Letters to the Editor

Hideo Bruckheimer

In response to "Adverse Interaction" from The Escapist Forum: It's also easy to get addicted to websites and the like. I know there are any number of Escapist Forum 'regulars' who would tag themselves as addicts. There's something so tasty about the ability to spout opinions endlessly. So satisfying.

A degree of scepticism is understandable when it comes to this kind of thing, but the blatant refusal to suggest that the addiction is an independent psychological issue just hamstrings any attempts to help sufferers. As far as I'm aware mental health is an increasing issue globally. It's about time someone gives the chance for treatment.

- Labyrinth

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In response to "The Escapist On: Gaming Addiction" from The Escapist Forum: As was explained to me by a psychologist, the key characteristic of addiction is a loss of control. It doesn't really matter the circumstances that lead to the addiction to determine whether there is an addiction, though dealing with those circumstances may help in the process to overcome and recover from the addiction. Using this key characteristic, one must then distinguish between enthusiasm and addiction. Even obsession is not necessarily addiction. It's only when control becomes an issue that there is a high likelihood of addiction.

One must also be careful to examine behavior because one can repeatedly fall into excessive gaming due to other subconscious motivations, not necessarily addiction. This is not to say that addiction to gaming does not occur, but that the diagnosis has to be made carefully.

- geizr

Every gamer has become so engrossed in a video game that the real world took a back seat. However, when the game is finished, we typically allow ourselves to return to reality again until the next big thing comes along. It's the games that have no real conclusion that create the biggest problems because we continually strive to progress within the game; almost trying to achieve some sense of finality where there is none. Ambitious sandbox titles and multi-player online games create this kind of scenario. Trust me, video games are about as addictive as anything else that's enjoyable, but without a definite conclusion, they prolong the initial enjoyment to the point where it becomes habit.

- Echolocating