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WoW Addicts More Shameful Than Porn Addicts

Posted by Ty Colfax - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:17 AM

Dr. Jerald Block is an Oregon Psychiatrist who deals with gaming addiction, an ever-growing and, according to Block, under-recognized form of addiction with complicated pitfalls for treatment.

World of Warcraft addicts, for instance, have a hard time getting treatment because of the language barrier between the therapist and the patient as many psychiatrists have no idea what a guild is or what it means to advance in levels.

Even more interestingly, porn addicts feel less shame when addicted than WoW fans.

Block says: As a society we understand that porn is something people do, and you can see a psychiatrist and get treated for it. But gaming is hard to describe to anyone else. So these people can't explain their situation to friends. In fact, it's hard to give you an example of what my clients talk about, because gaming is enormously complicated.

Also, Jack Thompson apparently gets the first comment on the Game Politics article, and if that really is him, it shows how delusional and computer illiterate he really is.

gamepolitics.com: Shrink: WoW Addicts Feel More Shame Than Porn Addicts




Comment(s)

Posted by UndiscoveredBum - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:26 AM

Being a super nerd is now an addiction? Learn some self control for Christ sake. Even more pathetic people get paid to do this. I love video games, probably too much, but I realize if I have something in "real life" to day, video games get put on the shelf.

Posted by anonomousperson - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:31 AM

I think these "professionals" should go back to school. Why dont they ask the patients what a guild is? Im sure the patient would be very willing to help the "professional" understand.

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:33 AM

when the boogie man goes to sleep at night he checks for chuck norris under his bed.

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:34 AM

that is why you are not addicted. I actually had a class last semester about porn, video game, and internet addiction and how it same/different then chemical/substance addiction. Porn, video game, and internet addiction is in many ways very hard to treat, because it is psychologically addictive. Many drugs may have a psychological component to their addiction but for the most part are physically addictive which is why they have psychical withdrawal symptoms. Have an addiction to porn, video game, and the internet is just a lot different, you have to treat the psychological problems that lead to the addiction, keep the addiction going, and deal with the psychological withdrawal symptoms that arise when the addictive behavior has ended.

Posted by Smartguy81 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:34 AM

I have been WoW free for 10 months now.

Posted by Charades - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:41 AM

I bet Psychiatrists are addicted to WoW also.

Posted by UndiscoveredBum - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:42 AM

@sfubear

or you could use a little self control...Lacking that is a totally different story than just taking responibility for your actions. If someone lacks self control, they are retarded.

J/k lol

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:43 AM

actually i have noticed since i quite tobacoo a year ago after 11 years of use i still have dreams and strong mental addictions. i find myself keeping myself busy or occupied to fill up the time or activity smoking and chewing used to take up (chewing gum seemed to help). So @ sfubear i can say you are 100 percent correct (from my own experience with physicall and mental addictions).

Posted by Blackstaff01 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:46 AM

yeah, next thing on the horizon is some nasty pill from big pharma to treat this "addiction".

I call total BS, not on the Doctor - but the supposed "victim".

Posted by MadPaulKilla - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:50 AM

Isn't that why North or South Korea has those daycamps to deter internet addicts and all that jazz. My buddy is actually quite addicted to video games, my friends and were going out skateboarding which all of us have been doing for about 10 years and when we asked him he said why would I do that when I can just play Skate, we thought he was kidding....boy were we wrong.

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:55 AM

@ sfubear
so i retract part of my previous statement, you are right that the physicall addiction is shorter lived than the mental, however i find it hard to believe that some one who was addicted to wow would still have the mental addiction that i still do from nicotine after a year.
@ undiscoveredbum, u make a very valid point however slightly insensitive to mental addictions that can linger. Even though i have never been addicted (to an unhealthy point) to anything except nicotine and the friendly green lady named mary(mind you i no longer do either)

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:55 AM

@ undiscoveredbum

I am not saying that people shouldn't have self control, when I have stuff to do I don't play games and when I don't I probably play them to much. But we aren't talking someone who plays to many video games for to long a time, the article is addressing video game addiction and how it relates to the game WOW. Addiction as in when I do not have this in my life my psychological processes are interrupted/negatively affected/down right stopped. These people probably have extreme anxiety issues and panic attacks when they are not playing WOW or have not played WOW in so many hours. These people probably realize that their life is being negatively affected by the time they spend in game, but when they are not in game it is all tehy can think about

Posted by youenjoymyself - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:56 AM

i was up to a 3 packs a day...

