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Part one

Part two

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 Wow everyone.  I am truly humbled by the amount of support I've received for this series. This essay was pretty much the culmination of an entire semester's worth of learning about academic writing, and from start to finish, including drafting ideas and throwing out the bad ones (thanks, Professor Stirm, for steering me away from a 10-15 page paper on the political ramifications of Dumbledore being gay) it was over a month-long process.  I'd like to thank EVERYONE for their support, and particularly the "higher-ups" here at Ensidia for advertising my blog so vigorously on the front page.  Again, I'm truly humbled by everyone's support.

I now present part 3 of Video Game Addiction.  A works cited is included, please check it out if you're curious about reading up on some more specific ideas that may not have been fully covered in this essay.

Stay tuned at the end as I reveal my plans for my upcoming continuous column, exclusively for Ensidia.com!

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Addiction Help

            It’s very important to understand that when people are addicted to video games that that doesn’t mean that they’re just, to put it bluntly, screwed. There are many options and methods for beating a video game addiction.  The first of these is self-help.  I’ll elaborate on how players have overcome their addictions using no “professional methods” and only working with themselves.  The other method is counseling, and there are a variety of options available for those who seek professional help in kicking their addictions.  I’ll discuss what methods have been used in the past, and what methods are used today to help players.

Self Help

            Joey DeVilla, a self-proclaimed former WoW addict, listed 3 steps he used to ease and defeat his addiction.  The first step he suggests to players is asking themselves why they play the game and what keeps them playing it? DeVilla uses escaping from reality, making social connections, and being enveloped in the game’s story as examples of what typical players say in response to that question.  This was what Brett Harrison did when thinking about his addiction.  He asked himself (or rather, responded to my questioning) about why he continues to play the game, and eventually admitted that he was addicted to the game.  Remember, the first step is admitting you have a problem!

            The second step DeVilla mentions is replacing the addiction with another one. DeVilla comments that “sometimes [addictions] have to be replaced with another addiction which is more productive and socially acceptable.” (DeVilla) This is absolutely true, and it’s how I overcame my addiction.  I had other things come up in my life that prohibited my constant playtime, but overall, it was replacing WoW with marching band that was the final straw in overcoming the addiction and just loving the game. I would spend all of my time and energy perfecting my role in the band and practicing for shows, so I had minimal time to play in the virtual world.  This was a fantastic strategy for me, but it may be more difficult for other players since they may have a hard time getting “addicted” to something positive.  Please note the quotation marks around “addiction” since the term is used very loosely here since the new activity wouldn’t be harmful…hopefully.  Otherwise you’d get to go through the process all over again.

            The third and final step DeVilla puts forth is ruining the game for yourself. In the case of WoW, DeVilla suggests, and terminology may be used here that you don’t understand, but don’t worry, it’s irrelevant, “Shard your epics and sell everything you won at the auction house, including all of your gear and everything in your bank.  If you’ve spent every night for months getting all of that gear, you’ll cringe at the thought of having to do it all again, and will likely give up the hope of getting your character back to the way he was.” (DeVilla) This is so true, and something that I came close to doing myself, but I didn’t want to because I knew I would really miss playing the game and wouldn’t even have the option to try and play the game normally.  What this step is saying, in case you didn’t understand the quote because of the terminology, is that every advancement you’ve made with your character will be deleted.  Your character won’t exist anymore, so you don’t have anything to play.  It’s quite drastic, but it works.  Self-help is definitely 100% cheaper than professional help, but can be a little more drastic since you’re accountable to only yourself for most methods.

Professional Help

            Perhaps the most intriguing part of professional help for video game addiction came this year (2009).  In an article for Telegraph.uk, Claudine Beaumont outlines Dr. Richard Graham’s (an addiction psychologist) new expedition into the virtual environment of World of Warcraft.   Yes that’s right, Dr. Graham is logging into the game to help players beat their addictions. Graham believes that by joining the game, counselors will be more easily able to communicate to their addicted clients. Graham states in Beaumont’s article, “We will be launching this project at the end of the year. I think it’s already clear that psychiatrists will have to stay within the parameters of the game. They certainly wouldn’t be wandering around the game in white coats and would have to use the same characters available to other players. Of course one problem we’re going to have to overcome is that while a psychiatrist may excel in what they do in the real world, they’re probably not going to be very good at playing World of Warcraft.” (Beaumont) This is pretty groundbreaking. When most people think of counseling, they think of a leather couch and a man in a dress coat with leather elbow pads showing them ink drawings and pouring out their deepest secrets in hopes of some diagnosis and drugs to overcome their problems.  Who would have thought that it would be prudent to have the psychiatrists delve into the game themselves, so that they could more accurately help their clients? It makes great sense that the counselors could speak to their clients on their level, and it will be very interesting to see how this method of professional counseling works out.

