Should video game addiction be taken more seriously?

[Anonymous]

A guy showed me his grades and laughed they were 3 F's and a D minus. I couldn't believe my eyes when i saw it. I care about my life and my happiness, so I don't understand how someone can get 3 F's and a D minus. I've finished with a high GPA and a successful business with no student loan debt because i got paid money because i was a good student. I asked him and he told me he was playing too much CSGO amd video games. He's been in college for 6 years and I think they're going to take away his financial aid money due to a lack of success. He's been trying obtain an undergraduate for 6 years, but he's been wasting so many hours of his life probably playing fortnite and 2k. Should there be a place for people like him to get help.

[WindAtMyBack]

Yea it should be taken more seriously. Games are intentionally made to be addictive. It's the only thing I know of that people consider "addictive" to be a good review. If reviews say it's addictive, then that's the game people want to play. There is something very wrong about that.

40-60 years ago people used to say the same thing about television - that it was addictive and a waste of time. Four or five hours a day was considered a long time to waste watching television. With video games, four hours is nothing. Some of these guys play 10-15 hours a day. Sometimes they do marathons and go several days straight without any sleep. I admit that I've gone as long as 75 hours non-stop myself. There are people who go a lot longer than that.

It's one of the most addictive things out there. I was telling my neighbor many years ago that her kid was a game addict (when he was 8-9 years old). She never believed me until he was 13-14 years old and failing school. He would pretend to go to bed, then get up and play games all night. Then he was half asleep in school all day. The first thing he'd do when he got home from school was start playing games. He lost his friends around the neighborhood because the other parents had enough sense to not let their kid become game addicts. So they literally quit letting their kid go visit the addict because they didn't want their own kid becoming like him.

Now he is a senior and the only college he can get into are the ones who accept just about anyone. Fortunately it looks like he is starting to turn direction and is finding other interests. Sometimes that happens with game addicts and sometimes it doesn't. But even if he changes direction, he still wasted a lot of important years of his life.

This is mostly the responsibility of the parents. Many parents don't take it seriously. Parents need to be better informed. They need to understand that when they buy their kid an XBox they could be starting a long term addiction with serious consequences.

[BeMuse]

He has different priorities than you. He still graduated from high school, he will eventually finish his college degree, and then get a job and no one will ever look at his GPA ever again. They will just look at his credentials, work history, and interviewing ability. What you think is important is only important when you are in school. You have to meet a certain GPA to get into college. You need to maintain a certain GPA to get into graduate/professional school. After you are done though, no one gives a shit.

[BeMuse]

The valedictorian of my high school is now a market gardener (farmer). He played by all the rule, didn't even have TV growing up, got perfect grades, etc. only to learn years later that none of it was important. He runs his own small business digging in the dirt now.

[BeMuse]

You go to school to practice thinking and obtain knowledge along the way, not to get a pat on the head like a good dog...

[Asker]

But look at all the people waste hours of their life on Facebook. And they keep adding new stuff in the game so the player can getting new novelty and a new dopamine. Similar to online gambling and social media highs. It’s not a drug you take, but you’re still getting a new rush every time you see something new added into the game and the developers know this. Look at how Fortnite still has 1000s of players that have been playing since the beginning wasting money on skins and loot boxes hoping to unlock the skin they want.

[BeMuse]

Video games are just a form of entertainment. Different people find different things entertaining. Some people own $650,000 sailboats and pay thousands in maintenance a year to maintain them so that they can get a couple hours of entertainment from them every weekend. Some people go to music concerts every weekend and drop $100+ for 90 minutes of entertainment. Some people have a bunch of video streaming subscriptions that they pay a recurring fee on every month to stay entertained. Some people buy piles of fiction books for $20 a pop. They just happen to play video games... They might pay 50 cents a game and get 20-30 hours of entertainment out of it. It's actually a very affordable form of entertainment. So long as you are getting what you want to get done on a regular basis then it's not an issue. Obviously you can't spend your entire life entertaining yourself. Sometimes you have to work to stay alive.

[kylee2437]

No there should not. A grown adult should want to help themselves/ better themselves and if they can’t realize playing video games all day is a waste of time, that just shows the grown adult lacks self discipline and needs to re-evaluate their own life. Ridiculous ass generation where people think someone with self discipline issues need rehabilitation like they are on drugs.

[Asker]

Omg it's been so long since you've been online I think. I haven't seen you a min.

[kylee2437]

@asker lol logged off for a little bit. Deleted my old account. Needed a fresh start

[Degenerate]

Lol she deleted her account because 150 people called her dumb for driving with her high-beams on at night 🤣

[kylee2437]

@degenerate actually I deleted my account because at the time I was going through the peak of an abusive relationship and felt like the app was taking up my time

[kylee2437]

@degenerate want to know the even more funny part? I wasn’t even driving with my high beams on lol I just wasn’t aware what lights were which

[Asker]

@kylee2437 I am sorry to hear that. I hope you’re doing better now.

[kylee2437]

@asker everything is well! Living my best version of myself and couldn’t be happier! Hope all is well with you

[Degenerate]

That's great and all but what's the onlyfans?

[kylee2437]

@degenerate I don’t have one lol

[Degenerate]

With hoonkaloonkas like that you're making a huge mistake

[kylee2437]

@degenerate lol I would make one if my pride wasn’t in the way

[Degenerate]

Pride month is over lol

[kylee2437]

😭😭😭😭

[Snakeyes7]

I think there is more at play than video games. It sounds to me that this guy's morale is in the gutter that no matter what he does he will fail anyway.

I think the dude needs friends. Ones who are willing to study with him and be an uplifting voice. People who nervously laugh at their failings are accepting an outcome they shouldn't have to but feel they have no choice, even if it isn't true. I don't think video games are to blame for that.

[Asker]

But look at all the people waste hours of their life on Facebook. And they keep adding new stuff in the game so the player can getting new novelty and a new dopamine. Similar to online gambling and social media highs. It’s not a drug you take, but you’re still getting a new rush every time you see something new added into the game and the developers know this. Look at how Fortnite still has 1000s of players that have been playing since the beginning wasting money on skins and loot boxes hoping to unlock the skin they want.

[Snakeyes7]

Right I think it's the same deal. There's no drive to make themselves useful.

[Bmories99]

Yes it should be taken seriously. I enjoy video games and collect them. Often it's a way to escape reality. Sometimes it's a person's immaturity or inability to discpline themselves. eventually you will need an education or a job. Video games can be a distraction from both like drugs or alcohol it can be an addiction.

[chicosuave]

Haha that's funny. I got worse man. I got 20 Fs I'n highschool and I burned the library down. Got expelled and then failed at the other highschool. Luckily I still graduated

[Dargil]

Same with pornography addiction.