Are games Addicting? Are you Addicted?

I'm going to be doing a informative speech, and well I couldn't think of anything else to do it on, so I decided on Game Addiction. If you would like to contribute to this at all ex. Quotes of what game addiction has made you do/ destroyed please post here.

Also please post here if you think games aren't addicting and its the parents responsibility to limit the amount of time video games are played.

I was once addicted to WoW, didn't want to do anything but play it but I'm over that now.

 

Is there a way I can make another option I couldn't get it to let me. I would like another option of " I was addicted"

 

I voted that I wasn't addicted since I don't have time for games with university and all. I do however when I have time, go crazy on games so that I can make up my lost time.

EDIT: PS, I like your avatar.

 

I don't know, I maybe, I get distracted easily while trying to do work!

 

Thanks, and thanks for commenting and not just voting. I'd like to get some real peoples opinions before I write this. Plan on doing a power point also will a cool crysis or halo intro

 

Second option for me. I don't have a known addiction to mankind.

 

I know that feeling. Would anyone rather play video games then go out and do social things? Has video games ever hurt one of your relationships?

 

I added your poll option.

 

I was addicted to WOW as well but not anymore after i moved into my Gf's crib now i am however addicted to her, you gotta be addicted to something right?

 

It depends. Some games that are repetitive don't usually become addictive, but others with larger storylines or MMORPGS (WoW, EVE, any text-based MUD) really can be.

When I used to play MMORPGs, I used to sit and class and think about them more than I payed attention. Going to college keeps me from playing them now, so I'm not addicted anymore.


EDIT: I've never been a social person to begin with, so it never affected me either way. Relationship-wise.... I've never dated, never met anyone worth dating, so I can't comment on that, either.

 

Thanks, I would like to hear Greg and Chaz's views

 

i was addicted to wow as well. but am well over that as well now.

however, i get short term addictions to other games, like HoI, CoD M2 total war, civ4, patrician 3 (yes, all strategy games, i find it hard to get addicted to anything else.

i think that parents need to have some control over what is played and how much is played. but there will come a time when kids will play games because thats what they like to do to pass the time.


wow made me fail numerous exams in my second last year of high school, but when i stopped i kicked some serious butt and now have an awesome job. gaming now is limited to maybe one night a week and saturday afternoons when i go to a mates house, but that is more a social event.

 

If I had more time I would be addicted, for now with school and work, I just play on the weekends. I guess that doesn't classify as addicted, because it's just counterstrike and shooter games for fun but yeah.

Occasionally I will open counterstrike during the week, but that's rare.

 

I'm currently in college going to transfer to UVA soon -Virginia, but some of my friends want me to start playing wow again, and I'm just not sure if I can control myself. I was so addicted I would lie to my friends so I could stay home and play, and skip school. And when i was at school I was just planning on what to do in WoW when I got home.

 

yeah i like games, but not enough to come infront of friends, relationships, etc

 

I am however addicted to 3DMark tests. I love to tweak and test 3Dmark and ask other people about their score and compare to me etc. I run 3Dmark tests many times a day lol

 

I was addicted. It pretty much ruined 1 and half years of high school for me. I'd be up all night playing and leaving homework to be done during the day; I didn't have social time. It was a nightmare!!!

So I stopped playing cold turkey for about a year and a half, during that time I learned to play guitar and I still play it

I play games occasionally now but it's certainly under control.

 

I've actually never heard of anyone addicted to that maybe iceman

Edit- those of you that quit, is it better to quit cold turkey or slowing bring yourself off them? And why

Edit- Also does anyone know a really awesome graphic intensive game intro I can use for the intro of my power point. Was thinking of something possibly from crisis or wow?

 

cold turkey, like any addiction.

graphic intesive? wow? you have to be kidding. just stick something that you like. i would do something from CoH though.

