I was once a video game addict. From the time I began playing computer games as a six-year old up until I finally kicked the 'addiction' thirteen years later, I spent my weekends glued in front of the TV, controller in hand, wasting countless hours playing games. If that wasn't bad enough, once I thought the TV had enough of a workout, I was off to the computer. Gaming became the focal point of my entire weekend, in between my homework and house chores. But my parents probably saved me from being a full-blown addict. They only allowed me to play on weekends so I could focus on school during the weekdays.
Needless to say, weekdays were pure torture for me. I hated school and I would usually sit in the classroom coming up with a new battle plan in my head to beat a certain character or get through a certain level. But I still managed to keep my grades up. Yes, I was addicted and once I came home from school on Friday afternoon, it was straight to gaming.
In 2004, I finally kicked the habit. I packed up my consoles, got a new laptop and didn't install any games in it. While I miss playing, I've been out of it for so long I no longer have the urge to do so anymore. I was lucky. According to an article I read in the paper recently, video game addiction has gone out of control. In fact, it has escalated to the point of people entering rehab and going through counselling for their addictions and some gamers becoming violent when they can't get their fix. And it's not just the young 'nerds' and 'geeks' who are getting hooked now. Even middle-aged adults are starting to spiral out of control.
It's funny how times have changed. When I was young, video game addicts were considered uncool nerds with no social skills. Now, it appears everyone is playing and that it's considered a pretty cool activity. Some people even make a career out of it. No doubt that's probably how I would be making my living today had I kept playing.
Multiplayer online games are taking the most blame for these addictions. Psychological reports suggest that excessive participation in these games can adversely affect people's emotional stability, as well as their personal lives. I guess there is something unsettling about the idea of routinely playing these online games for long hours, sometimes for days at a time and forgetting that you had a life away from the computer screen, not to mention interacting with complete strangers online at the expense of your real friends and family. While recent studies have disproved the cliched views that video game addicts are socially-inept geeks, the consequences can be likened to that of drug, alcohol and gambling addiction, hence why the American Medical Association is thinking of recognising it as a mental disorder by 2012.
During the prime years of my addiction, I never went mad when I couldn't play. I didn't sit around on a weekday twitching uncontrollably wanting to kill someone. I believe that it's because my parents were smart enough to set boundaries for me. For any parent out there who is thinking about letting their young ones play, I strongly suggest you not only set the amount of hours they can play, but also let them know that there is more to life than just mashing buttons and losing themselves in another world.
In regards to online games, I never participated in them, and after reading about what they can do to a person, I'm glad I didn't. I was already pretty hooked on consoles and computer games and I'd hate to think about how badly I would've turned out had I played online. I guess I got out at the right time when online gaming wasn't as big as it is now.
By no means am I saying that video games are bad and that people shouldn't play them. But people should learn to exercise self-control and discipline. Go out and enjoy life and spend time with your friends and family rather than waste it all sitting in a dark room, blood-shot eyes glued on to a screen and living like a hermit. Drug, alcohol and gambling addiction is bad enough. Do we really need to start institutionalising people for playing games too?
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What becomes addicting, I think, is that the relationships people form in MMO's becomes just as real to them as relationships one would form in their regular 'real' lives. That's what I see is the most beneficial, as well as damaging part of online gaming.
ReplyDeleteI think it's about balance. In the same way that it's a bad habit to sit around and watch movies for 8 hours a day, gaming time should be limited.
It's hard to quit the habit if the game ties in social elements too, so one, I imagine, would be combining their leisure time with their socialising time, spending more hours on what could be seen as an all-in-one activity.
I once was an avid, maybe even extreme, gamer too; playing online all day and eating mi goreng for each meal. But there truly are more rewarding things to do in life. It's sad when people don't see it. It's worse when people do see it, but don't muster up the effort to quit. That's what you call addiction.
- mike
mikecbay.com
Thanks for your feedback, Mike. You made some good points there.
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