http://www.cgames.com/forum/ cgames forum: Last 35 Posts en Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:25:00 +0000 http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=31#post-36 Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:27:11 +0000 mrsmothers 36@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <p>hello i concider my self a big gamer so big i have spent coutless hours playing them and learning ever thing about them from the strgidies to play them to the very code that is used to make them i consider my self a expert on the feald of gameing. if it wernt for computer gaming i would be some clod hopin' dirt farmer in nor-cal unable to send you this message.In sted i have lots of nerdy friends and a complex knoledge of how computers work. Perhaps thay arnt evil its the way you look at them. It not like were cave men and have to devote all are time to foriging for food. You know and ever one cant be a docter. Maby its socites fault for not demading more out of people i say the corpet entitys are the true evil and maby the one to trule blame are the parents, anything can be changed in to somethig that give you a drive. My prents alowed me to turn gaming it to somthin more than moving a joy stick and if you can say ther like crak i can say thay are like marjiwana.<br /> I await the ban hammer.(sorry lots of caffeine) </p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=30#post-35 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:47:44 +0000 brian 35@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ Dr. Dave Greenfield is one expert I came across while researching gaming. He maintains a website, <a href="http://www.virtual-addiction.com" rhref="http://www.virtual-addiction.com">Virtual-Addiction</a>, which looks specifically at Internet Addiction. I found an interview he did with <em>Today</em> where I think he hit it right on the head.<br /> <br /> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ym1gxw3Xu7k"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ym1gxw3Xu7k" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /> <br /> <blockquote>"The bottom line is it doesn't really matter what it's labeled, because the reality is that people have problems and many times these problems aren't labeled or classified, but we in our offices see these problems every day."</blockquote><br /> <br /> I've said this before and I'm just going to say it again: It is irrelevant whether we call it digital dependence, video game addiction, or bug-eye syndrome. Many people have problems with digital games that need to be addressed. Period.<br /> <br /> On another note: Thomas just finished speaking at the <a href="http://cheact.org/Conference2008/Index.html">CHEACT book fair</a> where he addressed home schoolers on the dangers created by digital gaming. You can <a href="http://www.cgames.com/video/">view last year's workshop</a> by clicking the "video" tab above. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=29#post-34 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:37:05 +0000 Thomas 34@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ Here is an interesting tidbit from our growing bag of research. I wonder what the GDP of Azeroth is. GNP stands for Gross National Product and is a measure of the wealth and productivity of a nation.<br /> <blockquote>"In March 1999, a small number of Californians discovered a new world called Norrath, populated by an exotic but industrious people. About 12,000 people call this place their permanent home, although some 60,000 are present there at any given time. The nominal hourly wage is about USD 3.42 per hour, and the labors of the people produce a GNP per capita somewhere between that of Russia and Bulgaria. A unit of Norrath's currency is traded on exchange markets at USD 0.0107, higher than the Yen and the Lira. The economy is characterized by extreme inequality, yet life there is quite attractive to many.<br /> <br /> The population is growing rapidly, swollen each each day by hundreds of emigres from various places around the globe, but especially the United States. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the new world is its location. Norrath is a virtual world that exists entirely on 40 computers in San Diego. Unlike many internet ventures, virtual worlds are making money -- with annual revenues expected to top USD 1.5 billion by 2004 -- and if network effects are as powerful here as they have been with other internet innovations, virtual worlds may soon become the primary venue for all online activity."</blockquote><br /> Edward Castronova. "Virtual Worlds: A First-Hand Account of Market and Society on the Cyberian Frontier" December 2001. CESifo Working Paper Series No. 618. <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=294828">http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=294828</a><br /> <br /> I doubt this is still true since many EQ players have moved over to WoW but it is still interesting. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=28#post-33 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 22:26:26 +0000 brian 33@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <img src="http://www.cgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/controleregg.jpg" alt="The Egg and Video Game Link?" style="float: left" align="right" />Which came first the chicken or the egg? I think this question is easily answered since a chicken could have survived without an egg, while an egg would require incubation (aka: a chicken) to survive. Whatever. No; I am not going to talk about the inherent lameness of <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/ps/action/chickenrun/index.html">video games involving chickens</a> in this posting. Go ahead; exhale a grand sigh of relief.<br /> <br /> Instead, I am going to talk about what is often (very academically) termed a “chicken and egg dilemma:” Are compulsive, addiction-prone people just drawn to video games or do the video games themselves actually promote addiction?<br /> <br /> To answer this question, we're going to trek down a road often fraught with boredom; we're going to look at research. But, if you're willing to stick with it and at least read the major parts of this post, you just might even get some great information and maybe even a fresh perspective. What do you have to loose? Two minutes?<br /> <!--more--><br /> <strong>Empirical?</strong><br /> <br /> Now using <i>that</i> word sure makes me feel scientific. No; we're probably not going to conclusively prove that gaming is an addiction any time soon. But then again, we probably can't conclusively probe that gravity exists, either.<br /> <br /> The fact of the matter is that there is enough evidence to say that playing games often leads to playing more games, and ultimately addiction.<br /> <br /> <strong>Making the link.</strong><br /> <br /> Nicholas Yee is now one of the foremost experts on MMORPG games (Isn't that a weird acronym? <a href=#end>See my endnote</a>.). In the early days of his massive online surveys from the <a href="http://www.nickyee.com/index-daedalus.html">Daedalus Project</a>, he performed studies relating to addiction. His report “Adiadne” on the subject revealed a very telling relationship. I referenced the study in my last post, but here's some of the major points:<br /> <ul><br /> <li>65% of these gamers (ages 12-17) would label themselves as addicted to the game. (<a href="#Yee">Yee 2002</a>, 3)</li><br /> <li>60% of gamers have played 10 hours non-stop.</li><br /> <li>About half of young MMORPG players (ages 12-22) admit to loosing sleep in order to play the game. (<a href="#Yee">Yee 2002</a>, 2)</li><br /> </ul><br /> Another study was released in '05 which confirmed these findings. Ng and Wiemer-Hastings, from DePaul University's Computer Science Department, performed a study showing that:<img src="http://www.cgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/mmorpg_ng_graph.png" alt="MMORPG gamers spend far more time gaming. (Graph)" style="float: right" width="300" align="right" height="320" /><br /> <ul align="left"><br /> <li>MMORPG players play significantly longer. (see graph)</li><br /> <li>80% of MMORPG players have played 8 hours straight, while only 46% of Non-MMORPG gamers have. (<a href="#Ng">Ng and Wiemer-Hastings 2005</a>, 112)</li><br /> <li>35% of MMORPG gamers find it easier to talk to people in the game than those in real life. (<a href="#Ng">Ng and Wiemer-Hastings 2005</a>, 113)</li><br /> </ul><br /> These number are great; they point us to a specific conclusion: people who play certain games (MMORPGs in specific) tend to be more addicted to them. If you're really attentive, then you've also noticed several problems. Let's play Blue's Clues! Can you spot them? No; I'm just kidding. It's just fine if you didn't notice any problems, I'll go into them in just a second!<br /> <br /> <strong><i>Problem 1: Date</i></strong><br /> <br /> Yep. These studies are a little... well, old. Yee's study was done six years ago, which means that some of the high schoolers he polled now have Master's degrees. The Ng and Wiemer-Hastings study, on the other hand, is only about three years old, so it's good for verifying that Yee's studies still hold true. However, there is another problem that plagues Ng's results.<br /> <br /> <strong><i>Problem 2: Quantity</i></strong><br /> <br /> Both of these studies are surveys, which means they rely on quantity rather than quality. Yee did an exceptional job of getting a large number of respondents. That's one of the reasons he's a top expert. Yee consistently has about three to four thousand participants in his surveys.<br /> <br /> Ng and Wiemer-Hastings are computer scientists, not psychiatrists. They only got 91 respondents. Now that's a problem. Both studies, however, share a flaw that is more fundamental than any of these minute details...<br /> <br /> <strong><i>Problem 3 (the big one): Correlation is not Causality!</i></strong><br /> <br /> Yes! The chicken or egg dilemma. You knew it would be coming back! The truth of the matter is that all surveys share this same weakness. Surveys, often academically termed “cross-sectional studies,” can tell us who is doing what but not why. Jeffery Goldstein, in testimony before congress, stated the fundamental problem with cross-sectional surveys: “Correlation is not causality, no matter how tempted one may be to argue otherwise.” (<a href="#Goldstein">Goldstein 2000</a>, 4)<br /> <br /> Here's the problem: we have no idea whether people who have addictive personalities just tend to be drawn to MMORPGs or if MMORPGs themselves are addictive. How can we resolve this?<br /> <br /> <strong>A solution?</strong><br /> <br /> When Dr. Jeffery Goldstein, of University of Utrecht, testified before the US Senate, he focused around whether virtual violence was likely to result in real world violence. His conclusion was that there is not near enough evidence to support this claim. Five years later, <a href="#Gentile">Douglas Gentile</a> prepared a literature review for the National Institute on Media and the Family. His report, once again, focusing around violence, but also addressed study methodology. His insights are very useful.<br /> <br /> According to Gentile, there are three major types of studies (<a href="#Gentile">Gentile 2005</a>, 7) which I believe can be narrowed down to just two. The first type of study is cross sectional surveys, which attempt to get answers from as many people as possible. The second type is a laboratory study that takes a few participants and carefully observes them.<br /> <br /> A survey is able to get quantitative results. It can show correlation but not causality. On the other hand, a lab study is able to prove (at least somewhat) that one thing caused another in these cases. Therefore, in order to solve the Chicken and Egg dilemma, I need to find an experimental study.<br /> <br /> <strong>Breakthrough!</strong><br /> <br /> I was researching at the Life Sciences Library at the University of Texas (go Horns!) when I stumbled upon a study from Joshuah M. Smyth, who is in the Department of Psychology at Syracuse University. His study was entitled “<a href="#Smyth">Beyond Self-Selection in Video Game Play</a>.” Basically, his laboratory design was made to rule out pre-existing conditions that could cause addiction to the game.<br /> <br /> Imagine your one of the hundred participants that were selected to be in Smyth's study. You're 18-20 years old. When you sign the liability waver form, you think that you just might become the next Incredible Hulk when they inject you with green radioactive goo. You breath a sigh of relief as you are informed that this is an experiment being run by the psychology, not the nuclear, department. You exhale with joy as you're informed that you will get to play video games and be monitored for a month! But here's the hitch: you have to play the type of game that you're assigned. And it had to be an unfamiliar type of game.<br /> <br /> This was what made Smyth stick out to me. His study assigned participants to play a type of video game that they had no previous experience with. This rules out the possibility that they had a pre-existing “addictive personality” that lead them to choose to play MMOs. So what did they find regarding video game play and addiction?<br /> <br /> The results of the Smyth's inquiry where published in October of last year. He said that the MMORPG players where significantly different from other players. They enjoyed the game more, but that enjoyment came at a price:<br /> <blockquote>“The MMORPG group differed significantly from other groups after 1 month, reporting more hours spent playing, worse health, worse sleep quality, and greater interference in “real-life” socializing and academic work. ... MMORPGs represent a different gaming experience with different consequences than other types of video games and appear to pose both unique risks and benefits from their use.” (<a href="#Smyth">Smyth 2007</a>, 717)</blockquote><br /> And thereby the results of the cross-sectional studies mentioned above were verified by experimental testing. Smyth's study helps us to say with more confidence that we have answered the “chicken and egg” dilemma regarding video games.