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Do we need internet addiction clinic here in america?
Liddokun
Member UncommonPosts: 1,665
Do we need internet addiction clinic here in america? Internet addiction (usually related to games) has been on the rise worldwide. China has already several government funded programs aimed at curing net addiction.
Comments
People need to learn to take responsibility for their actions. Always depending on Govt. to make everything OK is a quick path to socialism
- CaesarsGhost
Lead Gameplay and Gameworld Designer for a yet unnamed MMO Title.
"When people tell me designing a game is easy, I try to get them to design a board game. Most people don't last 5 minutes, the rest rarely last more then a day. The final few realize it's neither fun nor easy."
And yes, addiction does fall under the rubric of mental health.
Please Refer to Doom Cat with all conspiracies & evil corporation complaints. He'll give you the simple explination of..WE"RE ALL DOOMED!
And yes, addiction does fall under the rubric of mental health.
Ah yes, the classic "personal responsibility" vs "it's not their fault" argument. Well speaking as one who has been very nearly addicted to an MMO myself, I have to say that I am responsible for what I do. I made the conscience decision to play and play and play some more. And to try to blame my hours long gaming on someone or something I have no control over is just lame. And your comparison to someone who has cancer is not a valid one either. People do not chose to have cancer and as I just said, I did chose to play. That's not to say that people who take it too far don't deserve help or understanding. But to try to get govt funding for something like that is just ridiculous.
One word: will.
People have there own goals in life, even if it seems like trash to another. The will to play games and conquer all noobs, the will the go through cancer, etc... etc...
It depends on our will to quit when we need to. Hey I played WoW for 2.5 years, and finally quit, not because it was boring, but because I wanted to try out new mmorpgs >.>
Sure this addiction is strong, but my mental will can overcome anything with support.
All you need is a strong will to quit. That's what addiction does, it diminishes our will to nothingness, but if you have a strong one, you can quit anytime. Trust me, I've seen this happen before.
China is off its head.
We will need television and cinema addiction clinics long before Internet or, say, literature addiction clinics. No matter how far one looks at taking it.
I think there are already a couple internet addiction rehab facilities in America.
- Phos
And yes, addiction does fall under the rubric of mental health.
Ah yes, the classic "personal responsibility" vs "it's not their fault" argument. Well speaking as one who has been very nearly addicted to an MMO myself, I have to say that I am responsible for what I do. I made the conscience decision to play and play and play some more. And to try to blame my hours long gaming on someone or something I have no control over is just lame. And your comparison to someone who has cancer is not a valid one either. People do not chose to have cancer and as I just said, I did chose to play. That's not to say that people who take it too far don't deserve help or understanding. But to try to get govt funding for something like that is just ridiculous.
Agree with Zin here. People today have forgotten they need to be responsible for their own decisions. Granted there are those without sufficient, it any, supervision during their early years. There are some who have a mental flaw. But to blanket everyone who has a socalled 'addiction' to playing MMO's is off the mark.
I have had my times with playing too much and I realized something had to be done. It took a while but made the decision to stop. I was a smoker, I stopped. It took me 3 tries over 2 years but stopped. No 3rd party assistance. The hardest thing I took resposibility for myself was when I realized I was addicted to drugs. I quit, moved 3 times to get away and stay away from the influence.
I never once felt someone or the Govt should be responsible for my decisions and actions. I take responsibility for my decisions and most people should do they same and not expect someone to always bail them out of their troubles.
Harsh? Yes, a bit maybe. Just be responsible for yourself and your actions.
Just to clarify again for those that read my entire post.....I am NOT saying this can work for ALL. The few with an actual inability to care for themselves will need assistance.
Have to disagree, that would just make it worse, kinda like the tread of today's entertainment groups going to rehab everytime they do something they mess up due to making stupid decisions and not knowing how to be responsible.
In the birth of the internet, and the upswing of RPG chatrooms, especially in the Vampire tM setting, I was so addicted to the internet and in getting in to play, meet my internet girlfriend, who lived in Missouri, and... well, just keep the game alive really. I was so addicted that I in the end lost my job, and after that my apartment.
