Video Game Addiction: Mental Illness?

[Super Buu]

I do agree that there are some people who let it go so far. But it's not that they are suffering from 'Video Game Addiction'

The addiction to the video game is a symptom of something else they are suffering from, be it a serious mental disease or just a lack of willpower. It's a sympton, not a cause.

I would agree with this somewhat, having gone through lows myself where I basically binged on WoW. I would rather have had it than not had it, but the only reason I played so much was because I had nothing else to do. When you've got no social life and no job, there's a massive gap and something has to fill it. It was fun for a while, and I'm glad I had it to keep me busy.

The only problem is that it can be difficult to extract yourself from it once you've gotten into a comfortable routine. The reason I separate online games from offline games is because offline games typically don't have withdrawal symptoms. Unless there's somebody shouting 'keep playing!' your only incentive to go back to the game is for more fun. With online games, you're encouraged by your peers to turn up to raids and play more. When my guild leader bitched at me and others for not levelling fast enough, and 'not being dedicated enough', that's where I drew the line. Still, it's hardly heroin withdrawal - mainly just peer pressure.

Nowadays I don't spend as much time playing games, as I've got a lot of good friends.

Everything's got the potential to be 'addictive'. I say as long as you're having fun and it's not lowering the quality of your life, I couldn't give a shit. The reason I would separate some games from others (mainly traditional Korean MMO's) is because they're a grind. When you're playing them, you're not having fun. But unless you're doing it for money, it's usually because there's a deficiency in another part of your life and the game is giving you something to focus on.

You don't get into a routine without having a reason for starting.