Panorama - Addicted to Games?

[mrbios]

Now got an addiction to watching a full tv series back to back....

 

Those damn cliffhangers that do it!!!

 

Just watched all 6 episodes of The walking dead yesterday, really enjoyed that but i couldn't just watch one or two episodes, i had to watch them all once i'd started!!

 

I didn't start watching 24 or lost until their 2nd or 3rd seasons and ended up watching those in marathon fashion, if the next episode is accessible i can't not watch it

[Butters]

Seriously 50mb broadband and access to newsgroups, I will watch every programme from start to finish then move on to the next.

 

Next up Mad Men or Deadwood as Sons of Anarchy has just finished

[ZeroHour]

I was definitely addicted to trains, especially playing miniture rail tracks in a semi professional format. Going home every night, strategising and then painting trains/rail scenery and would literally go mental at myself if I went outside the lines etc.

 

Now that I have a job in London, my gaming time is the occasional play on the rail set.

 

Now got an addiction to watching a full tv series back to back....

 

The thing that annoys me is that obsession with anything can have similar effects and I dont think gaming is any form of a special case, its just played by more then model trains but I know people that are obsessed with trains etc but obviously its less common. Technically you moved from one obsession to another, and tv obsession is far more common problem tbh over gaming addiction, the point is anything to excess is bad and unless your physically addicted everything else is just a state of mind and I find it a hard excuse to swallow to explain (as the CoD guy on the show did) why his life is so botched up and to legitimise the excuse they want it declared as an addiction.

[kevbaz]

I.

Though i don't understand how xbox/ps3 players can get addicted to something when there is nothing to gain from playing it day in day out, same goes for WoW (unless there is something to gain?) in CS/CSS at least you had competitions, your aim was always to get as good as you could and to win money. Without that drive to win i'd never have bothered.

 

Everyones addiciton is different, you wanted to win money, i wanted to hit lvl20 on Neverwinter nights on the server in the US with a bunch of mates, i used to sleep from 12-2am so that i could play online with my buddies in the us, id play the whole of the other 20 or so hours a day, if i missed a session id be behind in lvl and would struggle in the new areas, i would miss out on new awesome kit dropped from bosses and would then struggle to play when my main party were offline because i couldnt solo in the best areas.

 

Even now i get hooked on games on the 360, just because i dont play for money doesnt mean im not getting anything out of it, i enjoy working on achievements and the enjoyment of getting immersed in a game is the thing for me. also dedicated 4 years of my life to being part of a Mod team for Operation Flashpoint.. anyone heard of the Falklands War mod?.....

[browolf]

seems to me people who aren't playing games all night are either watching tv all night, drinking wine, chatting on fb or msn, moaning about how bored they are on fb, watching videos on youtube and posting them to fb, etc. So i've cut out all that crap and replaced it with one thing that does involve a little socialising and utlizing one's brain a little. Whilst there's ppl on ffxi who I know compromise their sleep to play more, that's something I won't do.

[Butters]

The thing that annoys me is that obsession with anything can have similar effects and I dont think gaming is any form of a special case, its just played by more then model trains but I know people that are obsessed with trains etc but obviously its less common. Technically you moved from one obsession to another, and tv obsession is far more common problem tbh over gaming addiction, the point is anything to excess is bad and unless your physically addicted everything else is just a state of mind and I find it a hard excuse to swallow to explain (as the CoD guy on the show did) why his life is so botched up and to legitimise the excuse they want it declared as an addiction.

 

Depends on when your introduced to games as to how much of an addiction/obsession it will hold. I believe the current generation of children brought up with computer game violence often find it the only way to release pent up agression that they are unable to remove in other methods. Just all too easy as a naive kid to get sucked into the obsession of gratification rewarded by playing games. Especially with games like CoD where you can be lauded by others as essentially a hero for pulling off some feat or possesing something unique.

 

Did they mention any of the Korean MMO's in this piece? If you need an indicator on how badly it can mess your life you just have to look at the people dying from over playing of games.

[dwhyte85]

Regarding S. Korea - PC bangs or something was mentioned, they went into detail and about the death of the child neglected by MMO playing parents. Edited December 8, 2010 by dwhyte85

[mattx]

Regarding S. Korea - PC bangs or something was mentioned, they went into detail and about the death of the child neglected by MMO playing parents.

 

And those parents already had an underlying mental disorder - which was only mentioned ONCE.

[mattx]

Did they mention any of the Korean MMO's in this piece? If you need an indicator on how badly it can mess your life you just have to look at the people dying from over playing of games.

 

Did they also mention that more people die falling down the stairs or crossing the road than of playing video games ? Nope - why ? Because that won't sell and sucker people in.

[dwhyte85]

I think that is just journalism, if they gave a fair argument for good and bad it wouldn't be so evocative

 

It's something I'd expect from Channel 3/5 rather than the BBC though...

[tech_guy]

Did you know that in the world five people die every year from putting their privates in sandwich toasters? No, seriously, I read it in the Daily Mail so it must be true.

[LiamH]

Things like this annoy me, I play COD4 on the PC competitively with a great bunch of lads who meet up at lan and have a good old social. I spend time with my friends as well and play football / practice martial arts during the week.

 

People would say I was addicted to gaming since I play pretty much every week night for a few hours at a time, but at least I'm talking to friends, engaging my brain and in some aspects improving myself with hand to eye coordination and reflex speeds. I feel sorry for the people who sit in front of the TV watching soaps/Jeremy Kyle for hours every night.

 

At least playing a computer game is involving not just brain numbing, and I get to talk to people from all over Europe who I wouldn't have if it wasn't for gaming.