            A far more serious method of counseling is done with a company called reSTART. The treatment is a 45-day video game and internet addiction recovery program located, ironically, less than 15 miles from the headquarter of Microsoft corporation. Run by psychologists Cosette Dawna Rae and Hilarie Cash, the program puts addicted gamers through exercises such as working with a therapist, a recreation coach, nature hikes, household chores, and other activities to replace their addiction to gaming.  Like most treatment facilities, gamers must check themselves into the program, so the adage of “the first step is admitting you have a problem” is crucial to getting the help you need. As reSTART founders say, “It’s time to get a life. A real life.” (netaddicitionrecovery.com)

In Conclusion

            Being a 21^st century commodity, video games and the addictions that go with them are in an area largely unstudied by professionals of psychology and other scholars. It’s important to realize that while video games can be a great way to spend a few spare minutes between activities, that too much of a good thing can become very damaging to the rest of your life.  But video games aren’t evil. Some people have minds that are more prone to addiction, and are therefore likely to find something sooner or later to be addicted to; their mind just latched onto a specific video game. The ultimate goal for these players is to know that they have an issue, and try and get to a point where they can simply enjoy their video games and not be controlled by them. That’s my journey, and I hope that others can follow my footsteps in admitting their problem and leaving their addictions behind them.

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Well here we are.  Thanks again for your continued following of my essay, and I hope you'll stick around for my column here on Ensidia.com

I still play Warcraft. There's nothing wrong with it when it's done in the healthy manner I have developed.  In my playing of the game, you must be living under a rock if you don't know about the new "Looking For Group" tool that was added in 3.3.  My upcoming continuous column will be rants and raves about people I encounter in the cross-realm dungeons.  I am also announcing here and now that I'm looking for YOUR input and YOUR stories on the column.  If you would like to participate, please send your response to the following prompt to matthew@ensidia.com

In your experience with the "Looking for Group" tool, describe a player who was either completely obnoxious and/or stupid, or a player who was exceptionally nice and/or talented.

If you wish to receive credit for your submission, please sign your email in whichever way you'd like to be credited.  For instance, "Mark" or "godzilla259"

The inaugural post will be posted on Monday night.  For those of you keeping track, that's the 25th.  At that time I will discuss my plans for subsequent posts and how often they will come.  As of right now, I'm thinking either every 4 days or every week.

Thanks again for reading, guys.  As promised, here is my works cited.  There will be no commentary such as this when you reach the end of the works cited, so if you're not interested, feel free to scroll to the bottom of the page and leave any comments you may have :)

Thanks again,

     Sichas

     (Matthew)

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WORKS CITED

DeVilla, Joey. “How to Break a World of Warcraft Addiction.” eHow 2008: n. page. Web. 7 Nov 2009. <http;//www.ehow.com/how_4758524_break-world-of-warcraft-addiction.html>.

Gentile, Douglas. “Some Youth Addicted to Video Games.” Iowa State University. Video. 7 Nov 2009. <http://www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/video/09/apr20.shtml>.

Beaumont, Claudine. “Addiction therapists signing up to World of Warcraft.” Telegraph UK 24 Jul 2009: n. page. Web. 7 Nov 2009. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/5899659/Addiction-therapists-signing-up-to-World-of-Warcraft.html>.

Mollman, Steve. “For online addicts, relationships float between real, virtual worlds.” CNN.com 29 Jan 2008: n. page. Web. 7 Nov 2009. <http://edition.cnn.com/2008/BUSINESS/01/29/digital.addiction/index.html>.

Schreier, Laura. “Excessive gaming poses dangers, some say.” Dallas News 26 Jun 2006: n. page. Web. 8 Nov 2009. <http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/062606dnnatgamers.1a681c0.html>.

Corsini, Raymond J. The Dictionary of Psychology. Philadelphia, PA: Brunner/Mazel. 1999. Print.

            Entertainment Software Association. 2009. Web. 17 Nov 2009. <http://www.theesa.com/facts/index.asp>.

            Rae, Corsette Dawna and Hilarie Cash. reSTART. 2009. Web. 17 Nov 2009. <http://www.netaddictionrecovery.com/>.

            Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft Community Site. 2004. Web. 15 Nov 2009. <http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/>.

Harrison, Brett. Personal Interview. 13 Nov 2009.

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