Game addiction with teenagers

[NateGL]

hey just wondering on what your thought is on the current gaming addiction of the younger generation and some older people aswell... some people call it the growing addiction for technology..

saw this episode of current affair on youtube hehe yea i missed it on tv..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSNfJKYoA8k

whatch it and tell me what you think about this current growing problem...

if you think it is something we should worry about or not.. and do you believe that issues like this are contributing to other issues in our society...

eg: game addiction leading to obesscity??

[stocky]

i dont see how people can pay for games by the month like world of warcraft. its a ripoff.

i used to play games a lot. now that i have greater priorities with uni and work, i rarely play games. when i have a free hour ill load one and have a bit of fun but thats about it.

as someone mentioned in that youtube thread - theres a good chance that the mother is paying for his WoW subscription, so she should have control over it.

the problem now is that parents are using video games as babysitters. 5 year olds are left alone with a playstation because it shuts them up for a few hours

[EvoVIIIJDM]

its breeding a generation of lazy, overweight couch potatoes which is not a good thing for Australia and the worlds future. Theres far more to life than a computer screen and kids need to realise this but its hard when parents buy all this technology like you say Stocky.

With my schedule of working interstate, 4 weeks on 1 week off, mech eng studies at uni, working in a machine shop, working at my engineering firm and my love of cars, playing sport with mates it leaves me sweet fa time to sit down and play games. Its just a matter of priorities and growing up.

[sganro]

I dont know how people (old or young) can get so hooked on computer games. The fact that people pay a monthly fee to play them is even worse. I rarely play games on my computer and if i do there is no way i would pay monthly to do it.
Stocky is right about parents using computers as babysitters. They gotta start encouraging kids to get outside and get some exersice. The problem is that computers are everywhere now so kids can get access to them all the time. No wonder the obesity stats have gone through the roof lately.

[stocky]

some games can be quite social though. with consoles like xbox and ps2, its easy to invite a few mates around, sitting around talking while playing a game with each other on a big tv.
games like WoW arent the same though. they involve one kid sitting alone in a room staring at a pc. sure, they may be talking through a mic to other people, but its just not right to spend that much time doing that.

[HoZy]

Last video game i played was....

Killer Instinct Gold on Nintendo 64!!

That was about 1week ago, Drinking with my bro playing some older games

Cheers
MaT

[KingDiamond]

With my schedule of working interstate, 4 weeks on 1 week off, mech eng studies at uni, working in a machine shop, working at my engineering firm and my love of cars, playing sport with mates it leaves me sweet fa time to sit down and play games. Its just a matter of priorities and growing up.

Exactley. I used to be a huge game junkie when I had no job.

Now I nearly never play them.

I gotta say, it feels good not using the PC 10+hours a day.

[Johnsy]

They should be a treat, a bit like takeaway.. once or twice a week.
Blame the parents they raise the kids..

[Julie]

I don't think parents are to blame with teenagers, teenagers these days o pretty much whatever they want. Kids are a different story. I have a 7 yr old daughter who loves playing on the computer/ps2. I actually think that some games are very good for kids. Theres lots of educational games, and even those that aren't marketed as educational have merit. One game my daughter was playng was a rpg and had heaps of reading involved. It was a real fun way for her to improve her reading skills. That said, I wouldn't let her sit on her but playing computer games every spare moment. She rarely plays them except maybe in school holidays when boredom sets in.

[vlv8vic]

i can remember playing Leisure Suit Larry as a kid (yeah mum didnt realise how crude it was) and the writing and typing and thinking skills involved in that were great.

havign said that id much rather my kids (whenever that happens) to have a outdoor social life. tennis is great!

AND dyslexia is more commen now than ever, it's been proven that physical activity that challenge both side of the body/brain will help the child improve or even overcome the problem. get them outside!

[Marco-EFIVL]

I would call myself a dedicated gamer, and I have been so for some time, however even as a person who's folk have said "You do too much of that stuff", I myself am afraid of this current trend and its repercussions in years to come.