Posted by XBLidriveushoot - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 10:57 AM

Game addiction is definetly all about self control. if you lack the control to know when enough is enough, then you are worthless.

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:00 AM

It isn't hard to compare people who are addicted to video games to people who are addicted to crack or heroin. The stupid 1000 character limit pretty much stops me from posting any real information but you can believe that the people who are addicted to WOW are in the same boat as people addicted to sex and drugs. These people aren't being stupid about it and slacking off in self control, these people have reached a level where self control is beyond their reach. If it wasn't that bad it would be an addiction
@torino_elite
Yeah quiting smoking was a very hard thing for me to do as well

Posted by Sandrock323 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:21 AM

I was going to say something but now I'm confused. It seems that the problem her is we can't seem to agree which came first, the lack of self control or the addiction. Did the person's lack of self control cause the addiction or did the addiction cause the lack of self control?

Posted by maque - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:28 AM

Yay for another doctor making up BS medical stuff selling it to people as a fix and profiting. People like him are the biggest crooks in our country.

Posted by tradiggy - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:32 AM

I never thought that I would ever be addicted to a game. I've been a gamer since intelevision, so that's a longtime. I've been playing WOW for 6 months now and I was hooked after the 1st week. I would find myself sitting for ten hours straight. I have seen the sun set and raise in one sitting. IS THAT SAD. My 6 yr old cheers me on, and now I got my husband hooked so he could get off my back. REALLY SAD!!!!! So now I only play 4 hours a day for 10 days straight and take 2 weeks off. After I fin quest, I reward myself with sometype of exserise and i don't eat and play. There is nothing wrong with playing the game, just realize that it is a game; and that life goes on with or without you. But to get rid of stress I like to go it and "BUCKOFF".

Posted by djHaQ - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:36 AM

Of course World of Warcraft addicts are. What shame is there in being a porn addict?

Posted by Ulrichgaming - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:43 AM

shouldn't you know what you are treating before you try to treat it?

Posted by altizar - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:48 AM

What's really missing is a valid definition of what consitutes an "addiction" when it comes to none physical things like gaming.

Posted by danielle007 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:05 PM

I'm kind of addicted to WoW .. But, it gets shut downn for my boyfriend & school & work & my friends. So, just .. have friends & a life? More or lessss.

Posted by luvmunkey - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:07 PM

Chuck Norris can eat twelve 72 oz. steaks in an hour. He spends twelve minutes eating th steaks, then the remaining fourty-eight minutes having sex with his waitress.

Posted by MutantEnemyMTL - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:15 PM

@djHaQ

My sentiments exactly. Being addicted to WOW is geeky but being addicted to porn is just being a guy (or in some cases a girl).

PS. An porn addicted girls out there. I'll show you mine if you show me your big box of porn'.

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:24 PM

addiction is to broadly used by a lot of people. a general definition that you may want to look at is "The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or or involved in something." I got this off the web, I have been trying to find my substance abuse textbook because it has a chapter in it about internet, porn, and video game addiction, but I can't find it anywhere. Addiction is more so defined by the behaviors that surround the individual while on the substance along with the behaviors with out it and how they change overtime the longer you go with out it. It is also characterized by the behaviors that one partakes in to fill the need to use the substance. In this instance the substance is WOW. While addiction to a chemical is different then some activity or stimuli psychologically it affect many parts of the brain regardless

Posted by panzerfist - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:25 PM

Would being a WoW addict count if you replace all you other gaming time with WoW? or any MMO for that matter? Such as now i haven't really played my XBOX or PS3 in a while. But really if you spend all your freetime playing videogames, if you don't have anything else to do, what's wrong with that? I mean reading a book for hours or days is fine but playing a game? IMO they both build a certain part of the brain in a positive way.