<br /> <br /> <strong>Conclusion</strong><br /> <br /> So what? Why should anyone who doesn't have a Ph.D. care about these studies? Here's the point that I want to make by showing you all this evidence. While some people certainly are more addiction prone, games can also be designed to be addiction prone. We cannot completely blame the player as many gaming companies contend, because games can be, and are, designed to be addictive.<br /> <br /> If you think this may be the case for you or a loved one, please take our <a href="http://www.cgames.com/addiction-test">free addiction test</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>Resources</strong><br /> <br /> <p id=end><i>Endnote</i>: When I refer to “literature,” I'm not talking about that subject in school. I mean the body of written works on the subject of gaming. When I talk about MMOs, I mean Massive Multiplayer Online games. Finally, MMORPG (now that's a horrible acronym, hu?) stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games.</p><br /> <p id="Goldstein">Goldstein, Jeffrey. “Effects of Electronic Games on Children.” Testimonial Statement to US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, Mar. 2000. commerce.senate.gov (no longer available).</p><br /> <p id="Gentile">Gentile, Douglas A. “Examining the Effects of Video Games from a Psychological Perspective.” <u>National Institute on Media and the Family</u> Nov. 2005. <a href="http://www.mediafamily.org/research/Gentile_NIMF_Review_2005.pdf">http://www.mediafamily.org/research/Gentile_NIMF_Review_2005.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p id="Ng">Ng, Brian D. and Peter Wiemer-Hastings. “Addiction to the Internet and Online Gaming.” <u>CyberPsychology &amp; Behavior</u> 8.2 (2005): 110-113. (accessed via Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Publishers).</p><br /> <p id="Smyth">Smyth, Joshua M. “Beyond Self-Selection in Video Game Play: An Experimental Examination of the Consequences of Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Play.” <u>Cyberpsychology &amp; Behavior</u> 10.5 (2007): 717-721. (accessed via Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. publishers)</p><br /> <p id="Yee">Yee, Nicholas. “Ariadne.” Oct. 2002. <u>NickYee.com</u>. <a href="http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/addiction.pdf">http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/addiction.pdf</a>.</p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=27#post-32 Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:13:00 +0000 brian 32@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ Originally written as a composition assignment, 8 April 2008.<br /> <br /> Cyberspace must be running in its own time zone. What starts as “just a few more minutes to finish this level” soon becomes an hour. When Olivia and Kurt Bruner kept hearing this from their son while he was playing games, they set out to discover the problem. They concluded that video games are like “the digital drug” (<a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_Bruner">Bruner and Bruner xxi</a>).<br /> <br /> Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) games are especially similar to drugs; not in their chemical makeup, but in the way they affect the young brain. MMO may as well stand for a Minor’s Massive Obsession because of the addiction it can become for many minors who find virtual reality more fulfilling than modern reality. In a way gaming also resembles alcohol. It isn't evil, and actually can be beneficial, but can easily be overdone.<br /> <br /> <strong>Contents</strong><br /> <ul><strong>Definitions:</strong><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c1">Addictive or Not Addictive… That is the Question</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c2">A Nasty Acronym with a Nasty Side</a></li><br /> <strong>The Problem of Addiction:</strong><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c3">Pixels… or People?</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c4">Tossing Schoolwork for the Game?</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c5">Why Work Out when I can be a Digital Athlete in Seconds?</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c6">Am I Ruining Reality for Virtual Reality?</a></li><br /> <strong>Why Games are Addictive:</strong><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c7">The Digital Drug?</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c8">Fast Food Fulfillment</a></li><br /> <li> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c9">Risky Playtime</a></li><br /> <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?p=31#mmo_c10"><strong>References</strong></a></ul><br /> <!--more--><br /> <p id="mmo_c1"><strong>Addictive or Not Addictive… That is the Question</strong></p><br /> The pillar upon which the case for gaming addiction rests is the definition of addiction. Addiction is an overused word in modern language. Its meaning has become ambiguous at best.<br /> <br /> The modern mind immediately thinks of some homeless looser who can’t hold a job because he is hooked on drugs. This mind is certain that a person who plays video games fourteen hours per day is addicted but isn’t sure where to draw the line in cases that aren’t as severe. At the same time, gamers often use “addictive” as a synonym of fun.”<br /> <br /> Nicholas Yee, one of the foremost psychological experts on online games, provides a more objective, though not perfect, definition: “a recurring behavior that is unhealthy or selfdestructive which the individual has difficulty ending” (<a href="#mmo_Yee">Yee 1</a>). The only problem is that it lacks any definition of what is “destructive” and contains no specific median through which addiction may be measured.<br /> <br /> For the purposes of this paper, addiction will be defined in terms of time. If an individual habitually spends time on an activity such that it interferes with time that is necessary for other more important activities, it’s safe to say that this individual is addicted. Therefore, the test for online video game addiction becomes whether time spent playing MMOs or MMORPGs interferes with other more important activities such as schoolwork or sleep.<br /> <p id="mmo_c2"><strong>A Nasty Acronym with a Nasty Side</strong></p><br /> MMORPG (how’s that for a nasty acronym?) spells out Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game. Some examples of these games are Dungeons and Dragons, EverQuest, which is sometimes jokingly called “NeverRest” because of its addictive nature, and Second Life. These games literally give players a “second life” and another role. They become problematic when the fantasy role becomes the player’s main role.<br /> <br /> Even though only about one in ten gamers play an MMORPG, they’re the most likely to become addicted (<a href="#mmo_Khan">Khan 4</a>). A survey performed by Yee found that 65% of these gamers (ages 12-17) would label themselves as addicted to the game (<a href="#mmo_Yee">Yee 3</a>). The next question would be whether they truly are addicted by this paper’s definition.<br /> <p id="mmo_c3"><strong>Pixels… or People?</strong></p><br /> The first stop in testing for adolescent addiction was the subject of a 2004 editorial by Brent Staples, who holds a doctorate in behavioral sciences. Does online play interfere with the interactions players have with other people?<br /> <br /> Yee’s study on the subject, which relied on the participant’s honesty, showed that the majority of MMORPG players don’t think their habits interfere with their social lives, academic performance, or health (<a href="#mmo_Yee">Yee 6</a>). There is quite a bit of reason to doubt their word. According to Staples, studies have shown that the amount of time spent with family was halved for every hour spent online (<a href="#mmo_Staples">Staples 71</a>).<br /> <br /> Not everyone is negatively affected by online gaming, just like not everyone is affected by alcohol. Most of the scientific literature, however, has concluded that quite a significant number of adolescents not only grow anti-social, but also neglect school and even their health to play the game.<br /> <p id="mmo_c4"><strong>Tossing Schoolwork for the Game?</strong></p><br /> Many studies have negatively correlated performance in school to time spent gaming (<a href="#mmo_Gentile">Gentile 17-19</a>). There is no wonder because when students spend time gaming, they can’t spend that time on homework. The recent study from Hope Cummings and Elizabeth Vandewater found that male gamers spent 30% less time reading than their non-gaming counterparts and that female gamers spent 34% less time doing homework (<a href="#mmo_Cummings">Cummings and Vandewater 688</a>).<br /> <br /> This is not to say that school and technology should never be mixed. According to Douglas Gentile’s literature review, studies have found that students who use computers actually have greater academic success, but those who use the computer for gaming purposes lost that success (<a href="#mmo_Gentile">Gentile 18</a>).<br /> <br /> These studies specifically dealt with younger students, but it’s clear that gaming habits also translate into problems in college. A survey from the Pew Research Center questioned students of higher education regarding gaming and schoolwork. The results were startling. Ten percent of the survey’s respondents admitted to playing specifically to avoid schoolwork. Even more disturbing were the unintended consequences. Almost half of the respondents to this study said that playing games kept them from studying (<a href="#mmo_Jones">Jones et al. 1</a>).<br /> <p id="mmo_c5"><strong>Why Work Out when I can be a Digital Athlete in Seconds?</strong></p><br /> By the definition in this paper, gaming could be called an addiction if it significantly interferes with an adolescent’s health. This is because health takes time, time many obsessed gamers don’t have. Sleep is a great example. About half of young MMORPG players (ages 12-22) admit to loosing sleep in order to play the game (<a href="#mmo_Yee">Yee 2</a>).<br /> <br /> The American Medical Association has also expressed concern regarding the overuse of video games in general and its effects on health. According to the twelfth report at their 2007 meeting, excessive gaming has been linked to epileptic seizures, obesity, and musculoskeletal diseases (<a href="#mmo_Khan">Khan 3</a>). “Indeed, there is even a form of tendinitis named ‘Nintendinitis,’ caused by repeatedly pressing game-controller buttons with one’s thumb” (<a href="#mmo_Gentile">Gentile 20</a>). All of these health problems are directly related to the time spent playing video games. Addicted MMO gamers will invariably game even at the cost of their health.<br /> <p id="mmo_c6"><strong>Am I Ruining Reality for Virtual Reality?</strong></p><br /> Ignoring one’s social life, schoolwork, and health in order to play with a flashing screen clearly isn’t logical. Digital games certainly have their place, but they have stepped out of it in the lives of many modern adolescents. That would actually include mine. I wasn’t a “hard-core” gamer, but I certainly have let games get in the way of more important jobs. This experience left me with a question: what is so addictive about moving lights? I found two answers. Gaming, especially online, is both chemically stimulating and emotionally fulfilling.<br /> <p id="mmo_c7"><strong>The Digital Drug?</strong></p><br /> Most adults have no idea what is going on when they see their adolescents being lost in the online game. Often puzzled parents simply dismiss it as “just a game.” Yet, for many addicted teens, it’s more than just a game. It’s “life” in the same chemical way that cocaine is “life” to a drug addict.<br /> <br /> Video games actually release many of the same chemicals in the brain that drug addicts thrive on. The first study to track a neurological chemical known as dopamine in the human brain using a PET scan was conducted in 1998 by British scientists who used video games as their experimental variable. The results they found indicated that the amount of surplus dopamine, the same chemical stimulated by cocaine, doubled when their subjects played a video game (<a href="#mmo_Koepp">Koepp et al. 267</a>). This evidence led Dan Costa, an editor at the pro-gaming publication PC Magazine, to conclude:<br /> <blockquote> “Video games are not like cocaine, your brain thinks they are cocaine. And if you doubt that, try to take the controller out of [my son’s] hands before he reaches a save point.” (<a href="#mmo_Costa">Costa</a>)</blockquote><br /> <p id="mmo_c8"><strong>Fast Food Fulfillment</strong></p><br /> Addiction to online video games is not only a chemical phenomenon; it can also be an emotional attraction. In a very real sense, MMOs artificially fulfill the basic goal of adolescents: to grow up.<br /> <br /> Take, for example, the situation of the Bruners provided at the beginning of this paper. The Bruners finally wrote a book for parents on the gaming experience. They state that the “role playing elements of video games tend to draw a child back repeatedly, in part because the child has adopted a temporary replacement identity” (<a href="#mmo_Bruner">Bruner and Bruner 51</a>). For adolescents specifically, the identities they play in many MMOs give them a thrill of adulthood without the risks of adulthood.<br /> <p id="mmo_c9"><strong>Risky Playtime</strong></p><br /> While playing an MMO certainly isn’t evil, this seemingly innocent pass time can put reality at risk. Role playing games are super-sized versions of what we think reality should be. Compared to the glittering world of Second Life, “real life” is rather dull. Compared to the dopamine rush of EverQuest, schoolwork is boring. MMO addiction often throws adolescent lives by the wayside, promising to replace them with the lives of digital heroes. It certainly can be like a digital drug.