Only 15% of Gamers are Internet Addicts 451
Huckster writes "Jeffrey Parsons - a doctoral candidate from University of Iowa has resently conducted a research on MMORPG addiction. It took a while to get the results - but they are now available.
The study found that about 15% of gamers meet the criteria for Internet addiction as provided by Kimberly Young, a leading researcher in Internet addiction. Using more strict criteria, a minimum of at least 10% of gamers met criteria for Internet addiction. Compared to national studies of Internet addiction, this numbers are somewhat elevated. However, given the sheer number of hours MMORPG gamers spend online (in comparison to the general population), even a 15% addiction rate is somewhat low.
To illustrate the point, the college student spends 10 hours on the Internet per week. The average MMORPG gamer (addicted or not) spends 20-25 hours per week just playing MMORPGs, and an additional 10-15 hours per week in other Internet use. In other words, MMORPG players are spending 4x as much time online as non-gamers."
Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:5, Insightful)
If 15% of people who enjoyed a cold beer or a glass of wine were considered alcoholics I'm sure the word "only" wouldn't be in the headline.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:5, Insightful)
During softball season, I spend close to 10 hours a week either playing games or practicing fastpitch softball, and I'm considered a very "casual" player in my league. Some people spend more time playing softball than they spend at their jobs.
In High School, I knew a guy who spent almost every evening and every weekend hacking and wardialing for hours on end. These days, he's gainfully employed in the IT field.
"Does something a lot" != "Addicted"
The only thing which makes a person who spends 30 hours a week playing a game different from most people is that their chosen form of recreation happens to be a fringe activity. They are not hurting anybody, so I say leave them the hell alone.
Furthermore, can we get past this stupid habbit of calling every apparant obsessive/compulsive behavior an "addiction?" It's not as if these people are going to go through withdrawl symptoms if they are deprived of their gaming "fix" for a couple weeks.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:2)
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:5, Insightful)
Furthermore, can we get past this stupid habbit of calling every apparant obsessive/compulsive behavior an "addiction?"
Addiction, by defenition, is :
- Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance.
- The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something.
So calling "apparent obsessive/compulsive behaviour" an addiction, is only because that -is- the defenition of it :
I do agree with him though ; that 'spending alot of time' does not equal addiction.
It's not as if these people are going to go through withdrawl symptoms if they are deprived of their gaming "fix" for a couple weeks.
That's only true if you are comparing withdrawal symptons from, let's say, heroine addiction, to the withdrawal symptons from missing out on a month of RPG-ing.
Hell, even I really long for playing a (FPS) game when I haven't done so for a week.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:4, Informative)
I think the key to remember, though, is that you said yourself "obsessive/compulsive". Obsessive/compulsive behaviors aren't always healthy either. I wouldn't call the need to play softball OC in a clinical sense. However, one could possibly argue that *some* individuals who play online games do have OCD in a real sense and that an online game isn't the most healthy way to deal with the underlying problem.
So while I agree with what you said, that the term "addiction" is far overused. I'm not sure I agree that obsessive/compulsive behaviors are something to just brush aside as if they're no big deal. They are a big deal. And if someone is knee-deep in them, that person needs to be treated.
Of course, in the US, mental healthy is the getto of healthcare. It doesn't get nearly the respect nor funding that it deserves. Everyone just pops a pill and calls it good, without realizing that for many people therapy is necessary and helpful.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:4, Informative)
The vast majority of the people on Vallium, Paxil, Prozac, or Ritilan are people who probably should not be on anything, and in many cases these drugs are a hinderance to ideal mental health.
Unfortunately, you don't need to be a specially trained phsychiatrist to prescribe this stuff, and any medical doctor who perceives you as "depressed" or exibiting a behavior where he recently read that drug X "has had some success at treating the problem" during his 7-minute visit which included a physical can load you up on all kinds of Happy Pills.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:5, Informative)
Have you ever played a MMORPG? I played Everquest for several hours every day for over two years back in high school, and yes, it was an addiction. I wasn't alone, either, or even in the minority.
