Video games and addiction: Are we there yet?

[Veskgar]

I'm not really addicted to any particular game. But I think nowadays are too dependent on technology. THis includes internet and all sorts of media. Video games included.

I find myself seriously obsessive about PSP homebrew. On days when there is going to be a major release I find myself hitting the refresh a little too often.

Its definitely easy to get lost and distracted. You just need to discipline yourself and learn to manage time so that you don't neglect everyday responsibilities.

Its an extremely exciting time for video games.

In defense of video games, lets think back hundreds of years ago when children would spend many hours daily playing low-tech games. Video Games are just the result of technology.

Imagine that you could travel back in time and hand out PSP's or DS Lites to 18th century villages. You would see kids in that era very interested in video games just as they are in present day.

[Junixx]

um, no bull ****, i dont eat lunch at my school so i can save up for a ps3

That dollar or two a day wont help that much

Anyway...yea i'm probably addicted, but i suppose i could do without them if i had to

[sinjinn]

boris johnson is more of a comedian than a polotician.
seriously though, can he not see the flaw in his own reasonings?
has he not seen someone read a book? they just sit there and twitch . its the same thing , almost exactly . information is enters the mind through the eyes and the mind absorbs and reacts to it. the major problem he has is that he is part of the older generation. books have garnered this sort of status as being somehow intellectually superior than any other medium , but at its core all it is is information passing thru the mind. the new technologies come and change the way we absorb and interact with the information butthe principle is the same.
how many newspapers have you read? how much do u read about things that go on in the world? 10 minutes here and there , at the end it amounts to nothing. in the morning at teh train station you see people with newspapers reading the same stuff again and again. its a ritual, its soemthign to do, we all do it. at the same station you'll see people listening to music and playing ideo games. theres nothing scandalous about it .
anyway, in a couple of generations everything will be transformed. and i bet some of the gamers will be horrified by the latest newfangled stuff that is going to come out soon. and the kids will be livid. **** u gramps...go back to your video games

[baracki96]

I enjoy the occasional xbox live session ( some project 8 here, gears f war there) but definitely not addicted. Now when a game like final fantasy XII comes out that changes ( maybe 15hours, 2 hour break, 8 hours etc.) but thats only for those killer apps. I say game addiction varies by games. Oh, and politicians aren't gamers, and therefore don't know S*** about what they are talkin' about.

[Xiofire]

Im not really addicted, just some games make me play them obsessively, like Kingdom Hearts 2 and Resident Evil 4. I played those for hours and hours.......
-Xiofire
PS: Kingdom Hearts 3 On PS3 in 2008 (so i heard)

[Lumir]

Games can be just as addicting as crack. Its no joke, in my highschool i knew some kids that dropped out, due to games. They "wouldnt" study, were usually late, missed alot of days and such.

Even myself, i just recently cut games from my life for awhile just to see if i could. And you know what? It took longer then i expected, id find myself saying... "ill start to stop playing 2marrow"...

2marrow turned into a month, a month turned into a year and i finally stopped it completely in 2yrs.

Now it wasnt just games, there were other factors as well but games were a huge part.

So yes you can be addicted, but only if you allow yourself to. And depending on your level of self control it can be hard to stop.

My challenge to you is, try and quite all forms of games in less then one month. Some may do it right of the bat, others like me will find it difficult.

[woods05]

Addiction
Noun
The state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physically habit-forming, as narcotics [video games in this case], to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.
----------------
No, I am not addicted to video games.
It is possible for someone to be addicted to video games.

[Xarius]

Yes, it is certainly possible to be addicted to games. I had a co-worker who would call in sick and then sit in the computer lab at work and play Second Life for 9 hours. He got fired from his job and got kicked out of college for neglecting to attend classes.

MMOs are particularly addictive. They are designed specifically to be so. The more addictive they are, the longer people play them and the more $$$ the company rakes in.

[Aryn]

Just about anything can be addictive, including nice, wholesome things that should not be a subject of addiction or any form of negative publicity. Sure, there are a few people who are so addicted to a game that they will spend thousands of dollars on a new computer just to play it properly and forefeit their social lives, but there are also people who are addicted to food and will overeat and spend more than they can afford on it, and I even know a person who is addicted to talking to people on the phone almost to the point where her boyfriend feels like she loves the phone more than him.

As for whether or not I am addicted to video games, I doubt it. I see multi player video games as a great way for shy people like myself to start socializing, but besides that I only play games while waiting in a line up or riding in an over crowded bus or in any other situation where I desire to be distracted and pass the time quickly.

[snkrock25]

I've seen video game addiction firsthand. Some of us have those cousins who get jobs to buy videogames. You know the ones who always have girlie posters on their wall, but no girls ever actually go to their house. THAT COUSIN. The one who knows the game release dates better than you. The one who's major dissapointment this year wasnt about not getting to go to the senior trip, or get a date for the prom. no, he's pissed because he cant find a Wii.

My friends videogame addiction is real, it's become the digital cigarette. The first step, is to admit...