I did that...
Noone else. I did that, and it was up to me to solve it. If someone had walked up to me then and said "You are sick, you need help, its not your fault its a sickness, dont worry, you just need to talk to someone" then I would throw myself in their arms give them full responsibilty to solve my life and never get better in my lifetime. because suddenly it was someone elses problem to help me, not mine. I would NEVER had recovered if I had not been forced to take the full blame myself, the full responsibility and then work real hard myself to get out of it and solve it.
You say that a clinic will help in ways a person can not do himself. Is that why we dont have any drug addicts nowadays, with the thousands of clinics helping.... No, thats right. Because it is not the clinic that make them go there, it is not the clinic that give them the will, the strength the stubborness to solve their problem. First and foremost, before anything can ever change... people need to take care of their own mess first,and have a WILL to change. It starts with the person, the person need to work and it ends with the person working on his problem. You dont need a doctor that takes hundreds of dollars an hour to sit quiet and let someone work on his own problem. If you need to talk about it you can use a trash can, a lamp post or some drunk on the street. Its the WILL to work with the problem that is the first step to a sollution, not some clinic.
But then... personal responsibility takes a maturity and a courage few people today can ever measure up to. its someone else problem they are fat, they drink too much, they dont get a job, they cant find a girlfriend and its someone else problem they are mindless cowards that cant decide what pants to wear without asking someone for advice. Of course those people scream for a "clinic" to put the blame and responsibilty on.
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Anatomy of a Fanboi
This is you.
Awesome post.
- Phos
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Do not hate it, but instead embrace the diversity.
There are a lot of different views on the concept that online games are addictive. Some people honestly believe that they're incredibly addictive and a threat to our society. Some people think that they're absolutely fine and do no harm whatsoever. Some believe that whilst online games can be addicting, it's not a big enough problem to warrant large scale attention. And of course, quite a few people think that it's a matter of personal responsibility. There are all kinds of people with opinions on the matter; Lawyers, parents, gamers, designers.. everybody has their opinion.
All parties are right in some respects, and all parties are wrong is some respects. But more than anything, most everybody is missing the point entirely.
Creating a thing called "Online Game Addiction" is absolutely useless, because it's more concerned with the symptoms than the cause. There's no denying that people get addicted to online gaming; It's a fact. How rare it is, that's debatable, but we can't deny that there are people out there addicted to online gaming. But looking at how to treat that is complete and utter idiocy. No, we need to look at the source.
People play online games for a variety of reasons. Some just enjoy the game, leveling up and obtaining new gear, killing monsters, being blacksmiths, what have you. These people enjoy the game mechanics. Personally I can't see why: The grind bores the crap out of me, to be perfectly honest. But it is there, and some people are stuck to it. But that's not the primary lure. If it was, we'd see more general Video Game Addiction, as opposed to specifically Online Game Addiction.
Online games have a much greater lure in that they are social spaces. For this, I summon "example".
I knew a guy, nice guy, but the furthest thing from a social butterfly you could ever describe. He got wrapped up in an online game to an unhealthy degree. Was playing 12 hours a day at one point. But the weird thing, he hated the game. Utterly despised it. It was a Korean grindfest that will remain nameless, but effectively, it was gameplay he despised. He played anyway. Why?
His guild was a tightly-knit group of friends. Really close, first-name basis, share-your-darkest-secrets friends. These people were his social life, his whole life. He cared about them more than anything. He would log on to just plain hang out, participate in "raids", enjoy PvP alongside them, or just sit in town and shoot the breeze. This was his social life. These were his friends. Can you be addicted to your friends? Can you be addicted to a social life? He wasn't taking drugs, he wasn't drinking or smoking, he wasn't getting drunk and going on midnight rampages. He just sort of sat around all day. That was it. But he would have been classified as an addict.
Incidentally, when he finally did leave the game, it was due to a falling out with his friends. He just left and never came back.
