It's a real thing that affects a lot of people, but at the same time it often feels like it's being blown way out of proportion: an addiction to playing video games. There's a big difference between casually playing some vidya gaems every now and then, and having it become such an obsession that you start ignoring other daily activities, social interactions, and personal hygiene. Do you know someone who has had this addiction, or perhaps you've been in this unfortunate position yourself. Let's start a conversation about it here!
I'm probably a bit farther than casual, but I have never had my games interrupt with my daily activities or my social lives, I sometimes don't play games for a week because I am trying to get my shit done in a timely matter. My friends and I seem to have found a balance that works and we do try and keep an eye on each other.
During my 4 year art block I feel I was straddling the line between addicted and just very enthusiastic with video games. I was spending all my free time playing video games and not much else, often forgetting to stop and have meals. But it was because my other hobbies were not managing to hold my attention. Actually, thinking about it perhaps the video games were contributing to the art block lasting so long?? Since getting back into art I only really play video games a few hours a week. If that. Sometimes I'm sitting thinking "Oh, I've not played my switch this week." and just continue drawing.
I've actually only have been able to play video games for a couple of times a week cause school often gets in the way, but when I do play for a couple of hours and I don't realize how long I've played. I'll say this though, the type of games that I've played often give me some inspiration for the stories that I write or just think of in my head, which none of these games are complete eye candy, you make your own story in these games, mainly Stellaris or Civilization V. With those types of games, I get into those days where I may have a game addiction problem, but once I get over it, then I have the inspiration that I needed to continue to write.
I might be addicted if I actually had spare time in my life. As I play video games as an escape to real life, and do so when I have time to spare, it's something I do to relax. If I'm playing more video games than I usually am, it means that (1) I have more free time than normal, AND (2) my life is stressing me out a lot more than it should. But I really don't have time to be addicted. I have too many other commitments to handle in my life for that, thankfully.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...here/201407/internet-gaming-disorder-in-dsm-5 As of a few years ago, Video Game Addiction is an actual disease as recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. From the link above, if you have five of the following nine traits, you may officially suffer from actual Video Game Addiction: Preoccupation or obsession with Internet games. Withdrawal symptoms when not playing Internet games. A build-up of tolerance–more time needs to be spent playing the games. The person has tried to stop or curb playing Internet games, but has failed to do so. The person has had a loss of interest in other life activities, such as hobbies. A person has had continued overuse of Internet games even with the knowledge of how much they impact a person’s life. The person lied to others about his or her Internet game usage. The person uses Internet games to relieve anxiety or guilt–it’s a way to escape. The person has lost or put at risk and opportunity or relationship because of Internet games. I admit, 7 and 8 apply to me. "I played Skyrim for like four hours" at one point for me truly meant "I played Skyrim for like twentyfour hours", though I haven't lied like that lately. I'll just be honest: Last weekend, I spent probably 24 of my 32 waking hours playing Civ 5. But it's Civ 5, so who can blame me? As for number eight, using games as an escape is probably a totally ordinary thing to do. What would I rather do: worry about work, or slay a dragon? I'd truly prefer to slay a dragon for work, but I'm satisfied doing it for fun and for escape. So no, I'm not a video game addict, and I don't think I know any. If you think five or more of those criteria apply to you and don't wakt to talk about it in front of everyone on this site, throw me a PM. Let's talk about it down-low.
The thing about that definition is that it fits the mold for MMOs and mobile games, which are admittedly the most addicting of all games due to the sheer amount of time needed to invest into them, but not nearly as much for single-player or local-only multiplayer games. I used to play Ragnarok Online all the time, but I was already going through major depression at the time due to family issues, and needed something stable in my life. Videogames in general provided not only this but also a hope that things would get better in time, and it was helpful - up to a point. However, as I've begun to develop my relationship with God and get more involved with other people, I feel less of a need to play videogames, and ironically it helps me to enjoy them even more since I can look at them for what they are, rather than needing them to fill a void in my life that is now already filled. I still play quite a bit, but it's balanced out and my life is better for it.
Seen a couple of vids based around this and past experiences show up in my Youtube feed recently. I rarely game anymore but have noticed in the past how time could get away from me. I'd say my friend's brother is addicted though. She's shown me how he's spent like over a 1,000 euro on dlc for GTA5 alone, including birthday and confirmation money. And he's almost always online the few times I fire up a game to play myself. It's nuts, man. The guy's like 14 years old.