Posted by magopus6 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:27 PM

okay this is complete horse crud!! there is a major difference from wasting the hours of a day because your "addicted" to WoW, and wasting thousands of dollars, and your physical health on substance and drug addiction...you cannot compare the two. Risking yourself from not leveling up is completely bs compared to risking yourself to HIV, hepatitis and numerous other diseases associated with intravenous drug use. catch my drift here?

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:32 PM

I meant to say affects the same parts of the brain regardless. Again to anyone going to post and following this thread. There is a difference with really liking something to the point that you play it for hours at a time and many days out of the week and it being an addiction. Someone who really likes WOW or video games may may play for a really long time often but when something important comes up in their life they take care of it and put down the game, an addict CAN'T do this. even though smoking crack is completely different then playing a game, the part of the brain that is stimulated during either activity is much the same part.

Posted by SgtSmashBabies - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:35 PM

knocking*

father "Joey, what are you up to?"

rufling*

father "Joey..."

opens door*

father "oh my god! Is that tier 6?"

Joey "I'm sorry, my freinds showed me how to get to this"

father "we need to talk..."

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:37 PM

The people that are going to doctors and talking about addiction are the people who skipped their grandpa's funeral because they couldn't bare to leave the game for more then a couple of hours (and they tell everyone they are sick or something, this is a case reference in my text book), they are the people that don't go to work or school because if they do, they start to have anxiety problems do to the lack of gaming stimuli.

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:40 PM

if you have ever met a woman with crooked teeth, then you have met a woman that gave chuck norris head

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:42 PM

chuck norris is so strong that his smell alone could kick your @ss

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:43 PM

chuck norris is so fast he could run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head

Posted by Smartguy81 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:44 PM

Makes you wonder how many people have quit their jobs because of that game. I have a friend that did. He was / is a total loser. Did not collect a real paycheck for damn near 2 years. At least he had all BWL gear *sarcasm*. Once he had to get a job, the addiction ended.

Solution: Get a real job, or keep the one you have.

Posted by sinister6972 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:48 PM

"World of Warcraft addicts, for instance, have a hard time getting treatment because of the language barrier between the therapist and the patient as many psychiatrists have no idea what a guild is or what it means to advance in levels."


LOL!!!! I could only imagine!

(Dialogue)

Patient: I just can't do it Doc!

Doctor: Yes you can

Patient: I just need to level up Doc!

Doctor: Hmmm, tell me how you feel??

Patient: I feel like in order to see the light I need to level up!

Doctor: ????? Excuse me nurse! But can you dismiss all my calls from now on? We're gonna be here for a while...



LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:52 PM

@magopus6
No I do not think that the comparison between hard drugs and video game addiction is that far fetched. The major difference is the level of addiction and the risks involved in each addiction. People are so addicted to these hard drugs that they are willing to put themselves in dangerous situations to get their fix (enter AIDs and other diseases). Some homeless people (and other people) are willing to smoke cigarette butts they find on the ground and get sick, sometimes getting Gonorrhea (can be transmitted orally),hepatitis (rare but can happen), and many different forms of oral herpes. Video Game addicts are not faced with the same risks do to the fact that playing video games in itself is not dangerous. But many people eat and play or neglect eating at all, neglect any kind of physical activity, have piss and dump cans next to their computer desk.

