On Gaming Addiction

I first started hearing about video game addiction back during the early Evercrack days. It was blamed for at least one suicide, for countless divorces, and for several child neglect cases.

I was just a teenager at the time, and since I didn't venture outside of the family computer room very often, I wasn't particularly wise to the ways of the world. I didn't realize that everyone was looking to blame their problems on outside factors, and not on their own dumb-ass choices. What I did know was that the media seemed to be unfairly blaming a video game that had no undue influence over my own life.

I had arrived at the right conclusion by faulty reasoning. The way I saw it, there couldn't be an addiction because I myself had not been addicted. I would eventually learn about how different people do have addictive personalities and can indeed get hooked on video games.

But I was dead right on the media's unfairness. The ratings-mongers saw a sensational story in video game addiction, and they set about demonizing it as a threat against the nation's children! What's so effed about this is how video games are far less addicting than cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, and most illegal drugs.

It just depends on the personality.

I am happily blessed with a personality that allows me to play games that I love for 12 hours a day if I have nothing better to do, but at the same time if I have a social life (which, at this time, I do not) or a job (nothing happening there either) then I could easily control my gaming so that it wouldn't prevent me from having fun, hanging with friends, or getting enough sleep to feel well-rested the next day. (I mean, 100% experience bonus? Totally worth being well-rested!)

Speaking of WoW, I started playing again recently, and it has caused some of my friends (who had also quit) no small amount of strife. A few of them have become worried that they might be lured back as well, and they apparently lack that control which helps regulate how much time one chooses to spend with a particular vice.

How about you? Are you in control of your gaming, or do you have an addictive personality type such that you have to carefully avoid playing games that are "too fun"?