The key things which worry me is type of games being played, Ultra Violent FPS's (First Person Shooters) and MMPORPG's (Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Games). The former because it can affect children in the sense that I don't think an 8 year old should be exposed to blood and guts and alien fuilds and crap like that on a computer screen, and the latter because there is no 'end' as such, and unlike your Counter-Strike type online games, you play a few rounds, have a few shits and giggles and you log off, with this new breed of games, you build up a character and earn experiance, you learn new skills and abilities and can 'level up' so to speak.

Kids (NO not just kids either, Adults too!) get sucked into being bigger and better than anyone else online and get sucked into playing hours on end to improve their character and what-not, the thing with a singleplayer rpg is that is still does eventually 'finish', with these games, not such 'end game' exists. That too me appears to be the biggest trap, that, and the sheer size, detail, diversity and complexity of these virtual worlds that game developers can now create....

[Patrio7]

Im merely a casual player, i enjoy games most when i have someone to enjoy them with, personally when i started learning computers i gave up on TV, my siblings just channel flip and the non interactive content does bore me, i watch the rally or supercars if i catch them but im more at home in front of my monitor.

i have played WoW for about three months, but i was never really scocially adept so i spent most of that time either running around myself or helping randoms, not much gratifaction there. admitably i dabble in driving games, its cheaper than driving for real but getting behind the wheel of bulma is more fun, i drive to feel and push G-forces. not very athletic means running riding etc isnt really my thing. maybe driving my car is more escapisim than sitting in front of the computer.

if you ask anyone who knows me, im normally quiet....unless i get asked a question or caught in a long subject, then i wont shut up ^_^"

i can agree with you julie, games can help expand ones knowledge and skills. but do a youtube or google video for "Chocolate Milk" rainbow Six i beleive. it is children like the one in the video that need to be kerbed. although i see it as a stereotype on modern american standards. low. very low.

children can be unrulely, yes, we all got up to mischeif as kids, i think its knowing when to stop is the difference. but again im a naturally timid person, i would rather grit my teeth then seek other activites than pick a fight.

as for gaming addiction, i feel its more of a case of someone seeking to fill an urge but not quite getting what they want. heck if i play forza for half an hour i get the itch to go for a cruise. so i would hate to think if someone thinks that can apply to them after 10minutes with a FPS, scary.

but i think one thing is missing from this so called modern world. patience. people are in too much of a hurry these days. slow it down a notch, stop and bask in the glory of the real world or the vitural world, to heck with that boss around the corner, go explore a bit, a change is as good as a holiday after all.

[Trewman]

My 23 year old flat mates work buddies got him into world of warcraft. He gets home from work, puts his head set on and sits there till 3am roughly every day playing it. EVERY DAY

[brownie82]

SSZ-57L That guy in your avatar (FPS-Doug) is one on the biggest game junkies goin LOL. Yeah well i play games pc and 360 but i also get out and get active aswell. As for these kids playing games 24-7 theres parents need to be taught about limits, and if the child acts up give it a flogging and sent it to bed.

Brownie

[U121]

with this new breed of games, you build up a character and earn experiance, you learn new skills and abilities and can 'level up' so to speak.

not a new thing at all.

SSZ-57L That guy in your avatar (FPS-Doug) is one on the biggest game junkies goin LOL

no, he's a caricature of an FPS gamer.

in the end: it's the parents' responsibility to control their offspring. I'm a gamer, the trend doesn't bother me... if they're too weak-willed to work out when they've done it too much, that's their own problem. i think of it as nature's way of getting rid of the ********s. seriously, that report is bullshit anyway, especially the question "so why do you put on an american accent when you communicate with other players?" "well, you know when you move somewhere for a while you start to pick up the way of speaking, it's like that"... no, it's not, you're a moron, choke on your mic. spending a few months gaming will NOT change the way you speak inthe same way that LIVING IN A COMMUNITY OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL. it's another frigging example of the villification of gamers. they pick some unhealthy looking kid who plays games and says "ZOMG!!#!$@!% GAMEZ R MAKINGS KIDZ BADDDD!$!$" no! shitty parenting is making kids bad, a pissweak society is making kids bad, not entertainment.

