Addiction in gaming. Misunderstood?

The discussions of addiction in terms of video games that came up in the lecture this week really got me to think about 'addiction' in video games in a different way. We are constantly fed this stereotypical image of the gamer in the basement, cut off from the 'real world', that they are 'addicted' to gaming and it is presented in a hugely negative light. But the question that was raised in the lecture which got to me was why is it gaming that is presented in this way, why is gaming addiction considered such a bad thing, and does it even exist? The idea of the release of dopamine as being the reason people are addicted to gaming, because it is a hormone which gives 'pleasure' cannot simply be aligned with playing video games. Why is it that reading a lot of novels doesn't get this negative representation? I think that the idea of gaming addiction can definitely be linked to the stereotype of the gamer as being antisocial and cutting themself off from reality, causing the assumption that being 'addicted' to games automatically makes you someone who can't do anything in their life but play.

Kevin mentioned World of Warcraft and the social aspect that goes along with that game that gets overlooked when gaming addiction is mentioned. The stereotype of being antisocial is challenged here, because even if it is not the traditional face to face interaction, it is still interaction and needs to be considered that way. This is especially necessary in the media age we are in, where social networking online is such a huge part of how people communicate. It seems that when you are playing World of Warcraft, not only are you invested in the game, but you are even more invested because of the people you interact with and play with. You probably feel as though you are missing things that are happening in your group if you are not playing a lot and this is definitely helped out by the subscription fee. The idea of 'problematic use' can come in here because if you cannot regulate your use, if you continue to spend time playing even if things are going wrong in your life because of it, then it becomes a problem. But the main issue here is that it doesn't seem exclusive to gaming. In my personal experience, the website tumblr is similar to this situation. I have never played World of Warcraft but I can identify with a lot of the aspects that are discussed around it and addiction. Tumblr is something I can lose hours on, because not only is it something that I go on and enjoy, there are people on there who I interact with, and if I do not go on often, it can feel as though I'm missing out on things. I find myself struggling to get off it and do my Uni work so much of the time which is where the idea of failing to self regulate can come in. But tumblr doesn't have the negative connotations that gaming has. And that is where the inherent issue lies.