Videogame Addiction Rising, Says Help Group

[Greg Tito]

Videogame Addiction Rising, Says Help Group

An addiction services organization from Norwich believes videogames can be dangerous.

Based in the town of Norwich since 1978, Norcas has done a lot of good [http://www.norcas.org.uk/] for people addicted to substances like alcohol and harder drugs, as well as behaviors like gambling. Today, though, the addiction organization released some troubling statistics that prove videogame addiction is on the rise. Norcas doesn't have any services that deal with addictive videogame playing now, but based on the independent research they commissioned (but didn't cite), they probably will soon.

"If played responsibly, gaming is a good pastime, but we need people to be aware of the problems that will arise if the gaming takes hold," said Maggie Williams, head of Norcas.

Williams' fear comes from research claiming that 33 percent of the people polled said they knew someone who spent too much time playing videogames. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of kids under the age of 16 said they knew an individual who - according to them - videogames affected their lives.

"It is a generational issue, with almost 100 percent of young people engaging in gaming," Williams said. Around 40 percent of the young people polled said they play games everyday, mostly between 6pm and 9pm.

"Some 86 percent of the people we spoke to agreed that gaming can be addictive and revealed lack of exercise and poorer relationships with friends, partners and parents as some of the problems experienced as a result of gaming," Williams continued.

Norcas wanted to make it clear that videogames are not inherently bad, but if playing them encroaches on other parts of your life then there might be a problem.

In other news, I keep thinking about my dark elf fighter/mage. He got into a drinking contest in a bar in Solitude and woke up in the temple of love in Markarth. I can think of worse places to black out. But, yeah, games are bad.

Source: Norwich 24 News [http://www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/norfolk_and_suffolk_charity_raises_awareness_of_gaming_addiction_1_1157882]

(Image [http://www.flickr.com/photos/38482643@N05/4305700872/])

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[DeepComet5581]

I would insert an obligatory "Oh this just strengthens the government's position against videogames" comment, but there would be little point.

Every single thing that happens in games or that gamers or game developers do is considered to be an act in league with the devil or something. Frankly, i'm surprised that things haven't gone tits up for the games industry at this point. There comes a point, however, when one just stops giving a toss about bad things that happen.

I used to game solidly for 12 hours a day for several months. I'm not addicted to videogames. I don't get withdrawal syndrome from not having my PC. This is, in my opinion, a load of twaddle.

Technology does impact my generation greatly, but you can't label someone as dependent on it because they use it everyday. If that were the case, most of us would be Mobile Phone addicts as well. Of course it's going to affect our lives, like any entertainment medium. Gaming is having a similar effect that TV had when it became a mass-consumer product. Also, let's face it, with prejudice from our elders, a crap job market, no money, little chance of independence and a stressful existence, most young people need to escape every now and then. Between 6-9pm is a pretty moderate amount.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

[sub]"It is a generational issue, with [/sub]almost 100[sub] percent of young people engaging in gaming," Williams said. Around [/sub]40 percent[sub] of the young people polled said they play games everyday, mostly between 6pm and 9pm.[/sub]

"Some 86[sub] percent of the people we spoke to agreed that gaming [/sub]can[sub] be addictive and revealed lack of exercise and poorer relationships with friends, partners and parents as some of the problems experienced as a result of gaming," Williams continued.[/sub]

If you're going to make up statistics, at least keep them in agreement.

Also, how can gaming CAUSE lack of exercise. If you hadn't been gaming, you would have exercised instead? If you hadn't been gaming, you would have had better relationships?

So, why would they do this?

Oh...because they're going to lose their funding in March this year?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-14887684

Damn, then there's no reason to doubt the seriousness of this new study.

And because this is missing from the original report

The charity is keen to stress there is nothing wrong with playing computer games, unless it begins to have a negative impact on other areas of someone?s life.

 

[ph0b0s123]

I am conflicted on this issue. I do think it is something real and should not be poo poo'd, but it is not as bad an issue as stories like this one make out. There are individuals out there who's lives (job's, relationships) are being affected by their drive to game. It is in no way as bad as a drug addiction though, it more like a gambling addiction / compulsion. Still can be life ruining though.

