Gaming Disorder is an official illness by WHO

[Pan1cMode]

To the person who lost a girlfriend and failed out of school and gained a lot of weight and would binge play for 10 hr sessions or so? What do you say then? Life choice or addiction?

Playing video games competitively has given me some of my closest friends.

It has given me the impetus to travel and meet new people and have new experiences.

It’s given me new hobbies like rock climbing and table top gaming.

It’s brought me countless hours of entertainment and made me legitimately happy.


I’m not sure how or why you’re insistent that competitive gaming is “the devil” when it can be a massive positive force in people’s lives.

This subject doesn't even need to come down to being a healthcare worker or understanding how the brain works.
It should just be about having the humility to understand that your experiences aren't everybody else's experiences, and what works for you in your life doesn't work for everyone else.
Do you have an iron will? Are you A B O V E getting addicted to something? Congrats, have a cookie. Not everyone is. Some people need assistance. Telling someone with a mental illness to "get their shit together" or "make better decisions" most definitely doesn't help, and if you're not helping, it's generally better to be quiet.
Do you know who you tell to make better decisions? That cousin who's 30, unemployed and abuses your aunt's generosity to fuck around all day and do nothing else. That's the person who might benefit from a reality shock.
Being someone who at the same time struggles with a mental illness and is almost graduating to be a healthcare professional, that kind of attitude is what drives people away from seeking help and worsens the problem. Stop.
Sorry if I was rude, but honestly, both being told for 7 years to just make better decisions and "get better" and seeing patients get treated the same way and never coming back to continue their treatment, STOP.

I’m not claiming that gaming addiction isn’t a real thing; or that these people need help. I’m pointing out that video games aren’t the inherent evil that some members of this community are suggesting they are. They’re not like tobacco where there is literally no good that can come from them.
Video games can teach discipline, fine motor skill, hand eye coordination stress management and critical thinking. Competitive gaming can enforce social skills, teach dedication, lead to new friends, cause a sense of community; these are all positive things.
To demonise video games and the competitive gaming scene because a minority become addicted neglects all those who don’t become addicted and manage to have positive experiences with gaming.

I have nothing but empathy and compassion for the individuals suffering from addiction and their families. It is always important to raise awareness about addiction and it’s negative consequences and hope for treatment. If that’s all the OP had done, I would have left this tread completely alone; however he went on to demonise the competitive scene and undermine all those individuals who are grinding matchups to try and play at the top level.

 

[Vastly]

Who is talking about banning video games? What's the point of bringing something up that no one has even remotely discussed?

Seriously? You don't understand the precedent this sets for future interventions by jobs, government, etc....? Have you read what has been happening in India regarding PUBG? If you haven't I recommend googling it because it's bonkers. Addiction is an issue on it's own and anyone can become addicted to anything, gaming disorder isn't an illness but addiction is.

 

[MKF30]

I don't know about the whole "vid game is a disease, makes you anti-social" theories that some of these scientists, doctors etc have but I do think anything can be addicting be it food, drugs, drinking, sex or yes even games. But I see that as just that an addiction or obsession, I feel like some of these articles about this stuff are trying to blame games for some sort of brand "new" disorder. You always hear the negative but not the positive, people can make friends from gaming as much as going to your local bar or meeting new people at your job, school etc. Who cares? You know? I've met nice people online, and assholes online same with in person so I don't think this makes a difference.

Vid games FTR has been proven to have benefits such as improving hand eye coordination, reflexes and making you alert. Makes you think, which I believe I read is comparable to doing crosswords among other mental challenges. The only difference is it's a video game. I mean people should be social too, get out etc sure but if I had a kid I'd rather they did their homework then played video games as oppose to just hanging out smoking weed, killing brain cells doing drugs some where.

 

[aj1701]

There’s probably a growing gamer personality disorder too. So many of these younger kids, or even some adults, have horrendous social skills. I don’t mean being an introvert, I mean not understanding how humans interact with each other. So literally anything they see another human do is “cringe” to them.

That's not become of video games, its because of shitty parents.

 

[lionheart21]

One of my dreams as a kid was to making a living playing video games, as a game tester. But looking back, even if it still is a dream job of mine to make a living playing games, that's all it is to me: a dream. I love video games and have had a connection with fighting games since Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat were in arcades, but I decided on a different path and chose the field of Biochemistry over my pipe dream. I understand that only a select few will be able to making a living as a competitive gamer, and fewer will make a comfortable living off it.

I used to dabble in Tekken casually, I first started getting serious about fighting games with Third Strike, I loved MK9 and played it until I switched to a PS4, and then did the same with MKX. But my main focus has always been my education, which is why although it was initially a difficult decision, I basically just put myself on a hiatus as far as fighting games are concerned due to the sheer amount of time that needs to be focused on it to be a success. Which meant no more MKX, no more Street Fighter, and no Injustice 2, period. Also why I went on a hiatus from the forums for that time as well.

Back when I used to work a retail job, during my time that I was going to university and working part-time to support myself after building up the money to send myself to university without fear of student debt or being a financial burden to my family (which damn near broke me, but that's a different discussion there), I would see some of my co-workers that would actually say that when a new game, like Madden or Call of Duty came out, that they'd quit and focus on playing the game. And a lot of the time, they actually did quit. It completely floored me, that some people would rather put a game over a paycheck and their own well-being.

Gaming may be a hobby, and to some people, an escape from the pressures of life, but it should never be viewed as the be-all, end-all. And I say this as someone who's been a gamer since I was about 4 years old and viewed it as my escape from bullying before I found that same escape in the gym, and something that I will always hold an appreciation for. But for those that believe that they can make a living off of video games, that's their decision, we all have free will and we choose our path in life. But they have to also deal with the consequences and the fact that there's a very good chance that they will fail at their goal. And that's not me being a cynic, it's a fact of life, and one that we can see by just looking at the prizes for competing, how much you need to focus for seemingly so little; unless you also get sponsored and that also comes with added stress since there's no telling when your sponsor will drop you. As a side hustle, sure, I plan on doing that myself with this game and competing in some locals for money.