2 hours of videogames is equivalent to...

Snorting a line of cocaine...or at least that's what this article says.

Link to article

BUT I CAN'T SNORT A CONTROLLER OR CD!...easily...

On a more serious note, the comparison was probably made in terms of, say, "quantity of endorphins released" or something like that since that's quite possibly the only thing that videogames and coke have in common. I still think it's stupid to compare videogames and drugs since one is obviously worse than the other. But I guess I haven't been playing that many games recently to feel that high that snorting cocaine gives you.

 

The line isn't the best way to word what's going on. It's simply a shift in how the child feels rewarded and good about himself or herself. The stigma should really come from just the lack of physical activity and neglect that can come from being hooked like that. Most parents aren't exactly apt at teaching their kids moderation these days.

 

The comparison of video games to a drug like cocaine is ridiculous. Yes, there probably is such a thing as a video game addiction in today's youth, but it is not the fault of the video games. What people these days are lacking is self-control, or in the case of younger children, it is the lack of control by their parents. When people are addicted to video games, they blame the video games, but never themselves. It's pathetic. Maybe your child plays video games all day because you never told them unplug it and go outside. Parents can be enablers in the situation ( not to say that the children are not at fault ).

Cocaine is dangerous not only because of its addictive nature but because it damages your internal organs. Video games can lead to things like heart disease from lack of exercise, but it's not as if touching a controller is going to automatically make something wrong with you. The people described in this article are extreme cases -- the majority of video gamers aren't skipping out on eating/drinking. There might be that very small percent, but that's the case with everything.

 

inb4 everyone blames the video game companies even though this is very obviously the parents' fault. Letting things like this happen to someone so young shows very irresponsible parenting.

 

Anyway, if you ask me, most of the fault lies within the people who play them. Some people just have addictive personalities. Years ago, I would have told you this is a pile of bullshit, but videogame addiction has grown, and not just within kids. Remember those parents who neglected their child to play World of Warcraft?

I don't think comparing it to coke is a good comparison. I know people who've done coke, and the way they described it to me sounds nothing like playing video games to me. I mean, there are the obvious health risks (seizures, eyesight, etc) but it's not a drug.

Hell, I'd rather kids feel rewarding and exstatic from kicking Gilgamesh's ass than from snorting a line.

EDIT: Usually when I play video games, I play for a lot more than 2 hours. If I find myself with a free day with nothing planned and nothing to do, I might spend the entire afternoon playing a game, but I usually play late. At home, past midnight. Day's gone and I'm not tired so I spend a few hours. But I've never found myself stealing money for new games or anything of the sort.

 

I want to bring attention to this particular line.

It is true that all I want to do is play video games. However, I still recognize that although gaming is the most fun thing I ever do, there are still other things that need to be done and have no problems with it. This renders that arguement invalid.

 

If your kid is using the games as a way to escape their own reality to the extent that they become addicted to fantasy tells you how bad the household is.
I'm not surprised, anything good feeling can become addictive to keep having, and like White Rook said parents are less likely to teach the key skill of moderation when it comes to activities. That's why most any addiction can easily occur.

 

I used to be constantly gaming every time my ds died or got taken away...I'd lose all apetite and stare at a wall...i was very insociable...the internet actually took the addiction away...but honestly gaming was so addictive sinnce the real world felt so horrid to me...but an escape it was...it actually does stop natural reactions...it makes you less and less aware of everything else...i think its exaggerating to say its like cocaine...but it is like a drug of its own

 

Okay, true story time here. I use video games to escape reality. Why? Not because I hate my life. Not because I have bad life. But because real life is boring. My parents and household have nothing to do with it. I just want a world where the science that limits me does not apply to realistic extents. I want magic, adventure, all that stuff I'll never get in real life.

 

^makes sense^

When I first got my PS3 I would play it all day, until my dad tells me to stop (about 11:30-12:30. Then I would get mad and hide my PSP under the covers and play with it. And when I get my PS3 taken away, I get really angry and stuff, and sometimes cry. And then school came along, and my grades sucked badly and I got it taken away. For the entire school year. Ever since then I've gotten less crazy about games, I just spend my time rotating between the cpu, then texting, then games. I still don't watch TV a lot.

 

Two words: Self control.

Playing a video game is a great idea when it's rainy outside, but if you play it regardless of whatever weather there is, that is when problems arise.

It also has to do with the fact that if kids and teens don't have an electronic device in their hand almost every minute of the day, they can't sit still.

There are so many other forms of entertainment besides TV and video games and computers. Like reading a book, going to see a play, riding a bike or a skateboard, playing a sport, or just taking a walk.

Unfortunately, parents can't always be there for their kids and they get wrapped up in certain things that aren't particularly good for them, like certain addictions such as this one.

The blame goes to the people spending large amounts of time playing video games. Most of them know its bad for them, but they just can't stop. Learning moderation could have helped avoid this. People just take things to the extreme sometimes.

 

Heh, this is awkward...

When I play video games, I often play for more than two hours. But I don't play games every day - heck, my gaming sessions can be weeks apart.