I do think that games that rely on subscriptions, etc to make money do make this problem worse. Due to their bushiness being run on keeping people playing they do bring in elements to do precisely that, which can become addictive...

I know one friend who I won't see over Xmas as he has just stated playing the Star Wars MMPRPG. It was the same issue when he got into WOW. I will see him again when he gets to the highest level in the game and wakes up to start being social again. I help set up the PC he brought to play the game on and have been waiting a week for him to let me know that is is not overheating etc. The force has him now.....

 

[NerfedFalcon]

Because nobody else has posted Extra Credits yet, allow me.


This one may be somewhat more optimistic, but the second part...I haven't even seen it yet. But at least they're better than saying "VIDEO GAMES ARE AUTOMATICALLY EVIL BY NATURE"

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

Williams' fear comes from research claiming that 33 percent of the people polled said they knew someone who played too much videogames. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of kids under the age of 16 said they knew an individual who - according to them - videogames affected their lives.

"Knew someone who played too much videogames."

How vague is that? That there is more a polling of people's opinions on games rather than the people who play them. And they're asking 16 year old kids whether something is affecting someone's life? Hell even that is a vague term.

Just want to put this out there everyone, this chair I'm sitting on, it's affecting my life. I mean, if it wasn't here I wouldn't be able to sit on it!

I get that they're trying to help but it would be nice if their research wasn't just asking random people.

 

[Baresark]

Williams' fear comes from research claiming that 33 percent of the people polled said they knew someone who played too much videogames. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of kids under the age of 16 said they knew an individual who - according to them - videogames affected their lives.

Holy shit, they took a bunch of opinions and stated them as facts. People polled knew someone who played to much many videogames [in their opinion]. Also, videogames affected my life when I was in middle school. To the tune that I would read videogame magazines constantly and it was my favorite past time. I was in special art classes for gifted kids and I would draw either video game or comic book characters exclusively. Did it affect my life? Yes. In a detrimental manner? No.

I hate when they state polled opinions as facts. Especially since the poll is made to reflect the data they want the poll to reflect.

 

[Voltano]

I am conflicted on this issue. I do think it is something real and should not be poo poo'd, but it is not as bad an issue as stories like this one make out. There are individuals out there who's lives (job's, relationships) are being affected by their drive to game. It is in no way as bad as a drug addiction though, it more like a gambling addiction / compulsion. Still can be life ruining though.

I do think that games that rely on subscriptions, etc to make money do make this problem worse. Due to their bushiness being run on keeping people playing they do bring in elements to do precisely that, which can become addictive...

I think, in situations like those, a person plays video games as a way to escape their lives or feel like they are accomplishing something other then the depression that is in real life. Games are a great way to pass the time if there is a lot of depth and time spent in them, and the interactive nature makes them feel engaging to a player--so you could say that a person needs to spend 'more time' with a video game then, say, a book or film.

But when you put video games first before real life responsibility is when you have issues--not when you pick up the controller. I agree with you that MMORPGs tend to be time-sinks for players, but I think what really keeps player's in them is other players relying on them. This is why WoW is so freaking big: Everyone is playing it, and if you made any friends on it, chances are they and their guild is still on there if you get tired of your "Conan" or "DC Universe" MMORPG.

 

[ckam]

So a help group, an organization that get's money from "helping" people, is saying that something is addictive in the negative way. Sounds a lot like they just want more customers.

 

[lacktheknack]

Aaaaaand here comes the tide of "VIDEO GAMES AREN'T ADDICTIVE HURR HURR"

Yes, they are. They're DESIGNED to be. So are TV serials. And long-running book series. It's OK to be addictive, so long as you don't hurt yourself with them.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Williams' fear comes from research claiming that 33 percent of the people polled said they knew someone who played too much videogames. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of kids under the age of 16 said they knew an individual who - according to them - videogames affected their lives.

