How many people..........?

Question

know someone, has a child that is, or themselves are addicted to video games?
What I consider to be "addicted to video games" is all they want to do is play video games: they do not socialize, eat properly, wait until the last second to use the facilities, consider hygiene unnecessary (due to the fact since they are not moving they could not possibly get dirty), etc.

Answer 1

I have one grandson that could easily be that addicted if we let him. He cries when his Mom tells him to turn the game system off, and I think that qualifies as a very good early warning sign.

We simply don't let him play that much. He is restricted to one hour of game play a day. Not to be undertaken until after his homework is finished and checked by us.

We also make him do physical things with the school. Like kilometer club, cross-country club, soccer club.

And he is encouraged (very strongly) to keep up his academics. He has always made almost straight A's. We don't let him fall below this. If he should, the first thing to go is his video games.

Answer 2

That's a pretty chronic addiction you just described. I would have to wonder (without pre-judging) what the household was like and the parental supervision. Things aren't always what they seem, please keep in mind.

My kids have a "Game Cube" and there is one game inparticular that they choose to play over and over, but I do monitor the use of said game. Occasionally, I will put the game unit away for a week at a time unanounced to see how they handle it. Usually they do well and go off to play and use their collective immaginations.

If I allowed them to, they would probably play way too much. I know how that goes because there is a game that's "mine" that I used to have to pull myself away from! Unchecked, it can become an addictive mechanism as strong as any drug out there and then to get it away from the child could be troublesome at best. It could bring on violent behavior the kind you would expect from a drug addict who has been seperated from their drug.

This type of behavior along with the types you mentioned in your question would certainly require help from a profesional to overcome.

Unfortunataly, with the busyness of our society, video games and television has become a way of "babysitting" our kids. You are trying to get some work done and its, "Kids, go put a movie on!" or "why don't you play with your 'Gameboy' for a while?"

I'm guilty as charged, but fortunately I am able to spend quality time with my children too. More than video games.

Answer 3

i have a family friend who has a boy just as you've described. he is nearly 18, in year 12. he apparently stays up every night til like 6am playing games, and sleeps in after lunch. i hav been told that it is not unusual for him to be playing them (on the cumputer) for upwards of 16 hrs! he has a severe weight problem, as he does no physical exercise at all. i don't know him terribly well, so i feel rude by talking to/about him. but i really worry. he talks about his competitiors as his best friends, and i always worry that the 16yr old female he's playing against and chatting to could quite possibly be some freak or pedophile down the road. he has damaged eyesight due to his enormous hrs in front of the PC. i believe the parents have virtually given up trying to change him. i really do think this is a massive problem, as he will be heading off to uni next yr, without parental supervision, will he EVER leave the computer? how will he make friends? will he get and be able to keep a job? i think that games should have a set time, and can only be played once a week to minimise all of this harm.

Answer 4

I'm addicted to video games.

Answer 5

The eating properly thing would be the biggest concern... Getting help should be looked into !!

Answer 6

i know many, and one is for sure just as obsessed as you said

Answer 7

yup,my niece! unstoppable!