10 Signs Of Video Game Addiction

For some of us, Video Games are both fun, and a great way to relieve stress; for others, they are an addiction that constantly calls to them every moment of the day. A quick search online has lead me to a bunch of copy sites with material that can be pretty common sense and very bland or vague. So remedy this I’ve decided to compile a list of what I believe, in my professional opinion(lol), are 10 signs that you are becoming a Video Game Addict/Addicted to Video Games.

1: You feel the urge to play every day.

At first, this might sound normal. I mean, what sort of gamer doesn’t mind putting down some 30 mins to an hour of games if they feel like each day. An addict; however would feel a craving and a need to play games each day. If you can put off video games for a week and not break out into sweat about it, you’re fine!

2: You plan your schedule around Video Games.

It’s ok to feel like playing a video game when you wake up and deciding to push a few things back so you can put in a few hours of gaming… but when you put off important things like, calling out of work or school because you wanted to play a few hours of video games, there is a problem.

3: If you stop playing, you develop “Withdrawal” symptoms.

So you just beat the epic dramatic boss fight. Think something along the lines of mother brain in Super Metroid(SNES) or Sasuke vs Itachi in Ninja Storm 2 and you feel like playing more because you are hyped at the moment. This is totally fine, and psychologically expected. Its like watching a sports game and your team just scored, putting them into the lead. This becomes an issue when you can’t stop playing for no reason whatsoever $6, or you feel the –need- to play; a need strong enough to bother you.

4: You find closer/fuller relationships online and in person.

Now now, I know what you are going to say. E-harmony and other websites promote this… And I’m totally fine with that. I’m talking about having better/closer relationships with people in game than you do with people in real-life, say, you co-workers, friends or your parents. If you can express your feelings in a game but not in real life, you might have some problems.

5: You have trouble speaking. (topics)

This kinda ties into number 4 but at a more universal scale. If you find yourself unable to talk about anything other than video games, there might be a problem. Imagine a 20 part dialogue between you and a friend or co-worker where the topic is not video games, can you continue keeping it video game free? Also, can you keep the conversation going? If you find yourself struggling most of the time, you might have a problem.

6: You make your purchases around your games.

This one might not seem obvious at first, but say you just got a new game. You also decide to celebrate the new purchase with a total system upgrade; Speakers, Screens, Controllers, the Works. This is totally fine every 5 or 6 years. It gets out of hand when you start tossing functional good quality electronics and furniture because you bought a new game. On the more extreme side of the coin, if you find yourself making the decision to not eat in order to save money to buy a game… Something is wrong.

7: Constantly feeling tired when not playing.

Of course there are things like Anemia and other health issues that might put you along similar lines, but for a totally healthy person; you should not be having this problem. You feel totally energized and hyped up when playing a game, but when there is something else, you just can’t find the energy to continue or you just want to sit down or lie down and do nothing.

8: You easily get mad.

This is an aspect of a serious gamer that many people like to call RAGE(or NerdRage). I’m not talking about the Angry German Kid type of raging. I’m talking about flying off the handle at pretty much anything negative because you can’t cope or deal with it. Healer accidentally casted heal on the wrong person? NO, THAT’S IT. THIS GAME IS OVER. NEWB CAN’T PLAY. GG. QUIT. Headshotted at the beginning of a round? YOU’RE SO LUCKY, TRY FIGHTING ME 1 ON 1. YOU AREN’T SO PRO THEN. DO IT. QUIT….Unfortunately, these things carry on into life as well. I’ll leave it to your imagination to the possible light scenarios that can cause explosions.

9: You forget the world when you’re playing games.

There are two sides of this, One side is that if you are playing a game, Any game, and you get interrupted. Your first thought it get angry. The flipside is that it doesn’t count if the game is competitive and requires concentration…. But to the point of this. When you are playing the game, you forget EVERYTHING around you and about you. After a long binge of gaming, if you notice you forgot that you actually were in the living room, forgot to eat for a long period of time(meaning you starved yourself to play), you forgot you had to use the bathroom, or forgetting other common sense or trivial things that suddenly become revelations when you finish playing/put down the controller… You have a problem.

10: Video Games are more important than emergencies.

This one is both simple and obvious. Imagine a scenario, You are playing Call of Duty Black Ops, or any other decent shooting game. You are on a personal record breaking killing spree, all hyped up and just mowing down the opposition. In the next room you hear a family member fall, there is a big crash and lots of constant crying and screaming. If you spend more than 5 seconds or choose to wait until you die… You might have a problem. Even larger problem if you don’t notice it, your brain tunes it out, or even if you ignore it and want to break your record even more.

I tried to be fair in what I thought were 10 signs. It is possible to fall under one of these signs for reasons totally other than Video Game Addiction. It is ok to get a rush while playing games, but when they become your life and nothing else matters, you have problems :P. Notice that I did not include length of play as a sign. It is possible that you just really like playing Video Games, the trick of having an addiction is whether you can control yourself or not.

If you disagree with anything I've said or have anything you would want to add. Let me know in the comments below! Thank you all and have a great day!