Are You An Addict?
“The Wii has reinvented family leisure. Teens now flock to parties to play “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero.” Live services enable gameplay and communication across the country. Programs like flight simulators have enhanced learning.
Research has even shown that video games can increase fine motor and coordination skills, boost self-discipline, and improve problem-solving and logic.
Gaming has undoubtedly benefited the lives of many, but some take it too far. Horror stories have been scattered all over the Internet about people who don’t know when to put the controller down. Videogame addictions have accounted for college dropouts, lost jobs and even failed marriages.
Video games are perfectly healthy recreation, but in some extreme instances may become a bad habit. In those cases, it is important to look for some signs of addiction.
Dr. Thomas Brian is the director of counseling and psychological services at the University of Tulsa. He has been involved in numerous studies on addictions.
He says that the issue is not black and white. No definite line exists between being addicted or not. Rather, a continuum flows between use, misuse, abuse and dependence.
Figuring out your place in this continuum is the tricky part. While substance abuse is easily identified as a physical dependence, compulsive addictions like gambling, Internet and gaming are defined by how they affect your life.
“An easy mental health checkup for anyone,” Brian said, “is to look at your work, love and play.” Take some time to evaluate how your usage affects these three elements. If your schoolwork or relationships are taking a backseat to gaming, you may need to make some changes in your life.
Also, look at your “want/should ratio,” the proportion of things you do because you want to (like gaming and Facebook) vs. things you should do (work or spending time with family). “If that ratio gets off and we have a whole lot of wants and very little shoulds, there’s vulnerability.”
Symptoms of video game addiction
- Spending most hours outside of school on the computer or playing video games.
- Falling asleep in school.
- Not keeping up with assignments.
- Worsening grades.
- Lying about computer or video game use.
- Choosing to use the computer or play video games, rather than see friends.
- Dropping out of other social groups (clubs or sports).
- Mounting irritability when not playing a video game or on the computer.
