RED53DEVILS on 05 December 2008
Video Game Addiction: When does it become a problem?
I'm sure you heard about this problem from time to time. So what is a video game addiction? Its an obssesion, compulsion, or excessive physical dependance or psychological dependance of video games. Is it a problem? Yes. Is video games to blame? No. Video game addiction is no different than drug addiction, gambling addiction, food addiction, work addiction, excercise addiction, shopping addiction, religion addiction and other addiction that I can't write about in this forums. So when someone has a problem and tragic happens with food addiction or other addictions, why do you almost never hear about it in media? Thats a good question. But when there's something involving video games, then it gets the attention. Video games will and will always be to blame from the media and politicians regardless of the issue.
So in my opinion, I think if you spend 10-12 hours a day everyday, every week, every month and not getting paid to do this, you have a problem. If you spend that same amount of time and your actually getiing paid for this like in tournament competitions then thats different. You need to practice in order to win the competition. But you always have to limit yourself and know the difference between reality and virtual reality. If you spend that same amount of time only on weekends or on your days off, I guess its normal as long as you know other responsibilities in your life like other hobbies, pay the bills, school, socially, etc. Video games are fun. I love video games. Whether I can be Solid Snake and sneak past guards to save the world from Metal Gear, whether I take control of Marshall Law and win the King of the Iron Fist Tournament in Tekken, or whether I play Beats on my PSP and use my custom soundtracks in this fun music rythm game.
When I was a kid in the early 90's, I did spend a lot of time gaming starting with the Sega Genesis and then the original Playstation. My parents would be concerned and my parents and I had I guess what you call family meetings and explained to me about life and consequences, do's and don'ts, and right from wrong. I guess when I got older, now I'm 28, I only spend an average about 6 hours a week in gaming. I don't know the real reason, but maybe its because I'm getting older, I've outgrowned it a little, or have other responsibilities. However, when I get a new game, then I do spend more time, but thats normal when you get a new game. After you beat it or replay it several times then it fades away.
Now its parents responsibility to teach children and parent better and instill a sense of excellence in the kids.They do need to learn that there’s a time to play video games, yet there’s a time to do other more important things in life. Use video games as a reward for doing chores, completing homework or accomplishing something special around the house. Also after one hour of video game play, the child should be required to take a 'reality break' to discuss briefly with a family member or friend what else is going on in the house. Invite friends over for your child to play video games with, so he/she isn't always playing by himself/herself.
Now I think the Video Game Industry has done a good job on not only the ESRB rating system (which is a different subject) but also the Health Warnings that comes in the manual. I'm gonna post (some, not all) of examples of one of my game manuals:
HEALTH PRECAUTIONS:
Avoid prolonged use of the system. Take a break of about 15 minutes during every hour of play. Do not use the system when you are tired or short of sleep. Stop using the system if you experience the following systems:
Lightheadedness
nausea
motion sickness
Discomfort or pain in eyes, ears, hands, arms or any other part of body.
I don't watch his show but this was an interesting story about 34 year old Fred and this was an episode from Dr. Phil's Virtual Chaos so this is the summary:
Thirty-four-year old Fred says that his World of Warcraft video game takes his mind off other things, but his wife, Juli, says that’s exactly the problem; Fred’s constant gaming is at the expense of their family. His wife says “My husband plays video games from morning to night. It’s affecting all of the relationships in the house. My kids are out of control, and we can’t pay our bills, it’s just a lot of things. They all circulate from the game. He hasn’t worked in nine months. He says it’s because he can’t find another job, but he’s not even really looking for another job, he’s just fiddling away on the computer.” According to Juli, Fred oftentimes won’t go to bed because he plays his computer games throughout the night. She’s fearful of the growing separation that Fred’s gaming is causing within the family.
Now weeks ago, there was news about video game addicts commiting suicide and the media like always, blames it on video games. One is the tragic story of Brandon Crisp and his obsession with Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. After his parents took away his video game privilage well, my condolences to his family and loved ones.
There was a similar situation in 2005 in South Korea. A South Korean man has died after reportedly playing an online computer game for 50 hours with few breaks. The 28-year-old man collapsed after playing the game Starcraft at an internet cafe in the city of Taegu, according to South Korean authorities. The man had not slept properly, and had eaten very little during his marathon session, said police. The man, identified by his family name, Lee, started playing Starcraft on 3 August. He only paused playing to go to the toilet and for short periods of sleep, said the police. "We presume the cause of death was heart failure stemming from exhaustion," a Taegu provincial police official told the Reuters news agency. He was taken to hospital following his collapse, but died shortly after, according to the police. It is not known whether he suffered from any previous health conditions. They added that he had recently been fired from his job because he kept missing work to play computer games.
So what causes this and how can it be solved? There's no real easy answer to this but there's different factors such as low self esteem, defective personal constructs, focal anxiety (which means fear of crowds), lack of information, difficult social circumstances, poor social performance, etc. There's Interventions for these kind of problems. For example for people that has low self esteem, they need a relationship therapy to increase self esteem and reduce hostility and anxiety, for people with poor social performance, they need sensitivity training or communication training or group therapy and this will help to increase interpersonal repertoire, etc.
Question time:
1) Video Game Addiction: When does it become a problem?
2) If you know someone that you know thats a video game addict (friend, relative, or loved ones), what would you do in this situation?
2) After reading this thread, did it changed your perspective of the amount of time you spent on playing video games? Why? Why not?
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