[Mr Squishi]

The key things which worry me is type of games being played, Ultra Violent FPS's (First Person Shooters) and MMPORPG's (Massively MultiPlayer Online Role Playing Games). The former because it can affect children in the sense that I don't think an 8 year old should be exposed to blood and guts and alien fuilds and crap like that on a computer screen

I just gotta say that games have got a rating system just like movies, so if an 8 year old is playing something that violent then maybe their parents should read the box before they buy the game.
And I wouldn't let a kid play any MMORPGs either.

I know a guy who is so hooked on World of Warcraft that he paid $100 in REAL MONEY to buy 1000 gold for his character, regularly buys in-game items from Ebay, and bought a friends account off him to use as well as his own.

I play games a lot, and I have had a go at WoW, (on a buddy's computer) and i fail to see how anyone could like it enough to play it constantly for months and pay for it. It's just not that good. I got bored of it in 15 minutes.

[Lumps of cheese]

I used to play a fair bit before my boys came along, now i don't seem to have anytime to play, even if i wanted to.
I think, like julie said, that some games are quite good for kids to play, it's all about responsible parenting and controlling what your kids are playing/watching.
Let's face it, an 8 year old isn't going to have the money to buy games you may deem inappropiate.

[Johnsy]

i can remember playing Leisure Suit Larry as a kid (yeah mum didnt realise how crude it was) and the writing and typing and thinking skills involved in that were great.

havign said that id much rather my kids (whenever that happens) to have a outdoor social life. tennis is great!

AND dyslexia is more commen now than ever, it's been proven that physical activity that challenge both side of the body/brain will help the child improve or even overcome the problem. get them outside!

How awesome was Leisure Suit Larry !! And police quest was cool also...

[craigvk]

I used to be addicated to the commodore 64 when I was younger. Basically I cracked it big time when I got banned but that was about it.

I think parents really need to lay down ground rules. When I was that kids age, having a coca-cola was a big treat just like having an ice cream. These days it's like it doesn't exist. Kids are treated so damn well and they have everything.

[stocky]

How awesome was Leisure Suit Larry !! And police quest was cool also...

police quest was cool. greatest game from my childhood would have to be heros quest. i still play that game sometimes

[J_D]

I know a guy who is so hooked on World of Warcraft that he paid $100 in REAL MONEY to buy 1000 gold for his character, regularly buys in-game items from Ebay, and bought a friends account off him to use as well as his own.

Not that long ago someone payed about $30000 for an island in a virtual game.

[seveprim]

i can remember playing Leisure Suit Larry as a kid (yeah mum didnt realise how crude it was) and the writing and typing and thinking skills involved in that were great.

havign said that id much rather my kids (whenever that happens) to have a outdoor social life. tennis is great!

AND dyslexia is more commen now than ever, it's been proven that physical activity that challenge both side of the body/brain will help the child improve or even overcome the problem. get them outside!

Yes you so right um was that common or commen opps!! I think you may want to run a spell checker if you going to use big words !!!!!

Also when I went to school about 20 odd years ago starting a sentence with the word "and" was not the correct grammar, I wonder who is to blame for all the pathetic english I now see. The internet and SMS do not help but the average has gone to a level now that I am feeling like the last one to speak and write correctly.

[Marco-EFIVL]

Also when I went to school about 20 odd years ago starting a sentence with the word "and" was not the correct grammar, I wonder who is to blame for all the pathetic english I now see. The internet and SMS do not help but the average has gone to a level now that I am feeling like the last one to speak and write correctly.

Ljiljiana Ravlich!

[cypher967]

When I was younger I played the playstaion all the time, most of them Army games, Now im a real soldier for the aust army, and I still play it heaps. I dont see a problem with games, i mean its better than on the street causing trouble.

[R0d]

i dont see any problem with games as long as kids dont sit and eat continuosily whilst playing... thats why some kids have 'bigger bones' then kids who dont play and eat all day. (big bones= obiese <spelling mistake)