**** experts.
People will get their relative (relative being that it varies for everyone) fill o' social interaction through whatever medium is the most convenient and/or fulfilling to'em. Combine some tools for ease of socialization and entertainment through that same said medium, you'll find more dedicated gamers/players (addicts) versus casual gamers/players (hobbyists).
I typed out a fairly expansive post, but decided against it and will just leave it with this: I'm a dedicated gamer/player (addict), and I'm okay with this.
"Champion (the Community Server... or GTFO) is like a small town where everyone knows each other's names, for better or worse." -kojirodensetsu.
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." - Maslow's Hammer
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I typed out a lengthy reply as well, but that pretty much sums it up nicely.
| People will get their relative (relative being that it varies for everyone) fill o' social interaction through whatever medium is the most convenient and/or fulfilling to'em. Combine some tools for ease of socialization and entertainment through that same said medium, you'll find more dedicated gamers/players (addicts) versus casual gamers/players (hobbyists). |
24 hours in a day
8 or so sleeping
2 or so eating
8 or so working
1 or so traveling.
That's pretty typical for people I know. That leaves 5 hours in most days of "discretionary behavior", of which one or two will get wasted somewhere.
Now, in the 20 accounted for hours, most people have similar amounts of human interaction. Family/roommates, people at work, people at the store. The question here is really just the remaining 4 hours. Now, in my opinion if I spend those four hours playing an online game with some friends whom I've never met face-to-face, I'm getting more social interaction (even if it's not limbic) than the guy who spends those four hours watching tv. And we have the same amount of face-to-face time in the rest of our life.
((Now sure, those of us who work from home it gets a little trickier, but, m'eh, that's a different topic.))
So, I'm'a call busted on the thesis.
@MaskedSecretary
I'd consider it basically the same thing as people who get home from work, get food and sit there in front of the TV watchin' all those shows that they have to watch. At least when you're gaming you're interacting with something and not mindlessly staring at a screen eating.
I can do without the video games, and they never take priority over RL. But there's also a reason why I'm still playin' this one. 
Space reserved for a super awesome Signature, someday...
well, considering i keep free of most obligations, including a girlfriend, im free to outright binge on my days off lol.... Im not socially-inclined, so this behavior is very fitting. I generally dont find people as interesting. If i didnt game, surely i would find another activity that would keep me away from being surrounded by lemmings. Work overloads my social need and the days off serves as a break in that.
Most peeps would categorize me as a Gamer Addict, and thats fine. If you're able to drop in 20hr+ gaming sessions a pop w/o a problem, then yeah....
Then again, i usually step away from online gaming during the summer time entirely. The summer reserved for hi-nrg activities, like sports & working out. So to be able to step away voluntarily for extended times wouldnt warrant an addiction i'd say.
There has been more than 1 occasion where I had wished I was in coh socializing with the friends Ive made here over sitting across the room at various "social gatherings" wishing I had something sharp and pointy to ninja across the room.
experts = socially inept nit-wits that also suck at gaming.
What do these experts know anyway! They are stereotyping gamers because they honestly think they are better than everyone. We should do a study on how these "experts" are incorrect with the majority of their studies! 
I'm met a lot of amazing people on this game and Facebook allowed me to become real friends with them. I have also attended PACS with some of the people I play this game with and had a great time just hang out and BSing around.
Eh, these experts just got owned in multiplayer somewhere and its scarred them for life.
That said, I work for XBox customer support, so even when I'm at work I'm doing something game related. I think that classifies as an addict.
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It bothers me when people point to an external factor as the cause for something without taking a look at the people involved and perhaps awarding them some responsibility for how they handled their affairs. People fall in and out of relationships all the time for a multitude of reasons that don't boil down to a neat little package of 'he played online games'. For example, this situation could be described as "they had very little in common, especially with regard to leisure activities" or "she was so high maintenance that she took offense to any time not spent catering to her, including video games". |
Originally Posted by AngieB
I recently read an article where the subject goes through "binges" when he games. He has also almost no social life outside the game and he lost his GF due to that ever popular MMO we all know and love/hate.
