Confessions of a Serial Gamer. Written by a Recovering Game Addict.
Fallout 4, Bioshock, Grand Theft Auto, these are just some of the titles that have taken precious time away from my life. The colors, the challenge, the euphoric feeling watching the end cut scenes are close to that of being high on your typical street drug. Do I have a problem? No, absolutely not. At least that’s what I tell myself. Have I spent countless hours losing track of time only realizing that it was time to go to bed by the songs of birds waking up in the morning? Sure have. Escapism is a strange thing. Some people do it by way of sports, some by watching movies or TV, but gaming, gaming lets you BE the person. Have you ever wanted to fly? Ever wanted to run that car off the road because they cut you off? Sure, you’d be fooling yourself if you haven’t ever thought about it. Gaming lets you do it. Albeit from the safety of your own home and law enforcement, but you can act out pretty much any fantasy you’ve ever had.
I have spent much time in the “gaming trance”, ignoring people who are talking to me while I’m playing. Please know this isn’t on purpose, but I need to get to the next level. I’m sure you understand. My children have asked me numerous questions only to be answered with an uh huh, ok, sure go ahead, or ask your mother. Do I have a problem? Absolutely not. I deserve to be able to relax, to take time for myself after working 60 hours a week. Who wouldn’t be entitled to that? I spend all week taking care of other people’s problems, looking after my own children, helping around the house, why can’t I do what I like to do? The answer is, I can. The problem is, how long can I?
When you find yourself playing around in a world that’s not your own longer than the one you actually live in, some reality starts to break apart. This has been evident in the news when people act out gaming scenarios in real life. I haven’t hit that point yet, but I can promise you I’ve thought about it. Do I have a problem? Yeah, I think I do. Lucky for me I’ve been able to realize it and have cut down my time gaming by a significant amount. The weird thing is, I’ve forgotten how much there is to real life that I can escape to. There are people around me that can take the stress of daily life away. The real question is, am I happier? I can most astoundingly say, I am. Sometimes if you open your eyes to the real world, you can see that it’s just as colorful as the fake one.
My wife is happier, my kids are happier and I’m happier, though September is right around the corner. I can most assuredly tell you that another post will come out about the addition to football…..but that’s a whole other issue.
–Recovering Game Addict
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