I'm curious if there are any people here addicted to gaming. I used to be... I can't say it was all bad, but I realize now, if I didn't spend so much time playing video games I would be in a better position right now. It all started when I discovered MMORPGs. I was hooked right away. I didn't even get out of the house for the first month. I stayed up all night and slept during the day. This happened from 2004 until 2010. I barely got out to meet with friends, I became pretty anti-social and anxious around people. When I was out I was only thinking about getting back home and playing Lineage 2 or DotA. When I slept I had dreams about those games. I somehow managed to have 2 girlfriends during this part of my life, but eventually they figured I was a lost cause and dumped me. I quit because I hit rock bottom. I failed getting into a college for my Master's Degree because of the sleepless nights playing video games and went on a 3 month gaming rampage without any contact with the outside world (I was living alone at the time). One day I woke up and started crying, I couldn't believe the person I had become. I didn't even bother uninstalling the games, I knew it was my fault. After a few months of not playing any games at all, I started playing again, but this time it wasn't the same. I didn't feel good playing, I got bored and angry really fast. And I just kind of moved on. I got accepted at a good University, I got my Master's Degree, I've got a beautiful and caring girlfriend, I've got a good job, and sometimes I play some DotA 2. It's nice to play once in a while, and I know that I will never get addicted on a game again, because I am a different person than I was back then.
I do know many of my classmates who got addicted to DOTA during college. I even have friends who did too. Most of them are boys. If girls played DOTA, it is mostly just to pass time. Unlike my college classmates and friends who would even cut class or be absent just to play it or just to join competitions. Some of them have girlfriends too. Sometimes, the gf stands by the side of the bf while he is playing. I know this as I have seen this in computer shops near our school. Computer shops there are always full of students mostly playing DOTA. I do not even know if these couples ended up being together until now. What I do know is most of the DOTA players has had failed subjects. Others did not graduate in time. I have a groupmate in our thesis who I actually dread working with on the thesis as he is always not around when we are making our group thesis. Probably playing DOTA. So yeah many people has had the same addiction as you. The only difference is you made a change. And you became a better person. As you said, playing once in a while is okay. But if your life revolves around the game, maybe you would have to rethink your priorities.
Many of my friends were addicted to DotA as well. We kind of started playing together, but after they quit I kept playing. I made new friends online, but I lost many friends in real life, which is not a fair trade at all.
At least now you can control how much time you play online. And you really did turn your life around. I know some of my classmates still cannot graduate college because they are too addicted with playing games. I do not know if they will ever realize the time that they are wasting.
Used to be very addicts to gaming. Back when I was 6 I had my first computer running very cheaply with need for speed high stakes installed and would play that 13 hours a day, all day. More recently about 5 years ago switched to an online game called platform racing 2 and was an active member for years playing games along the side like TDP4 team battle and a couple games from the Casual collective. A couple months ago I broke my addcitveness with PR2 and now play shooter games since I put together a better 1,000$ PC. I play games like tf2, BF4, and Contract Wars now but only usually 1-2 hours a day now since I'm more focused on work.
It is very easy to become addicted to gaming, I think, because it really is almost as if you're in a different world - and it is often a much nicer world than the one we're really in! I did play a lot while I was younger, and while I don't think I was ever truly "addicted" as such, I do believe that it is something that more people than you could possibly imagine struggle with. It needs to be seen as a "real" addiction, because young people often play far too much and get told that they're "naughty" if they don't stop - when in actual fact they might be medically addicted to the consoles that they're using.
Aside my usual drug and alcohol addiction, these mixed up quite well with gaming. I'd be just a time leecher most of my time and thought the whole life pertained to me. I was so addicted to gaming not because I enjoyed it, but because the aforementioned addictions went quite well with it. Ever since I quit drinking and taking drugs, I stopped gaming as well.
I think that most teens or adolescents become addicted with gaming at a certain point in our lives. There was a time too that I played games many hours a day. But somehow, I only play during vacation as I have nothing to do. Playing at our free time, I think, is okay. It is when gaming interferes with school or work that it is quite bad.
I liked what you said that it is a nicer world than we live in. I remember this episode in The Big Bang Theory where Penny got addicted to an online game because her acting career was going downhill. I guess there are also deeper reasons as to why other people get addicted to gaming.
My husband used to drink and play DoTa the whole night. Back when we were still students. He was so drunk he passed out while playing. Just like what you said, smoking and drinking go well with playing too. I do know his health at those times are the worse. His skin looks very unhealthy and his eyebags are so big. Combining his three addictions, he just became moody and stressed all the time. Luckily, he stopped playing Dota now and also drinking every night. It is only the smoking habit that he has not gotten rid of.
I used to have a similar problem (mostly with MMOs not so much MOBAs) where I would play for literal days with no sleep, and I remember at 24h straight a little message would pop up advising you to take a break. I remember laughing about it and being really proud that I had seen that message so often, thinking it meant I was dedicated. Looking back I wish I had seen that message for what it really was, a sign that I needed help.
Wow, so sorry to hear this happened to you, OP I was fully addicted to MMORPGs for two whole years or so. I can understand how you felt, all I could think was playing the game... I even had dreams about me being in the game, lol. I still think about that, and feel kinda tempted to start playing again just to pass the time. Sadly the game i used to play has changed a lot... I'd need to learn how to play it again. I don't really have a lot time to do that.
I used to be hooked on some arcade games but not to the extent that I am addicted to it. I can see some gaming addicts around the computer/internet cafes here who seem to be there from morning till night as their face are common in the place already. I also personally knew some who got addicted to the recent COC game.
I see a lot of boys playing COC in the mall, or in the train. They play while walking, eating or even while their girlfriend is shopping lol. I do not even know why they are so addicted to that game.
I've known plenty of people who played games to excess, and even when I asked one particular person I knew who played games all the time they said their reason for it was escapism, to get rid of stress, and so forth. So yes, I 100% would say some people who are into gaming do exhibit the signs of being addicted. If you're actively using something to escape from reality, isn't it the same as using drugs at that point?
A couple of people I’ve known have shown some signs of being addicted to gaming. I think I may have exhibited some tendencies as well. For us, it was a way of passing the time that kind of became the ONLY way we knew how to pass the time. Wanting to escape uncomfortable feelings, situations, etc. was another factor. Now for me, it’s more of a last resort if I can’t think of anything else to do, or I need a quick break from everything.
Sometimes I wonder if my husband is. When he really gets into a game there's hell to pay if it gets interrupted. But he never lets it keep him from doing the things he has to do.
I could also observe that. Even visiting a friend's house, her husband is playing COC all the times I have visited there and she was so irritated about it.
Same here, and second your thoughts on gaming. Certainly gaming for hours without being able (or wiling) to stop is similar to be suffering from addiction, but not really unless you have spent a lifetime doing it and the world is crumbling around you and yet you can't change your addictive behavior playing games rather than working, caring for your family and so on. I was addicted to games as much as I was addicted to the repetitive music of some of them, and to the extent that many times I used to turn my video console on and let the game stayed on the intro screen just to listen to the same song all day long.
DotA player here. I'm still fighting against my addiction. When I used to live alone, I easily spent 8-9 hours a day playing Dota alone, and I got really good at the game. But as time went by, I started noticing that Dota had taken a toll on my studies. I went from being an A student to an average B student. That meant a lot to me. So I tried to fight against my addiction. I still play Dota, but now its really limited, like 3-4 hours a day and I play once once or twice a week now. Everything is almost back to normal, except for the fact that I have to repeat the last year of my school. I guess it's OK though. I learnt my lesson and I do understand it could've been worse.