If you self-admit it was an unhealthy habit, then I'd be cautious about going back to it. Addiction is not something a person should be willing to edge into, and if you think it's an addictive behaviour, then it probably is. Definitely make sure it is not affecting your marriage or job, that would be a key metric to know for sure if it's an addition and not just a source of entertainment.
Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
101–110 of 165 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#102> Is it possible to have a "healthy" amount of playing? Let's say just a couple of hours in the weekends? There's a certain online 2d pubg clone, which I won't name, with an average session length of just around 3 minutes (depending on how fast you die, ~10m if you win). Pure skill, no ladder progression. Let me tell you, even after hitting my skill ceiling, I think I would still find it very hard to play "just a few…
Funny thing, I don't consider myself to be a "gamer" I had not touched video games since high school and I'm now mid 30s.
It was just this particular game that hooked me up. And yes the problem is the ladder system which makes it never-ending. There is always another human of about your same level range to play with, available with just a click.
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#103If you self-admit it was an unhealthy habit, then I'd be cautious about going back to it. Addiction is not something a person should be willing to edge into, and if you think it's an addictive behaviour, then it probably is. Definitely make sure it is not affecting your marriage or job, that would be a key metric to know for sure if it's an addition and not just a source of entertainment.
Both were affected for sure. Marriage is now recovering and I changed to a better job recently but I was warned many times in my former job
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#104I’m 34, love gaming, and have been married for 12 years with 3 kids. “Healthy” amount of play is playing as much as you want as long as your on track in accomplishing your short and long term goals. In addition, you need to make sure your wife’s expectations are being met daily. My wife lets me spend my time however I want as long as I’m clearly communicating my efforts in meeting her expectations, both in the short…
Sorry if this comment sounds out of place, there is not bad intention from me... but do you also have a daily set of short and long term expectations for your wife and does she meet them as diligently as you seem to meet her expectations of you?
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#105Step one is to be OK with mediocrity. When you pick up a game, you need to be willing to accept that you just don't need to be the best at it. If you can't accept this for competitive multiplayer games, you just need to find a non-competitive game. If you can't do this even for non-competitive games (this has been known to happen in the speedrunning community), then video games just might not be the hobby for you. Yo…
I just decided to restart 'from the bottom' in a ladder game, but this time not trying to progress up the ranks but rather play more conscientiously than fast or good in other ways, or by trying out different ways of playing. So far I've been finding this to be a more pleasurable pastime. The irony is that I'm still climbing the ranks and will at some point reach a ceiling where I'll be grinding again. So far though it's like replaying an old favorite and doing all the side missions.
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#106Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#107> Is it possible to have a "healthy" amount of playing? Let's say just a couple of hours in the weekends? There's a certain online 2d pubg clone, which I won't name, with an average session length of just around 3 minutes (depending on how fast you die, ~10m if you win). Pure skill, no ladder progression. Let me tell you, even after hitting my skill ceiling, I think I would still find it very hard to play "just a few…
Funny thing, I don't consider myself to be a "gamer" I had not touched video games since high school and I'm now mid 30s. It was just this particular game that hooked me up. And yes the problem is the ladder system which makes it never-ending. There is always another human of about your same level range to play with, available with just a click.
Yeah, it is was the same with the game I played: no waiting time, just click away and play. There's no way to break the loop.
Well, gaming is for everyone, that's what I think. Given a person, you can find or build an appealing enough game for her to enjoy it. Well, barring stigma-aversion, prejudice, etc.
Seriously, though, try some single-player games. Max Payne 2, Machinarium, Fallout 1/2/3/New Vegas, Planescape Torment. My view on this is: deversify your experiences; there's a certain limit on how much you should play a single game for your own good, because at some point the experience becomes more miserable than positive.
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#108Which game, by the way? A friend of mine managed to quit by selling his PC computer. He found that being unable to play was the only way to be sure, and that it's easier to sell a PC than it is to not install the game or not play. Not sure if this is good advice or not.
I intentionally don't want to say the game name or mentioned many details as I'm afraid maybe many people would like to try it, and some of them could get addicted like me. It would be a bad outcome for the world :D
Selling the PC and going to mac is great advice. Many times I feel a small temptation to just go download/install and set up my keyboard shortcuts again because it would take just about 1 hour. If I had to buy a new PC to do that I wouldn't even consider it.
The problem is that I'm a C# developer, and even though it's now possible to develop .net core in a mac without issues I don't think I want to do it. Also I find macs extremely expensive, my ThinkPad is a beast in specs and costed 1/4 of an equivalent mac. Well of course it's also uglier, heavier, makes more noise and spends more electricity than a mac, but I'm ok with that, I like my computer ugly on the outside but performant in the inside :)
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#109I’m 34, love gaming, and have been married for 12 years with 3 kids. “Healthy” amount of play is playing as much as you want as long as your on track in accomplishing your short and long term goals. In addition, you need to make sure your wife’s expectations are being met daily. My wife lets me spend my time however I want as long as I’m clearly communicating my efforts in meeting her expectations, both in the short…
Sorry if this comment sounds out of place, there is not bad intention from me... but do you also have a daily set of short and long term expectations for your wife and does she meet them as diligently as you seem to meet her expectations of you?
Yes, but don’t expect perfection. That’s dangerous. My generally rule is, however many hours I’m putting into the pursuits of life, my spouse should be equally putting in those hours.
You and your spouse are a team. If your both smart and want the same things, you both should be able to figure out a routine that you both can tolerate that also achieves what each of you want. It’s both give and take.
Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
no, never been evaluated for ADHD. But let's assume I knew I had it, what would change?
The simplest answer would be medication. (The following is a vast oversimplification of the biology involved but essentially) the ADHD brain is starved for dopamine. When it finds something that's a reliable source of dopamine (like video game are designed to be), it latches on leading to hyperfocus. Stopping is especially difficult because there's a "dopamine cliff" (going from an extra rewarding activity to nothing…
Interesting. But I don't think I am always craving for dopamine, at least I'd like to believe that hehe.
I'm a kind of functional member of society, a bit introverted yes, but I'm able to do everything more or less normally. Some social anxiety, but I'm able to overcome it when I really need to, I can work and function normally and honestly I wouldn't like to take drugs or treatment if I don't need to. If I had ADHD it might be a very mild case.