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The effects of addicting to online games

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That is where I disagree.

With alcohol and drugs, there is a physical addiction. Your body literally cannot cope without them.
With things like sex, gaming and other "addictions", its different.
That is how I see it anyway.

In any case, people are too quick to band around the word "addiction".

Gaming is also a physical and mental addiction. Try disrupting a dude playing WoW all day and see what reaction you get.

Reply 21

WelshBluebird

Original post by darknessbehold

Gaming is also a physical and mental addiction. Try disrupting a dude playing WoW all day and see what reaction you get.

That is where I disagree.
Going "cold turkey" from gaming does not cause withdrawl symptems (again I know some studies say otherwise - but most are flawed / biased).

It would be nice to have some (non biased) research on it though.

And again, this is where the word addiction gets thrown around too much. Someone spending an entire day playing WoW does not make them an addict. In the same way a person spending the day drinking does not make them an alcoholic.

Reply 22

j0nnn

Original post by kat2pult

Staring at the screen too long may mess up your eyesight?

There was a study about a year ago that suggested playing violent video games means you'll less likely to be surprised or shocked by watching horrific scenes on the television, and you're less likely to help other people as you begin to see things as 'no big deal'.

Google it, OP.

always "suggested" and never proven.

Reply 23

WelshBluebird

I wonder where kat2pult has gone.

Reply 24

Makingauser

So.. I heard you scape?

(Runescape)

:L

Reply 25

wanderlust.xx

Original post by kat2pult

The results are there. Perhaps you're an exception, who knows. You can't argue with the facts though, regardless of who did the experiment.

That article is stupid. It's practically saying that if I was 5 and watched the Incredibles and got scared by the giant robot and then tried to calm myself; then watched war footage and had just recently calmed myself down, then somehow, that means that the Incredibles is making me desensitised to violence.

In relation to the OP, if you're doing this as a research task, then we shouldn't have to tell you to use google.

If on the other hand, you're a 21 year old playing World of Warcraft, then I suggest you try grinding irl; far more profitable, and actually far less strenuous.

Reply 26

happy123

Some of you argue about" addicting" to online games.

But,I just want to know that if someone spend most of time to playing online games everday day ,what effects will happen?

Reply 27

WelshBluebird

I do like how kat2pult hasn't come back lol.
Anyway.

Original post by happy123

Some of you argue about" addicting" to online games.

But,I just want to know that if someone spend most of time to playing online games everday day ,what effects will happen?

There is a huge difference between just playing online games every day and being addicted to them.
However, it really depends on the person. Most people are "normal" in that they may play a game for a few hours, but it won't impact on other parts of their lives. With other people it may affect their sleep / eating habits and their social lives, and in the very extreme cases it could lead to them severally neglecting their health, or the heath of a child / whatever. That last one doesn't happen much at all though.

(edited 13 years ago)

Reply 28

xoxAngel_Kxox

Well.. obviously starting at a screen for too long can strain your eyes. Also, if you're at a computer, you're not exercising, leaving you open to obesity problems, DVT, and other things.. you won't be speaking to people so your relationships will go downhill and probably lose your friends.

Reply 29

Nocturna

Bad eyesight, worse sense of depth perception... I think any other issue that people bring up (being antisocial, awkward or violent) is irrelevant to video games and that these people would be just the same whether they played them or not.

Also, people like to accuse gamers of everything. What about the amount of hours "normal" people spend on TV? I remember reading that the average amount of hours was something like 4-5 a day (and yeah, I know that 87% of statistics are made up on the spot....).

Reply 30

my_username_was_taken

Original post by WelshBluebird

I disagree with you. After being servilely addicted to the internet and online gaming when younger if I wasn't able to get on the internet (i.e someone on our only computer or internet6 was down) i'd get really angry and easily aggravated. I'd also become extremely depressed and sometimes start physically shaking.

This was all before I was too young to even know what a "withdrawal symptom" was-I didn't really think of it but these definitely were. My friends on those games I talked to over skype etc and they too if couldn't get online described similar withdrawal symptoms.

Often it's extremely hard to find which addictions are created or exacerbated due to psychological or physiological means-just like fat people can loose the ability to differentiate from physiological and psychological hunger signals.