<br /> <p id="mmo_c10"><strong>References</strong></p><br /> <p id="mmo_Bruner" align="left">Bruner, Olivia, and Kurt Bruner. <em>Playstation Nation</em>. New York: Center Street, 2006.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Costa" align="left">Costa, Dan. “Turn It Off, Kids!” Editorial. <em>PCMag.com</em> 4 April 2007. 8 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2109568,00.asp">http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2109568,00.asp</a>.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Cummings" align="left">Cummings, Hope M., and Elizabeth A. Vandewater. “Relation of Adolescent Video Game Play to Time Spent in Other Activities.” <em>Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine</em> 161.7 (2007): 684-689. 8 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/161/7/684">http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/161/7/684</a>.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Gentile">Gentile, Douglas A. “Examining the Effects of Video Games from a Psychological Perspective.” <em>National Institute on Media and the Family</em> Nov. 2005. 7 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://www.mediafamily.org/research/Gentile_NIMF_Review_2005.pdf">http://www.mediafamily.org/research/Gentile_NIMF_Review_2005.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Jones" align="left">Jones, Steve, et al. “Let the Games Begin.” <em>Pew Internet and American Life Project</em> 6 Jul. 2003. 7 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_College_Gaming_Reporta.pdf">http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_College_Gaming_Reporta.pdf</a>.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Khan" align="left">Khan, Mohamed K. “Emotional and Behavioral Effects of Video Games and Internet Overuse.” 2007 <em>AMA Annual Meeting</em>. Council on Science and Public Health, June 2007. 8 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/467/csaph12a07.doc">http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/467/csaph12a07.doc</a>.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Koepp" align="left">Koepp, M. J., et al. “Evidence for Striatal Dopamine Release During a Video Game.” <em>Nature</em> 393.6682 (1998): 266-268.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Staples" align="left">Staples, Brent. “What Adolescents Miss When we Let Them Grow up in Cyberspace.” <em>The McGraw-Hill Reader</em>. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. 9th Ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. 70-71.</p><br /> <p align="left">&nbsp;</p><br /> <p id="mmo_Yee" align="left">Yee, Nicholas. “Ariadne.” Oct. 2002. <em>NickYee.com</em>. 7 Mar. 2008 <a href="http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/addiction.pdf">http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/addiction.pdf</a>.</p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=20#post-31 Mon, 19 May 2008 23:35:03 +0000 annex 31@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <p>good day<br /> Probably the catholic priest they don't want the children doing a video games..They are<br /> sincerely to those making a addict in a game...suppose to do is reading a book and etc.<br /> ___________________<br /> Anna Ford<br /> Comprehensive resources for those looking for recovery from addiction. <a href="http://www.addictionrecovery.net" rel="nofollow">http://www.addictionrecovery.net</a> </p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=26#post-30 Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:26:30 +0000 brian 30@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ This weekend (March 29-30) is the 18th "Just Pray No" world wide weekend of prayer and fasting.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.justprayno.org/">Just Pray NO! Ltd.</a> mainly focuses on drug and alcohol addiction, but I think that praying for those held captive by addiction to video games is also appropriate.<br /> <br /> For Christians specifically, it is important not only to avoid addiction, but also to avoid <a href="http://www.cgames.com/?page_id=13">idolatry</a>. Video games can very easily turn into idolatry if we place them about God. No one else can tell you if gaming has become an idol, because it is a matter of the heart, but they can help you realize it for yourself. Be honest with yourself and answer some of these questions. What do you think?<br /> <ul><br /> <li>Have you played games and not done your (school)work?</li><br /> <li>Do you spend more time in the digital world or spending quality time with your family?</li><br /> <li>How about prayer? Do you spend more time praying or thinking about gaming?<br /> As Christians, we are supposed to pray continually. (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Thessalonians%205:17;&amp;version=49;">1 Thessalonians 5:17</a>) Are you praying while playing games?</li><br /> <li>If you could play games or read your Bible which you you most likely do? What do you spend the most time doing?</li><br /> <li>When you talk to friends, do you talk more about God and his word or about digital games?</li><br /> <li>Since we as Christians are not to use our freedom such that it causes others to stumble, (<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%208:9;&amp;version=49;">1 Corinthians 8:9</a>) we also needs to ask: have your gaming habits ever influenced anyone else to spend too much gaming?</li><br /> </ul><br /> For those who find themselves making an idol out of games and for their families, there is a way out. We have said that there really is no one size fits all solution, which is true, but there is a one size fits all beginning. That beginning is prayer. Everyone who wishes to conquer any addiction needs to start by going their knees. (and then continue praying)<br /> <br /> I could conclude with some profound statement, but I really think God said it best:<br /> <blockquote> "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."<br /> <p align="right"> ~<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2010:13;&amp;version=31;">1 Corinthians 10:13, NIV</a></p><br /> </blockquote><br /> <p align="left">Amen? Now please join us in prayer.</p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=25#post-29 Thu, 28 Feb 2008 23:51:27 +0000 Thomas 29@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ An interesting documentary is coming out soon about Massively Multilayer Online Role Playing Games. MMORPGs are some of the most addictive video games available. The film follows the lives of several gamers and promises to reveal the hidden virtual worlds most people know nothing about.<br /> <br /> Trailer:<br /> <br /> <object height="355" width="425"><br /> <param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RPOxuOCGi9I&amp;rel=1&amp;border=0"></param><br /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><a href="http://www.cgames.com/wp-admin/" style="left: 0px ! important; top: 16px ! important" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-08484027479849369 visible ontop"></a><a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/RPOxuOCGi9I&amp;rel=1&amp;border=0" style="left: 0px ! important; top: 16px ! important" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-08484027479849369 visible ontop"></a><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RPOxuOCGi9I&amp;rel=1&amp;border=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /> <br /> It looks interesting. Once it comes out expect a full review here on the blog. For more info visit <a href="http://www.secondskinfilm.com/">SecondSkinfilm.com</a> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=24#post-28 Sat, 09 Feb 2008 12:13:16 +0000 Thomas 28@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ Originally Published in the <a href="http://www.thsc.org/REVIEW/">THSC Review<br /> </a>by Thomas Umstattd, Jr.<a href="http://www.thsc.org/REVIEW/"><br /> </a><br /> <br /> “Come on, Mom. … Just a few more minutes; I’m almost done with this level.” Parents have all heard it: a child’s pleading to get just a little more time to play. I know. I was that child.<br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.cgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/game-adict.jpg" alt="Game Addict" /><br /> <br /> When I lived in a college dorm, my room was across the hall from a gamer, whom I will call “Dominique.”He played the computer game World of Warcraft for sixteen hours or more each day. He stopped going to class and eating at the cafeteria, and he withdrew from anyone outside of the game. He took only brief breaks to pick up fast food to eat while playing. The artificial greatness of gaining Level 70 replaced the adventure of following Christ in his life. How could someone become so consumed by a mere game?<br /> <strong><br /> The Problem</strong><br /> Unfortunately, Dominique’s story is not an isolated occurrence. Nearly 2.8 million gamers play for thirty hours a week or more. Some of those gamers play for as many as sixty, or even eighty, hours a week. Oh, and gaming is not just for kids anymore. According to the <a href="http://www.docstoc.com/docs/131745/Essential-Facts-2006">Entertainment Software Association</a>, gamers are thirty-three-years-old, on average, and sixty-nine percent of American heads of households play digital games.<br /> <br /> It gets worse. Imagine those hard-core gamers as parents and spouses.<!--more--> The resulting impact on their families is similar to any addition: neglect, abandonment, and divorce. There are online groups, such as <a href="http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/EverQuest-Widows/">EverQuest Widows</a> and <a href="http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/WOW_widow/">World of Warcraft Widows</a>, which together have over 10,000 members. Many of these women believe that they have lost their husbands to gaming addiction. While some have filed for divorce, others feel separated by a digital chasm that they cannot cross, and they do not know what to do. They are bitter, hurt, and angry. Their stories would break your heart.<br /> <br /> One woman posted the story of how her husband quit work so he could have more time to play. After a while, he hardly talked to her as he spent his entire day in the digital world. When she went through a difficult pregnancy, her husband was so glued to his game that her parents had to move in to care for her. Now her son is two years old and has spent maybe twelve hours of quality time with his father—ever. Her grief is palpable as she describes feeling abandoned, a single mom in the presence of her husband.<br /> <br /> What appears to be an innocent pastime can easily become a slippery slope into a life-devouring addiction. But what makes games so addictive?<br /> <br /> <strong>Your Brain on Games</strong><br /> You have probably heard long, scientific words like endorphins, adrenaline, and dopamine in connection with drugs like cocaine. You might be familiar with how they can cause addictive reactions. You probably have educated your children about the dangers of addiction and warned them to stay away—far away—from drugs. What you may not know is that a gaming addiction involves the same biochemicals as cocaine.<br /> <br /> Several British researchers did<a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v393/n6682/abs/393266a0.html"> a study</a> on the brain in which their test subjects played a game while a PET scanner monitored their brain activity. They found a “two-fold increase in levels of extracellular dopamine” while the gamers were playing. Dopamine is what gives a high similar to that of cocaine. And for good reason: it is the same chemical released when you take cocaine. Dopamine, adrenaline, and endorphins unite to form a powerfully addictive combination. This is why it is so hard to get your son to stop playing and go to bed.<br /> <br /> <strong>Longing for Significance</strong><br /> However, the draw of computer games goes much deeper than just biochemicals. Gaming also artificially satisfies our longing for significance. In digital games, players do not compete for a regional high school match. They play for the Super Bowl. They do not save a cat out of a tree; the save the world. Video gaming offers an easy path to artificial greatness, without the responsibility and hard work required for true success.<br /> <br /> I think it is this need for significance, more than the biochemicals, that entices people like Dominique. The more he played, the more significant he became in the game, and the less significant he became in the real world. This draw for significance sucked him into a virtual world as much as physically possible.<br /> <br /> <strong>Shepherding Your Gamer’s Heart</strong><br /> What do you do if you have a child who is into digital gaming? There is no simple answer. Taking the PlayStation out of the living room is much easier than taking it out of your child’s heart. Your gamer may have a chemical and emotional addiction to the gaming experience, and removing the Xbox may be as effective as getting all the beer out of the house of an alcoholic.<br /> <br /> The best thing to do depends on the age of your gamer. Removing the games or game system is more effective for younger children. If your gamer is older, he will need to understand the problem so that he can say “no” himself. I have watched many teens either count the days until graduation or just play at a friend’s house because their parents threw away the console. The PlayStation may have been out of the house, but it lingered in the heart of the gamer like a cancer.<br /> <br /> Some gamers need nothing less than spiritual surgery, and this can only be done by the hand of the Great Physician. God did this to me by refocusing my priorities on Christ. My Web site, <a href="http://www.cgames.com">Cgames.com</a>, has a test for gamers to use to examine their hearts to see if gaming has become a problem. You may find it helpful when discussing this issue. The site contains many other resources to help you deal with this difficult problem.