Are computer games ruining peoples lives?

Firstly, i know this website is orientated towards internet games. Secondly its 3 am so if this is sketchy don't hesitate to pic up on it.

I have a friend. He was rich, well his dad was, they had a nice house here and in Germany, nice cars, went to private school and a boat. I remember one time though, when his dad showed me his credit car statement. It was a bloody long list of 20 quid here and there, on a facebook game. It added up to something like £2500 which is mad, however they were rich and had plenty of money to spare, so it was resolved.
Another friend spent £1000 on runescape. They were not so rich however, and his parents spent most of their money on school fees, so you can imagine how angry they were. I can never really talk to that guy because he is closely guarded by his parents now, and if he spends any money all hell breaks loose.

Anyway, I know there are so many pages that discourage using a computer and video games, but how bad are they in reality. I have learnt a lot from runescape, and my dad (who is a broker) tells me that trading in runescape isn't that much different from the real world, so people are pretty much getting training for broking out of a game.

Runescape does also take up a lot of time. If i were to spend all my hours studying instead of playing runescape then i would be, A) a sad nerd with no friends but B) immensly clever with 13 A* GCSES (I didn't do badly in them, in fact i have done pretty well ). This leaves me to the point where i say, i know runescape is about having fun etc but eventually it does take a lot more of your life than you think, and do you think it was worth it?

Personally, i believe that it was not, because I would much rather have spent more time with my family at the time and do my homework to a much better standard, however it is now in the past, and all I can change is the future. Give it some thoughts and post below

Internet gaming, good or bad?


EDIT: Also, computer games are unhealthy physically as well, for example as soon as i got more active i dropped a few pounds which has to be a good thing? (no i do not weigh 50 stone lel)

 

Everything in moderation.

Gaming, fine. Gaming 24/7. No.

Spending a bit of money? Fine. Spending more than you can afford? No.

As long as it isn't affecting your health/general well being I don't see a problem with online gaming.

 

To each their own; I don't know where I'd be today if I hadn't been a computer game addict as a younger kid. I took my childhood gaming addiction and turned it into a business enterprise that makes me $30k+/year.

As for spending money on games, its the same as having any other hobby that costs money. (playing sports - buying sports equipment etc.)

Gaming should hardly be considered as a direct factor on ones health. Do it as you will, in moderation. No one should be obligated to waste their physical health away to a video game. If they do then the onus is on the individual and not the hobby itself.

 

Yeah, that seems right. People seem to do the usual, i will play one more game and four hours later they are still playing.

Congratulations, thanks for your opinion.

 

Depends, i doubt parents would trade off their nerdy child for a druggy child.

 

yeah but, parents would probably have a child who works than someone who sits on the computer all day? right?

 

First and foremost, what we must keep in mind is that video games (like all electronic mediums) are forms of information processing. Since operating any medium requires you to conform to its specific design, engaging in any electronic medium alters the way you process information (and therefore, the way you think about it) regardless of what you use it for - be it for business or leisure.

Can video games be addicting? Yes. Are they inherently addicting? No, since you can turn them off at any time. However, the communication that occurs through visually stimulating mediums (this includes Facebook and even Sythe) generates the production of dopamine, which, as you might know, is a strong, pleasure-producing neurotransmitter. Prolonged exposure to such mediums can render users susceptible to a reliance on the medium. In other words, the more time you spend actively engaging in any communication medium, the more numb you become to its effects.

Psychologist Sherry Turkle sums up the video game dilemma adequately and succinctly, "Looking to games for amusement is one thing. Looking to them for a life is another."


Again, there is nothing inherently wrong with video games, but they should not be allowed to consume your life to the point that it becomes unhealthy (physically or psychologically).


Are they worth it? The way I see it, the experiences I've had on Runescape and other video games aren't really going to make good stories to tell my kids and family later on in time. We would all do well to consider whether we are living a life worth recounting in the future.

 

that is very interesting. I completely agree with what sherry turkle said, and believe part of the problem is that. I'm wondering if somewhere in the brain, something gets altered. When you play a video game you become obsessed because of it. Doesn't make much sense however does it, because i never got obsessed with HALO and so on. Maybe you have to play on it for a certain time length to get addicted. Just some thoughts

 

I played a lot of games growing up and achieved relatively well in the areas I wanted to do well in. I think of it as I wouldn't have studied in the time I had spent gaming as I made time for both business and pleasure if you get what I mean. I think it's all about balancing what you do with yourself. As long as you make adequate time for the things you enjoy and the things you need to do you'll be alright. Nowadays I don't really have the time nor the patience for most games. I can play something for about an hour tops before I get bored of it. I work, have a girlfriend and active social life outside of the flat so that keeps me busy. I think no lifing games when I was younger has drained all the urge to no life as an adult.

 

The problem doesn't lie within video games, the problem lies within people not being able to regulate their use. When people live online rather than in the real world, that's when you have the problem. And if it's not video games, it's drugs, it's the next thing.

The pople who get so addicted that it ruins their social or financial life are destined to fail from lack of control sooner or later with or without video games in the equation.

