(no subject)
Derp.
Every now and then, I hear some news media going on about how the behaviors of people who play video games can be found to be in parallel with symptoms of drug addiction. This often bothers me in how patently wrong it is. I suppose it is just another sign of how the media is left to rely upon whatever they can dredge up to have some sort of shock value in order to maintain their struggle to remain somewhat relevant. Still, the blatant ignoring of the differences between playing video games as a hobby and being addicted to drugs are so staggeringly apparent that I cannot forgive these oversights.
For starters, you could just look at some of the articles on Cracked.com that were written by people who have actually dealt with drug addiction and their struggles to overcome those addictions. They speak of the many health issues they faced when quitting their addiction, which came about as a result of their body chemistry trying to work its way back to normal. One example of these symptoms can be found here: http://www.cracked.com/article_18824_5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-quitting-drinking.html
Obviously, since playing video games does not alter one's body chemistry, quitting would not have such effects. The only side effect a gamer quitting video games might notice is a severe sense of boredom, which is to be expected: They've just thrown out their entertainment. This also tidily explains why they so continuously play these games in the first place; think of the things you do for entertainment, and whether or not your repeated execution of these habits constitutes an addiction, or is merely an expression of your interests.
So why do these news articles keep popping up about so-called "video game addiction"? It is a phenomenon politely referred to as "pop psychology" and less politely referred to as "total and complete bullshit". See, lots of people aren't interested in video games and know very little about them and the people who play them. Their human curiosity demands an explanation for this behavior, and the media is all-too-ready to step up and provide a cock-and-bull story about addiction.
This is phenomenon that has existed throughout history. Humankind has always demanded an explanation for phenomena that we have observed, and there have always been people to step up and provide an explanation which is rarely seated in reality. In ancient times, people would see a log floating in a river and, not understanding the principles of buoyancy, wonder why it does not sink to the bottom. And lo, the wise man of the village would tell them "A river spirit keeps the log aloft, for there is a pact between water and branch." And they would gobble up that explanation greedily, for it filled a hole that they needed filled.
Of course, more often than not the people providing explanations have some sort of agenda that they wish to carry out, and will mold their explanations to further that agenda. If you've been following this blog for some time, you will already know where this is headed. The most prominent example of this would be Christianity, and especially the Catholic Church. Every time anything happens, they jump to attention (after the fact, never before) to come up with explanations so twisted and convoluted that if there were an adjective to describe it, it would be an adjective which could also easily define the geometries in any HP Lovecraft work.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised at the millenia human society has managed to survive without having a scientific process of determining the causes of natural phenomena. Even more appalling is that even today, mainstream society shies away from science, the only way of having any amount of certainty in conclusions. It's not all grim, though; humanity is certainly turning more and more towards science. I'll end on that note, as once again I've managed to end my post in a very different place than where it began.
A friend of mine helped me write this article. I asked her how it should start and made use of her suggestion.
Every now and then, I hear some news media going on about how the behaviors of people who play video games can be found to be in parallel with symptoms of drug addiction. This often bothers me in how patently wrong it is. I suppose it is just another sign of how the media is left to rely upon whatever they can dredge up to have some sort of shock value in order to maintain their struggle to remain somewhat relevant. Still, the blatant ignoring of the differences between playing video games as a hobby and being addicted to drugs are so staggeringly apparent that I cannot forgive these oversights.
For starters, you could just look at some of the articles on Cracked.com that were written by people who have actually dealt with drug addiction and their struggles to overcome those addictions. They speak of the many health issues they faced when quitting their addiction, which came about as a result of their body chemistry trying to work its way back to normal. One example of these symptoms can be found here: http://www.cracked.com/article_18824_5-things-nobody-tells-you-about-quitting-drinking.html
Obviously, since playing video games does not alter one's body chemistry, quitting would not have such effects. The only side effect a gamer quitting video games might notice is a severe sense of boredom, which is to be expected: They've just thrown out their entertainment. This also tidily explains why they so continuously play these games in the first place; think of the things you do for entertainment, and whether or not your repeated execution of these habits constitutes an addiction, or is merely an expression of your interests.
So why do these news articles keep popping up about so-called "video game addiction"? It is a phenomenon politely referred to as "pop psychology" and less politely referred to as "total and complete bullshit". See, lots of people aren't interested in video games and know very little about them and the people who play them. Their human curiosity demands an explanation for this behavior, and the media is all-too-ready to step up and provide a cock-and-bull story about addiction.
This is phenomenon that has existed throughout history. Humankind has always demanded an explanation for phenomena that we have observed, and there have always been people to step up and provide an explanation which is rarely seated in reality. In ancient times, people would see a log floating in a river and, not understanding the principles of buoyancy, wonder why it does not sink to the bottom. And lo, the wise man of the village would tell them "A river spirit keeps the log aloft, for there is a pact between water and branch." And they would gobble up that explanation greedily, for it filled a hole that they needed filled.
Of course, more often than not the people providing explanations have some sort of agenda that they wish to carry out, and will mold their explanations to further that agenda. If you've been following this blog for some time, you will already know where this is headed. The most prominent example of this would be Christianity, and especially the Catholic Church. Every time anything happens, they jump to attention (after the fact, never before) to come up with explanations so twisted and convoluted that if there were an adjective to describe it, it would be an adjective which could also easily define the geometries in any HP Lovecraft work.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised at the millenia human society has managed to survive without having a scientific process of determining the causes of natural phenomena. Even more appalling is that even today, mainstream society shies away from science, the only way of having any amount of certainty in conclusions. It's not all grim, though; humanity is certainly turning more and more towards science. I'll end on that note, as once again I've managed to end my post in a very different place than where it began.
A friend of mine helped me write this article. I asked her how it should start and made use of her suggestion.