Answered questions(3)
Children and internet/gaming addiction
At what age can a child become addicted to the internet and to playing games online and on the ipad? Of course all children like playing games but my son seems obsessive about it and if he spends too much time playing he gets really behaviorally out of control, but if you pull him away before he has had ‘enough’ he gets furious. He is 10. I am an ex cocaine addict and I see the same obsessive and compulsive glint in his eye as I used to have about drugs and alcohol. Is he more likely to have an internet addiction because of my past cocaine addiction? I am divorced and my wife does not agree that this is a serious issue so it is hard to set consistent limits on his gaming time. She lets him play as long as his homework is done and this can mean 4 or 5 or even 6 hours of play time a day, not counting the hours he sneaks in his room at night I am sure (I have caught him doing this on many times). Can he be actually addicted addicted and if he is how can I get my wife to see the forest for the trees? What is the best next step for us?
Read answer →Online life replacing real life
I suck at the real world but I have a rich and varied online life with friends and foes and communities and sexual fulfillment. Online I can be whoever I want to be and people like and respect me but in the real world because of the way I look and dress people will not give me the time of day. I am 31 and I have been a nerd or loser for my whole life but online I fit in and it feels good. With technological advancements and VR I believe that within 5 years probably I won’t have to leave my virtual body for anything other than the basic physical requirements to keeping my real-self alive. Is there anything wrong with living this way? My parents are pressuring me to get therapy but I think it is ridiculous. Do you think it is necessary for me to get therapy or to presume that there is something wrong with me if the way I chose – consciously chose – to live my life harms no one else and brings me satisfaction? Why does everyone want me to be miserable in real life when I have found a life I enjoy online?
Read answer →Video game addiction
I feel pretty stupid to be in this position but I feel like I am addicted to video games and I am failing almost every subject at college because I keep blowing off classes to play. Sometimes I even lose track of time and even though I mean to go to class I miss it. Or I play so late that I don’t have time to do essays or reading. I don’t mean to but I just get sucked in and the hours roll by. I know I should just stop but I feel like I can’t. My parents are worked so hard to pay for my school and if I tell them I am failing school to play video games they’ll go ballistic. I want to stop but I can’t tell anyone. How to stop on my own?
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