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Gaming is an illness.

German Hops

GAF's Nicest Lunch Thief
I don't know if it's the AMA or the ASAM, or even another agency, but I heard tonight that gaming will be declared an addiction directly underneath gambling. However, I found an article dating back to 2016 on the country's first gaming rehab center, so this is actually been a long time coming.

If your bills go unpaid or you miss countless appointments, I guess you might have to go to treatment, but how will it be determined that you are staying off of the computer or Elden Ring? Will you have to have a wire on your body? What's to prevent you from using someone else's account to play?

What are your thoughts on this ever growing societal issue?
 
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JOEVIAL

Has a voluptuous plastic labia
Gaming addiction is real.

My thoughts, everything in moderation. Especially games. If games make you ignore responsibilities, family time, friends time, taking care of your body, completing your chores, then it is getting in the way of your life... your responsibilities.

No you're not addicted if you want to play a couple matches of APEX before walking the dog or doing the dishes, but if you ignore responsibilities for an entire day, that is where issues will arise.

So many things in life can be considered this way and can be destructive behaviors (social media, binge watching TV, excessive body care, just to name a few). Video games are not exempt from this.
 

Doom85

Member
It's a menace. The sooner it's banned, the better.

Andy Cohen Wtf GIF by loveconnectionfox


Just because something is a menace doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be allowed to exist. Your attacks on that boy Dennis and Star Wars Episode 1 were bad enough, but now you’ve gone too far!
 
Lots of things can be an addiction for certain people, including gaming. How else do you explain the people who spend tens of thousands of dollars they can't afford on F2P games? Marriages have ended over a spouse not willing to cut back from their 60+ hours per week MMO playtime.

YOU are probably not addicted to gaming and it's probably difficult to comprehend how someone could be, but it exists. It's not that different than other addiction like gambling, alcohol, etc. Most people can self monitor themselves in these things without negative consequences. Some cannot.
 
I think it could be classified as a psychological condition, possibly in extreme cases. I got addicted to FFXI bad for like 5 years. Every time you log in it has warning signs telling you to go outside and touch grass.
 
Anything used/consumed/done in excess becomes poison. So yes, if someone is doing this to such excess that it harms his wellbeing (and/ or of others around him), this could be called a disorder.

The path to success is the path of moderation.
 
I can see it in the games I don't like. I volunteer myself to select the games that will be banned, I'm sort of an expert on the subject and I promise to be completely fair and unbiased.

On a serious note, if you are under 18 or playing on mobile you shouldn't play games, your bad taste is negatively affecting my enjoyment of the media, please be gone.
 
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CitizenZ

Banned
I know someone who played raft yesterday for close to 12 hrs straight. Not it is the game they wanted to play, its their genre, but simply to maximize views/ revenue because its the game of the day. Thats a sickness. Also i have been following some well known vlogs on the WSOP, almost everyone involved are mult millionaires but choose to sit in rooms for 12 hrs a day playing poker. I love cards, i love games but i would never want them to take away from simple choice and fun.
 
lol anything in excess while not maintaining other aspects of your mental / physical wellbeing can be considered harmful imo --- gotta have a balance !
 

MiguelItUp

Member
Too much of anything is an illness. If you have an addictive personality then of course gaming could get in the way of your life in a variety of ways. But you can also healthily enjoy gaming, much like people can enjoy anything very healthily. I just think that, when folks have an addictive personality, they should approach anything enjoyable with caution.

I had some really close friends that would almost do nothing but play WoW for a good while. It was pretty frustrating because whenever I would come to visit (as it was about an hour away) there were often times where I'd want to go do stuff and hang out and they were like NAH I GOT RAID.
 

nkarafo

Member
Yeah right. As long as something doesn't make you productive, it's an "addiction".

How about the depressing, soul crushing shit of being stuck with a shitty day job that wastes at least 11-12 hours every day? I remember i played a game for 8 hours straight one day and i had to feel bad about it? Fuck that, at least i enjoyed myself.
 
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LordOfChaos

Member
I've gotten this from family that watches murder mysteries all day and knows sweet fuck all about things going on in the world, but somehow a few hours a week gaming is worse?

If it's to the point where the rest of your life is suffering for it like bills going unpaid, being unable to work a job, then yeah it's a problem, but you can be addicted to anything, not just gaming. You could be addicted to drinking nail polish.
 

Northeastmonk

Gold Member
I must view it differently. Gaming to some kids is addicting. It’s 6-7 hours a day and then when they aren’t playing they’re cranky, easier to irritate, and they cry because their emotions can’t comprehend that they’ve left a virtual environment for the real world.

When I was a kid I’d pay .25-.50 cents for maybe 5 minutes of play time. I’d play until my eyes were bloodshot. Games fascinated me because I saw the technicolor sprites move across the TV screen.

I still love to play, but I can turn off the screen or I can pause to do something important. I am not ignoring something else for it. I’ve played games for 30 years now.

It’s odd for me to hear about this, but then I see what a 4-5 hour long game session is for a kid. They aren’t there because Yu Suzuki or Hideo Kojima produced a new game. They’re there because they are having fun pushing blocks around. On top of this, imagine an older kid or an adult who can’t stop playing to do work or miss multiple days of work because of it. That’s a big problem.
 
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Multiplayer and online games as well as any game with microtransactions/in-game purchases should be 25+ aged, that includes mobile shit as well. That is the best solution. Other than that, allow them freely to whatever age.
 
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