Originally posted by kaibigan34 But considering how many actually play and how many deaths can be attributed to them is quite minimal. I only know of 4 cases where a death was caused from an MMO. And 3 of those were in Asia.
Yeah. Anyone who considers that at all significant needs to be able to explain all the other deaths that happen every year during practically every other hobby. I mean come on, the guys who died played like 2 days straight; at least that Korean dude was said to have played 50 hours straight. I had to stay up 4 days straight with no sleep at all during warcamps when I was in the army, and I can actually just forget to eat for 2-3 days straight. Most sources say that death by dehydration takes like 1-2 weeks and death by starvation can actually take months. But 2 days? Gimme a break...
Not to mention that even the biggest addict in the universe could probably find a few spare minutes for sneaking into the kitchen every once in a while when they feel like it.
SWG and Half-Life are my only real addictions
I played SWG too, but I must admit that I liked Far Cry better than Half-Life 2.
I have a decent personal life I think. I scuba dive and am a fossil diver. I ride my motorcycle constantly. And have alot of friends that I go see. Travel alot and have been all over Asia in the past 10 years. I also run a fossil store and work as a volunteer for a great charity.
Hey what ever floats your boat. But to believe that any of those things are better than spending the time to play computer games seems strange, considering they are all just as much a question of what you enjoy. Have you considered that you might be addicted to riding a motorcycle, since you say that you drive it constantly, apparently without trying to get anywhere? Having a "decent personal life" is a personal choice; some couldn't care less regardless if they play games or not.
There is a significant difference between addiction, and desire/compulsion. Desire/compulsion is what makes you rush home to play a game asap. It's because you want to, not because you HAVE to. Addiction is where you have to, you must, if you do not, you will suffer negative effects as a result. At that point it stops becoming a choice. The line is thin, but it is there.
It is my firm belief that those addicted to video-games have an addictive personality in the first place and have the potential to become psychologically addicted to almost anything. The everyman does not become addicted to videogames, just as he does not become addicted to skateboarding, stamp collecting or a myriad of other time-consuming hobbies. Neglecting other activities is a completely natural thing to do when the alternative is far more fun. So my room's a mess.. hmm, would I rather tidy it up, or play a game. Rather easy decision there me thinks.
Anyway for those interested in my opinions I was invited to the US to speak at the University of Advancing Technology on the subject. The video is available here at Google Vid
In fairness, I don't think using drugs can be compared to being addicted to an MMO. The chemicals that exist within drugs are what addict the user, not the idea that they enjoy drug abuse. The same goes of alcoholics and gamblers. I think gambling, and online gaming are addictive for different reasons, though.
That said, I have no doubt in my mind that MMO's are incredibly addictive, however I feel they're only so addictive to those with more addictive personalities. The same can be said for -any- game of any genre.
In fairness, I don't think using drugs can be compared to being addicted to an MMO. The chemicals that exist within drugs are what addict the user, not the idea that they enjoy drug abuse. The same goes of alcoholics and gamblers. I think gambling, and online gaming are addictive for different reasons, though.
A bit confusing, yeah I see where you're coming from with the drugs and the alcohol. But gambling can really be categorized as the same type of addiction as mmorpgs, both are built on certain rushes.
Originally posted by Jade6 The real problem with the concept of addiction is that actually caring about anything whatsoever could be classified as "psychological addiction", be it a game, drug or your family. To eradicate all addiction then means to stop caring about absolutely everything, which is pretty much what pop culture represents anyway. I for one prefer remaining addicted.
yeah addiction is not necessarily a bad term (although it does mean that we will give up certain stuff (family, going out, friends) because a certain thing in life has a higher priority...
I for comparison am addicted to kitesurfing, I always want to do it and its very addicting. When there is enough and good wind to do it, I will drop or reschedule any other activity planned for that day. it goes from not going to (high)school to not going out because I'm too tired after a day of surf etc.