<br /> <br /> Thomas Umstattd, a former gamer, directs <a href="http://www.cgames.com">Cgames.com</a>, a Web site and podcast dedicated to providing a Christian perspective on digital games. He graduated from twelve years of home schooling in 2004 and is currently writing a book on the dangers of digital gaming, offering a plan for action. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=23#post-27 Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:57:58 +0000 Thomas 27@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ One of our blog readers sent in an interesting alternative to gaming: carpentry.<br /> <br /> <img src="http://www.cgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/measuretwice2.jpg" alt="Tree House" style="float: left" align="left" />Franklin Springs a family media company has put together a <a href="http://www.franklinsprings.com/films/measuretwice/">DVD</a> on how to create an amazing tree house. In the <a href="http://www.franklinsprings.com/news/webisode_1/">sneak-peak</a> they mention how the last several generations of men have missed out on the joy of holding a hammer and making something with their own hands. They even mention video gaming as one of the causes.<br /> <br /> Many young men turn to gaming because they don't have a father active in their lives. If you are a dad and want to help your son with his gaming addiction, buy him a power saw and a hammer and teach him how to use it. If you don't know how, the <a href="http://www.franklinsprings.com/films/measuretwice/">Measure Twice Cut Once DVD</a> may be just what you need.<br /> <br /> For more information you can visit <a href="http://www.franklinsprings.com/">FranklinSprings.com</a> or watch the <a href="http://www.franklinsprings.com/news/measure_twice_cut_once_trailer_now_online/">DVD trailer</a>. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=22#post-26 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:23:37 +0000 brian 26@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ Micheal Pearl, a renowned Christian author who has written extensively on parenting, has a monthly publication entitled <a HREF="http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/magazine/">No Greater Joy Magazine</a>. In the latest edition, he contains what I consider to be <a HREF="http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/topics/marriage-family/family-interest/article-display/archive////playstation">some very insightful thoughts</a> on the whole gaming issue.<br /> <br /> This particular article was in response to a letter he received. The letter writer had already been convinced that his sons had created an <a HREF="http://www.cgames.com/?page_id=13">idol</a> of Playstations. This father's question was about how to win his sons over to living a life apart from the <a HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931722749?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=cgames-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=1931722749">Playstation nation</a><img WIDTH="1" HEIGHT="1" BORDER="0" STYLE="border-top-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-top-width: medium; border-left-width: medium; border-right-width: medium; border-bottom-width: medium; border-top-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; float: left; display: none" SRC="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=cgames-20&amp;l=as2&amp;o=1&amp;a=1931722749" />.<br /> <br /> You may have heard Thomas say: "Its easier to get the game out of your home than it is to get it out of your gamer's heart." Mr. Pearl has some advise on how to accomplish both: "'Never take something away without replacing it with something more interesting and better.'"<br /> <blockquote>"Rather than doing a police raid and confiscating the wicked thing, provide them with a more interesting alternative that will cause them to choose to walk away from the altar of digital deity."</blockquote><br /> Some creative examples are listed:<br /> <blockquote>"It may be that they do not find anything as fun as punching buttons and looking at a flashing screen. But I know some things that will get their attention—a day shooting guns, camping, fishing, hunting, fixing up an old pickup truck for them to drive when they get old enough—taking it out to the country on a Saturday and letting them drive just a little on the back roads. <strong>A normal ten-year-old will drop a Playstation to sit behind a real wheel and feel the power of the gas pedal. </strong>Skateboarding, paintball battles, rappelling down cliffs, making bows and arrows, and throwing knives and tomahawks are just a few of the radical things that will get a kid’s attention. You just need to think outside of your own box."</blockquote><br /> As someone who was a ten-year-old at one point, he's right. For me, it was speech and debate that really got my attention, I found that once you get the hang of it, research and public speaking can create a rush comparable to the one gamers experience. I'm serious. It's addictive <em>and </em>productive.<br /> <br /> Being a former gamer myself, I consider this to be true "Pearls" of wisdom. But don't just take my word for it, <a HREF="http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/topics/marriage-family/family-interest/article-display/archive////playstation">read it for yourself</a>. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=21#post-25 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 20:36:28 +0000 admin 25@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ This is a talk that Thomas Umstattd Jr. gave at the West Austin Rotary Club on the dangers of digital gaming. We talk about the chemical triggers of gaming addiction such as dopamine and adrenaline as well as the emotional addictive triggers such as the longing for significance. We also discuss gamer widows.<br /> <br /> Links<br /> <ul><br /> <li><a TARGET="_blank" HREF="http://www.olganonboard.org/">Online Gamers Anonymous</a></li><br /> <li><a HREF="http://www.cgames.com">cgames.com</a></li><br /> </ul><br /> <strong>Transcript</strong><br /> <br /> Welcome, in this episode we are going to be listening to a talk that I gave at the West Austin Rotary Club on September 5th, 2007. This will provide a good overview of many of the dangers of digital gaming. Unfortunately I didn't start my recorder right at the beginning of the talk so we have to catch it part way though. Alright, let's get started!<br /> <br /> He had been playing games all day. Basically he would wake up and he would play in the morning and the afternoon. He started playing this game called War to World Craft and he stopped going to class. He stopped going to work. He stopped going to the cafeteria. In fact, he stopped doing anything but playing the game.<br /> <br /> After a while he just disappeared from school because he knew that he was failing all of his classes. Unfortunately, Danial, is not at all an isolated instance. There are organizations on line called "World to War Craft Widows." When I saw these organizations I didn't take them seriously. I was like, "what on earth?"<br /> <br /> But together they have over 10,000 members. These are who feel like they have lost their husbands because their husbands are horribly addicted to video gaming or computer gaming. The stories that they share break my heart. They get married. They're happily married and then say, their husbands go off to war and he starts playing. He comes back a different person. He's playing the game 80 hours a week. He doesn't want to talk with her. He doesn't want to have any sort of conversations. These marriages are crumbling and these women are getting divorced. It's a tragic story.<br /> <br /> We're like; "Where are these people? Why haven't I seen them?" The thing is is when someone is playing for 80 hours a week they are invisible to society. They might work or they may not but we don't see them. It's not like gambling where there's a foreclosure sign in the front yard and we can detect it economically. Still it's destroying families in a very similar way that gambling is. Many parents and grandparents don't feel equipped to help their children though this issue.<br /> <br /> <!--more-->Who here is more technically savvy than their children. We have a handful. That's normally about what I get. For me growing up, I was the IT guy. I was the one who fixed the computer. I was the one who built the computers and tried to convince my parents that it really was time to get another computer. My parents had no idea what gaming had become in my life because I was able to mask it from them. I was able to make it look like I was doing things that where productive.<br /> <br /> My goal today is to inform you of some of the dangers of video gaming so that you as parents and grandparents can know more about the issue and make correct and informed decisions with your children.<br /> <br /> Now, quickly, I'm going to start on the groundwork. Pretty much what we all agree on. So far most of the discussion on gaming has been on content. One of those content issues is that games objectify women. You don't have to play a video game for very long to know that women, in the game, are kind of turned into objects of lust. They wear very little clothing and they are very much so disproportional.<br /> <br /> It's amazing when you have 20 year old guys that have the ability to create their own woman and put her in the game. She doesn't look like most average women. Also gaming tends to glamorize crime. There is this game called "Thief" where the players are often children. These children take on the role of a thief and the goal of the game is to rob nobles, to rob tombs, to rob whatever.<br /> <br /> So we're glamorizing crime as well and also violence.<br /> <br /> I'm sure I don't need to convince you that games are violent. I'm sure you've heard it on the media because that's what we've been talking about. Here is a picture of Jeanette Loise Clairmont she's French and she's in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest person on record. She lived to be a 120 years old. Until she was a 119 she smoked everyday of her life. I use this example because it's often portrayed in the media that everybody that smokes gets lung cancer and dies, especially if they smoke for a long time. But that's not true. She's just one example of someone who died with a perfectly good set of lungs in the grave.<br /> <br /> But just because lung cancer doesn't kill everyone doesn't mean it doesn't kill anyone. This is true with gaming as well. Just because some people don't get addicted doesn't mean that no one gets addicted. Another thing about games is when you play them on line the content gets worse. You may of purchased a game for your child. You checked it out and read the reviews on line. It looked like a pretty good game so you got if for him.<br /> <br /> The problem is is when you take that game on line other players introduce new lines of content and advertisements for sexually explicit websites or sexually explicit encounters. There is a lot of cussing. They try to put filters on the games but as a gamer I know that gamers are more clever then the filters and able to get around them.<br /> <br /> Another thing with content is something called an "Easter Egg. and a "mod." An "Easter Egg" is a part of the game that is hidden from the radars and the parents and usually only gamers can find them. Sometimes that is something hidden by the programmers like a picture of the programmers and their names. Other times it is something that is very sexually explicit and very graphic. There have been games that have lost their rankings because these "Easter Eggs" where revealed and someone took it to the media.<br /> <br /> These are the rankings that the have for games right now. When they started when the Electronic Rating Board was started they wanted to use the Hollywood system because everyone knows it but Holly Wood said absolutely "No!" So they said that's fine. We'll just change the letters. Instead of "G" for General it was "E" for "Everyone." Instead of "R" for "Restricted" it's "M" for "Mature."<br /> <br /> When you're picking out games based on content these are somethings to look at. But that is not what I'm here to talk to you about. Most of you are already familiar with content. You've heard it in the media, you've heard it in the press.<br /> <br /> The thing that is a more dangerous problem is the addiction. That is what I'm going to be talking about. One of the things that makes gaming addictive is the chemicals that are released by the brain. Researchers have just recently began to study what goes on in the brain when people are playing. They had people play while they where plugged into an EGI and they found out that the human mind lights up like a Christmas tree when they're playing games. They are just beginning to understand what all goes on in there.<br /> <br /> One of the thing that happens is adrenaline is released. Adrenaline, especially for young guys like me is really addictive. We will do just about anything to get an adrenaline rush. In fact so much adrenaline is released that the American Medical Society does not consider it a sedentary activity like watching TV. They did studies that show that you heart is beating 20% faster. You're breathing like 15% faster. You're taking in more breath because the game is putting you physiologically in an arena where it's like life of death. Winning or losing. That adrenaline is flooding though your body even though you're just sitting at a computer.<br /> <br /> This is why you can't understand why your young people are playing for so long and why they love it so much. For me as a gamer one of the things we used to do was compare the adrenaline with a whole bunch of caffeine that amplifies that buzz that we get from adrenaline. Caffeine gets the heart beating even faster. This alone is pretty addictive but it is not the only chemical released. Another chemical released is endorphins.