Even so, I don't usually play on rainy days. Why? Because I'll set up my consoles when the idea to play floats into my head, when I'm given permission to use the television and when I'm on my own in the house, and the last condition will not appear often on rainy days.

And if you ask me why that last condition happens at all on good days (as in, the event where I don't leave the house), then it's because I'm just not interested in going out, is all. I'm not a very social person and there are a ton of brats on our road anyway.

 

Wow...this is actually kind of surprising....

Normally, I'm somewhat of an addict. I don't play video games for long periods of time. Mostly an hour. And when I get something new, I usually play it for 4 hours. But I honestly don't think this is true. I've always been focused, no matter how long I play video games. The only time I'm not actually all that focused is when I play video games when I just wake up. I stopped after I realized it. My grades were fine, and slept fine. The article might've been exaggerating a little. Either that, I know self-control.

 

I highly doubt me sitting there, going around killing everything in site on <insert game here> is the equivilant to me taking illegal drugs. Sure, before I used to try to play on my PS2/DS/PSP/etc... whenever I could. But when I got a TV in my room and the PS2 put there, I kinda just stopped playing video games so much.
If you think about it, a lot of Video Game addiction happens around 9-12 years old. I grew out of it as I got older. You just need to go out and find other stuff to do really.

 

My Long Rant

Okay for everyone who is 13 and under, it probably isn't your fault. More and more these days a family is put in stressfull situations. The recession is causing an uproar and that in turn is causing parents to fight and argue. They buy there kids video games to keep them happy but not realizing the fact, they let kids delve there minds too deep into a game. In some cases, parents arguing and the kid knowing about it causes them to need some sort of retreat, in which case video games would be the retreat. On the verge of reality and fantasy, when a child gets violent against parents who try to take the games away then that is close to the point of breaking. Psychologically speaking, confusion can turn to agression, or visa versa. The early stages of a mental breakdown can be spotted by the smallest bit of agression. If a child were to say, smack a parents hand away when grabbing for a controller, this would be the point when you need to cut them off before it gets serious. At the point of which a child will actually physically hit the parent is the point at which the psyche is about to breach the line between reality and fantasay. Often you hear tell of a child hurting another child or adult or animal. In which cases the parents blame television, or games. I have one thing to say to these parents **** you. You think it is the company who made the games well the label on GTA clearly states for mature audiences only. It isn't the company who made the mistake here, it was you for thinking you could buy your kids off with modern media.

I have one more thing to say to the people who are older and more capable of thought. Get over it, you can't waste your whole life away on video games. You don't have a problem you just like to give a reason for not doing work or not fulfilling responsabilities that you may have. You are filling your own media desires with your own money *if you have a job* and all you have to do is quit. If you went to a psychiatric ward and told them you needed help for an addiction they would take you seriously for a second until you told them it was gaming. Then they would laugh you out of the building. There are some rare cases in which peoples mind is easily sucked into the media but other than that you are just fooling yourself. Thank you for reading my long rant and if you're thinking right now that you would like to mess me up I just would like to say this. If you really had a problem then why would you get mad at someone else, who doesn't even know you, unless you were actually lying.

De-Nile isn't a rive in Rome . . . but it is in Egypt.

 

I used to do this with games/books/TV/ and writings back when I was having severe family problems. I would get so absorbed in what I was doing, that I skipped meals, didn't sleep, etc.(I bathed though ;o), simply because I felt neglected and not cared about for years. I wouldn't compare it to coke. I've been there. I've done drugs, and I have to disagree to that comparison. Professional help does... well, help. Life gets tough for some, and video games may be all you have. I totally get that. For those that say to just have self-control, well, sometimes there's a bit of a deeper issue than that. These kind of things you gotta let people figure out on their own, even if you see them suffering. Whether it's drugs, a video game, or alchohol, people will have to figure it out themselves. Telling them to stop will only make them want to do it more.​

 

well if 2hrs=1 line of coke then every day i must be doing oh about 10 lines see thats because i hate sports and am usually nocturnal ill be up until about 8 am then wake up whenever i feel like it school was hell for me because i had to survive off of coffee(love it so not so bad) but point being also i cant go out in the sun because literally 15 minutes of sun light and i will look like i was put in an oven and left there for a few days so i spend my time on the computer or my consoles rarely do i watch TV i write poetry when i have nothing to do i dont go anywhere and thats about it. Also, these people that make these insane accusations that all games or better yet ANY game is bad, i request to the world somebody shoot those fuckers(pardon my french)

 

Comparing video games to drugs is completely ridiculous. First of all, the drugs would produce a rather instant high. This study probably compared the total "high" of both video games and cocaine. Cocaine's high is instant, and video games would be over the given 2 hours. Flawed logic right there. Secondly, I want to address the violence causing statement. Fairly recently, video games were proven to have absolutely NO effect on causing violence among teens UNLESS that teen already had a mental condition that caused violent behavior. In that case it would be the parents responsibility to get help.

Now to what I think. Personally, I play video games for a long time, but its in isolated sessions. For example, 4 hours on a rainy day twice a month. There is NOTHING wrong with that. As someone had said earlier, its all about self control. Parents need to limit their children before they start to blame everything else.