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Video Game Addiction/Obsession

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by guy209, Apr 4, 2018.

  1. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    Hey fapstronauts,

    When I was younger I used to have sort of an obsessive attitude towards video games, especially RPG and MMORPG. As an adult, I didn't play many, only The Witcher 3 and the new Zelda game.
    I managed to play the first one while maintaining a work-study life-style and a relationship. Every once in a while I would lose control and play for 5-6 hours straight, but not often. While I was off the game I kept thinking about it and browsed online for information on the game. I would get all excited inside if I knew I had some time for myself to play, and I really enjoyed it.
    When I started playing Zelda, I noticed old patterns starting to emerge. I would play the game for long hours, and my productivity really took a blow. Since I found the game kind of silly (fun, but silly), and at the advice of my therapist, I stopped playing and sold my Nintendo Switch. That happened 4-6 months ago and I haven't played any RPG's since.

    Why am I telling you this?
    The new God of War game will be released soon and I really don't know if I should start playing it or not. On the one hand, I really want to, maybe too much. On the other, I'm not sure I can play this game moderately - I kind of think I can, but that might be my small mind talking.

    I would really appreciate your advice, especially if you are familiar with this experience and have handled it in one way or another.

    Cheers
     
    IronDog likes this.
  2. Oh you think 6 hours is addict time.this is so sweet.
     
    Vassal and AC9B like this.
  3. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    I think addiction is measured by damage caused more than by time spent.

    Alright, fair enough :)
     
  4. I can get into phases of gaming addiction. Recently I've started imagining how I would feel if I completed the game, if I put in hundreds of hours and completed it, project yourself there. Would you feel a sense of achievement or pride?
     
  5. NightReaper775

    NightReaper775 Fapstronaut

    I had friends playing League of Legends for over 12 hours per day and repeating a whole year of high school because they didn't study. That's a real addiction, but that doesn't mean that playing 6 hours a day and alienating yourself from other aspects of your life is all fine and dandy.

    About God of War (or any game of that kind really), what would you even gain by doing that? Do you have a YouTube channel or something, would you even profit on that? Even then, it would be quite troublesome for someone in NoFap or seeking to reboot his/her brain, because those games only feed us violence, sex and disconnect us from any aspect of reality; you might not see it while you are playing, but believe me, those things stick in your brain, especially porn and sex scenes in the GoW type of games. I would advise you to pick up another hobby. Do you like Greek culture or myths? You could play healthier games like Age of Mythology... but maybe it would be best to avoid gaming entirely and focusing on new activities like reading about those things, drawing, learning a language, etc.

    I am (was?) also a gamer, but I had many streaks of no gaming and when I had them I would find it easier to read, watch movies or just study; and these activities would make me feel complete or just fine. Gaming never did this for me, always gave me a feeling of guilt and time loss.

    Greetings.
     
    guy209 likes this.
  6. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    Didn't mean to offend anybody by calling my problem an addiction, sorry for that one.

    NightReaper75: You are obviously right, yet this is so confusing. I think I am just not as convinced about the damaging effect these kinds of games have on me like I am regarding porn.
     

  7. This is amazing pile of bullshit, games feed us violence really? this was debunked like thousand times, if you are violent, you will be violent dont blames games for that.
     
  8. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    One of the appealing aspects of such games is the possibility of exercising violence without anyone getting hurt and without being held accountable in a phantasy world. Whether that is good for psychological well-being or whether that causes people to be more violent in general is debatable. For me, I think, it's not the violence that does it nor the sexual imagery. Honestly, I don't really don't know why I am so drawn to RPG's. I just know that when I start playing one I struggle to maintain a moderate schedule of playing. Every day. I thought that because I haven't done it for so long I might be "cured" but I can say that about porn as well, and we all know that is the real bullshit.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2018
  9. Yes but one God of War playtrough is completly fine, on the other hand mmo rpg are problems.
     
    ShotDunyun likes this.
  10. Funkypunky

    Funkypunky Fapstronaut

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    I get you , playing video games can mess up your productivity you dont need to be addicted for that , lately i started playing fortnite i play like 3 hours per day and i started feeling lazy to do anything i would prefer to chill and play , it all plays inside your brain you need to have the will and self control to stop it from affecting your life .
     
  11. Fortnite is worst thing happend to this earth since Hitler.
     
  12. Spent 2000 hours last year gaming, I regret it. gaming is fun but a waste of time you should work on what you have too do first then after playbof you want. Personally I will only play games when a friend invites me... Which is rare.
     
  13. Why dont tell us in wich game you spend so many hours?
     
  14. NightReaper775

    NightReaper775 Fapstronaut

    I agree, for me, PMO is worse of a problem than video-games, at least when gaming you can have good experiences or learn something, albeit it ends up alienating from the real world experience most of the time.

    I am not relating violence to violent action but to an antisocial perception of reality, deluded from other aspects of life, the same with constant sex stimuli. Violence will not make us automatically violent, but it indeed shapes the way we look at the world and interact with other people, reinforces toxic masculinity and the like at least ideologically (you can see this in a lot of the gamers vocabulary and expressions) and does not have any positive effect in your life. I have been playing a lot of violent games, and while we successfully separate the real from the fictional, the way we perceive the fictional ends up shaping our lives, we end up feeling disconnected from reality and its mysteries in favor of passing time in front of a computer or interacting with people and situations in a limited way (a big problem with nowadays social media). Feeding violence is not bad in itself, but it is not healthy either and especially when we are talking gaming addiction into account, that is at the same time involved in a lot of other problems.
     
    guy209 likes this.
  15. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    I think this statement really get to the point. Is mindless entertainment, like playing God of War for instance, should have a place in our lives?
     
  16. guy209

    guy209 Fapstronaut

    Not sure. All I know is that the grammar on my last post was horrible.
     
  17. Mindless enterteiment is watching serials or movies for me, i work in local game shop and customers are normal people with families mostly, they have lifes, if you not old enough too control your time with games dont play then, actually new god of war is mainly target for fathers.i agree real life is also great.i can combine both.but everyone just think you can pick just one choice. no its not like that .games are nothing more than another consumed art, some poeple go to gallery and some just love playing games.thats it
     
    ShotDunyun likes this.
  18. NightReaper775

    NightReaper775 Fapstronaut

    Well, you can also be addicted to pornography and be functional in your daily life, no one said it would be impossible for someone to game and live a life, you just end up (most cases) avoiding the latter, this is what's dangerous. I would abstain from calling games a work of art, not because they are not that (certainly some games have a wonderful story, scenery or worldbuilding) but because it confuses people into thinking that consuming a video-game (you do not really play it most of the time but consume it) is the same as drawing, modeling, playing an instrument, etc. It is not, in many degrees it is much more alienating and problematic for our social interactions or daily lives, and they do not give the same sense of achievement or engagement, because you are already not in control on so many things (as I said, most of the time you follow a path and become disciplined in the art of playing the game well, you are consuming and not creating). Going to a gallery and playing games might be similar, but playing games is not the same as creating art. Still, I would advise to visit a gallery and experience the real world.

    I know you will find this viewpoint difficult to believe, mainly because you work in a gaming shop, but it is not contradictory, really.
     
    Deleted Account likes this.
  19. Funkypunky

    Funkypunky Fapstronaut

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    Stop exaggerating there may be some annoying youtubers and streamers of fortnite but the game is fun especialy with friends .
     
  20. Funkypunky

    Funkypunky Fapstronaut

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    The game is fun whether you like or not thats why it gained millions of players the last 3 months and you're 14 of course your friends and your entourage will be talking about video games and whatever kids talk about this days so you gotta endure them or join them .
     

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