<br /> <br /> If you ever go running and you have a good feeling after you go running, it's called the "runners high" it's because your body is releasing endorphins. They trigger the same parts of your brain that opium does. Opium is a pain killer and it's addictive. It's good because we get it when ever we achieve something. In the game you get to go higher up and higher up and your brain is releasing constantly releasing endorphins.<br /> <br /> They did a study where they took some children that had just had sugary. They gave them game boys right after surgery to play while they where recovering. Then they took another group of children and did not give them game boys. They found that the children with no game boys needed half as much pain killer and that they asked for half as much pain killer as the ones who did not have the game boys. Because they had painkilling endorphins flooding though their bodies.<br /> <br /> But the most addictive chemical by far is dopamine.<br /> <br /> Dopamine is the chemical released when you're having sex. It's the chemical released when you're taking cocaine. It is extremely addictive. To show you how addictive it is let me read you a quote from <a HREF="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2109568,00.asp">PC magazine</a> which is a pro-gaming, they say; "It turns out that playing video games activates the Bengali portion of the brain. The region that releases dopamine. This is the region of the brain that is affected by cocaine. The problem is is that this means that there is less dopamine available when the child needs to perform other less enjoyable task such as homework. Video games are not like cocaine but you're brain thinks that they are cocaine. If you doubt that try to take the controllers out of my son's hands before he reaches the safe point."<br /> <br /> Can any of you relate to that. You try to get them to stop playing but they just will not release the controller? The problem is is when they're playing video games it releases the chemicals so that they have less chemicals to function in real life. Our body where created to release dopamine as a thing to encourage us to achieve greatness, to go on and to take risks and accomplish things. What happens is that it gets drained out of our bodies so we have a generation of young people who are performing poorly academically. SAT scores are lower this year than they have been in 10 years and every one is trying to figure out why?<br /> <br /> There are many reasons why. I'm not going to say that gaming is the only reason but I will say that gaming is contributing because I see the effects as a student and as a young person I see effects on wanting to study hard and to work hard amongst my peers.<br /> <br /> However, that is not the only way that gaming can be addictive. They can also be emotionally addictive. Dale Carnegie in his book "How To Win Friends and Influence People." It's a great book. It's been out for 70 years. It talks about how we are all motivated by the desire to be significant. That feeling of significance comes from different places.<br /> <br /> In a video came you become significant. You aren't playing for a high school football game you're playing for the Super Bowl. You're not trying to rescue a cat out of a tree you're saving the world. Or if you're playing Star Wars the Galaxy you in a matter of moments can become a master general or a warrior. You become significant. The most addictive types of games. The games you play on line. The ones that never stop you're not only significant in the game but you're also significant before other humans with whom you're competing with. They say; "Oh, wow! You're level 50 wizard. You are very powerful! We respect you."<br /> <br /> This may sound silly to us but this is why people like my friend were playing for 80 hours a week. The thing is is that the more time we invest in becoming great and significant in the game the less time we have to invest life and passion in real life. You have all walked the path of greatness and you know that getting there is not an easy path.<br /> <br /> You have to work, you have to struggle, you have to face real difficulties, and real struggles and you have to overcome that. Gaming allows you to shortcut that. In gaming you get to skip the difficult path to greatness. All you have to do is turn on the computer or the Xbox and BOOM! You are great! You are powerful! You are respected! This is why they become so addictive.<br /> <br /> Another problem with gaming is that inherently nepotistic. The reason we play is to make ourselves happy and to give ourselves pleasure. That's not a bad thing but what happens when someone really gets into gaming it becomes the only thing that they shoot for. Their whole life is consumed for living for their own pleasure, their own happiness. Of all the great and wonderful things they could shoot for they are really just shooting their arrows and putting them back into their quivers. They are choosing to not try at all.<br /> <br /> This is a tragedy that is plaguing my generation. I'm seeing it on the ground floor. When we come before parent's or grandparents we rattle off all of these things that we are wanting to do but very often we are not doing anything to make those dreams come about into a reality.<br /> <br /> Now this is not to say that happiness is not a bad thing, far from it. Happiness is the natural by product of a life well lived but there is so much more to life than happiness. It's like living our lives to eat. Is food important? Yes! But there is so much more to life than just living to feed ourselves.<br /> <br /> One of the major frustrations it that gaming does not fill that hunger. You are not actually significant, you are just artificially significant. What that means is that, the people I see that are gamers are not happy. They are entertained and they are amused but they aren't actually happy because they aren't actually accomplishing anything. They aren't actually a powerful warlock or a powerful elf. Instead he is really just a guy sitting at his computer playing.<br /> <br /> They laugh, no one understood it when I was in it. They would say "it's just a TV screen or it's just a computer game. How on earth could you become so involved?" But once you are inside it is your entire life. It tends to consume your motivations and your longings.<br /> <br /> So now what? Is the answer to just shoot the TV and get rid of the Xbox? From my experience it is much easier to get the Xbox out of your house than to get the Xbox out of your child's heart. You see if they really are addicted. If they actually do have a chemical addiction it's like taking all of the alcohol out of the house of the alcoholic's. It might be helpful but if they haven't chosen themselves to go to Alcoholic's Anonymous and to get sober they are not going to get sober. It's the same way with gaming.<br /> <br /> That's why I'm here to help parents. I have a book, it's called "<a HREF="http://www.cgames.com/?page_id=15">PlayStation Nation</a>" it was written by some parents who walked with their children though it and it had all of their struggles outlined in it. I also have a DVD of this talk that you can show your gamers if that is what they need. It is also available on line.<br /> <br /> I'm also writing a book about this as well because I'm wanting people to realize that gaming is not harmless fun. It's like drinking alcohol, it can be healthy in small doses but it can also be very harmful. So my suggestion for you is to help your children or the gamer if your life because many of them are much older, help them say "yes" to something else.<br /> <br /> For me something that really helped was I got rid of my PC. I got a Mac. Macs don't do games very well. They don't! But they do just about everything else. If you want to do a pod cast or a movie or graphic art or a website, Macs, which also run Microsoft allows you to your homework and to do creative productive things on your computer without all of the destructive things.<br /> <br /> So in conclusion, are all games bad? They aren't necessarily evil but they are dangerous. They are a lot like alcohol. If any of you have been in and gone though Alcoholic's Anonymous you know that often times people don't understand what a bondage it can have. People are like, "it' just a glass of wine." You're like, "no, this is not just a glass of wine! This is my life! This is what I'm living for."<br /> <br /> Actually the reason many people drink is the same reason that many people game. Moderation. Take wine, in moderation it can be very good for you. It has a whole long list of health benefits but if it isn't taken in moderation it can destroy your whole entire life and gaming is that same way.<br /> So does any one have some questions?<br /> <br /> Audience: "The man that played for 80 hours a week; was he married?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "The answer is sometimes. Sometimes the people that do play for 80 hours a week are married. It's just tragic. Sometimes they'll even quit their jobs so that they can play more. Then their wife is working and actually supporting their habit. Sometimes the wife will get a divorce or their girl friend will break up with them. It's very detrimental.<br /> <br /> I read a story on line about a man who had stopped his job to play and his wife went though this horrible pregnancy with all of these complications and he was so glued to his computer that he wouldn't help her. She was on bed rest so her parents had to come in from out of town to help her. When this woman wrote the story she said: "My son is now 2 years old and he has spent maybe 10 hours of quality with his father." So, yes, sometimes they are married, sometimes they get divorced but it's just tragic when it gets to that point."<br /> <br /> Audience: "So someone is often times the enabler?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "Yes. We really need to start viewing this as we would alcohol and we need to deal with it with the same amount of tact and diplomacy as we would acohol."<br /> <br /> Audience: "When did you ever see the your problem?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "It really was a journey. God really brought a lot of conviction<br /> <br /> because it was coming between my relationship with Him. So that He really triggered my conscience. I really struggled with a verse that said: "When I was a child I spoke as a child and acted like a child but when I became a man I put away childish things." That got all of the gears in my head turning. I was like; "Wow! I want to be a man. I have this longing to be a man of God and this is totally keeping me in the realm of childishness.<br /> <br /> Also doing things such as Speech and Debate, that was very challenging and very difficult and very scary and it required a lot of time so it pulled me away from gaming because I didn't have time. I was doing this other thing now so I had a bigger "yes" in my life. Now for a younger person that might be difficult. It might even be something as simple as Little League baseball. You know you get them playing Little League and suddenly they're outside, they're active, they're making friends and if they are good at it they will really catch on to it and pursue something besides video games."<br /> <br /> Audience: "What is a healthy amount of time to play on the computer?<br /> <br /> Thomas: "Some people they can only drink one glass of wine and they are having trouble finding the door, others can knock down a whole bottle of wine and they are just fine (or at least they say they are) so it really just depends on the child. You want to look for triggers or clues. Are they choosing gaming before they do anything else? When ever they have free time is it their number one choice all of the time? That is a give away that it might be a problem.<br /> <br /> Another thing is what are they wanting to talk to their friends about? Are they a balanced child? Are they wanting to talk about all sorts of things? or is it pretty much games all of the time? For me as a gamer it was games all of the time. I looked for friends who were gamers too so that I could talk to them about games. Our conversations would be telling each other stories of the games we had played. I'm not kidding! This is what we would talk about how we couldn't wait till the next newest game would come out. But as parents you are the one that gets to make that decision."<br /> <br /> Audience: "Is there a Gamers Anonymous?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "I've actually started a website cgames.com that will provide that resource to gamers. There is also an on line gamers anonymous that provides that. We don't have local chapters yet. Because this is so much a part of our society it's not viewed as a problem. Who has ever heard someone talk about the dangers of digital gaming before? Right, because pretty much no one is talking about it. We as a society have not yet enacted programs such as AA for gamers. I really would like to help with that. I know I really would of liked to have that when I was a gamer.<br /> <br /> Audience: "When do games get bad? When do you differentiate between games and digital interactive programs that help with say math?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "When I played educational games there were two types of educational games. There were the games that were made by actually game companies that hired a couple of teachers to get it by the parents and you didn't actually really learn anything. And then there were the games made by teachers that hired a couple of game designers to get it by the kids. So you either had the fun games or the educational games.<br /> <br /> Now I don't really know, I haven't played any math video games for quiet a while. Some games such as typing games have gaming elements but they are still very good. My experience is, and I've played a lot of educational games, my parents kept trying to get me to play the educational ones instead of the regular ones but I didn't learn very much and they weren't as fun as the other ones. My point of view, from a gamers perspective was that they were sold to the parents more that they were the actually gamers."