While Tucson's KVOA may not be so well-versed in MMOs as to distinguish between Gears of War and Dark Age of Camelot, the local news station put together an interesting little piece on online game addiction nevertheless.
The brief report highlights the story of Elijah Oster, a father and husband who got so pulled into MMOs that he began to neglect his family and suffer from insomnia. He admits that he failed to "budget enough time" for his loved ones, and would grow irritable when his wife interrupted his play sessions.
Behavioral health counselor Jeffrey Friedman was brought in to comment on game addiction, which he says is similar to most forms of addition in that people's actions are dictated by what will cause them the least emotional pain. In this case, it's becoming overly dependent on an online world instead of the real one. Friedman works at the Cottonwood Tucson center.
The report concludes with Oster sharing what he realized after treatment: "I started understanding the concept of balance."
Reader Comments (54)
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 12:37PM (Unverified) said
Directed by Uwe Boll.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 12:40PM Matix said
This is a serious issue and I'm glad people are starting to at least TRY to look at this fairly.
Sadly, the water often gets muddied by people unfamiliar with online gaming. Because people don't MMO game, they look at the problem as one where the games themselves have some esoteric, evil hold on people.
The fact is that addiction is addiction. Whether it's sports, some hobby or form of collecting, shopping, or some other kind of special leisure activity, human beings have a disturbing ability to become single-minded and lose life-balance.
I for one am heartened to see this station is taking this in the proper light. And I hope society continues moving away from mindless video-game-bashing and towards raising awareness about the crippling effects of addiction itself.
Sadly, the water often gets muddied by people unfamiliar with online gaming. Because people don't MMO game, they look at the problem as one where the games themselves have some esoteric, evil hold on people.
The fact is that addiction is addiction. Whether it's sports, some hobby or form of collecting, shopping, or some other kind of special leisure activity, human beings have a disturbing ability to become single-minded and lose life-balance.
I for one am heartened to see this station is taking this in the proper light. And I hope society continues moving away from mindless video-game-bashing and towards raising awareness about the crippling effects of addiction itself.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 1:08PM Dunraven said
@Matix No Game Addiction isn't a serious issue because it doesn't exists.
These people are suffering from Obsessive compulsive disorder plain and simple if the game wasn't there it would be something else.
These people are victims I agree, victims of a sensationalist media and a broken medical system that would rather create a new fad diagnosis than deal with the problem.
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These people are suffering from Obsessive compulsive disorder plain and simple if the game wasn't there it would be something else.
These people are victims I agree, victims of a sensationalist media and a broken medical system that would rather create a new fad diagnosis than deal with the problem.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 1:29PM Matix said
@Dunraven Linguistics and the credentials necessary to challenge the aforesaid aside, I reaffirm my point: After years of sensationalist nonsense from the media I'm glad to see any movement away from blaming video games and towards treating the root issue.
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Posted: Nov 14th 2011 3:25PM Dblade said
@Matix Except that someone also needs to focus on the psychology of how these games manage to addict us. It is NOT just the person's fault. There are several ways MMO games hook and addict us through game play structures.
Essentially they use positive reinforcement through reward to set habits in people to play them. They also exploit was is eerily close to drug tolerance-frequent level-up highs early on, then slowing the drip of them down as you level higher, till endgame where reward is so slow as to often take a year and you are invested in the process.
I work in a casino, so this hits close to home, but you cannot blame people for addictions of this type alone-the game sets up and preys upon certain aspects of being human, and not everyone can resist them. Some people are more vulnerable than others.
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Essentially they use positive reinforcement through reward to set habits in people to play them. They also exploit was is eerily close to drug tolerance-frequent level-up highs early on, then slowing the drip of them down as you level higher, till endgame where reward is so slow as to often take a year and you are invested in the process.
I work in a casino, so this hits close to home, but you cannot blame people for addictions of this type alone-the game sets up and preys upon certain aspects of being human, and not everyone can resist them. Some people are more vulnerable than others.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 3:59PM Matix said
@Dblade I'll agree and disagree in parts with you.
I agree that games, sports, etc. work VERY hard to entice audiences and spend vast amounts of money coming up with ways to get our money.
I've yet to see, however, any evidence or indication that people who make MMOs do so with the intent of creating an obsession with the game or an escapist addiction to the virtual reality of the game world. Having said that, I've also seen no evidence or indication that these companies even care if that's what happens so long as the money keeps rolling in.
However, I'm glad you agree with my point that we need to start looking at the root causes here. I especially think your point about identifying those components of human nature that can lead to this sort of unhealthy behavior. If we take a serious look at what's going on and can identify what exactly is causing this behavior in people then either self-help or industrial safeguards can be advanced.