If someone had deprived me, or most of the other people who played that game, of my gaming "fix" for a couple weeks, I would have had serious withdrawls.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:3, Informative)
You've never been around an Evercrack addict when their cable modem goes out, have you? I've seen someone sit there and stare at the screen, click "refresh" repeatedly, go reboot the cable modem, reboot their computer, and practically go into the DT's.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:3, Funny)
normal != healthy, and some comparisons (Score:3, Interesting)
Playing video games (even online) is a little like watching TV. You can learn things from both. But eventually you hit a point of diminishing returns where the opportunity cost exceeds the additional kno
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:2)
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:2)
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:5, Interesting)
According to medical research, one or two pints of beer (or glasses of red wine) per night is a healthy practice, reducing the chances of heart disease and alzeimer's while reducing stress.
According to AA, two or three pints a night means you are an alcoholic.
There's an overlap here, which means either 1) One side or the other is full of crap, or 2) Mild alcoholism is good for you.
In either case, I enjoy beer or wine with my dinner on a regular basis, and if that makes me a drunkard then so be it.
Re:Bit of a strawman (I think), however... (Score:4, Insightful)
If it rationalizes my booze-hound ways, I'm taking the correlation to show causality.
If the drinking itself is not the main factor, then one could postulate that "being a puritanical busibody who cares about how much other people drink" might result in a shorter and less healthy life.
Either way, hooray for our side.
Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:5, Insightful)
Internet addiction is a made up/hyped up thing so Frauds can scam money from the gullible.
Re:Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:5, Insightful)
Speak for yourself. Back in the day when I was a MUD addict, it cost me about seven years of my life. About four years playing and doing nothing else, three more of depression when I had finally kicked it. Needed several psychologists to finally get back on my feet. It was a very big problem, I was aware of it and miserable, and unable to stop.
Re:Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:3, Interesting)
Trust me, I know personally what I am talking about.
People don't get addicted to things that don't have a relatively short to immediate form of positive reinforcement. Its not that big of a deal until it becomes a big deal. If your able to be happy and eat and have a place to stay and MUD for 23 hours a day. Go for it. If there are other things that you want to do and achieve (hence unhappiness) then go for
Re:The sad thing... (Score:2)
Re:Exactly (Score:2)
Re:Exactly (Score:2)
Re:Exactly (Score:2)
Actually now that I think of it, there are 12-steppers out there who believe in such a thing as "workaholism". They think it is a bona fide addiction problem. If you like your job too much, that's apparently bad for you. Horrors .. productive, happy people contributing positively to society are .. are .. ENJOYING it!! Somebody get this person some marijuana and a scented candle, stat!
Re:Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:5, Interesting)
Except for the 15 odd percent that are addicted. I went to a tech college and there were all sort of MUD, MMORPG, and FPS gamers. For most of them it was a perfectly healthy recreation / break from studies. Then there were the few that ended up failing out of college because the couldn't pull themselves away from the computer.
Gaming addiction is not made up, and while some people may hype it, these scientists aren't among them. Their methods are good, and their definition(s) of addiction fall very much in line with other forms of addiction. And the number they found is about right from what I've seen personally. If anything, they have done the MMORPG group a favor by showing that 85-90% of gamers are not addicted and many are well balanced individuals.
Re:Only 15% of Doctoral Canidates are useful (Score:2, Insightful)
I will agree with you about the use of the word "addiction", but probably for different reasons.
I really do wish people doing these studies would stop using the word "addiction", or just stop asking themselves whether the MMO players are displaying addictive behavior. Rather, I wish they'd just look more at how these types of games affect the typical player's mental health, or their social behavior more generally.
Interesting.... (Score:5, Funny)
Perhaps somebody was fooling around on the INTERNET when they should have been working?
Jeez, I'm one to talk...