<br /> <br /> Thomas: "You can there are a couple of games such as the one that he is talking about such as World to War Craft and 2nd Life where you will do things in the game to make money and then you could go on eBay and sell the game money for real money. There are a lot of things that you can make money and not help humanity improve. I'm not going to say that everyone who plays games is harming society. There are a lot of people that do that and it takes a lot of commitment and but it's still not like working a real job as far as the amount of money that you will get back for most people."<br /> <br /> Audience: "What is the breakdown between male vs female?"<br /> <br /> Thomas: "There is a breakdown. It's a lot like alcohol but even more so. Men play a lot more than women and they play longer than women. If you look at people who play games it's about even but then if you see how long they play the men play a lot more. Women might play solitaire for 30 minutes while many of the guys will play for hours upon hours. Now that is not totally true. There are many stories of women who get sucked in as well. On the Widows or Widowers groups there are many men who are "widowed" as well. But for the most part the worst cases are normally men. I have many theorys as to why that is. It might just be because we are geekier then the ladies or something like that.<br /> <br /> This is Thomas Umstattd Junior and thank you for listening. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=20#post-24 Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:46:03 +0000 admin 24@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <img src="http://www.compuchristian.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/videogameca.jpg" alt="2 kids playing a video game" /><br /> <br /> Here are some interesting thoughts from Father Raymond J. de Souza<br /> <br /> “Don’t play video games. Don’t own them. And for the sake of all that is good and holy, don’t buy them for your children.<br /> <br /> “Video games are like a black hole into which time disappears. Students today often confess to wasting a couple of hours a day on them. Corporate Canada likely loses whole weeks of productive work to those who are playing games at work. Video games have some kind of addictive allure that means any number of hours is not enough. It is always possible to play again — to rise to that “next level” which somehow acquires near-mystical importance. They are the crack cocaine of the electronic world.”<br /> <br /> He also says<br /> <br /> “My mother, whose principal goal in bringing up her children was not to affirm our self-esteem, was fond of telling us that only unintelligent children got bored. Our house had books and toys and siblings, and we had our imaginations — my mother thought that more than sufficient for any child to amuse himself. Television, let alone video games, wasn’t necessary.”<br /> <br /> Read the full article <a href="http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/parenting/pa0131.htm">The crack cocaine of the electronic world.</a><br /> <br /> Thanks to <a href="http://the-storygirl.blogspot.com/">Brenda</a> for the link. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=19#post-23 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:44:14 +0000 admin 23@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <strong>Summary<br /> </strong><br /> <br /> According to the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/us/07halo.html">New York Times </a>, Churches all over the country are using video games such as Halo 3 to attract young people. Is this a good idea? What about young people struggling with video game addiction? How should churches reach video gamers? In this episode we talk to former youth leader <a href="http://rayw.blogspot.com/">Ray Wilson</a> about these questions and more.<br /> <strong>Links</strong><br /> <ul><br /> <li><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/us/07halo.html">Thou Shalt Not Kill, Except in a Popular Video Game at Church (NY Times Article)</a></li><br /> <li><a href="http://rayw.blogspot.com/">Ray Wilson's Blog</a></li><br /> </ul> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=18#post-22 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:43:48 +0000 admin 22@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <strong>Summary</strong><br /> <br /> In this episode we talk with Kimberly S. Young the director of the <a href="http://www.netaddiction.com/" target="_blank">Center for Internet Addiction Recovery</a> about the nature of online addiction.<br /> <br /> Here are some of questions we discuss:<br /> <ul><br /> <li>What are the symptoms of gaming addiction?</li><br /> <li>How do you know if you are addicted?</li><br /> <li>How do you help a loved one who is addicted.</li><br /> </ul><br /> <strong>Links</strong><br /> <ul><br /> <li><a href="http://www.netaddiction.com/" target="_blank">Center for Internet Addiction Recovery</a></li><br /> <li><a href="http://store.netaddiction.com/index.aspx?tabindex=0&amp;tabid=1&amp;productid=20&amp;directoryid=+12&amp;ctrl=productdetails" target="_blank">Breaking the Denial: Confronting a Loved One Addicted to the Internet</a></li><br /> </ul><br /> <strong>Transcript</strong><br /> <br /> Welcome to cgames.com podcast. My name is Thomas Umstattd Jr. We're on the line with Dr. Kimberly Young an internationally known expert on internet addiction and on-line behavior. She is currently the director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery. She is also the author of Breaking Free of the Web, Catholics, and Internet Addictions.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas Umstattd: </strong>Dr. Young as a physiologist what is gaming addiction?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young: </strong>Well, one of the things that we've been seeing here in the last few years is the growth of gaming addiction which really seems to be people who are staying on line longer than intended, they are people that are very pre occupied with gaming, they are people who will jeopardize relationships, careers, or even sleep to stay on line.<br /> One of the strange things that we've seen is that it's not just young people but also a lot of older adults as well. It seems that the warning signs need to be looked at both for the kids that are doing this and the adults.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>: </strong>What are some of those effects on those older gamers; like their families and such?<br /> <br /> <!--more-->Dr. Kimberly Young: I think that is the thing is that these older gamers or adult gamers are people that are neglecting; you know like parents not spending any time with their children or their doing this at work and maybe getting fired from their jobs. You really start seeing some real cost to this behavior that says this is more than just a hobby or a passing interest. It's becoming a real problem.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> So why do you think people get addicted to gaming? What are some of the causes would you say?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young: </strong>For a lot of people the games themselves are role playing games. So people can go online and take on another role. That can vary from a very quiet and shy person becoming a dominant warrior in the game. I worked with one sophomore in college. He was really someone who was never seen as a strong guy. His brother was a baseball star. His brother had great grades. His brother was just kind of the all rounded type of guy where as he was kind of the misfit of the family, the one who didn't fit in but in the game he had a very powerful character. He was very good at it. He led groups, he was in a guild. He led maybe 70 other gamers though these fields. So there is a lot of mental or psychological rewards that come though these games so people can invent part of themselves online and maybe that character that they are playing on line, they like better or that person is just more accomplished at the kind of things that they haven't been able to achieve in their real life.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>: </strong>That's amazing! So people are able to find a significance in the virtual world that they aren't able to find in the real world.<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young:</strong> Yeah, they really can. These characters normally have a lot of symbolic of physiological meaning. People with low self-esteem would be more likely to gravitate towards these games because it feels something that is missing. As I said before, there is that idea of being recognized because it's not just like a video game where you are enhancing your eye/hand coordination and the game itself like what you would see in an arcade, but you are playing with other people in real time and you have a lot to accomplish and strategize.<br /> It causes simulation as well. It's a very intellectual process. So you do see wind up seeing people that are very smart but they don't have fulfillment in their everyday lives so they can go online and fulfill that.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>: </strong>So what are some of the signs of addictions, if you're a gamer how can you know when you're gaming is starting to get out of hand?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young: </strong>Well, pretty much as I was saying. You're staying online for excessive hours and you become very preoccupied, meaning that when ever you're off line you're thinking about the games. Some people will dream about game. I know some college students skip classes just to game or they stay up to all hours of the night and they're just to tired to go to school the next day or workers will just be to tired to go to work the next day. I mean, there are even some people that are so afraid to leave the games, that they eat at the computer, they don't bathe, don't shower, and they just sit there and won't leave it because they're afraid something will happen.<br /> And again, we're talking about something that has gone beyond; "Well, I like playing this for a few hours." It's where they're playing for hours at a time and it is normally at some sort of cost.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> That was good what you said about dreaming. I remember as a gamer, games used to preoccupy my dreams quiet a bit. I thought that I was the only one but I got online and I found out that that is quiet a common side effect for gamers. They're dreams are just bombarded with dreams of the game itself.<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young: </strong>Yes, and another sign too, is just the physical effects too. Gaming for hours and hours and just sitting at the computer people can get back problems from sitting there. They might get carpel tunnel syndrome from clicking on the mouse, they might get eye problems, eye strain. So physically it's not good to just sit at the computer for a great length of time on a daily bases.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> One of the questions I get a lot in my talks is; "What about people who make money on online games like Second Life or War to War Crafts where you can earn items in the games that you can actually sell for real money on eBay or other web sites. Does that money making potion alleviate any of the dangers of does that strengthen the dangers?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young: </strong>Well, I would think that with the money making it makes it worse in the sense that it can be part of the fulfillment. You can become an enterer and sell property that you can buy things that you need in the games like weapons or World to War crafts. All of this is not profitable and it kind of enhances the whole experience because it's not just "I can win a battle" anymore it's "I can also make money off of this." So it builds on itself and it just enhances the whole experience because if you can get something tangible out of it as well you think that it is justified. "This isn't an addiction, I'm making off of this. I'm an enterer." So there is defiantly that way of rationalizing that behavior too.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> What would you give as way of advice to someone who say, her husband is gaming too much of their son is gaming to much? What do you do in that situation when you aren't the gamer but you're the loved one of the gamer?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young:</strong> Well, I think that is the hardest role. We get a lot of calls from parents of or spouses of the gamer. They were very despondent. They said; "we don't know how to stop this behavior for my husband or my child." You know, the greatest problem is to try to confront any addict. It doesn't matter if we're having to deal with alcoholics or gaming addicts. There is not a real sure fire answer. People say; "What am I supposed to do?" I would say that it's a lot of work to get them to realize that they have a gaming addictions. I know what we do a lot of times is a family intervention where you have to sit down with all your family members, lets say that is dad that is addicted. So the kids, mom, maybe the dad's parents, you know friends. Anyone who sees the problem and they do a confrontation, if you will, with the addict. Talking about some of the problems caused by this behavior.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>: </strong>Do you have any resources on how to carry out a family intervention or any advice on the best way to do that?