First lets get our terms straight. An addiction is a compulsion to repeat a pleasurable behavior to an unhealthy level that damages a persons relationships and responsibilities.
We're not talking about hyperbole here. If someone says "I'm so addicted to Candy Crush Saga," and they just play it on their phone every day, that's not an addiction... that's hyperbole. If they spent so much money on Candy Crush Saga that they couldn't pay their rent or buy diapers for their baby, that's an addiction.
Is video game addiction a serious problem in our society?
No, I don't believe it is. It is at best a very minor problem affecting a small percentage of people. There are much bigger problems in our society, poverty, homelessness, gun violence, lack of affordable health care, meth, and Republicans, that I would consider major problems. Compared to that, video game addiction doesn't even move the needle.
What do you think about game developers who manipulate and create their products to be addictive?
I think it's hyperbole. Nobody wants their games to cause people to damage their own lives, not even King Games. We want retention, and addictiveness is a easy way to talk about it, but it's not the literal sense of addictiveness like defined above. We're just talking about Daily Active Users.
How similar is video game addiction compared with gambling?
We're looking at the same mechanism, people develop a compulsion for the risk/reward aspect of games or gambling. Except games are generally less harmful because you don't generally get a bookie and borrow money to keep playing World of Warcraft like someone might do on horse racing. Video games don't offer the dream of winning lots of money like gambling does and I find it hard to believe they can be anywhere near as harmful.
Do you think we should have video game addiction clinics?
If enough people need them, sure. I find it hard to believe that it's a big enough problem to merit this though. So much of it is just hyperbole.
How should we handle people who have died form playing video games so it does not happen again?
Nothing. We don't need to do anything about this. It's a really rare thing, there's like what maybe a few dozen people who have done this out of the 7.125 billion humans on earth. It's not a really big issue.
What should the video game industry do to address the issue of video game addiction?
Nothing. We don't create the situations that cause addiction. We just make games. We don't need to do anything about video game addiction any more than TV manufacturers need to do something about TV addiction. We're not making an actually addictive product. It's not a drug, it doesn't create physical cravings.
What is the treatment for addiction to video games?We're not talking about hyperbole here. If someone says "I'm so addicted to Candy Crush Saga," and they just play it on their phone every day, that's not an addiction... that's hyperbole. If they spent so much money on Candy Crush Saga that they couldn't pay their rent or buy diapers for their baby, that's an addiction.
Is video game addiction a serious problem in our society?
No, I don't believe it is. It is at best a very minor problem affecting a small percentage of people. There are much bigger problems in our society, poverty, homelessness, gun violence, lack of affordable health care, meth, and Republicans, that I would consider major problems. Compared to that, video game addiction doesn't even move the needle.
What do you think about game developers who manipulate and create their products to be addictive?
I think it's hyperbole. Nobody wants their games to cause people to damage their own lives, not even King Games. We want retention, and addictiveness is a easy way to talk about it, but it's not the literal sense of addictiveness like defined above. We're just talking about Daily Active Users.
How similar is video game addiction compared with gambling?
We're looking at the same mechanism, people develop a compulsion for the risk/reward aspect of games or gambling. Except games are generally less harmful because you don't generally get a bookie and borrow money to keep playing World of Warcraft like someone might do on horse racing. Video games don't offer the dream of winning lots of money like gambling does and I find it hard to believe they can be anywhere near as harmful.
Do you think we should have video game addiction clinics?
If enough people need them, sure. I find it hard to believe that it's a big enough problem to merit this though. So much of it is just hyperbole.
How should we handle people who have died form playing video games so it does not happen again?
Nothing. We don't need to do anything about this. It's a really rare thing, there's like what maybe a few dozen people who have done this out of the 7.125 billion humans on earth. It's not a really big issue.
What should the video game industry do to address the issue of video game addiction?
Nothing. We don't create the situations that cause addiction. We just make games. We don't need to do anything about video game addiction any more than TV manufacturers need to do something about TV addiction. We're not making an actually addictive product. It's not a drug, it doesn't create physical cravings.
I've played video games my whole life. 8 hours a day since I was 10, I quit a bunch of times from several months to a whole year. I sold my computer only to buy a new one and sell it again. I haven't touched video games in while and it's kind of like an old ex.