"Knew someone who played too much videogames."

How vague is that? That there is more a polling of people's opinions on games rather than the people who play them. And they're asking 16 year old kids whether something is affecting someone's life? Hell even that is a vague term.

Just want to put this out there everyone, this chair I'm sitting on, it's affecting my life. I mean, if it wasn't here I wouldn't be able to sit on it!

I get that they're trying to help but it would be nice if their research wasn't just asking random people.

Thing is though, what did tose kids mean by "affecting someone's life"? For me, yes games have affected my life; due to Bioshock I'm more interested in the works of Ayn Rand, due to Assassin's Creed, I know more about the middle ages/rennaisance, and Portal has got me more interested in science and wormholes.

Also "people who played too much videogames" is a whole bunch of C*** alltogether, becuase it depends on your won personal interpretation of what "too much" is, for eg; I know a friend who plays 3-4 hours of games everyday, do I think it's too much? No. But someone else might, because some people think that playing more than 1 hour of games per day is "too much".

So there.

 

[thom_cat_]

If you play games they affect your life. Posing that question is absolutely moronic.
I'm doing a course called "Games" ffs :3

I don't see why any of this matters. They said the same about TV, but it's not like anybody remembers.

Also, COMPULSION, NOT ADDICTION.

 

[Sarge034]

In related news drinking too much water will kill you too.

Everything in moderation, so no one thing kills you.

So a help group, an organization that get's money from "helping" people, is saying that something is addictive in the negative way. Sounds a lot like they just want more customers.

Also, this.

 

[lRookiel]

Well ofcourse I'm addicted to video games, I've got nothing else to do, I live in a village where there is one bus in and out, the bus leaves in the morning when I'm still fuckin asleep and comes back at midday, the village in populated by the elderly and farmer types so yes a social life is a hard thing to come by in this village.

 

[Torrasque]

Uh, ok then. I would be surprised if any kind of non-gaming organization anywhere said that games are not evil/sinister/the devil/addicting/took our jerbs/etc., so seeing this is no surprise really.

To me, you can only be addicted to something if you have withdrawal. I have internet, reading, and music addiction, because if I go a few hours or days without doing one of them, I really miss them. But gaming addiction? The only time I had any kind of withdrawal from a game is when I still played WoW and I was late to a raid or I missed a raid. I felt bad because there are actual people that depended on me, not because it was a game.

Related: I hate hearing "try to go a week without games and see how long you last".
Its up there with "try to go a week without the thing you spend most of your free time doing and see how long you last"
It is hardly that difficult, it is just really boring and pointless.

 

[LordFisheh]

Two things.

First, they had people say they 'knew someone who played too much videogames'. Define 'too much'. I know some people who'd consider it a bad thing to play at all. It's all just opinion, just noise - let people make their own choices about what they want to do with their time; don't condemn it as 'sad', let alone a mental disorder, just because you don't approve. Apparently it's bad if 'video games affected their lives', if it 'encroaches on other parts of your life'. Value judgments. Games should have whatever importance an individual chooses of their own free will to give them, not some arbitrary amount that middle class men in suits decide.

And as for the addiction itself - I'm willing to bet the vast majority are not addicted in any way. We have 'lack of exercise and poorer relationships with friends, partners and parents as some of the problems experienced as a result of gaming'. Bullshit. That happens because people decided to play games instead, not because the games made them stay in against their will. But people will happily use addiction as an excuse, and it seems like more and more people will do whatever it takes to avoid any responsibility for their actions. Hell, look at the sheer number of people on the internet who'll hold up a self diagnosed, not to mention often utterly absurd, psychiatric disorder as an excuse for refusing to get their shit together. Rioters claim they beat shop owners to death because they were angry at the police. Criminals are now poor misunderstood victims of bad childhoods. And, apparently, we're no longer accountable for the running of our own lives because 'games made me do it'.

 

[thom_cat_]

Wow, James really is a massive douchebag, What a cry baby.

You are a nice relatable individual.
No seriously, what the hell? Do you have no empathy?