I don't play a mmorpg at the moment, but I feel the way my life changes from for example kitesurfing, is not worse than what I did for playing mmorpgs. With the one excuse that since a mmorpg is always available u can log on every minute of the day and there's never anything to stop u from doing so. (and as such, quititng your job or refusing to come out with your wife etc).
Oh and, I think our lives are all about stuff we like to do. Without an addiction I don't think we have anything to live for. Be it drugs, or be it doing citytrips with a happy family. We've all got our wishes and we all strive to complete them!
the argument to me means as much as Workaholics shown the same signs of addiction as Unemployed roadtrippers. (u see the contrary? )
Originally posted by Helldog I for comparison am addicted to kitesurfing, I always want to do it and its very addicting.
Not a bad thing to be addicted to at all. I think it was a surfer who said that he was "addicted to life".
Without an addiction I don't think we have anything to live for.
I hear ya bro... we are only ever truly alive when we feel; everything else is just mere existence for no particular reason. Without some level of addiction, you can't have passion, and without passion you are already dead. Someone mentioned levels of addiction; I wonder how high love would rate in that scale.
Originally posted by kaibigan34 But considering how many actually play and how many deaths can be attributed to them is quite minimal. I only know of 4 cases where a death was caused from an MMO. And 3 of those were in Asia.
Yeah. Anyone who considers that at all significant needs to be able to explain all the other deaths that happen every year during practically every other hobby. I mean come on, the guys who died played like 2 days straight; at least that Korean dude was said to have played 50 hours straight. I had to stay up 4 days straight with no sleep at all during warcamps when I was in the army, and I can actually just forget to eat for 2-3 days straight. Most sources say that death by dehydration takes like 1-2 weeks and death by starvation can actually take months. But 2 days? Gimme a break...
Not to mention that even the biggest addict in the universe could probably find a few spare minutes for sneaking into the kitchen every once in a while when they feel like it.
I was in the army too. I did Bivouac also. And sorry but it isnt the same. Its a controlled enviroment. Those drills dont want you to die and they watch you alot closer then you think. If you show the right signs they take you out. While on my 2 week they took out 2 guys and sent them to the TMC.
As I said it depends on the individual. Both physically and mentally. Look at the korean couple who left their baby alone to "run real quick to the netcafe to send a few messages ingame". The baby died. Because they couldnt leave the game.
SWG and Half-Life are my only real addictions
I played SWG too, but I must admit that I liked Far Cry better than Half-Life 2.
Farcry is awesome too. I love the engine. Much better then the Source Engine I must admit. But there just arent as many mods for it as their are for HL2.
I have a decent personal life I think. I scuba dive and am a fossil diver. I ride my motorcycle constantly. And have alot of friends that I go see. Travel alot and have been all over Asia in the past 10 years. I also run a fossil store and work as a volunteer for a great charity.
Hey what ever floats your boat. But to believe that any of those things are better than spending the time to play computer games seems strange, considering they are all just as much a question of what you enjoy. Have you considered that you might be addicted to riding a motorcycle, since you say that you drive it constantly, apparently without trying to get anywhere? Having a "decent personal life" is a personal choice; some couldn't care less regardless if they play games or not.
What I mean is I dont just play games. I do other things. And yes I am addicted to riding my cycle. I love it as much as scuba diving. Its freedom. And as for trying to get anywhere there is an old saying. "Young bikers pick a destination, old bikers pick a direction."
While on my 2 week they took out 2 guys and sent them to the TMC.
Half of our unit was "sick" all the time. 15 guys had walking sticks but that didn't prevent every single one of them from shifting the sticks to their shoulders and running as fast as they possibly could for two kilometers to where holiday bus was sitting when we almost missed the ride. The garrison's head doctor happened to be walking by and tried very hard to yell us to stop but we had better things to do.
Moral of the story: I wouldn't put so much weight on their ability to "interpret the signs" man.
The baby died. Because they couldnt leave the game.
No, because they forgot to leave the game. The same thing has been known to happen in many other instances as well, where the parent got distracted and forgot the infant frying in the car.
What I mean is I dont just play games. I do other things.
More power to you. But I wouldn't be mad at you even if you just played games all day long.
