Addictive Gamers?

One of the media nasties involving gaming is the stereotype that gamers are people who are anti social, and disconnected with the real world. I assume this is because the "supposed" purpose of gaming is meant to be as an entertaining pass-time. Thus those who get addicted to games, take them too seriously and end up neglecting their "real" lives are immediately grouped as social rejects, losers, people who have issues etc. by the media. The problem is oversimplified as being nothing else but the addictive capacities of the game itself and the solution is to "obviously" get rid of them. There is a distinct overlap between addicted gamers and gamers who simply enjoy playing for long hours.

I agree that game addiction can be detrimental to some peoples familial and social lives when they neglect those who are important to them because they can't control their addiction towards the game. However, i believe there is a difference between an addicted gamer and a gamer who simply spends long hours playing games. In the first situation it can be the game that is the problem, but in the latter, the game can actually be the solution. Let me explain.

A gamers unsatisfactory real life can be the root of the problem to explain long hours spent gaming. This is not the same as game addiction, but more like a form of escapism and the game is used as a "balm" to heal the disappointments of real life. For example i know people who have abusive family lives, or locked out social lives, or those who are experiencing a midlife crisis with a failure to achieve their life goals. These people have all escaped towards gaming as a more satisfactory way to spend their time doing what they really want to do. The games offer avenues towards different situations where they can leave behind social and familial realities in order to be able to play themselves, only in a different situation. A better and more potentially rewarding situation. Games such as Perfect World, Second Life and The Sims all offer an alternate environment for the gamer to live their lives. An environment which they have more control over that has the advantage of making the gamer feel as though they are actually achieving what is important to them, versus in real life where various obstacles can block individuals from achieving their dreams.

I remember a few years ago, a friend of mine who was having problems at home and also problems being bullied by her high school friends would come over to my house so she could escape for several hours by playing the sims. Here she could create exactly what her avator looked like, this was important to her because she was being teased about the way she looked. I am still in touch with this girl and years later, i know that she still enjoys playing the sims as a means to escape the dissatisfaction of her own life. The game offers her a relief that she cannot find in real life.

If playing games can offer people happiness in ways that real life can't, and nobody else is getting hurt from a gamers actions in real life then i don't see how games are framed as a bad thing in and of itself. Game addiction can be detrimental, but games themselves can be used in many different ways, it all depends on the user.

- S. Subhan