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I agree that games, sports, etc. work VERY hard to entice audiences and spend vast amounts of money coming up with ways to get our money.
I've yet to see, however, any evidence or indication that people who make MMOs do so with the intent of creating an obsession with the game or an escapist addiction to the virtual reality of the game world. Having said that, I've also seen no evidence or indication that these companies even care if that's what happens so long as the money keeps rolling in.
However, I'm glad you agree with my point that we need to start looking at the root causes here. I especially think your point about identifying those components of human nature that can lead to this sort of unhealthy behavior. If we take a serious look at what's going on and can identify what exactly is causing this behavior in people then either self-help or industrial safeguards can be advanced.
Posted: Nov 15th 2011 6:57AM Nepentheia said
@Matix
And MMOs are specifically designed TO be 'captivating, addicting'. MMOs are all about how to lure the player into pressing the lever for the cheese.
Problem nowadays though, developers have stopped trying to come up with new and more interesting and elaborate ways of disguising that press-lever-for-cheese gameplay--MMOs are currently stuck in the same-ol'-same-ol'. But that's a whole other discussion... *muttergrumbles, "I want awesomer levers and tastier cheese, dammit!"*
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And MMOs are specifically designed TO be 'captivating, addicting'. MMOs are all about how to lure the player into pressing the lever for the cheese.
Problem nowadays though, developers have stopped trying to come up with new and more interesting and elaborate ways of disguising that press-lever-for-cheese gameplay--MMOs are currently stuck in the same-ol'-same-ol'. But that's a whole other discussion... *muttergrumbles, "I want awesomer levers and tastier cheese, dammit!"*
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 12:46PM Stanimir said
I dont like the use of addiction here. It seems to create some separate entity than whatever other problems the dude may have. Its the same as "sex addiction." Everyone likes to do fun things. If they could do it all day, they would. Some other problem is causing them to seek something in an over-the-top manner as to hurt the rest of their life.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 1:09PM SnarlingWolf said
@Stanimir
Shhhhh.... don't ruin the sex addiction excuse. It is currently the best excuse when cheating on people. If you blow the lid on it, you'll ruin it for so many people.
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Shhhhh.... don't ruin the sex addiction excuse. It is currently the best excuse when cheating on people. If you blow the lid on it, you'll ruin it for so many people.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 12:50PM (Unverified) said
@oxlar
^ This. As soon as you start getting stupidly hooked on a MMO where it begins interfering with anything other than enjoyment, you click the unsubscribe button.
That's it.
^ This. As soon as you start getting stupidly hooked on a MMO where it begins interfering with anything other than enjoyment, you click the unsubscribe button.
That's it.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 12:51PM EdmundDante said
It seems as if our society and our current culture is addicted to low-wage work to make the 1% richer for a lot of human beings.
Doesn't surprise me that many would rather MMO in a virtual world, than the real world which become a kind of living hell for more and more people.
Doesn't surprise me that many would rather MMO in a virtual world, than the real world which become a kind of living hell for more and more people.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 1:40PM pbwilliams said
@oxlar None of those things you list really make life fulfilling. They just occupy the mind...
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Posted: Nov 14th 2011 2:08PM oxlar said
@pbwilliams
No the point is that you have the freedom (depending on the country you live in) to pursue that which makes you happy. Don't blame those who are more successful than you. Don't rely on the govt to make all things equal. Govt can't guarantee equal outcomes, only the opportunity to succeed.
Blaming 'the system' for keeping you poor is a rediculess statement when your surrounded by high tech devices and things that those in real oppressive 3rd world nations only see with those at the top of a class based system.
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No the point is that you have the freedom (depending on the country you live in) to pursue that which makes you happy. Don't blame those who are more successful than you. Don't rely on the govt to make all things equal. Govt can't guarantee equal outcomes, only the opportunity to succeed.
Blaming 'the system' for keeping you poor is a rediculess statement when your surrounded by high tech devices and things that those in real oppressive 3rd world nations only see with those at the top of a class based system.
Posted: Nov 14th 2011 2:22PM Maraq said
@oxlar
+1 to oxlar. the number of people claiming victim status whilst surrounded by benefits others can only dream of, does only one thing for me. It shows how much so many take for granted, and how low they set their bar on something called "hardship".
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+1 to oxlar. the number of people claiming victim status whilst surrounded by benefits others can only dream of, does only one thing for me. It shows how much so many take for granted, and how low they set their bar on something called "hardship".