 

Cold turkey, definitely. There is no such thing as weaning off of an addiction (in my experience). You'll be tempted to play just five more minutes... Then just five more... Next thing you know, it's three in the morning and you promised yourself another fifteen.

 

Yeah I didn't know what else to put, I think I'd like a shooter graphic intensive intro hmm. Anyways thank you guys for helping me. This is very much appreciated if i could rep you all i would. The more info the better. Better response then what I was even hoping for.

Edit- I remember telling myself I'll do my homework right after I do Bwl then Bwl got over and I was doing something else in Wow until I literally passed out on the keyboard. I was really addicted. I quit cold turkey.

 

Cold Turkey for sure. I realized how much time I was wasting and how I had NOTHING to do after I quit.

If I (or most people, I think) had tried to "wean" myself off, it'd be too hard to admit that something was wrong and I'd just go right back.

 

You're addicted to not being addicted

I myself am not addicted whatsoever.

 

I would say Im addicted yes.

I only game on weekend as I have no time due to work during the week but will gladly stay up till the early hours of the morning playing. I spend money on games instead of other stuff. I browse the gaming forum multiple times during the day to see what people are asking.saying. I update to the latest driver the minute they are out (174.12 just now, 171.14 is just out so will download that asap). I overclock my GPU to get max performance when gaming. When bored at work I think about games randomly .e.g the battleships in homeworld 2 look awsome or in dawn of war how im going to advance my campaign if im on a difficult mission.

jebus i need rahab lol!

 

I think games are addicting, but I'm not addicted to them. Friends, relationship, and school all come before gaming.

 

i dont like to eat Cold Turkey

 

Games can be addicting, but don't have to be. That's why I voted no. They are not, in and of themselves, addicting.

 

oh yes, i'm addicted!!

but first things go first (study for example), besides i'm not gonna have much time next year cause i'm going to college.

However videogames are my passion, and i'd like to actually create games (you know, "dream big")

 

back in the high school days going crazy when ffvii came out. can go like a 24/7 marathon.

when you're older you have less time to play unless you're jobless and dont have school.

 

paretns should forbid their children to play games, i think maximum is 3 hours a week. games acualy games giive you nothing ( imo ), no social skills, no nothing....
you should better go outside and play basketball or something that will give you more benefit than any game.... and yes i was adicted.... i think how stupit i was....

sorry for bad....

 

Now, now... Video games don't help in some aspects of brain development, but hand-eye coordination, logic skills, and problem solving are all involved in quite a few of the popular games, and DO help build those skills. It's just not something you want to spend ALL your time on.

 

I used to be almost addicted to videogames when I was in my young teens. Now I lack the attention span to play games for too long. In essence, I don't know which is worse

 

I went with no. Well its a toss up really. If im playing a really good game I can get addicted to it while im playing it. But I'm not addicted to games in general. Hard to explain, I don't have the urge to play them but if im playing a really good game I won't stop until im finished usually (not in one session but usually over the week).

 

I'm not addicted to games. I play maybe 2 - 3 hours per week, usually only on the weekends. Many games I play solely because friends of mine play them and I like to play on the same server with them. It's a different way of interacting with people.

I definitely enjoy playing some video games, especially ones with a great story line like KOTOR, but I don't devote serious time to them. I just don't have the interest I suppose . . .

A note about the word 'addicted' - that's a pretty strong word, the defintions vary. The second definition in the American Heritage Dictionary is "To occupy (oneself) with or involve (oneself) in something habitually or compulsively," which is what you are using, but the first definition is "To cause to become physiologically or psychologically dependent on a habit-forming substance" - that's pretty serious. Maybe you could use a broader word that would characterize a wider group of gamers.

 

Despite playing UO for 3 years I wouldn't say I was ever addicted to games, I just really enjoyed it. I could hae gone without. Same with games these days, Ido still enjoy them but... no way addicted.

 

Love my addiction, sure-fire way of keeping me indoors during the winter months. Learned a few things just from playing games as well (Civilisation and Total War series are surprisingly good introductions to historical periods if you pay attention to details).

