jon_j_rambo Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Hi Gang, I read this article on Yahoo, it applies to the great game of SC. Moon, this is a promotion of SC, so chill. Below is the article. ===================== My take: I wonder how many studies & tax dollars it took to figure Video Games are addictive. They could have given me a call & watched me throw some furniture when I get a bad combat role. Hell (Heaven), I just read this article & I needed a brew (Michelob Ultra to be exact) & had to boot up my SC I don't know how these dumb scientists can say gaming is as "addictive to work", are you kidding me? "Works sucks, I don't even like hearing about other people working" --- The snow boarding kids in the Sly Stallone movie Cliffhanger. ===================== Top Stories - Reuters Video Games Are Addictive as Work - Scientists Tue Nov 4, 6:42 PM ET Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent UTRECHT, Netherlands (Reuters) - Computer game fanatics should not be labeled addicts, although many players say they are hooked on a hobby that is affecting their social lives, scientists said Tuesday. Some evidence exists that games stimulate the same areas in the brain as alcohol and other drugs, psychologists, sociologists and others were told at the world's first interdisciplinary games conference here. But unlike the addictive substances, there is no medicine to deal with compulsive gaming behavior, they heard. "Is (the popular online game) Everquest addictive? Well, it's no more addictive than school or work. The time invested in those also make them addictive," said Florence Chee, a research student at Simon Fraser University in Canada. Scientific interest in the multibillion dollar computer games industry has mushroomed in recent years, after teenagers in several countries killed themselves and others after playing violent games. Various governments have put pressure on the industry to add a health warning to games packages. But many players actually described themselves as addicts, said Stephen Kline, a social psychology professor and media analyst at Simon Fraser University. "Fifteen percent of Everquest players say: 'I'm addicted'. Thirty percent can be categorized as addicts," he said. Although he used the word "addiction" in the classic Greek sense of "devotion," his survey of hundreds of heavy online games players showed half of them reported family conflict and romantic failure as a result of their hobby. VIOLENCE SPILLS OVER Heavy games players can play an average 17 to 26 hours a week. The online games, in which players battle with opponents online, are considered the most gripping and time-consuming. Children from the age of 10 are now starting to play online games, he said, and families should know it is radically different from comics. "Game entertainment is not a classic media experience. It has a potency that offers a new psychological experience," Kline said, adding he could imagine violent experiences in games to spill over in real life. Other scientists, who like Chee have carried out scientific surveys, said heavy games players were in fact sociable and not the pathological loners they are often made out to be. Sociology Professor Holin Lin at National Taiwan University discovered many players were members of an online 'clan' to try to become more successful against opponents in the game. She also found many had relationships with clan members in real life. [ November 05, 2003, 01:02 AM: Message edited by: jon_j_rambo ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les the Sarge 9-1 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Another study done by people without even so much as a smattering of brains it appears. Lets see, for the record, people with problems are people with problems. I have an EQ buddy, he plays it A LOT. He suffers from periodic depression too. If he went and lost his best character and killed himself over it, would it be EQ? Nope. He was already depressed, that event was merely just a last straw situation. He is depressed, because he is 23, has no woman, his job while producing income, is in a town where he can't seem to connect with new friends. His depression can be treated though. He needs more sunlight (light has been shown to influence our mood). He needs to adopt a day schedule when it actually IS day. He can also take prescription medicine that supposedly helps the depressed. All in all, he can suffer a lot less depression by actually dealing with being depressed. Playing to much EQ is just playing to much EQ. I have also suffered from depression (several years in the 90's won't be remembered fondly). Therefore, I KNOW EXACTLY what I am talking about. Kids that have learned anti social behaviour will be anti social, so their actions will be guet this anti social. So them shooting up traffic has zero to do with Grand Theft Auto the game. Those people needed help. I once watched a bunch o triple X porn when it became a matter of just going to the local rental to get it. 2 solid hours of watching guys unload themselves on willing female faces is easy to get tired of REAL FAST though. Having watched that stuff has not harmed me. But then I didn't have any sex related troubles at the time either. If games with violence in them lead the mentally damaged to perform anti social actions, then we need to prevent the mentally damaged from playing them. We don't need to worry about people that are NOT mentally damaged. If the logic used to fret over violence in games is extended to everyday life, then we should also start preventing the mentally damaged from doing a host of other things as well. Not allow them to drive, nor possess sharp knives, or run with pointed sticks. And speaking of work, there are as many broken relationships from workahloics, as there are from guys that can't stop playing that damn game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Dave Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 But unlike the addictive substances, there is no medicine to deal with compulsive gaming behavior Since this is a field that I WORK in, day in and day out, I can tell you this much. There is not ANY medicine that EFFECTIVELY solves substance abuse problems, either. Unless you'd prefer to trade one "addiction" for another. Or, have your neuro-transmitters and brain synapses altered more or less permanently. Many drugs are synergistic (... combine with another drug to exaggerate the effect), and which will plug-in to an EXACT location in the brain. Most drugs have side-effects that are unique to each individual, given that each person has unique hard wiring in the brain. Most so-called Scientific studies are novel and incomplete. No valid and general conclusion can yet be reached... there are ONLY educated guesses. For those who suffer from ADVANCED symptoms, for depression or anti-social behaviors and other related problems medicines as broadly categorized, CAN be of some lasting benefit, but, it is imperative, as with all other diseases, to get a second opinion. However, they are NOT a magic-bullet pill that will solve all your difficulties. Some Psychiatrists will dispense medicines as though they were candy from a jar. Others are more careful. You need to be careful too, because you do NOT want to end up as a "guinea pig" for, essentially, a new product that the Drug Company is trying to market. In general, the very best advice for anyone "addicted" is to consult a Professional who actually works in the field, day in and day out... too many people have been hurt by advice from casual observers. This is a serious issue, and deserves serious attention. Addiction to video games can ruin a life, as surely as addiction to crack, or meth, or Ecstasy, or Valium. If you are worried about it... see a professional in your area... DO NOT accept well-meaning but necessarily incomplete advice from amateurs... please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les the Sarge 9-1 Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 I define "addiction" as the inability to go without something. The inability to give something up voluntarily. Therefore that would apply to a substance, an activity or even an idea eh. Yep, even ideas can be addictions. But as Immer mentioned, you gotta be careful with those "solutions" too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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