Why? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Why? (Score:2)
because it's a bit pointless?
if you're a NORMAL gamer, like playing OFFLINE games
and if you're playing online.. then it's just the normal online time + playing time..
Well.... (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Why always focus on MMOPRGs? (Score:5, Interesting)
~ 23 or 24 appears to be the net mean age of all survey groups, and in my experience, and as someone from that generation, we spend a lot of time online for many different reasons.
I'm a programmer and an information junkie who's never played a MMORPG in his life. When I was interviewed for my job last year, I was told the company was looking for someone who "lives on the web." All these people focusing on games don't realize the most obvious phenomenon: the web as a lifestyle.
Re:Why always focus on MMOPRGs? (Score:2)
Re:Why always focus on MMOPRGs? (Score:3, Insightful)
What is "addiction?" (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What is "addiction?" (Score:5, Informative)
Re:What is "addiction?" (Score:5, Insightful)
For many of us, the Internet is just another part of our computer. We use it when we want, and go on about our bussiness. I don't "log in" to check e-mail, I just run SSH if I want to see it (or look at my Sunblade if I'm at work). I can be writing a paper, have soemthing I need to look up, access JStor, and go back to writing the paper in less than a minute.
Seems to me that these researchers have a severly distorted view of how the Internet works for many people. It's not a special, seperate thing, it's just another part of computing.
I particularly notice this if my connection goes down. Even though I know it's down, I'll find myself perpetually trying to access something online because I just don't think about it. Like I'll be reading a PDF on something, and want more info on a topic and pop open a browser and try to search for it, before I remember that no, can't do that right now. It's just natural, just a part of being on a computer. It works basically like any other tool on the computer, just use it when you want it for something.
Re:What is "addiction?" (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem is with Addictive Personalities (Score:5, Insightful)
This probably seems obvious, but the important point is, people who become addicted easily can become addicted to anything they come into contact with - drugs (legal or illegal), internet browsing, exercise/fitness, even possible reading Slashdot!
However, I think a disproportionate number of people with addictive personalities are drawn into gaming, especially MMPORGs, and for this reason you have this, actually relatively high figure for addiction.
And in other news.... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:And in other news.... (Score:3, Funny)
My name is Default Luser......
And I'm an Oxyholic.
It's true, I've been abusing this poisionous substance for years, watching as it gave me astounding enegy to perform tasks, but simultaneously made my body grow old and tortured. I cannot live a minute, let alone a day, without it; I would go insane with need and possibly die from the withdrawl symptoms.
Oxygen has been running my life - I have no life other than Oxygen. The constant need to be fulfilled has left other aspects of my life lang
They're designed to be that way. (Score:5, Insightful)
The first level is easy to accomplish.
Second level is marginally harder.
Before long, you have to press the lever 10,000 times to get your treat. By that time, you've grown old, wife left, dog died.. etc.
The games are DESIGNED to addict you. You don't make subscription money if you don't have a good core base of addicts.
MMORPG's are designed to last for years. The more addicting, and the ability to constantly provide rewards througout the game, will keep a guy hemmed up for years.
Re:They're designed to be that way. (Score:2)
I can still remember the euphoria of the EQ "ding" sound.
Re:They're designed to be that way. (Score:5, Insightful)
The first level is easy to accomplish.
Second level is marginally harder.
This basic structure is the only way to make a fun game. It isn't the problem.
The insidious aspect of MMORPGs is that they make this explicit in the "stats" and "levels" that you have to keep track of and improve. The *actual* game of these games is just "make the number bigger", which is a very primitive goal (think Pac-Man). You're paying $10+ a month just to play Pac-Man.
Other games tend to have more complex goals, like "get to the next stage, see more of the world, advance the story". You can "beat" these games. You can't beat a MMORPG, except by ending it yourself.
Re:They're designed to be that way. (Score:5, Funny)
So in a few years, we'll have to suffer through MMORPG themed country songs?