Screw social life, some people overrate it. Not speaking the local dialect in my case wouldn't help me anyway in that department.

 

I think I'm addicted to the idea of playing games . For example, I'm at work right now and one of the things on my mind is how badly I want to play some TF2 cause its been like a week. Seems when I actually have the time to play games, I usually find myself doing something else (cleaning, watching tv, reading, playing with the dogs, at the gym, etc.). When I do actually sit down to play a game, I can only usually play for about an hour before I have to get up and do something else.

 

i have to object with games give you nothing. aoe2 has taught me a lot of history. same with empire earth. etc. plus games like that teach you to think quick and to adapt to situations on the spot.

sure, basketball will probably be more benificial for you physically, but mentally it does nothing for you.

 

at work i sit on game forums......the ones that aren't blocked anyway.

 

i was addicted for a while. i mainly play shooters and it led to me being behind in high school and had to finish up the next year.

 

as with anything in life you'll get obsessive over anything if you allow yourself to be. i think the right time to pull yourself out of that obsession is after high school before you leave for college. occasional gaming after that is OK but you have far more important things to worry about to be wasting your time playing games on daily basis. i highly doubt anyone who is even remotely serious about doing something with their life will have enough time to be tied down with video games. hell, most of the times there isn't enough time to even socialize once school starts. i assume the same is true for anyone who is currently working towards their dream job.

 

I used to be addidcted to Simcity 4, but then it started having problems so I couldn't play it anymore. Then I rebought it. Even though it is still my favorite game, I do not play it that much (now addicted to my Nintendo DS) .

 

you just have to make time. i am working towards my dream job, i am going to uni, i am employed by a company that is paying for my uni, and i have time to socialise and play games.

 

When I was younger I could only play Stronghold Crusader for 1 hour each day. That wasn't so bad.

 

i am addicted to CS source. thats it. and maybe cod4.

 

A friend told me this the second day after I had just gotten a new GF...

"One day, you will realize that video games are more interesting than girls."

She was dumb as a brick, and though the naughty was fun, he was dead on with that statement, as I now know.

It would have been better for me to play Oblivion than waste any time more than was necessary to keep boinking than air headed whore (I want those wasted hours back... she wants her drugs back (I threw them in the lake), I think we are even)

 

Null pretty much got it, I've always enjoyed playing video games but I'm always very social and have sports to take part in, homework to do, and games to play so I even them out. When I am addicted to a game, I'll set aside a certain amount of time to play it. With games like WoW which are necessarily time consuming I couldn't just work it in to a schedule, so during wrestling season I canceled my subscription. Also my parents don't really care how much I play video games, just as long as I maintain my high honor roll average, which is also a personal standard I hold myself to.

People that have games really affect their life have no sense of priority, I'm not saying hanging out with some nice looking girls at a party is better than a nice session of CS, but as soon as grades/work/family relationships start getting bumpy is when you need to suck it up and put down the controller. You're not helping anyone but yourself when you play games and they should just be for a little relaxation and fun, it sucks games have no real redeeming value unless they are part of your job, which I hope they can be a part of mine in a few years!

 

im not really sure, i think if i had anything better to do i wouldnt play them so much, but i live on a farm so far away from everything and gas costs so much...

ive never missed anything or failed anything because of them, and i dont try to make spare time for them. i have a pretty good social life and its not suffering because of them.

i say no, my parents say yes, but honestly for me, its either play video games or sit there lookin at my wall... and id have to say that video games are much more entertaining

so, basically video games are what i do in my spare time

 

Definitely, completely false. If you think that's the case, find a different girl. There is NO WAY anybody can convince me that video games are more interesting than girls. Or friends and family, for that matter.

Sorry for the slightly OT post..

 

Yes; no.

http://blog.wired.com/games/2007/06/doctor_urges_am.html