My Love-Hate Relationship with Gaming as an Addiction

The rush from playing a gut-wrenching, topsy turvy level of Super Mario is a feeling one gets from smoking crack cocaine. Addiction is feeling a “sorta numbness” that overwhelms you spiritually, mentally and physically. The unadulterated feeling from playing games is something beyond the lines of spiritual karma (so deep).

We all had our moments where we get hooked into a virtual world within a video game, indulging in this decadent lifestyle that soothes the soul. I love this feeling and would like embrace it further more.

Sadly, the cons are prevalent. Addiction tends to stir up wild, uncontrollable behaviour that deviates from whats accepted in society. Rude, preposterous attitudes are created in this escapist virtual world. To put it bluntly, all of us have been there. We were once narcissistic punks that threw tantrums when we lose in video games. Recently, I played a game of Dota 2 with my second brother. Watching his behavioural changes were self deprecating. Cold sweats and hurling abuse were a few of these warning signs.

I have to say that when I play video games today and get interrupted, I pride myself in being thoughtful as I develop empathy for the person on the other side.

For example, if someone asks me something important, I would pause the game and answer in a polite tone, instead of giving “gaming people or gamers” a bad rep by being the stereotypical, corpulent sloth that the media paints us to be. I really hope this deviation in behaviour can be controlled. So, I urge all the online gamers out there, let’s be the better men and change this social outlook on video games as we know it. Enough with this bad image.