There is one thing that works. It's not what you'll find browsing /r/stopgaming and they say find hobbies. Gaming for addicts is a passion or it kills time or it's an escape. People with a good rewarding life don't game 8 or even 4 hours a day. Literally there is so much better shit in the world to do in gaming and that's the truth when you step away from those missing years of your life you're never going to get back. When I was 14 I thought my reign as best hunter in Azeroth made me famous somehow in my mind.
Everyone says, "Oh quitting comes from within when you truly instrinically want to quit." That's such fucking bullshit. Video gaming is so stimulating and SO rewarding in the moment. All those gratifying colors, violence, and achievements. I was king of the losers. If playing video games helped me get pussy, paper, universal social envy and my tummy full I'd do it all the time. Maybe another dimension but that's not this world works. You're quitting for a reason and why is you are is for you and only you to know.
I tried reading which helped. Self improvement. Yes. I picked up some hobbies like web design and graphic design. Cool. I became more social and grew more audacious with every step. But nothing ever quite challenged me like video games. I never played for leisure anyhow.
If you find yourself agreeing with this, great if not then go look on /r/stopgaming with a bunch of cry babies.
Nothing got my heart pumping like all most getting Yogg Saron down on our first clear or when my reaper rush worked in a ranked match. I thought I was smart cause I played video games cause that took intellect. It far more intelligence to know that shits a waste of time.
So what I did was I joined the wrestling team at my college which was ranked third in the country for D3 (we beat D1 wrestlers often). You do not push yourself anywhere in life except in wrestling. It was only during the season I wouldn't play at all. I wanted to abstain cause I had practice to worry about.
With that said ONE of the best ways to combat gaming addiction is simple
1. Work out. I mean work out. Become an animal. Become so physical, be a beast. Those years of gaming has turned you into a frail or fat or maybe just very physically average person. Don't you ever want to look up in a line public and know you could take mostly everyone there. Okay I'm taking it too far. You may hate dumb jacked meat heads but it's better to be hated then pitied and judged. The whole idea, "who cares what other people think about my body I'm much more than that" is just some made up bullshit that help the socially undesired feel good about themselves. You can be a big meathead and be the most open minded, nicest mother lover in the world, but your better than the kid who's frail, open minded, nice, and loves his mother like she's the only vagina he's touched.
2. Working out will help ease your mind. Nothing like getting a pump on when you're having a bad day. Hit the weights instead of the keyboard. I used to game when I had a bad day or game when I had a good day or any day. Do something instead. You may not always want to read but when you reach that level you'll want to work out or do something physical. It feels so good and that good feeling stays with you much longer than that game.
3. When you develop your body into this marvelous masterpiece that is truly all you. Not some premade night elf that 1,500,000 other people have. You go to engineer school. Be the biggest or at least a very athletic person on campus. Get a group of buddies to the gym or for a run or for a brawl. You can be chatty at the gym or zone out with you headphones. Or simply go climb trees and mountains and get nature strong.
4. Working out challenges you. What's your bench max right now? Getting to like 315 is much harder than being the best at this one game. 315 is far from the world record, but you could be world best at a stupid game. What is mentally harder? You know what I'd say. Don't argue about, "well it's better to be the best at something with less energy and do something with mor blah blah." We're not talking logistics or money it's about self development. Playing video games is about being smart and efficient and thinking you can get out of any situation in life if you just analyze and think about it; read up on guides. It's true to a degree but nothing pushes you or breaks you or forces to find about who you are than extreme physical extortion.
5. It is just so unnatural for us not to be physical. It truly really is. Life is kinda like a marathon that goes on forever, but the harder and more you run the better the race gets. Obviously do the cliché by enjoying the journey and soak everything in, but playing video games addictively is like walking and reading the advertisements along the metal barracades because the pictures and colors are so appealing: totally pointless. The same could be said like about Anime and other stuff.
There is one thing that works. It's not what you'll find browsing /r/stopgaming and they say find hobbies. Gaming for addicts is a passion or it kills time or it's an escape. People with a good rewarding life don't game 8 or even 4 hours a day. Literally there is so much better shit in the world to do in gaming and that's the truth when you step away from those missing years of your life you're never going to get back. When I was 14 I thought my reign as best hunter in Azeroth made me famous somehow in my mind.
