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Are you addicted to Video Games? – The Nera Perspective
Category: Article Game: Default Posted on Jun 10, 2008 9:02 am
I think the answer is no, and that the term 'addicted' is thrown around too loosely these days. I think that this newly formed 'Video Game Addiction' comes under the same category as several other 'addictions' that have popped up over recent years, like shopping addictions, sex addictions, and drinking milk from the carton addictions. Personally, I don't believe these are addictions at all, I believe these are simply bad habits and below I'm going to explain why.
Firstly, I think its important to define what exactly is an addiction, and what is a simply a bad habit. An addiction from my perspective is usually created in the physical realm, like Nicotine and Heroin, whereas a bad habit is something that is created mentally. Now in a world such as ours nothing is ever a certain (excluding death and taxes), and as such there are always exceptions to the rule. I do not believe that all physical addictions are substance based, nor do I believe that all mental addictions aren't, but the vast majority are.
So on that basis, I believe that Video Game Addiction is not an addiction at all, but simply a bad
habit that can be easily remedied with willpower and self-discipline. Now I'm no psychologist, I haven't studied the brain and mind nor have I studied addictions and their causes. I have however seen the true colours of a serious addiction, I have experienced friends struggling from years of heroin abuse, and I've played video games for 17 years, and as such I believe that I can honestly tell you that video games are in no way addictive, nor do they cause any addictions of any kind. If you believe that you are addicted to video games, I ask you on behalf of all real gamers on the globe to grow up and stop putting a hold on our entertainment.
Below is a video from a Current Affair show that airs in Australia, a show that is well known for taking drastic measures to get a story. One such story had them asking an elderly lady to chain herself to a bed to make her story more dramatic. This video reports the seriousness of video game addictions and their effect on families.
What a load of rubbish. What I see in that video is a ratbag kid and a bad parent that can't control that ratbag kid. He's not addicted to playing WoW, he wants too and by living at home with his mum he can. When I was 17, I had just completed 2 years of Programming at school, and went to join a new school that focused specifically on Video Games. I soon learned that the government was no longer funding the school, and an up front payment of $20,000 per semester was required. Needless to say I didn't end up going, and instead spent the next 2 months playing WoW. After 2 months, my mother came in my room, unplugged my Internet, and told me quite plainly that if I didn't go back to school, or get a job, I would be finding somewhere else to live. My 'addiction' ended there.
So there you have my opinion on this new pandemic that is video game addiction, it's a load of rubbish. Usually, I don't mind this type of things, people can believe whatever the hell they want to believe and I'll stay right out of it, but video game addiction makes it personal. Not just because I've devoted myself to video games, but also because this addiction is very fast becoming an excuse. I've started to hear "I stopped going to work because I was addicted to WoW" a lot recently, and the urge to punch those who say it is becoming too hard to resist. I played WoW for 4 years; I skipped days
of work several times so that I could play it. Was I addicted? Hell no! I liked it! I liked it more than I liked work, so it's natural that I was going to choose WoW sometimes. Slapping the word 'addiction' on the top so that you get sympathy because you're not in control of the way you feel is a fraud excuse, and it's weak.
A Note to the Reader – This article was written to express my opinions and feelings on the subject of Video Game Addiction. If I have offended you in any way, please feel free to message me so that I can tell you in a nicer way that you need to grow up, and take control of your life.
Also, tomorrow I leave for Thailand! I'm going on holiday for 2 weeks, but hope to be checking MMOSite as often as possible. So please, leave your comments, send your messages and I'll do my best to reply as soon as I can. Thanks for being awesome guys, see you in 2 weeks!
Tags: Video Games Addiction Nera Neramaar Cody Hargreaves
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