 

Everything you do alters your brain's neural networks. An obsession with video games stems from the nature of what video games are: constrained spaces that cancel out everything except for the experience of playing the game; what we call "being in the zone." Combined with the pleasurable sensation our nervous system receives, the experience of audio-visual stimulation is one with which we have to be very careful; the effects can take hold almost immediately. Have you ever had the experience of looking at the time only to find yourself surprised that you've been on the computer for over an hour, when all you had set out to was look into a couple of things?



As the two gentlemen above me said, we need balance and we need real-world goals. Without either, we will tend to seek the next most rewarding objectives to real world accomplishments, namely, those in the virtual world.

 

Like Roary said, all of these stories you hear about people losing it or being strongly affected by video games if video games did these things to people they would be outlawed, when someone has a problem like that with a game it is purely 100% a self-control issue that they themselves need to resolve. Just like in life too much of anything is unhealthy, some people just do not realize it.

 

Why aren't cigarettes outlawed?

 

^^this is because of one reason, they would never be able to stop it. Instead, its a much cleverer route to charge high tax on it (make money) and limit the usage of them.
this will happen to weed, because they can't stop it. For many people its fine, and so what the government will end up doing (in my opinion) is legalise it but charge high premiums, make lots of money out of it, and make sure there is a limit. Mark my words, but remember, you heard it here first!

 

Taxes.

 

The point still stands, cigarettes (like video games) have addictive qualities. Neither one will be made illegal because there is a lot of money to made from their production.
Maybe my question to WolfRunescape was a little shallow, but the fact that video games aren't outlawed is no reason to suggest they cannot be addictive, regardless of why they might be so.

 

Are drugs ruining peoples lives? Yes.

Is fast food ruining peoples lives? Yes.

The list goes on, it's all about self-control. Some people don't have it. Like others have said, if it wasn't the video-games that have a grasp on them, it would be something else.

 

however, people have this image in their head. Many people don't believe they are addicted or can get addicted, which is maybe why so many people do get addicted and end up spending most of their time on a computer playing a game... Also to answer the other question, Drugs do ruin peoples lives, but I believe that actually maybe we should view computer games in the same way, because people do fail their grades because they stayed up till 1am for a whole year playing on their computer, and so it can have the same sort of affect (although drugs fuck you up)

 

Well, your original question was whether or not computer games are ruining lives. The answer, in my opinion, is yes, they are. However, they don't have to; I speak from experience.
An obsession with a game can hold the mind in a powerful and, in retrospect, even somewhat frightening grip. However, I will reiterate, it is not impossible to break the vice.
For reasons I've stated above, today I try to restrict my computer use for work purposes only. Of course, I do enjoy using it for leisure (as I am doing right now), but lately this has been occurring with less frequency.


On another note, these two remarks struck me as peculiar.

If I'm following the logic correctly, the implication in these statements is that a video game addict, deprived of the ability to play video games, would seek a different vice to fulfill their urge to do... what, exactly?
It sounds like the two of you are implying that an addiction to video games stems from a psychological condition independent of the video games themselves. In other words, are you implying that an addiction to video games is the consequence of a quality inherent in the addicts, and that the video games themselves have nothing to do with it?

I've mentioned (albeit briefly) evidence that points to the contrary in my first two posts, but I can provide more. Can you provide me with any evidence that video games (or all electronic audio-visual systems for that matter) do not contain properties that act on the nervous system, eliciting responses which tend to engender an obsession with the sensation of experience within such mediums?


If I've misinterpreted your remarks, I would be much obliged if you could elaborate on them.

 

I understand what you mean. I used to play runescape all the time, and although it was near impossible to quit, took me a few tries, I just stopped one day and from that day on haven't properly logged into my account. I now try and find other hobbies, mainly to keep my mind off of it. The next hobby is airsoft, the one before that was RC cars. I understand that video games are this, what you said in an earlier post

"Everything you do alters your brain's neural networks. An obsession with video games stems from the nature of what video games are: constrained spaces that cancel out everything except for the experience of playing the game; what we call being in the zone".

Where did you get your information from. I understand parts of this is correct, but so many people say so many different things, and many people argue for and against the case of computer games (by the way, these people are all highly trusted and dedicated scientists) It is sometimes on the news and a lot of advertising is put up moaning on how computer games affect you. I want to do a survey personally on how it does affect your thinking after 1 hour, 2 hours etc. I want to find out the truth of this, because so many opinions speak out, however I can never tell which one is the most accurate.

I DO BELIEVE what you posted, however I'm sure it has something also to do with the mind and a part of you, I used to be obsessed with computers, and when I stopped that I started obsessing with other hobbies, which shows that A) not everyone is addicted to games and that for the people who are, it is very hard to stop, and B) You can't just stop being addicted to things, and it should, in my opinion be treated as an illness...

Tl;Dr I believe that no one has got to the bottom of this, even though thousands of scientists are looking at it from every perspective, so maybe we are looking in the wrong area? I firmly believe like depression, that addiction is a physiological illness, to do with the mind, however it CAN BE CURED... after all, it would be a much nicer life if someone wasn't addicted to something / depressed all the time.