Social gratification is a powerful, powerful thing. It's one of our primary drives as a species. It exists online, and it's extremely potent. The cloak of anonymity allows a person to be themselves in ways they might not be able to be in real life; Free of everyday prejudice and presumptions. But what does this really tell us other than why people get addicted?
People are not perfect. People have problems. Some things in life that one person can shrug off, hell, some things that most people can shrug off, may be crippling to a small handful of people who just don't want to deal with it. Everybody copes with their problems in different ways. Some people, when facing their problems, will just go and bury themselves in work. Some people will take drugs or go get drunk, some people will just party the night away, and some people will log onto their virtual world of choice and just enjoying being able to exist without having to worry about the pressures of everyday life.
If you have a friend, a family member, or anybody else you know who's apparently addicted to online gaming, and you really want to help them? Stop looking at what they're doing as a horrible soul-consuming activity that they need to get away from. Stop thinking about if they need to be put into a special clinic that can get them off the "addiction". The addiction is an illusion; they aren't mindless androids who are hooked on a substance. Something in their games is giving them a retreat from that which pains them. If you really want to help, try talking to them. You might be amazed to find out what's depressing the hell out of your friends that they just never really talked about. But if a person is addicted to a game, for the love of god, look past the game.
The person in question will probably thank you for it.
I was never addicted to MMOs to the point it was a disaster story, but there was a six month period where I played them way too much. I was layed off, I had just left college and didn't know anyone, and my parents had just gotten really sick. Having to face taking care of two old sick people with no job and nobody to talk too, games filled the void. Eventually I found a job and my parents health improved. And I cut back on the games. I still play them, because I enjoy them, but they are no longer the only thing I think about.
Yup I agree you should sort out the yank gaming population, you are all mad, we need to keep you off our streets in Europe after putting up with your antics in recent online games. Seem you all need help.
They also need to put some of them dervs in clinics too getting away with some of that trash they call online games. Most of the recent online games developed in the US are some of the worse I have seen for some years. They lack imagination and some of the code used lately leaves me concered for the future. Your country needs to get some kind of Trading Standards in place, preventing some of the fraud these gaming companies are getting away with is nothing short of criminal imo.
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Asbo
What you would see there is ACTUAL addiction. A very real, physical dependency on a substance. A dependency that could turn deadly if the aforementioned substance was suddenly removed from the addicts system. People tend to forget that you can sometimes die of detox. Not all drugs are like that, but many of the more harmful ones are.
Somehow, I just can't see someone dying as a direct result of turning off the fuckin' computer. Given, people that quit smoking are under no threat of death by detox. They'll just be edgy and irritable that everyone around them would wish they would hurry up and die already.
As far as actual addiction is concerned, I'm gonna have to meet some of you half way. Yes, the addict did choose to pick up their poison of choice. However, putting down that poison can sometimes be potentially fatal if not overseen by a medical professional. There are also substitute drugs that are non-addictive that help stop cravings such as Naltrexone and Methadone. These kinds of treatment should be made available to anyone that truly wishes to break out of their addiction.
MMORPG addiction? Sorry, I gotta file that one alongside Anorexia and Obesity in the "I don't give a shit" folder. Well.... I might have to remove the obesity one since I REALLY dig big women...... nevermind...... You get my point.
What you guys need to understand that internet addiction isn't just about playing online games. It means someone who wastes countless hours surfing the net. Spending too much time on forums and online chats. Always checking facebook, myspace, etc. looking at pornography, and staying up late every night on your computer. Doing all this has a negative affect on your social life. These people start getting tempered when thier internet provider stops working for a half hour or they are bored without the internet.
I know this becase last year I realised that I had an internet addiction problem. I solved the problem myself by installing K9 WEB PROTECTION. It's free and I highly reccommend for someone who wished they could pull themselves away from their computer. I set it to make my internet go off at 11pm and not start up again until 6am. This way I would have nothing to do but go to bed.
And have someone else install it for you so you can't type your e-mail address in and get a temp. password that lets you bypass the system.
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