I can (Score:3, Funny)
Whew, boy... that's a relief... (Score:3, Funny)
You wanna know who the REAL internet addicts are? People at work posting on slashdot... using Google... etc, etc.. I bet they match the "criteria"
Not addiction... (Score:5, Interesting)
Hate the word "addiction" (Score:5, Insightful)
Why is every bad habit these days assigned a diagnosis of "addiction"?
I'll tell you why. Because if we can blame our bad habits on a disease, something out of our control, then we can absolve ourselves of any responsibility for it.
Face it, most of these purely psychological "addictions" that plague modern society can be corrected with a little behavior modification and a little willpower.
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:2)
Kids don't have a disorder, they just don't get punished enough
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:4, Interesting)
"My kid isn't a disruptive, impolite, disorganized little jackass. He's sick! Dare suggest anything else, and you might impune my parenting abilities."
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:2)
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:2)
Errr what exactly do you think a psychological addiction is?
It's a behavious pattern that often has detrimental impact on other areas of your life. No shit it can be corrected with behaviour modification.
o.0
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:3, Insightful)
One of the first steps of overcomming any addiction is accepting responsibility for it -- accepting that you are addicted and you don't have a handle on it, and that you are the only one that can do anything about it. It is not about absolution of responsibility at all.
Face it, most of these purely psychological "addictions" that plague modern society can be corr
Re:Hate the word "addiction" (Score:3, Insightful)
I'll also tell you why. Because when a culture warrior can play up some set of actions that he disapproves of as a weakness or character flaw in a group of people (as opposed to their choice of how to utilize their freedom), it's easier to get legislation passed to discriminate
In a related story... (Score:2, Funny)
Film at 11.
Authoritative definition of internet addiction (Score:4, Insightful)
I personally do not believe that it can be determined quantitatively by how long one spends on the net; rather, perhaps some quality of the use may determine addiction.
As a student, I spend considerable quantities of time online performing research and consulting reference materials. For many things, it is just more efficient to do things online as opposed to performing inefficient information retrieval offline.
Re:Authoritative definition of internet addiction (Score:2)
Yes. Its you. If you find that you cannot achieve other things in life that you want because you are online and you cannot stop being online, then there you go.
I'm not much into the word addiction personally, but it all centers around you and what you want.
Re:Authoritative definition of internet addiction (Score:4, Funny)
My god! You hit on it without even realizing. WORD ADDICTION! I use words all the TIME! I'm using them right now!! I've got to stop .. augh! I did it again! Okay okay, I'm stopping now. Really. Come on Ike, STOP!!
Oh noooooo .. I'm addicted ...
I'm an addict (Score:4, Insightful)
When I get this open else where I might care, untill then the Internet is the best resource for myself.
Odd study. . . (Score:2, Funny)
Besides, most of the MMORPG addicts were too busy playing to take the 5-10 minute survey.
Woah.. (Score:4, Funny)
In other news, male gamers are more likely to pee standing up.
Internet addiction? Maybe MMORPG addiction (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm almost willing to bet that more than 15% of the MMORPG population is addicted to it. What other reason would a person play EQ for 5 years?
Re:Internet addiction? Maybe MMORPG addiction (Score:2)
What about working Professionals? (Score:2)
I work as a Systems Engineer for an ISP, I'm on the Internet 40+ hours a week because of work, then maybe an addtional 5 to 10 of my own spare time.
I would hardly consider myself an addict as I lead a normal life outside of work, go out with friends and family, yada yada...
I've seen it first hand (Score:5, Informative)
EverQuest would (rightly) say... (Score:2)
Apologies to penny-arcade. I'd much rather have people absorbed into EQ than to a bad meth habit or a gang. Not because it's necessarily any better according to real ethical standards, but it's much more sustainable and currently more socially acceptable. Not surprisingly, they have the same personality types - low self-esteems combined with identity crises. If it wasn't EQ, it was going to be something else.