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How do we know that one of those other factors was not at work here? We don't. The person who wrote this article doesn't know either. Even if MMOs had a part to play, they probably weren't the only issue. However, whoever wrote this article framed this small piece of information in this way to set the stage for how online games are evil pillagers of limbic resonance.
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| My question is this: What do you consider yourself? |
I'd propose a third option, 'dedicated gamer', someone who plays often but is not 'addicted'. In order to establish true addiction, several factors come into play, including (but not limited to) 1) repeated exposure to X, 2) withdrawal symptoms when X is taken away, and 3) seeking out X despite negative consequences that come with X. I believe a lot of us, including myself, would qualify as dedicated gamers because we play often but do not present with true symptoms of addiction.
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According to the experts we (gamers) cannot have an active social life because we do not "physically" interact with others in our games. "We're social animals - and for our physiological, as well as psychological, well being, we require something called limbic resonance," she says. "This is the stimulation of the limbic part of the brain when two people have a relationship. ... The trouble is limbic resonance only seems to happen effectively when we're face to face - when we can see and hear and touch each other. ... When people go online to try to meet their social needs, it's analogous to being a hungry person who eats sugar. They will, in the end, starve." Medical jargon aside, what do you think? |
Even if we can prove that certain brain stimulation only occurs when face to face with another person, this does not give us any indication of how important it is. It just provides us with the information that it occurs. At this point, more questions should be asked, such as is it necessary? How does it affect us? What happens without it? How much of it do we need before we go tumbling into a death spiral of social suicide? Without answers to these questions, people should not be advising others with any authority, especially presumed medical authority, about what a 'healthy social life' is.
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IMO I value the friends I've made on this game as well as others. I still am in contact with ppl outside the game that I've met IN GAME. Does the same hold true with other areas of internet social gathering? Like Facebook where our lives become blurbs in our status'? Feel free to discuss. |
Leader of Renaissance de la Veritas
Moderator of ChampioNexus
Amygdala's Guide to the Cathedral of Pain Trial
I think that a lot of "experts" on social interactions are thrown for a loop and haven't completely been able to adjust their theories for online interactions. Perhaps our interactions are not physical ones, but there are real connections being made (not just gaming, but online in general) between people that involve a lot of sharing of the personal and the development of social bonds which can be quite strong.
I guess I look at it in terms of globalization- if I only interacted with the people outside my front door, I wouldn't be exposed to many people who have different backgrounds and that seems almost stunted when with online interaction I can talk to people all over the planet and be exposed to different ideas and beliefs, values and dreams, and learn about other people and their experiences almost every day.
I quit at any time man! I don't need it! I just don't feel like quitting right now!
I'll always be a "Champion" at heart. My server away from home.
"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
"With great moustache comes great responsibility" - Zee Captain
"It's not a habit, it's cool, I feel alive. If you don't have it, you're on the other siiide..." - K's Choice
I'm not an addict, baby.
"Champion (the Community Server... or GTFO) is like a small town where everyone knows each other's names, for better or worse." -kojirodensetsu.
"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." - Maslow's Hammer
"Wut?"
My response. All kidding aside, no I don't think I'm addicted to this or any other game and I lead a little less than normal life as a college student.
As for the social inquiries, people are better in social situations than others. Me? Well let's just say I'm more outgoing than I was freshman year in high school.
i believe there have been other related studies on the affects of "X" amount of TV a child/teen is exposed to per day vs "X" amount of time spent in face-to-face social interaction. Same results.
I would tend to agree with the results, though the results are more reflective on the more "extreme" users of TV/Games, than the normal persons who maintain a decent balance of face-to-face social interaction. Imo, i'd guestimate most players here as normal persons who use TV/Games on a normal, acceptable basis.