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 12:55 PM

I'm talking way above and beyond where many of you are thinking this addiction level is at. Destroying relationships and burning all your bridges and destroying your own health for drugs is just as bad as people doing the same for porn, or the internet. This article isn't talking about the heavy hardcore players, it is talking about the people who have life altering behaviors that are based around playing the game. Like porn addicts often have fail marriages because they would rather look at porn then have sex, you starting to get he idea of what level of addiction this article is really discussing.
The dangers in drug addiction are worse but the level of risks and neglect that either addicts are will to go to is the same or at least at eh same level on every level

Posted by sfubear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 1:06 PM

whatever, I am done with this thread, I've seen the research and stats. Addiction is addiction no matter what it is too, there are different levels of addiction and along with them are different behaviors. Anything that destroys your life is a shame, whether it be through disease, serious health problems, social difficulties, or anything that affects someone's ability to live a healthy and productive life. someone who uses a lot of different drugs on a regular basis but can quite and not use them anymore because of them wanting to go on and live their life is no different then someone playing video games. If that person gets a disease from drug use it is because of the inherent dangers involved in drug use, but that doesn't mean that there are not dangers in video game addiction either, it is all about the level of addiction and the behaviors that follow that level of addiction coupled with the lengths at which someone is willing to go to to fulfill that need

Posted by anutjob - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 1:21 PM

lol.

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 1:34 PM

however drug euphoric feelings can only be replaced by other mind inhibiting drugs or alcohol. I know these guys who are addicted to video games can go out and find something with similar euphoria, (or so thats what i think)thats less harmful to thier lives. Maybe i see something different here, but i am seeing two completely different types of euphoric feelings.
or chuck norris can just come to your house kick your @ss and make you go to work.

Posted by rfwill13 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 2:17 PM

Hi im Will! and im a recovery addict I used to play WoW all the time but then I realized that I should have a life so I just quit Cold turkey and ive been WoW free for about 4 months!!!

Check out my blog about it on my myspace

www.myspace.com/rfwill13

Posted by nyadt - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:01 PM

@UndiscoveredBum:

When you can recall the ENTIRE history of Doctor Who, then AND now, then you're a super nerd. On the other hand, the adult industry's getting a MUCH needed rest! XP

P.S.: I'm a new school Whovian, so an old school or new school or a mix here, not offending and don't want to start a flame war!

Posted by Tylerbear - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:01 PM

It makes alot of sense to me and the pyschological field needs to adjust in order to compensate for new types of addiction.
a WoW addiction is just as bad as a drug addiction though they effect the user in different ways, i would not be surprised if, when tests are done, that they found playing WoW, for some, releases the same or similar levels of chemicals that drugs do - in order to get that euphoric feeling.
like many people i have witness first hand what the game does to people, i have experienced it myself and just like drug users who get to a point where they don't want to use anymore, WoW addicts should have a place to go where they can get a professional level of help, i suppose you could extend that to all video game addictions. unlike the internet its srs bizness, i mean babies have died because of people addictions to the game.

Posted by torino_elite - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 3:16 PM

@tylerbear,
dude drugs should not be compared to video games, and there is rarely a point in drug users life were they just reach a sudden stopping point (unless loss of mind or life happens). and if babies are dying cuz thier addictions to games that sounds like aload of crap. You cannot say video games give you the same feelings as drugs. unless you have never tried drugs or video games then your basing your opinions on hear say.

Posted by pupu - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 5:54 PM

Chuck Norris tears can cure cancer, to bad he never cries.

Posted by Lil_Jon83 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 7:34 PM

Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

Posted by magopus6 - Tuesday, June 10, 2008 8:32 PM

@sfubear

I will agree that the physical dependence and physical dangers associated with drug use are not present with video game addiction, and i agree that video game addiction is and can be a real addiction. I just wanted to clarify, and i should have done it better, that some of the dangers and what have you cannot be compared between the two. but i guess mentally....addiction is addiction, it comes in many different forms.

Posted by Turthan_Natner - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 12:47 AM

i never was that "addicted" to it... i just gave it up cus it was a boring grind fest that felt like work in a shiny tent with a little box next to it with a slot that says "insert 15 dollars here"
also
chuck norris never sleeps... he waits.

Posted by Sandrock323 - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:33 AM

Chuck Norris doesn't tea bag, he potato sacks

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:42 AM

where does a bear sleep? where ever chuck norris tells it to.

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:43 AM

whats the final step before a country can declare war? asking for chuck norris to approve.