Re:I've seen it first hand (Score:4, Funny)
either way, a pail is stupid. i mean, eventually you're going to have to get up and empty it, a problem i don't have, and the smell ugh. how someone who hasn't showered for three weeks straight could possibly tolerate the smell of their own piss is beyond me.
Re:I've seen it first hand (Score:3, Insightful)
The guy could just as easily become a gang/frat member, an alcoholic, a workaholic, a born-again Xian, whatever... (note in the last two cases, society doesn't always consider this pathological- though it certainly is a reflection of an underlying pathology in many cases I've witnessed).
Calling this an internet addiction is far too reductionnist.
3x not 4x (Score:2, Insightful)
Normal User: 10-15hrs
MMPORG User: 10-15hrs + 20-25hrs
If we're using the low end of the scale:
Normal User: 10hrs
MMPORG User: 10+20=30hrs
That's 3x the internet usage
If we're using the high end of the scale:
Normal User: 15hrs
MMPORG User: 15+25=40hrs
Again, that's 3x the internet usage.
definition of Internet Addiction (Score:5, Informative)
Kimberly Young, EXPERT? Sort of? (Score:4, Interesting)
Throughout the class, she would constantly venture off on tangents about her work in studying "Internet Addiction", and what a terrible thing it is... She's published a few books and papers on the topic, but in real life, she doesn't seem to be that big a superhero researcher. In fact, she's really quite amusing, whatwith the curly-afro like hairdo and the subtle woman-moustache, not to mention the thick rimmed glasses she wore. She always told stories about how internet addiction leads to marital woes, citing examples of women and men who confessed to her that they had been cheating on their spouse via online relationships. Given that that's what she mostly talked about, I would propose that her professional interest and expertise with regard to "internet addiction" predominantly center around the affects of chatrooms and IM on personal "offline in the real world" relationships. Now, with MMORPGs, one must consider how applicable Kimberly Young's research is. I can see how there would be an argument that there are parallels between say, the interactions you have with other people in a MMORPG and those with people in a chatroom.... However, if you're really into the RP aspect of those games, you might be TOTALLY different in that regard than say the person you'd be in a chatroom... You know what, maybe we could do a Slashdot Interview with Kimberly Young, if somebody tells me to go ahead, I'll send her an e-mail and then submit the idea.
Wait (Score:2)
Misuse of Terms... (Score:3, Insightful)
Granted, this article is a few years old, but the main point will always remain. There is no such thing as an "Internet addiction"
Overheard at the local computer store (Score:2, Funny)
Man I wish I had the time to play games weekly. Parenthood REALLY puts a crimp on the time you call your own.
I love mmorpgs (Score:3, Insightful)
I think what I am should be considered an addict. I always tell myself I'm going to stop, but always find myself coming back to it a month later... I really hate this. I wish I could keep a balance between real life and the virtual worlds, but that just isn't what happens.
Thank god I have people around me who notice when I get sucked in... I know there are many others who don't have anyone around to keep an eye on their health.
And no, I don't think playing 6+ hours a day is healthy.
Anyone else think... (Score:2)
Someone should check to see how many of these people have left the house in the last couple days. Or check their grip on reality by seeing if they still answer to their birth name (as opposed to 'Mordorf the wizard' and such).
My favorite thing is... (Score:5, Interesting)
Gone on the road for two weeks, working 14 days straight for a total of 145 hours. Come back and play with friends on an afternoon, what's the verdict: I play too much videogames.
It really is mainly about some people's perception of valid use of your free time. My rule of thumb is not to tell any woman born before 1980 that I even know what a computer is.
Re:My favorite thing is... (Score:3, Funny)
unsubscribed from WOW (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:unsubscribed from WOW (Score:3, Insightful)
This is not uncommon. When I was going to the university in my younger years, I had one roommate who was addicted to Magic The Card Game and played Metroid on the GameBoy and SNES. He did so badly on his grades that his parents made him moved back home to be properly supervised. I spent most of my scholarship money trying to start up my BBS business just before the internet got popular. The business m
Re:unsubscribed from WOW (Score:3, Funny)
And Your Little Dog Too (Score:2, Interesting)
I know for myself that before I got sucked into the good MMORPG on the market today, I'd still spend hours at the 'puter playing "offline" games...
