Computer Gaming Addiction - Good or Bad

[TechMan]

Do you know anyone who plays computer games all the time? Perhaps their personal relationships, work and social life are suffering due to their desire to constantly play computer games? If this is the case, this person you know may have a computer game addiction.

With the rising popularity of online games where players must build their players up to higher levels to compete against other online players, it has become increasingly more common that people are using these games as an outlet to escape their regular life.

Parents of teens or even young children who are addicted to games often struggle with methods of returning their children to a normal life again. Treating computer addiction is not the same as treating other addictions as you usually can not completely remove the source of the addiction - the computer. In extreme cases this may work, however with teens and adults this is generally not an option as they are able to reacquire a computer themselves.

Treating computer gaming addiction should begin immediately as warning signs are noticed. These warning signs are things like the child or person spending upwards of 6 hours every day playing games. Also any personality changes, irritability and social withdrawal are triggers that computer gaming addiction is taking hold.

It may be the case that the computer game addict simply loses track of time when playing games. To combat this, place a simple timer near their computer. Set it for a set amount time (two hours is a good start), and suggest to them that once the timer goes off it is a sign that they have a breather and head out into the sunshine.

There are many other ways to cut down the amount of hours someone spends playing games. Whilst you may not be able to find a quick cure, it is a long term project that needs to be worked at on a day to day basis.