Recent news about gamers dying because of "marathon" gaming sessions has prompted me to briefly discuss gaming addiction. If you're concerned your kid is getting addicted to games, don't panic. Just read on. Well it was inevitable. Another gamer has died, this time of a blood clot supposedly due to an extended video game session. This particular gamer supposedly could spend up to 12 hour sessions playing on his Xbox.
Now, as a serious gamer I can tell you with complete honesty that I have not played 12 hours of games without moving. I’ve probably pulled an all-day gaming session but never without moving. I only had that kind of free time in college and I always had to get up and walk to the dining halls when I got hungry. So I was definitely getting at least a minimal amount of exercise when I went on a gaming binge. That being said, my circumstances are somewhat unique. I dislike online gameplay (for a multitude of reasons), and that tends to increase my ability to walk away from a game and do something else. Most of my time is spent in some sort of seated position, but I tend to constantly move and stretch. So I like to at least believe that my risk of such health problems was (and is) significantly lessened. But I digress. My point is that the idea of a “12 hour gaming marathon” isn’t that absurd for modern nerds. Yes, it is very likely that once your children leave your home (or possibly before they leave), they will play a few marathon sessions lasting more than the maximum recommended 5 hours. You’re eventually going to have to accept the fact that video games are fun and are meant to be very, very long. The likelihood of marathon sessions is significantly increased if your child uses games as a source of social interaction. Think about how much of your time as a teen was dedicated to social activities then combine that into a single activity that could be done without leaving the comfort and convenience of your home. Why ask your parents for a ride to the mall when you can just turn on Call of Duty or World of Warcraft and play with your friends directly? Gaming addiction is just as real as any sort of addiction. In some ways it’s even worse than “typical” addictions. Because while the user may at least understand that drugs or other substances are harmful, gamers have a very difficult time believing that games are harmful. And for the most part games are not harmful. However, if games begin to negatively affect the daily life of the user in such a way that the user chooses to play games above doing activities that are required for their well-being, the problem becomes evident. If the user chooses to play games instead of eating or sleeping it is a parent’s obligation to step in. In case you don’t believe in the seriousness of gaming addictions, I can tell you that I have had multiple friends who lost a life of potential greatness due to a gaming addiction. One friend was an engineering major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo but dropped out because of his World of Warcraft addiction. He ended up moving to somewhere in the Midwest to live with his World of Warcraft friends and play as much as he could. Unfortunately, I don’t really have a “cure” for these kinds of addictions. It’s really up to the individual to accept that there are certain tasks that must be done before games. The way I found works best for me is thinking about what I want out of the future. If I want to be able to be productive, learn everything I need to, and do my job to the best of my abilities I have to make sure that games do not come first. Fortunately I have a job that continues to allow games to be a huge influence on my life, but there are very few circumstances when this is actually feasible. In the end it’s a matter of identifying what the player likes about the game and trying to either find other games or other activities that interest the player for the same reason. Socially competitive players may find playing sports a good alternative since it fills both the competitive and social aspects. Exploratory players may find games like Oblivion a slower-paced but equally expansive environment as Mass Multiplayer Online games like World of Warcraft. But like I said before, it’s really up to the player to understand their limitations. Give the player some sort of motivation for doing the daily tasks necessary for their well-being and things should work out okay.
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The Legendary Carmine
Andrew Clayton (a.k.a. The Legendary Carmine) is SSG's Executive Editor. He toils at the stone to make sure this site brings its readers valuable content on a daily basis. Like what we do? Want to see more? Donate to the site using the button below!
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