What I would like to know is, am I supposed to be addicted to online gaming, or was I supposed to be? I used to play WoW for up to 50 hours a week; I was in my server's top guild, totally hardcore. We could clear 3-4 full raid instances in a row within one single day and we raided all week every day. I was almost always there, no matter how slow or frustrating things sometimes got at Naxxramas.
Then one day I simply decided that it wasn't fun anymore and quit. It was that simple. It was fun until then, and when it stopped being fun, I just canceled my account. I would never have stopped while it was still fun though. I'm not playing any online games at the moment, just kinda waiting for something new and refreshing to come along while doing other things. I don't even miss WoW.
I admit that I do kinda miss SWG though, but I miss it like one might miss a lost love.
And yes I am addicted to riding my cycle. I love it as much as scuba diving.
Please be careful, traffic accidents kill more than 100 people every day in the US alone. Some might even call it "a major disruption to your life that is endangering your health and wellbeing".
I have never scuba dived, but I would like to try. The problem is that I would want to do it in coral reefs or something instead of in a swimming pool or dark, muddy pond water like we have here so the cost of traveling to a location thousands of kilometers away (and bribing local officials to let me experience those places) has thus far deterred me from trying. But I'm really into experiences like that.
Ha, i like this, cause the whole reason why I play video games is to get away from the druggies who make life suck. I mean the jerks who are out there just to make other people mad. Anyways, i don't understand how gaming can be an addiction. Because it happens all the time that i get bored with a game, i swear that games cause ADD, but w/e i'm not complaining. Let me add also that the only thing that makes a game look addicting is the fact that people will grind for days, (ever hear of that story about the guy who played WoW for 48+ hours and died cause he wouldn't go to the bathroom?), but thats only because there isn't anything fun out there in the world. ANd games have been proven to challenge our minds...well certain games...i know that all my gaming friends have good grades in school including me...ok i lied one fails at everything but thats just because he's lazy.
Comments
I just don't feel like it.
It is my firm belief that those addicted to video-games have an addictive personality in the first place and have the potential to become psychologically addicted to almost anything. The everyman does not become addicted to videogames, just as he does not become addicted to skateboarding, stamp collecting or a myriad of other time-consuming hobbies. Neglecting other activities is a completely natural thing to do when the alternative is far more fun. So my room's a mess.. hmm, would I rather tidy it up, or play a game. Rather easy decision there me thinks.
Anyway for those interested in my opinions I was invited to the US to speak at the University of Advancing Technology on the subject. The video is available here at Google Vid
TB.
In fairness, I don't think using drugs can be compared to being addicted to an MMO. The chemicals that exist within drugs are what addict the user, not the idea that they enjoy drug abuse. The same goes of alcoholics and gamblers. I think gambling, and online gaming are addictive for different reasons, though.
That said, I have no doubt in my mind that MMO's are incredibly addictive, however I feel they're only so addictive to those with more addictive personalities. The same can be said for -any- game of any genre.
A bit confusing, yeah I see where you're coming from with the drugs and the alcohol. But gambling can really be categorized as the same type of addiction as mmorpgs, both are built on certain rushes.
I for comparison am addicted to kitesurfing, I always want to do it and its very addicting.
When there is enough and good wind to do it, I will drop or reschedule any other activity planned for that day.
it goes from not going to (high)school to not going out because I'm too tired after a day of surf etc.
I don't play a mmorpg at the moment, but I feel the way my life changes from for example kitesurfing, is not worse than what I did for playing mmorpgs. With the one excuse that since a mmorpg is always available u can log on every minute of the day and there's never anything to stop u from doing so. (and as such, quititng your job or refusing to come out with your wife etc).
Oh and, I think our lives are all about stuff we like to do.
Without an addiction I don't think we have anything to live for.
Be it drugs, or be it doing citytrips with a happy family. We've all got our wishes and we all strive to complete them!
the argument to me means as much as Workaholics shown the same signs of addiction as Unemployed roadtrippers. (u see the contrary?
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