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Read the chinese link and thought I'd share some more bits: Kid says his dad over reacted, mistaken his gaming ways as an addiction. Claims he only played heav

Read the chinese link and thought I'd share some more bits: Kid says his dad over reacted, mistaken his gaming ways as an addiction. Claims he only played heavily for a few days and it was a misunderstanding between them. Wants time to find a suitable job - he can either play or don't play, just that he hasn't found a suitable job and plays to kill time. It seems to me like denial/avoidance - I've personally experienced issues like this - you play heavily not to kill time but to delay the inevitable, delay the decisions you will have to face. You don't want to ask the hard questions and you simply put it off and procrastinate. If you're still in highschool, then it wouldn't mean much but once you graduate and in your mid twenties (and beyond), you have to shape up and not delve into activities that doesn't help build your character (heyoo).

corin_ 14y ago
I have anecdotes on the opposite side of the argument. I have friends who have played crazy amounts while unemployed (but they found time to look for work) and as soon as they got a job they went back to normal levels. Personally I've played about 2 hours in the past 9 months (thanks Steam for tracking that), because I rank gaming lower in importance than work (which has been a lot lately) and offline social life, however if I decided to leave (or was kicked out of) my job, or even if I just happened to free up a bunch of time, I'd have no problem spending a few days playing solidly, but equally I'd have no problem going straight back to no gaming again. Is this an addiction? (I've been addicted to a few different things and based on those experiences I'd answer the question with a no.)
- justjimmy 14y ago
  I'm not talking about addiction - I'm talking about filling up a person's time because they have all this free time and if not filled, they have to deal with reality and/or hard choices. They choose to quickly fill the time up, so they don't have to do (and deal) with anything else besides said activity, eat and sleep. It doesn't have to be gaming - it can be Reddit, Facebook, Drinking, etc. (It's also different than, say, a new game is released and we all go on a 3 day gaming binge. Work/Career/Paying Rent/Job >>>> Leisure Activities. Prioritizing.)
freehunter 14y ago
I don't disagree with you, but on the flip-side: I was unemployed/underemployed for nearly a year in 2009-2010 when companies (especially here in Michigan, with at-the-time highest in the nation unemployment) just weren't hiring. I don't know what the situation is like in this man's region of China, but I played Guild Wars (free to play minus the initial cost, I couldn't afford a monthly fee) after I had put in a set number of applications per day. When I did find a job, it was only between 10-15 hours per week, leaving me still plenty of time to keep applying and play Guild Wars. It wasn't an addiction in my case, it was that there was literally nothing else going on in my life of any value. Of course I had friends and family telling me I was wasting my life playing this game rather than working. But no company was hiring anyone in my profession for any price, and even Wal Mart and McDonalds had 1000 people lined up to get an interview. These days with a full-time job and a girlfriend, I find only my lunch break offers time for a little bit of Angry Birds and Wordament. That's as much gaming as I can get in.

corin_ 14y ago

I have anecdotes on the opposite side of the argument. I have friends who have played crazy amounts while unemployed (but they found time to look for work) and as soon as they got a job they went back to normal levels. Personally I've played about 2 hours in the past 9 months (thanks Steam for tracking that), because I rank gaming lower in importance than work (which has been a lot lately) and offline social life, however if I decided to leave (or was kicked out of) my job, or even if I just happened to free up a bunch of time, I'd have no problem spending a few days playing solidly, but equally I'd have no problem going straight back to no gaming again. Is this an addiction? (I've been addicted to a few different things and based on those experiences I'd answer the question with a no.)

justjimmy 14y ago
I'm not talking about addiction - I'm talking about filling up a person's time because they have all this free time and if not filled, they have to deal with reality and/or hard choices. They choose to quickly fill the time up, so they don't have to do (and deal) with anything else besides said activity, eat and sleep. It doesn't have to be gaming - it can be Reddit, Facebook, Drinking, etc. (It's also different than, say, a new game is released and we all go on a 3 day gaming binge. Work/Career/Paying Rent/Job >>>> Leisure Activities. Prioritizing.)

freehunter 14y ago

I don't disagree with you, but on the flip-side: I was unemployed/underemployed for nearly a year in 2009-2010 when companies (especially here in Michigan, with at-the-time highest in the nation unemployment) just weren't hiring. I don't know what the situation is like in this man's region of China, but I played Guild Wars (free to play minus the initial cost, I couldn't afford a monthly fee) after I had put in a set number of applications per day. When I did find a job, it was only between 10-15 hours per week, leaving me still plenty of time to keep applying and play Guild Wars. It wasn't an addiction in my case, it was that there was literally nothing else going on in my life of any value. Of course I had friends and family telling me I was wasting my life playing this game rather than working. But no company was hiring anyone in my profession for any price, and even Wal Mart and McDonalds had 1000 people lined up to get an interview. These days with a full-time job and a girlfriend, I find only my lunch break offers time for a little bit of Angry Birds and Wordament. That's as much gaming as I can get in.