Detox Clinic for Video Game Addicts

Originally posted on June 10, 2006

No, I am not joking. It's for real. They are opening one in Europe. I wonder if they'll open a detox clinic for movie addicts. Okay, that one was just a joke. Though I do think any form of addiction is nothing to make light of.

What opinion do I have of this? Well, I cannot take advantage of people's misery and a mockery out of it. Addiction is a serious burden on many people. Myself, I've never been addicted to alcoholic beverages, illegal substances or anything like that. I've never became literally addicted to something that my life began to disappear and holding onto something as if I cannot live without it. It's a mental illness, and I believe video games can become addictive and can become a problem if you allow it to happen. However, they are like illegal substances. You may start taking drugs but it's very likely you were already aware of the dangers surrounding them, but it's not like that with video games. Video games are often viewed as a recreational hobby.

It's hard for some people to imagine that it's a real problem and I don't believe most people are probable to becoming a video game addict. I would be willing to bet that it is linked to several mental illnesses that contribute as a factor to the cause of addiction. I do strongly caution parents to impose a severe limit on the time length of playing video games as kids are often interested in them and may neglect other important aspects of their lives. I enjoy playing games, but I don't often play them due to having a career and being such a movie buff eats up a lot of my time.

Just a word of caution, don't ridicule people for being addicted to video games, even if it seems silly. It may be but an addiction isn't something to make fun of. It's a real mental illness and people need help from it.

An addiction alone can ruin an individual's entire life including its career. People have lost their families and jobs to drinking and drug addictions. Just imagine what would happen with a video game addict, they’d never leave the room and take drugs to stay awake to play more. Even a drunk may take its time to give the kids a hug, but I doubt a video game addict will be able to spare a single second as every second counts to a video game addict.

Life, it's not always fair.