Like the pairing of violence and video games, addiction in relation to video games is an exhausted topic. In the media the topic is constantly brought up again and again - yet without any real definition of what addiction is and without any true argument other than 'yes, they are addictive and therefore the devil' or 'no'.
Personally, for what I have seen, I think games can be addictive. But that is only speculation from an outsider's point of view. When looking into it further, video games appear to be addictive due to the social expectation pressed upon the gamers. If the goalie didn't turn up to a soccer game on a scheduled Saturday, then honestly the rest of the team would be pissed. There would be anger and the feeling of being let down. Soccer is a team sport - online games work the same way. Gamers need to be online at a certain time in order to be a part of the team.
Most people argue that games are addictive to the point of gamers using games as a means of escapism and to create an idealised version of their life. However, online gaming is actually social interaction, it may be an odd kind of social interaction (not knowing there people outside of the world wide web), but nevertheless it can be classed as a social activity.
Personally, I think people should leave gamers alone, ultimately it is their choice to play, and their choice in the duration of play. They can decide their own lives, and if they end up at the point of playing themselves to starvation ... then they really only have themselves to blame.
I completely agree with your last point. Gaming is a choice and in the case of "social" games such as WoW, the players do feel compelled to make it online at certain times. And if the game playing begins to ruin things in their life then it is their own fault.... More on that later in my own post!
ReplyDeleteI play Heroes of Newerth, a team game based on Dota. This game sends two teams of five people at each other. It is very much a team game. Cooperation and skill is required for a team to win. It is possible for one player to let the team down by constantly getting killed by the enemy team, not helping the team, or just playing badly. It's best to try an arrange a team of friends as playing with random people online does not produce good results.
ReplyDeleteHowever, as far as social pressure goes, when you are playing with friends, you feel compelled to do your best as not to let your friends down. I used to play soccer and I have to say I feel that some games are on about the same competitive level as school soccer. Players who get very good at the game can enter money tournaments as well, and I am sure the social pressure is even greater here. Anyway, my point here is that many people still see computer games as a joke and have no understanding of the competitive sport like nature to them.
And yes, there are people who push things too far. Thankfully we have natural selection to take care of that.