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young:</strong> Well, actually, we do have a booklet on our site at net addictions. com called "Breaking the Denial" and that booklet has step by step guide if you are going to do a family intervention, how to set it up, a good time to talk to the addict, obviously not when they're at the computer, and maybe the things to try to include when you talk to them and the reactions that you might encounter. I mean, obviously when ever you're confronting an addict it isn't just a welcomed opportunity. They might feel defensive and threatened, maybe even angry that you are trying to take away something that they enjoy so much because they don't see the problems the way you do so it's kind of an up hill battle sometimes, explaining to them that they are harming themselves.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> Do you recommend for gamers to come off cold turkey or is it better to do a kind of gradual approach?<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young:</strong> You know, for myself, what I've seen, some really like the gradual approach. I know sometimes kind of the therapy that is involved is just realizing what that game means to that person and upping their motivation to want to quit. A lot of people under therapy don't really want help. They're just there because their mom or dad said that they need to come but they don't really want to stop. The problem is kind of like how do you treat an alcoholic that doesn't want to quit? Probably not as effectively as someone who says "I have a problem and I want to quit this and get a hold on my behavior." At least then you have more of a chance. Again it's the same thing. Gaming addiction isn't as highly recognized as, we've talked about alcoholism, or we're minimizing it because it doesn't involve an intoxicating substance that over time could kill you. Where as crack or cocaine or things of that nature would.<br /> <br /> So there is a lot of justifications that you have to work though so when I'm talking about treatment, the early phases are not just about the game and stopping the game but about "why are you gaming? What is this doing for you psychologically" And then finding another out look and way of achieving those rewards so that eventually the gamer will say "you know what? I've got it! I need to quit!" Then you've really had success when the accept it but getting to an acceptance in any addiction is a very difficult process.<br /> <br /> <strong>Thomas </strong><strong>Umstattd</strong><strong>:</strong> One of the things that I say in my talks is; "it's a lot easier to take the play station out of your house than it is to get it out of your child's heart. I think that has a lot to do with it.<br /> Well, thank you so much for coming onto the show. Tell us more about your web site and the resources that it offers.<br /> <br /> <strong>Dr. Kimberly Young:</strong> Well, one of the things for gamers is the "self test." I know that you asked a couple of times about the criteria. We have a list that defines gaming addiction and a little test that you can take, and also a booklet that talks specifically about gaming as an obsession. It's geared towards parents, since often their the ones on the front line. We also have some articles, a blog, and a pod cast as well. We want people to be able to get information. http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=17#post-21 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:34:19 +0000 admin 21@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <p>This is a talk that Thomas Umstattd Jr. gave at the West Austin Rotary Club on the dangers of digital gaming. We talk about the chemical triggers of gaming addiction such as dopamine and adrenaline as well as the emotional addictive triggers such as the longing for significance. We also discuss gamer widows.</p> <p>Links</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.olganonboard.org/" target="_blank">Online Gamers Anonymous</a></li> <li><a href="http://www.cgames.com">cgames.com</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>Transcript</strong></p> <p>Welcome, in this episode we are going to be listening to a talk that I gave at the West Austin Rotary Club on September 5th, 2007. This will provide a good overview of many of the dangers of digital gaming. Unfortunately I didn't start my recorder right at the beginning of the talk so we have to catch it part way though. Alright, let's get started!</p> <p>He had been playing games all day. Basically he would wake up and he would play in the morning and the afternoon. He started playing this game called War to World Craft and he stopped going to class. He stopped going to work. He stopped going to the cafeteria. In fact, he stopped doing anything but playing the game.</p> <p>After a while he just disappeared from school because he knew that he was failing all of his classes. Unfortunately, Danial, is not at all an isolated instance. There are organizations on line called "World to War Craft Widows." When I saw these organizations I didn't take them seriously. I was like, "what on earth?"</p> <p>But together they have over 10,000 members. These are who feel like they have lost their husbands because their husbands are horribly addicted to video gaming or computer gaming. The stories that they share break my heart. They get married. They're happily married and then say, their husbands go off to war and he starts playing. He comes back a different person. He's playing the game 80 hours a week. He doesn't want to talk with her. He doesn't want to have any sort of conversations. These marriages are crumbling and these women are getting divorced. It's a tragic story.</p> <p>We're like; "Where are these people? Why haven't I seen them?" The thing is is when someone is playing for 80 hours a week they are invisible to society. They might work or they may not but we don't see them. It's not like gambling where there's a foreclosure sign in the front yard and we can detect it economically. Still it's destroying families in a very similar way that gambling is. Many parents and grandparents don't feel equipped to help their children though this issue.</p> <p>Who here is more technically savvy than their children. We have a handful. That's normally about what I get. For me growing up, I was the IT guy. I was the one who fixed the computer. I was the one who built the computers and tried to convince my parents that it really was time to get another computer. My parents had no idea what gaming had become in my life because I was able to mask it from them. I was able to make it look like I was doing things that where productive.</p> <p>My goal today is to inform you of some of the dangers of video gaming so that you as parents and grandparents can know more about the issue and make correct and informed decisions with your children.</p> <p>Now, quickly, I'm going to start on the groundwork. Pretty much what we all agree on. So far most of the discussion on gaming has been on content. One of those content issues is that games objectify women. You don't have to play a video game for very long to know that women, in the game, are kind of turned into objects of lust. They wear very little clothing and they are very much so disproportional.</p> <p>It's amazing when you have 20 year old guys that have the ability to create their own woman and put her in the game. She doesn't look like most average women. Also gaming tends to glamorize crime. There is this game called "Thief" where the players are often children. These children take on the role of a thief and the goal of the game is to rob nobles, to rob tombs, to rob whatever.</p> <p>So we're glamorizing crime as well and also violence.</p> <p>I'm sure I don't need to convince you that games are violent. I'm sure you've heard it on the media because that's what we've been talking about. Here is a picture of Jeanette Loise Clairmont she's French and she's in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the oldest person on record. She lived to be a 120 years old. Until she was a 119 she smoked everyday of her life. I use this example because it's often portrayed in the media that everybody that smokes gets lung cancer and dies, especially if they smoke for a long time. But that's not true. She's just one example of someone who died with a perfectly good set of lungs in the grave.</p> <p>But just because lung cancer doesn't kill everyone doesn't mean it doesn't kill anyone. This is true with gaming as well. Just because some people don't get addicted doesn't mean that no one gets addicted. Another thing about games is when you play them on line the content gets worse. You may of purchased a game for your child. You checked it out and read the reviews on line. It looked like a pretty good game so you got if for him.</p> <p>The problem is is when you take that game on line other players introduce new lines of content and advertisements for sexually explicit websites or sexually explicit encounters. There is a lot of cussing. They try to put filters on the games but as a gamer I know that gamers are more clever then the filters and able to get around them.</p> <p>Another thing with content is something called an "Easter Egg. and a "mod." An "Easter Egg" is a part of the game that is hidden from the radars and the parents and usually only gamers can find them. Sometimes that is something hidden by the programmers like a picture of the programmers and their names. Other times it is something that is very sexually explicit and very graphic. There have been games that have lost their rankings because these "Easter Eggs" where revealed and someone took it to the media.</p> <p>These are the rankings that the have for games right now. When they started when the Electronic Rating Board was started they wanted to use the Hollywood system because everyone knows it but Holly Wood said absolutely "No!" So they said that's fine. We'll just change the letters. Instead of "G" for General it was "E" for "Everyone." Instead of "R" for "Restricted" it's "M" for "Mature."</p> <p>When you're picking out games based on content these are somethings to look at. But that is not what I'm here to talk to you about. Most of you are already familiar with content. You've heard it in the media, you've heard it in the press.</p> <p>The thing that is a more dangerous problem is the addiction. That is what I'm going to be talking about. One of the things that makes gaming addictive is the chemicals that are released by the brain. Researchers have just recently began to study what goes on in the brain when people are playing. They had people play while they where plugged into an EGI and they found out that the human mind lights up like a Christmas tree when they're playing games. They are just beginning to understand what all goes on in there.</p> <p>One of the thing that happens is adrenaline is released. Adrenaline, especially for young guys like me is really addictive. We will do just about anything to get an adrenaline rush. In fact so much adrenaline is released that the American Medical Society does not consider it a sedentary activity like watching TV. They did studies that show that you heart is beating 20% faster. You're breathing like 15% faster. You're taking in more breath because the game is putting you physiologically in an arena where it's like life of death. Winning or losing. That adrenaline is flooding though your body even though you're just sitting at a computer.</p> <p>This is why you can't understand why your young people are playing for so long and why they love it so much. For me as a gamer one of the things we used to do was compare the adrenaline with a whole bunch of caffeine that amplifies that buzz that we get from adrenaline. Caffeine gets the heart beating even faster. This alone is pretty addictive but it is not the only chemical released. Another chemical released is endorphins.</p> <p>If you ever go running and you have a good feeling after you go running, it's called the "runners high" it's because your body is releasing endorphins. They trigger the same parts of your brain that opium does. Opium is a pain killer and it's addictive. It's good because we get it when ever we achieve something. In the game you get to go higher up and higher up and your brain is releasing constantly releasing endorphins.</p> <p>They did a study where they took some children that had just had sugary. They gave them game boys right after surgery to play while they where recovering. Then they took another group of children and did not give them game boys. They found that the children with no game boys needed half as much pain killer and that they asked for half as much pain killer as the ones who did not have the game boys. Because they had painkilling endorphins flooding though their bodies.</p> <p>But the most addictive chemical by far is dopamine.</p> <p>Dopamine is the chemical released when you're having sex. It's the chemical released when you're taking cocaine. It is extremely addictive. To show you how addictive it is let me read you a quote from PC magazine which is a pro-gaming, they say; "It turns out that playing video games activates the Bengali portion of the brain. The region that releases dopamine. This is the region of the brain that is affected by cocaine. The problem is is that this means that there is less dopamine available when the child needs to perform other less enjoyable task such as homework. Video games are not like cocaine but you're brain thinks that they are cocaine. If you doubt that try to take the controllers out of my son's hands before he reaches the safe point."</p> <p>Can any of you relate to that. You try to get them to stop playing but they just will not release the controller? The problem is is when they're playing video games it releases the chemicals so that they have less chemicals to function in real life. Our body where created to release dopamine as a thing to encourage us to achieve greatness, to go on and to take risks and accomplish things. What happens is that it gets drained out of our bodies so we have a generation of young people who are performing poorly academically. SAT scores are lower this year than they have been in 10 years and every one is trying to figure out why?