Everyone says, "Oh quitting comes from within when you truly instrinically want to quit." That's such fucking bullshit. Video gaming is so stimulating and SO rewarding in the moment. All those gratifying colors, violence, and achievements. I was king of the losers. If playing video games helped me get pussy, paper, universal social envy and my tummy full I'd do it all the time. Maybe another dimension but that's not this world works. You're quitting for a reason and why is you are is for you and only you to know.
I tried reading which helped. Self improvement. Yes. I picked up some hobbies like web design and graphic design. Cool. I became more social and grew more audacious with every step. But nothing ever quite challenged me like video games. I never played for leisure anyhow.
If you find yourself agreeing with this, great if not then go look on /r/stopgaming with a bunch of cry babies.
Nothing got my heart pumping like all most getting Yogg Saron down on our first clear or when my reaper rush worked in a ranked match. I thought I was smart cause I played video games cause that took intellect. It far more intelligence to know that shits a waste of time.
So what I did was I joined the wrestling team at my college which was ranked third in the country for D3 (we beat D1 wrestlers often). You do not push yourself anywhere in life except in wrestling. It was only during the season I wouldn't play at all. I wanted to abstain cause I had practice to worry about.
With that said ONE of the best ways to combat gaming addiction is simple
1. Work out. I mean work out. Become an animal. Become so physical, be a beast. Those years of gaming has turned you into a frail or fat or maybe just very physically average person. Don't you ever want to look up in a line public and know you could take mostly everyone there. Okay I'm taking it too far. You may hate dumb jacked meat heads but it's better to be hated then pitied and judged. The whole idea, "who cares what other people think about my body I'm much more than that" is just some made up bullshit that help the socially undesired feel good about themselves. You can be a big meathead and be the most open minded, nicest mother lover in the world, but your better than the kid who's frail, open minded, nice, and loves his mother like she's the only vagina he's touched.
2. Working out will help ease your mind. Nothing like getting a pump on when you're having a bad day. Hit the weights instead of the keyboard. I used to game when I had a bad day or game when I had a good day or any day. Do something instead. You may not always want to read but when you reach that level you'll want to work out or do something physical. It feels so good and that good feeling stays with you much longer than that game.
3. When you develop your body into this marvelous masterpiece that is truly all you. Not some premade night elf that 1,500,000 other people have. You go to engineer school. Be the biggest or at least a very athletic person on campus. Get a group of buddies to the gym or for a run or for a brawl. You can be chatty at the gym or zone out with you headphones. Or simply go climb trees and mountains and get nature strong.
4. Working out challenges you. What's your bench max right now? Getting to like 315 is much harder than being the best at this one game. 315 is far from the world record, but you could be world best at a stupid game. What is mentally harder? You know what I'd say. Don't argue about, "well it's better to be the best at something with less energy and do something with mor blah blah." We're not talking logistics or money it's about self development. Playing video games is about being smart and efficient and thinking you can get out of any situation in life if you just analyze and think about it; read up on guides. It's true to a degree but nothing pushes you or breaks you or forces to find about who you are than extreme physical extortion.
5. It is just so unnatural for us not to be physical. It truly really is. Life is kinda like a marathon that goes on forever, but the harder and more you run the better the race gets. Obviously do the cliché by enjoying the journey and soak everything in, but playing video games addictively is like walking and reading the advertisements along the metal barracades because the pictures and colors are so appealing: totally pointless. The same could be said like about Anime and other stuff.
7. Superficial benefits. Hot girls like two things... Well three, but if you're an engineer you'll have a lot of that. They like big meaty guys or tall guys. If you're both, you be slaying.
But in all seriousness the best way to kick the urge is to workout. Leisure hobbies can only distract you for so long. My mind gets restless when I read and whenever I feel like playing a game or using my computer for non educational purposes I'll do a set of push up or pull ups instead. After 6 months of abstaining, I no longer care. But a mouse, keyboard, and loading screen is a syringe, piece of string and a bit of heroin for me.
But in all seriousness the best way to kick the urge is to workout. Leisure hobbies can only distract you for so long. My mind gets restless when I read and whenever I feel like playing a game or using my computer for non educational purposes I'll do a set of push up or pull ups instead. After 6 months of abstaining, I no longer care. But a mouse, keyboard, and loading screen is a syringe, piece of string and a bit of heroin for me.
What are some methods for preventing video game addiction?
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