Irregardless! (Score:2)
What I want to know is (Score:2)
Also, how do you calculate time when things are done in parallel? Like if I'm doing something work related
Ridiculous claptrap (Score:3, Insightful)
How do you decide when someone is online or not? When their computer is running and connected to the net? In that case, I'm online 168 hours a week. I better get help immediately!
If you say it's 'hours spent using the Internet', that's no better. When I go to sleep at night, I like to listen to BBC news. No station in my area carries it, so I listen to it streaming from KERA in Dallas to an Airport Express and a small pair of speakers in my bedroom (where there is no computer). Am I thus 'using the Internet' while I'm lying there asleep? Certainly, there's a lot of network traffic going on, but I'm just listening to the frickin' radio!
What about if I'm just sitting at my computer playing Solitaire? Am I 'online' during that hour? What if, unbeknowst to me, my anti-virus fires up and downloads a new set of updates while I'm doing it?
The concept of 'an hour spent online' lacks any rigorous definition whatsoever. And people that spend a lot of time trying to do math with those made-up numbers make me wonder what it must have been like back when the telephone was invented. Surely the business world today is filled with people who would have been considered 'addicted to the telephone system' by similar pedants back in the early 20th century.
This is just academics trying to put numbers on things so they can get funded to do a study. Ignore them, and maybe they will go away.
People get so touchy... (Score:5, Interesting)
Go read any of the BBs out there for mmorpgs, some people call 30 hours/wk 'casual' -- that's pretty much a job. They will adamantly talk about how I'm not an addict, I have a life, a job, etc. Well, so do lots of gambling addicts and alchoholic, doesn't mean a thing. Plus they are often posting to the boards that are filled with fellow junkies, looking for reinforcement of their behavior. And there's a lot of the 'well I only play 30 hrs, so and so plays 40, he/she is clearly out of control, but I'm fine'
I am a mmorpg player. I've played a ton of the d*mn things (EQ, AO, DAoC, CoH, WoW) they can suck up all your time, cut into sleep, etc etc. Luckily, with each new one I've played I found I quit them sooner and sooner and get bored more easily. Nonetheless, I still play them WAY more than I should, they are clearly unproductive timesinks, nothing more. Yes, I've had fun and met some cool people - but mmorpgs can get in the way of more important things for sure.
Some people though, live in these things. Sad but true story - there's a friend's friend who has been playing EverCrack ever since it came out like 5(?) years ago. He's late 30s lives with his mom, has no job, and plays EQ like 8-10 hours a day. He threatens to go back to get his college degree every now and again, takes one or two classes here or there - but usually has some excuse on why he can't finish, goes back to playing f/t and just lives off his mom (who should clearly kiss his a*s out, but that's another story...)
While his story might be a bit more extreme than most, I don't think his is unique.
This will only get worse. (Score:2)
What percentage of people were addicted to playing Trade Wars 2002 or any of the other 90's BBS games? How about textual based MUDs on the Internet? I bet it's far lower than 15%, and I also bet that as games become better and better that the number will be far higher than 15%.
What is internet addition? (Score:2)
I would like to see that link... I would bet anything that the exact same qualifications, when applied to Televison, would make over 95% of the country Television addicts.
hahaha (Score:2)
I'm not an internet addict... (Score:2, Funny)
I also have a paper on MMORPG Addiction... (Score:2)
http://iandanforth.net/pdfs/addiction.pdf
I can tell you right off that Young's definition of "addiction" has not been properly tested. In the first part of my paper I do a factor analysis to draw a distinction between addiction and engagement which is often ignored in behavioral addiction literature.
The second part of the paper deals with prevelance of addiction (far below 15%) and personality correlates to addiction.
