A Personal Tale of Being a Video Game Addict|| How I was able to Overcome it.
I entered the world of gaming
I was seven years old when I was introduced to arcade gaming. I can say that it is a fateful encounter because I just noticed the arcade shop in our place when I was walking on my way home.
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There's a group of kids surrounding a magical box called video game machine and the game as I recall is Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3.
They are all noisy and happy every time that the characters are fighting each other, I myself enjoyed those flashy moves and really got hooked on how each character fight and kill each other. Especially the part wherein they will be doing the FATALITY.
The 1 peso coin, which is the price of my fare to the tricycle that time, is saved so that I can have my 3 minutes of heaven. Little did I know that I am beginning to get more into that game and other games like Super Mario, Pacman, Donkey Kong and a lot more. I continued to play more games and save more from the money that my parents gave, I am not eating anything during recess because I want to extend the time that I will be playing. I become a "hustler" and a force to be reckoned with in our place due to my expertise.
No one was able to beat me while playing, I am invincible.
Fast forward high-school days online games where introduced, I was lucky enough to be able to witness the "Glory Days" of Ragnarok. I become a "cool guy" because I have a strong character and great items plus monster cards.
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This is when I start to feel that I am really addicted to gaming.
So here's a set of things that I did that made me realize that I am addicted.
I stopped going to school, I usually spent 8 hours or more in a computer shop.
If I am at home, I usually find myself irritated if I am not able to play at least once a day
I don't feel any hunger as long as I am playing, the only time that I will be leaving the computer screen is during "wee time and the number 2"
I started to lie and tell my parents that I have a "project" and I need to pay for it. (Where in fact I will just use it to have more hours to play)
As my addiction is really taking over me, somehow I really want to stop at the back of my mind but I am not really powerful enough to do it. The gratification and achievement that I am receiving it too much and really gives an awesome feeling. I have a lot of friends online friends like a party and a guild. I am an achiever!
Until one-day reality hit me hard, one of my classmates that has a crush on me care for me visited our home and talked to my parents while I am at "school".
She explained the situation to my parents and when I went back home I was scolded by my mother and father because of what I did and also father had a slight heart attack due to disappointment. ( Pops is okay now so don't worry) it was really a humiliating experience for me because what my classmate and teachers know I am not able to go to school because I am really sick which was written in the letter that I gave signed by yours truly pretending to be my mom.
That is because the figures that are being hit by the gaming addiction is really high especially teens as per the article Alarming Video Game Addiction Statistics
You may think that the numbers are really small but this study is just on the U.S. Market for some countries like South Korea, wherein the haven of MMORPG and even Japan the numbers are really big.
To at least stop the numbers on increasing there is a law implemented in South Korea that bans children 16 years old below playing video games from 12 AM to 6 AM. The law is called "Shutdown Law" and other coined it as "Cinderella law" if you know the story for sure you will understand why it is named "Cinderella Law"
In our country, I doubt if there are such rules and laws "gamers" usually play during those prime hours because for some magical reason internet speed is really good during those hours. Maybe because the network is not congested.
Lucky enough for me I was able to manage my addiction and was able to stop it. I still have some urge in playing though but after a few minutes/ hours playing I am getting bored already in the game. If ever that I am in the arcade at the mall I usually play like 2 or 3 rounds and then even if I haven't finished the game I will just stand up and leave the machine.
If the addiction is not that severe as it is not ruining your personal life yet what I can suggest from my experience is.
- Find a different hobby/ make yourself busy.
- While I am trying to stop my urge books has been my best friend. I am escaping reality but still, I am with my family plus I am not spending any money at all.
- Try to connect with other people "personally" like trying to go outside!
- Meet some folks who are not connected to the gaming world. For me, I have a set of gaming friends a while back and I have some friends that are not into games both of them I have a good relationship.
- Start limiting your gaming time.
- You can try while you are starting from 8 hours, 7 hours and so on.
To sum everything up here's a short youtube video testimony of a person who suffered video game addiction.
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In Japan they are called the Missing Millions as they forgo human interaction with game avatars and Non Player characters.
They become so enamored with the digital world that they forget the real world.
I still struggle with the addiction with video games but it has been replaced by a bigger addiction to steemit ahha
I plead guilty as charged hahaha
nako we are all guilty as charged na sa steemit.
Actually right now I felt that still I am not a part of the population 😂.
Neeto mode, lalabas lang ng bahay and socialize if needed.
Nice that you have that angel who intervene and changed you for the better. Heartthrob hehehe. :)
Haha thanks ate @zararina yes pero bitter pa ako nun 😂 kainis lang at sumbungera.
Fantastic
thanks @cinderz
Hahaha😂😂😂bait ng crush mo!!! Addict sya sayo ikaw naman sa games hehe😂😂😂
Bwahahaha may crush sa akin 😂. Kung kakapalan na ang mukha kapalan na.
In the name of steemit haha!!!😂😂😂
Cool and engaging post, @tpkidkai. Relate, as I tried at least 5 MMOs too including Ragnarok.
And echoing what the others said, glad that we found a more productive hobby to replace game addiction - Steemit!
Hahah see, we are somehow a part of that populace. A lot of folks that I do know doing the online thing got involved or been into online games and sharing the same sentiments. 5 games I doubt hahaha for sure that is more than 10! Online and even offline.
XD you got me there. I only counted MMOs lol. If it's offline & online, then that's 100+!
Glad we somehow got over that. haha Cheers to us!
Yeah! More on the Payaman mode here on steemit there's a lot of awesome gamers na. Tsaka ang hirap daming Pnoise nowadays, di gaya dati ang sarap maglaro talaga.
Hey @tpkidkai
I could have been a game addict but the situation in my country deprived me of it which may be a good thing. The electricity supply is not constant so as a gamer you have to be very good to complete your adventure missions or get to a check point then save because the power can go off anytime. so most gaming centers have only soccer games which can be boring to play alone and they open for shorter hours.
the internet is very expensive as well so using the internet was / is luxury.
Gaming is not also lucrative in this part of the world(Nigeria).
Unlike in Japan, Korea and even int the USA.
Overall I am happy for you and I hope every game addict out there can have the same testimony as you.
Cheers
Thanks @dante31! Really appreciate the feedback.
Somehow it is a good thing that there is a problem with the electricity and stuff in your country and that is why you are not able to be addicted to gaming. But that is all I can see as a good thing.
I do hope that the electricity distribution will be better in your place not only for gaming purposes but for overall improvement of our lives.
At the end of the day, we need a form of recreation it just happen that we really need to have it moderated.