Study: Nearly One in Ten Gamers Shows Signs of Addiction

[walhallafive]

I thought it was funny that the picture says "Are you lying about your internet or gaming use to others," b/c I actually brag about mine. I've got a great job that lets me sleep in and stay up late playing video games, I brag about it all the time.

 

[Brownie101]

Woot, I'm addicted to something!

Not usually something to be proud of.

Adding this to my ever growing list of problems, I am quite swiftly becoming my own horror story.

 

[ottenni]

Recurrent thoughts and urges about playing Yes, i often think about the games i am currently playing, makes work less boring.
Restlessness and irritability when not playing No.
Repeated unsuccessful attempts to cut back No.
Studies or work negatively affected No.
Problems in "significant relationships" No.
Giving up other social activities No.
Sore eyes, back pain, strain injuries Yes, i have had back issues before i started gaming. But no doubt that gamin and school combined have not helped. All that sitting down is bad for you, my advice, get a fit ball and sit on that.
Sleep loss, weight gains or losses of 5kg
No.

 

[Cody211282]

How do you get back pain or strain injuries from gaming?

 

[Davey Woo]

I think it's time we accepted that gaming is just one of the "things to do" for us nowadays.
Nobody's ever done a study on people that spend all day and night out on the streets drinking, fighting, setting fire to things and whatever. They could be just as "addicted" to that kind of "recreation" as we supposedly are to our games. I'm pretty sure every gamer, addicted or not could successfully stop playing video games, it's just that there is nothing that provides such a reliable source of entertainment for us, so we always resort back to it in the end. Also, nearly one in ten gamers has an addiction, that's not really a significant proportion is it?
Anyway uh... Rant over.

 

[Polarity27]

It's from Australia, what do you expect. It's like believing an American story titled "Christians found to live ten years longer and have bigger dicks."

Addiction is a word that gets thrown around alot. It's replaced the words "obsession", "fixation", "compulsion", and in this case, "hobby". Why? Because addiction implies a cure. When men used to spend hours in a basement making model planes, nobody batted an eye, and that was with model airplane glue in an enclosed space. If someone has thirty pairs of shoes, are they addicted to shoe shopping? No, because every pair of shoes bought stimulates the economy, whereas another 4 hours spent playing a game adds nothing. Hunting is a sport, yet when someone kills something in a video game, nothing actually has to die.(Disclaimer: I got nothing against hunting, as long as you eat what you kill.)

Addiction implies a chemical dependency. Without drugs, no addiction. I've known quite a few Oxycontin addicts, and to compare their situation to someone who plays WoW too much is insulting. To say nothing of Heroin addiction, which can actually kill you.

I believe Bob Saget made the point best: "I used to suck dick for crack. Did you ever suck dick to play video games?" (paraphrase. He was originally talking about marijuana)

Well, I'm done with my rant. Maybe I'm just irritable because I haven't played any games for three months.

You're completely correct, this is a compulsion, not an addiction. An addiction needs a chemical dependence *and* pathological behavior.

It's also worth noting that to meet DSM standards of disordered behavior, the activity has to harmfully and persistently interfere with daily life. "Warning signs" are simply factors likely to show up in people who met the standard for pathological gaming. It would have to continually and seriously fuck with your life, otherwise it's just a hobby.

I'm certainly not shocked that it does in some people, though, gaming does reward-conditioning *really really well*. OTOH, like the article says, I've had it happen to me a lot more often with "pathological reading"-- "oh, just ONE more chapter, I want to find out what happens when she gets on the ship!"

How do you get back pain or strain injuries from gaming?

I'm a really bad example since I already have chronic pain, but I had to stop playing WoW on a desktop because I had such severe back and shoulder pain from the way I was tensing up as I held the mouse. I remember taking a break because I got into Halo instead and my doctor saying "you're way better, what are you doing differently?" I told her, and she said "don't tell anyone this because I'll deny it, but play more Halo and less WoW".

 

[Radelaide]

Most of those symptons are also symptons of PMS. AM I ADDICTED TO PRINCESS-MENTAL-SYNDROME!?

Oh... oh God.

OT: I give it 6 weeks before another study comes out saying that you can't be addicted to video games.

JEEZ GUYS, CAN'T WE JUST LIVE IN PEACE AND BINARY?