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Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#61
post #34

I went through this cycle a couple of times with a mobile game. I did something very similar, steadily played more and more, got more competitive and ended up dedicating way too much time and money to it. Similarly the only way I managed to quit the first time was by quitting everything. Discord, uninstalling the game. At the point I quit I actually had to make a decision - go along to the local chess club for the fi…

Yes I also think it's about my personality. I'm also highly competitive. I don't know if I would be able to play just a bit for fun.

For me the fun is in trying to be the best among my friends/discord groups, then the best of the country, then the best of the world (ofc the best of the world streams on twitch and the game is his job and main source of income)

In those 2 years I was able to go reach top20 in my country and without paying for any 1-1 coaching which is common for many to keep improving

Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#63
post #35

Step 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…

Great comment and yes, I am definitely too competitive and always want to be the best at everything :/

You are right maybe video games are not the best hobby for me

Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#65
Part joke part truth: become a game developer. Since I started to make games I spend much less time playing them. Also sometimes I just have to play more diverse set of games to use them reference for my game design job.

Okay now here is serious note.

> Is it possible to have a "healthy" amount of playing?

Talking from experience - even without taking real drugs into account it's certainly possible to get "unhealthy" amount of anything: reading or listening books / podcasts, or digging into Linux, or even swimming.

Instead of "fighting" some "gaming addiction" you need to try find other interests be it front of PC and in real life. Make it a goal to find something else that also make you happy be it books, DIY, sport or social danding.

Once you have healthy number of interests other than games then not wasting all your life on single thing become so much easier. My personal take on issue of addiction is super simple:

1 - First of all I have a queue of all interesting things I wish to do: films, series, anime, books, podcasts and games. And I add things to this queue once I find something that make me curious.

2 - Also I have a rule to go and check some new things from said queue so I don't stick to one single thing for way too long.

3 - And when it's come to games I also try to honestly ask myself "Am I really enjoying every second of it?" Because some games specifically design to take you into grinding and enjoyment-frustration loop. So why continue to play if game no longer make you feel good?

I understand that some people might have worse problems with self-control than I, but I hope this small piece of my own experience will help someone!

Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#66

Personally I've blocked reddit on my pihole when I'm working and want to force myself to not get distracted (e.g., it's too easy to "just check it for a minute" while waiting for something to build or download, etc.). Of course I'm here, but I find HN less addictive and tend to waste less time here. You may find doing something similar - block the main domain for your game at your router. Of course it's easy to undo…

interesting idea about blocking reddit...

Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#67
post #9

If you really need to stop, use cheats. That will break the dopamine cycle and you’ll be free. Maybe it also works to limit play time to healthy levels. For example, I was once playing quite a bit of WoW, and after I trying it out on an unofficial server where I could teleport anywhere made the game lose all its appeal.

I disagree. It's easier to do none of something addictive than it is to do a little. Your advice goes against what most addiction specialists purport. Obviously this person couldn't manage the vice in the past, so he should avoid it.

Re: Ask HN: How do you avoid video game addiction?

#70
It's certainly possible to have a healthy relationship with video (or other) games. But a lot of online games do a lot of unhealthy hooks.

Daily bonuses, Skinner box positive feedback, inflexible scheduled events that are 'important', etc.

There can be a lot of socialization and community which can be a positive (although if many people in the group are making poor life choices, I dunno).

All that said, I prefer offline games where there's still a motivation to improve skills to do better, and sometimes a grind to get better equipment/more levels, but if it gets too grindy, it feels like work and I stop. Sometimes, I stay up too late and have a disagreeable day the next day, and that inspires me to be stronger about stopping at a reasonable time for the next session. And there's no penalty for waiting until I catch up on sleep before I play again.

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