a limit on it. Another option is to let him "earn" extra time for gaming by making sure all his responsibilities are met by a certain time or perhaps by doing a couple extra simple chores. That would seem to be a more productive angle, in my opinion.

Setting a timer or alarm can work as well. We used to do this with our kids sometimes. When the timer went off, TV time (or game time) was over.

Thank you so much for your input, I'll see how my parents feel about any of these options. We have tried giving him some rewards for doing chores / homework to save his grades, which does work in getting results, but I'm still worried about the root of his addiction. At the same time I know that I grew out of it, and hope that it'll just take time and drive for him to get out of it too.

I definitely agree that shame is the worst way to approach someone about their addiction. Not only would it exacerbate the problem, but it really drives a rift between people. I wish that more parents knew that about video games, in particular. If someone's trying that hard to escape, there's almost always an underlying reason.

 

[Zyni]

No problem. I hope it proves helpful.

If someone's trying that hard to escape, there's almost always an underlying reason.

Agreed. It may even be something as simple as escaping from boredom (hopefully), which is an easy fix. Find other interesting things for him to do. Maybe playing a board game together. Learning something new or finding a hobby can help as well. If he's busy with other stuff, he'll have less time to stay glued to the game.

 

[whatareyou420]

When you spend two days straight playing a game only breaking to eat and go to the bathroom, one might consider you addicted. Of course, I don't play games as often as I used to and I don't really go that long on gaming sessions. Also, i think one has to separate so-called "gaming addiction" from addictions to drugs because they just aren't the same. Drugs are more in the area of chemical dependency and with video games, it's a lot more in the area of a habit and not wanting to deal with things in your life.

 

[LydiaHilda]

It's pretty easy to get overly sucked into games, especially if your life outside of gaming is boring or unsatisfying, since when you're gaming you get to be the hero of the story and feel like you can achieve anything if you try hard enough and enough times. It's just a form of escapism that can easily get out of hand, so the solution is to take control of your life even if it means forcing yourself to go outside, be social and enjoy yourself in the real world!

 

[StolenKid]

It sure has to be some kind of restriction, let's say not let your kids playing like us that we play for like 3 to 5 hours, I mean, kids should hve their time on gaming, and their time outside, be balanced.