Having a video game addiction can be tough to go through. Whether it’s the difficulty of not being able to do other things in life or simply not feeling the need to stop, it can be a serious problem for the addict and the people he or she lives with. A video game addiction however can quickly be conquered, provided that the addict truly wants to get better. There is no definite answer as to how long a person has to play video games before you can say that they are an addict. However, if a person has been playing non-stop and barely has time to do other things, then there are good chances that the player is an addict in some way.
How Common Is Video Game Addiction?
A survey was taken back in 2009 by the national Harris Poll survey. The survey interviewed exactly 1,178 kids between the ages of 8-18. Out of those numbers, nearly 1 in 10 youth gamers were pure addicts and actually caused problems in their family lives, school, and every other area of their lives because of being addicted to gaming. When you consider the fact that there are millions of people who play video games, this behavioral addiction can be quite scary because of the fact that 1 in 10 youth gamers are truly video addicts.
How Can One Overcome Video Game Addiction?
Just like every other addiction out there, you will find that there are many solutions that can be used to overcome this addiction. Some people, unluckily, don’t feel the need to stop playing, causing them to not beat out the addiction until they finally decide that they want to overcome it. The willingness of the addict is definitely one of the most important things to remember.
Doing Different Hobbies
Forcing the player to try doing different hobbies is an important thing to do. As a game addict, it is very easy to feel like the world revolves around video games all the time. By showing the addict that there is a world outside of gaming, they may think twice before thinking that video games are the only thing in the world.
Taking It Slow
It is very normal for an addict to fail at times because they try to get rid of their addiction right away. Taking it slow is the key to overcoming the addiction. Just like how smokers need to slow themselves down with their cigarette intake, it is the same with video game addicts.
Get Rid of Them
There are some people who forget that slowing down is a good thing to do. This is when going cold turkey is the key to stopping yourself completely. Simply remove the computer, video game consoles, and every other thing device that is game related.
A video game addiction can be very hard to deal with. However, it isn’t impossible to overcome. As long as the addict has a goal of beating it out, it can happen with time.