</p> <p>There are many reasons why. I'm not going to say that gaming is the only reason but I will say that gaming is contributing because I see the effects as a student and as a young person I see effects on wanting to study hard and to work hard amongst my peers.</p> <p>However, that is not the only way that gaming can be addictive. They can also be emotionally addictive. Dale Carnegie in his book "How To Win Friends and Influence People." It's a great book. It's been out for 70 years. It talks about how we are all motivated by the desire to be significant. That feeling of significance comes from different places.</p> <p>In a video came you become significant. You aren't playing for a high school football game you're playing for the Super Bowl. You're not trying to rescue a cat out of a tree you're saving the world. Or if you're playing Star Wars the Galaxy you in a matter of moments can become a master general or a warrior. You become significant. The most addictive types of games. The games you play on line. The ones that never stop you're not only significant in the game but you're also significant before other humans with whom you're competing with. They say; "Oh, wow! You're level 50 wizard. You are very powerful! We respect you."</p> <p>This may sound silly to us but this is why people like my friend were playing for 80 hours a week. The thing is is that the more time we invest in becoming great and significant in the game the less time we have to invest life and passion in real life. You have all walked the path of greatness and you know that getting there is not an easy path.</p> <p>You have to work, you have to struggle, you have to face real difficulties, and real struggles and you have to overcome that. Gaming allows you to shortcut that. In gaming you get to skip the difficult path to greatness. All you have to do is turn on the computer or the Xbox and BOOM! You are great! You are powerful! You are respected! This is why they become so addictive.</p> <p>Another problem with gaming is that inherently nepotistic. The reason we play is to make ourselves happy and to give ourselves pleasure. That's not a bad thing but what happens when someone really gets into gaming it becomes the only thing that they shoot for. Their whole life is consumed for living for their own pleasure, their own happiness. Of all the great and wonderful things they could shoot for they are really just shooting their arrows and putting them back into their quivers. They are choosing to not try at all.</p> <p>This is a tragedy that is plaguing my generation. I'm seeing it on the ground floor. When we come before parent's or grandparents we rattle off all of these things that we are wanting to do but very often we are not doing anything to make those dreams come about into a reality.</p> <p>Now this is not to say that happiness is not a bad thing, far from it. Happiness is the natural by product of a life well lived but there is so much more to life than happiness. It's like living our lives to eat. Is food important? Yes! But there is so much more to life than just living to feed ourselves.</p> <p>One of the major frustrations it that gaming does not fill that hunger. You are not actually significant, you are just artificially significant. What that means is that, the people I see that are gamers are not happy. They are entertained and they are amused but they aren't actually happy because they aren't actually accomplishing anything. They aren't actually a powerful warlock or a powerful elf. Instead he is really just a guy sitting at his computer playing.</p> <p>They laugh, no one understood it when I was in it. They would say "it's just a TV screen or it's just a computer game. How on earth could you become so involved?" But once you are inside it is your entire life. It tends to consume your motivations and your longings.</p> <p>So now what? Is the answer to just shoot the TV and get rid of the Xbox? From my experience it is much easier to get the Xbox out of your house than to get the Xbox out of your child's heart. You see if they really are addicted. If they actually do have a chemical addiction it's like taking all of the alcohol out of the house of the alcoholic's. It might be helpful but if they haven't chosen themselves to go to Alcoholic's Anonymous and to get sober they are not going to get sober. It's the same way with gaming.</p> <p>That's why I'm here to help parents. I have a book, it's called "PlayStation Nation" it was written by some parents who walked with their children though it and it had all of their struggles outlined in it. I also have a DVD of this talk that you can show your gamers if that is what they need. It is also available on line.</p> <p>I'm also writing a book about this as well because I'm wanting people to realize that gaming is not harmless fun. It's like drinking alcohol, it can be healthy in small doses but it can also be very harmful. So my suggestion for you is to help your children or the gamer if your life because many of them are much older, help them say "yes" to something else.</p> <p>For me something that really helped was I got rid of my PC. I got a Mac. Macs don't do games very well. They don't! But they do just about everything else. If you want to do a pod cast or a movie or graphic art or a website, Macs, which also run Microsoft allows you to your homework and to do creative productive things on your computer without all of the destructive things.</p> <p>So in conclusion, are all games bad? They aren't necessarily evil but they are dangerous. They are a lot like alcohol. If any of you have been in and gone though Alcoholic's Anonymous you know that often times people don't understand what a bondage it can have. People are like, "it' just a glass of wine." You're like, "no, this is not just a glass of wine! This is my life! This is what I'm living for."</p> <p>Actually the reason many people drink is the same reason that many people game. Moderation. Take wine, in moderation it can be very good for you. It has a whole long list of health benefits but if it isn't taken in moderation it can destroy your whole entire life and gaming is that same way.<br /> So does any one have some questions?</p> <p>Audience: "The man that played for 80 hours a week; was he married?"</p> <p>Thomas: "The answer is sometimes. Sometimes the people that do play for 80 hours a week are married. It's just tragic. Sometimes they'll even quit their jobs so that they can play more. Then their wife is working and actually supporting their habit. Sometimes the wife will get a divorce or their girl friend will break up with them. It's very detrimental.</p> <p>I read a story on line about a man who had stopped his job to play and his wife went though this horrible pregnancy with all of these complications and he was so glued to his computer that he wouldn't help her. She was on bed rest so her parents had to come in from out of town to help her. When this woman wrote the story she said: "My son is now 2 years old and he has spent maybe 10 hours of quality with his father." So, yes, sometimes they are married, sometimes they get divorced but it's just tragic when it gets to that point."</p> <p>Audience: "So someone is often times the enabler?"</p> <p>Thomas: "Yes. We really need to start viewing this as we would alcohol and we need to deal with it with the same amount of tact and diplomacy as we would acohol."</p> <p>Audience: "When did you ever see the your problem?"</p> <p>Thomas: "It really was a journey. God really brought a lot of conviction</p> <p>because it was coming between my relationship with Him. So that He really triggered my conscience. I really struggled with a verse that said: "When I was a child I spoke as a child and acted like a child but when I became a man I put away childish things." That got all of the gears in my head turning. I was like; "Wow! I want to be a man. I have this longing to be a man of God and this is totally keeping me in the realm of childishness.</p> <p>Also doing things such as Speech and Debate, that was very challenging and very difficult and very scary and it required a lot of time so it pulled me away from gaming because I didn't have time. I was doing this other thing now so I had a bigger "yes" in my life. Now for a younger person that might be difficult. It might even be something as simple as Little League baseball. You know you get them playing Little League and suddenly they're outside, they're active, they're making friends and if they are good at it they will really catch on to it and pursue something besides video games."</p> <p>Audience: "What is a healthy amount of time to play on the computer?</p> <p>Thomas: "Some people they can only drink one glass of wine and they are having trouble finding the door, others can knock down a whole bottle of wine and they are just fine (or at least they say they are) so it really just depends on the child. You want to look for triggers or clues. Are they choosing gaming before they do anything else? When ever they have free time is it their number one choice all of the time? That is a give away that it might be a problem.</p> <p>Another thing is what are they wanting to talk to their friends about? Are they a balanced child? Are they wanting to talk about all sorts of things? or is it pretty much games all of the time? For me as a gamer it was games all of the time. I looked for friends who were gamers too so that I could talk to them about games. Our conversations would be telling each other stories of the games we had played. I'm not kidding! This is what we would talk about how we couldn't wait till the next newest game would come out. But as parents you are the one that gets to make that decision."</p> <p>Audience: "Is there a Gamers Anonymous?"</p> <p>Thomas: "I've actually started a website cgames.com that will provide that resource to gamers. There is also an on line gamers anonymous that provides that. We don't have local chapters yet. Because this is so much a part of our society it's not viewed as a problem. Who has ever heard someone talk about the dangers of digital gaming before? Right, because pretty much no one is talking about it. We as a society have not yet enacted programs such as AA for gamers. I really would like to help with that. I know I really would of liked to have that when I was a gamer.</p> <p>Audience: "When do games get bad? When do you differentiate between games and digital interactive programs that help with say math?"</p> <p>Thomas: "When I played educational games there were two types of educational games. There were the games that were made by actually game companies that hired a couple of teachers to get it by the parents and you didn't actually really learn anything. And then there were the games made by teachers that hired a couple of game designers to get it by the kids. So you either had the fun games or the educational games.</p> <p>Now I don't really know, I haven't played any math video games for quiet a while. Some games such as typing games have gaming elements but they are still very good. My experience is, and I've played a lot of educational games, my parents kept trying to get me to play the educational ones instead of the regular ones but I didn't learn very much and they weren't as fun as the other ones. My point of view, from a gamers perspective was that they were sold to the parents more that they were the actually gamers."</p> <p>Thomas: "You can there are a couple of games such as the one that he is talking about such as World to War Craft and 2nd Life where you will do things in the game to make money and then you could go on eBay and sell the game money for real money. There are a lot of things that you can make money and not help humanity improve. I'm not going to say that everyone who plays games is harming society. There are a lot of people that do that and it takes a lot of commitment and but it's still not like working a real job as far as the amount of money that you will get back for most people."</p> <p>Audience: "What is the breakdown between male vs female?"</p> <p>Thomas: "There is a breakdown. It's a lot like alcohol but even more so. Men play a lot more than women and they play longer than women. If you look at people who play games it's about even but then if you see how long they play the men play a lot more. Women might play solitaire for 30 minutes while many of the guys will play for hours upon hours. Now that is not totally true. There are many stories of women who get sucked in as well. On the Widows or Widowers groups there are many men who are "widowed" as well. But for the most part the worst cases are normally men. I have many theorys as to why that is. It might just be because we are geekier then the ladies or something like that.</p> <p>This is Thomas Umstattd Junior and thank you for listening. </p> http://www.cgames.com/forum/topic.php?id=16#post-20 Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:33:56 +0000 admin 20@http://www.cgames.com/forum/ <p>This is our very first episode. Let me know what you think!</p> <p><strong>Transcript</strong></p> <p>Welcome to the very first episode of the cgames.com Podcast. This episode will serve as an overview and introduction to what we will be talking about in this Podcast. We are going to explore the dangers of computer and video gaming. And you are probably thinking video games? Video games, they aren’t dangerous. And for the most part we don’t see games as dangerous as a society.</p> <p>But digital games can be dangerous and that I exactly what we are going to be exploring throughout this Podcast. We are going to talk with current and former gamers as well as various experts and authors in the field. We are also going to talk with gamer widows and discuss the effect of gaming on families and society in general. This includes a lot more to do than just violence, sex, or other content issues like that. We are going to look at the whole effect of gaming.</p> <p>My name is Thomas Umstattd Jr. and I am a former gamer and the director of <a href="http://cgames.com">cgames.com</a>. If you have any questions you can contact me on this blog or at my email. </p>