I had a similar sample size, used players from the Asheron
Re:I also have a paper on MMORPG Addiction... (Score:2)
I just love it... (Score:3, Insightful)
What it comes down to it, dollar for dollar, 20 hours of Everquest a week is your best entertainment value, well, right after copyright infringement.
Funny (Score:2)
And while I understand that there are plenty of people who truly are addicted, and my heart goes out to them, I wish to god people would stop confusing people who really are addicted with people who just play computer games
Addiction definition (Score:3, Informative)
An addiction is any behavior that someone does in preference to other things and which results in adverse effects on another aspect of their life (e.g. relationships, job, assets, etc). Both of those things are important. If you just prefer to do something but it's not causing a problem, it's not an addiction.
Note that there is nothing in the definition describing "withdrawal" or whether it's psychological or physical or anything like that. Most of those things come from people's half understanding of substance abuse terminology, and have nothing to do with it. There is confusion over "dependence" and "addiction", such that people can be addicted to drugs (using them and having life problems) and be either physically dependent (e.g. heroin), mentally dependent (e.g. cocaine) or neither, although the last one is rare with drugs (it more applies to things like gambling and such).
A couple things to keep in mind about addiction (Score:3, Insightful)
I believe its safe to say if a single man gets up in the morning, washes up, dresses nicely for his job, works 8 hours, eats 3 square meals and keeps his apartment clean, and spends every other hour not doing this playing a MMORPG, that he's not addicted. He's well adjusted, like's his game, but knows his other priorities.
I also believe its safe to say that if a man spends 5 days straight playing a game, skips classes to play it, gets little or no sleep, fails to much of anything, both he and his apartment reek of dead ass, and has problems with his grades and health, then he's probably addicted and needs some help.
The deciding factor is usually how you are hurting yourself or those around you. There is plenty of gray area between the two examples. The report is definitely trying to address the latter, and is not trying to make severe judgements just because someone responsible likes to spend 4 hours a night playing games.
MMORPG Addiction as a long term affliction (Score:3, Insightful)
Having sunk the better part of a 120 days into EQ, I've tried many MMO's since, actually wanting to get addicted again with no luck at all. A few of my friends who were playing with me back then that I keep in touch with also seem to have the same 'problem'. I suppose this could be an aberation, but I think what happens is that once our brains wrap around the game elements that keep bringing us back, it grows dull and tedious.
Really?!! (Score:4, Funny)
The average MMORPG gamer (addicted or not) spends 20-25 hours per week just playing MMORPGs, and an additional 10-15 hours per week in other Internet use. In other words, MMORPG players are spending 4x as much time online as non-gamers."
Wow! People wwith a hobby of online computer games spend more time online than people who have other hobbies. Now if only someone would do a study to find out if people with gardens spend more time outside than those with high definition TV's.
Re:MMORPGs is a lifestlye, not an addiction (Score:4, Insightful)
If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...
I have no idea how you can say playing CS 10 hrs/day is addiction, but playing a mmorpg for the same is a lifestyle. Semantic nonsense, I'm sorry. 50 hrs/week of gaming period (FPS, RTS, MMORPG) sounds like addiction to me, that's a freakin f/t job with overtime for pete's sake.
I'm a mmorpg player as well, but I would NEVER call it a lifestyle, it's entertainment, that's it. If it's a lifestyle, then it's a sad one.
Reminds me of Dan from the show Night Court who during a fit of self-loathing said "I don't have a life... I have a lifestyle."
Re:MMORPGs is a lifestlye, not an addiction (Score:3, Insightful)
Nope, the 'G' in MMORPG stands for Game, it's still a game, it's one genre like RTS, FPSs, etc, but a game nontheless.
"to play an MMORPG properly a person has to DEDICATE a LOT more time. He is not ADDICTED to the game, he is simply PLAYING a LOT of the game... because thats how they are designed."
'has to DEDICATE? It's a choice, you don't HAVE to do diddly. Like I said, I've played plenty of mmorpgs, and I utterly disa