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:45 AM

why dosent chuck norris give blood? The japenese haven't come up with a sharp enough needle yet.

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:47 AM

whats 3 feet long 1/2 foot wide 1 foot deep thats filled with shell casings human intrails and tears? chuck norris foot prints

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 7:51 AM

let me tell you what addiction is.... elder scrolls morrowind and oblivion. thats addiction, if you let it be. But chuck norris told me two hours a day so i had to quit.

Posted by Tylerbear - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 8:49 AM

@torino_elite
i never said that drugs give one the same feeling i only posited that they could possibly.
perhaps my point wasn't made right btu you cannot argue that they are both addictions and as such should be treated with the same or similar degree whether it be drugs or mmo's.
do some google search on babies dying because of neglect from parents.
the reasons are similar and the consequences are also similar for both drugs and WoW. do they effect the user in the same way? not entirely. physiologically i would say there might be similarities ie; similar brain chemical imbalances, withdrawl symptoms.
the comparison to drugs is not a bad one at all.

Posted by torino_elite - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 9:31 AM

yeah they both may be addictions but im sorry i can argue that treatment for someone hooked on heorine , crack or even e pills treatment and problems way differ from someone who "can't" stop playing video games. and as for the baby dying, someone on heorine or acid has no freggin idea whats going on and they have no idea that thier child dies. But a mother or father can sit thier and can't fight thier addiction to a video game but can fight off thier Motherly or fatherly instincts to save thier child (which by the way has been proven to be strongest and overwhealming of feelings) That just does not add up

Posted by spudfarmer - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 12:01 PM

IMO 'video game addictions' are brought on by too much time with not enought to fill it with (also the same as porn and drug IMO). So I feel that the best way to combat something like this 'addiction' is to get a full time job. If you have one and still have too much time, get another. At least you'll have plenty of money at that point to be able to buy a nice compyuter to play your 'addiction' on in the spare time that keeps coming around.

Posted by Tylerbear - Wednesday, June 11, 2008 2:59 PM

@Torino
thats why its an addiction. it drew the mother and father in SO much that they neglected their baby. similar to the way drugs can take people away from their family.
yes i know treatment will differ, i never argued that but that doesn't make them incomparable.
i know some people hooked on drugs and they know whats going and that they shouldn't be doing it but they still do, so to say that they have no idea whats going on is utter fallacy, though i would agree it may be possible because they are too far gone.
lastly, instincts can fail in the presence of addiction. the very idea of doing drugs is agaisnt our nature, (doing bad things against our bodies paradoxically though its also apart of our nature - curiosity.)

Posted by torino_elite - Thursday, June 12, 2008 7:20 AM

ok look, we obviously vary greatly in opinion.
I am just going to say this comparing a heavy drug user to a heavy gamer does not work. Maybe they are both addicted to somenthing but what they are addicted to are completely different. In the drug world this is almost like comparing a pot head to a smack head. One could very easily be quit due to the type of addiction and one is said to be the MOST addicting substance on earth. And if you think someone on a smack binge or meth binge has a good idea of whats going on your the one speakin fallacy. If you have ever done or really seen anyone on a heavy drug you would know this. Trust me your talking to someone who has over come heavy addictions and for me to hear that a video game is comparable to all the things i have quit pretty much makes me laugh.

Posted by Tylerbear - Thursday, June 12, 2008 3:04 PM

re-read what i said. i didn't contest the fact that when they are on the drug that they don't know what is going on. but theres a difference between addiction and using. you can be addicted to something and use it to varying degree but when you are not using most usually have an idea of what is going on and that was my point. addiction has varying degree it depends on the user. for example with hard drugs someone could use it once a week or once a day, they are still addicted and it may be just as hard to quit either way. the same is for WoW, some people devote every extra possible minute and then some to the game and some play it casually. have you ever been addicted to a video game? moreso, as addicted as some hardcore players out there? i don't think you have b/c if you did you'd understand that addiction is addiction no matter what the object of it is.

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