You know my wife lets me play this game because its a release from work. I'll admit sometimes I do play a little long, but she understands that. She says at least I'm not out drinking or having an affair. Games in my opinion are like therapy sessions. Some of us have to have them and it's better to do this than to go and talk about what part of our life is so messed up. I have great friends on this game and I can talk to them about life in general. So tell the experts to--and I quote from Nibs---BITE ME
After reading Amy's post I have to question the validity of this test they were talking about. How come it's one extreme or another? What about the vast majority of us who are, what Amy calls, Dedicated Gamers? What are we? A precursor to the either/or categories? Nay, I believe we are a demographic unto ourselves.
We not only game for about 2 hrs a day...we sometimes game more... or less.. depending upon our daily activities. (or kid agro :/ )
Like I said before, I truly value the friendships I've made here and I agree that these friendships might never have been possible in the real world due to social differences, geographical locations, or other factors.
The "expert" in this article needs to be doing a little more research... preferable in a different field.... like a behavioral study of the flat worm.
@AngieB & @Angie B
Ms. Paragon City 2009
"The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force that, if properly directed, can be used to solve a wide range of scientific problems." - Firas Khatib
I hate people in general so it really doesn't matter RL or in game....lolz
If you believe the above post; I have a bridge for sale.
Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
I need a diversion from my kids without actually having to leave them with a sitter. It's less expensive than going out and partying and I like most of the peops I've met ingame. I do physically go out and socialise, but I'm just as happy to stay hermit girl.
(Great quote from K's Choice Cobs. I'm in heaven, I'm a god and everywhere I feel so high.)
Global @Gender Poison
Imagine your RL Mug on your COH Mug on your Coffee Mug
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This. While my social life may not be as stellar as the butthurt fratboys that most likely did this 'study' I get by :P And I've been fortunate enough to have met some great people in this game that are also my friends in RL now, some of which that I hang out with every sunday (who would have guessed you would meet someone, that could be anywhere in the world in a mmo that ends up living 10 minutes away from you 0.o).
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Originally Posted by Locks World
What do these experts know anyway! They are stereotyping gamers because they honestly think they are better than everyone. We should do a study on how these "experts" are incorrect with the majority of their studies!
I'm met a lot of amazing people on this game and Facebook allowed me to become real friends with them. I have also attended PACS with some of the people I play this game with and had a great time just hang out and BSing around. |
I'm here when I have nothing else to do, but real life trumps game life 99% of the time. The 1% being stuff like the christmas rikti raid and special events like that. So I'd classify myself as more of a hobbyist.
A Guide to Champion Drama
My Videos
Ashcraft been published.
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I agree with your general point, but there is something to be said for having a social life where you interact fully with another human being (see them, hear them, touch them, etc) rather than interaction through the internet, or the phone. Are you truly interacting with people when you're hiding behind an online persona? I know a lot of RL things about several people in this game, but I've never actually seen any of them in person. They could have been lying to me about everything and I'd never know (and I could do the same). | Generally, when people discuss social interaction and MMOs, they tend to focus on what they supposedly take away from us. People less often focus on the fact that although we may sacrifice the ability to have a face to face interaction, we meet and befriend people in demographics so different from our own that we would never have met otherwise. Personally, I feel this has given me a greater awareness and appreciation for different types of people. |
Interacting "in the real world" involves a lot more vulnerability on your own part than having internet friends does. You might send each other Christmas cards, you might even see each other at Meet and Greets or conventions once or twice a year, but your daily interactions with them aren't the same as being in the same room as them. On the internet, you only know what I allow you to know, and you have to take it on faith that I'm being truthful. When you're in a club sitting across from the person you're talking to, you can't hide certain facts, like your height/weight/sex/race. There's a big difference in the two.
I think the point of the study is more about how much interacting "gamers" (and by extension other people that spend a lot of time in front of a computer) miss out on, and that long-term periods of isolation could be harmful (like the analogy of eating sugar all the time. It fills you up for a while, but the long term effects aren't good.). I disagree with the premise that there's a large, harmful effect, but I think there is a difference in the type of social interactions, and balance is needed.
Loose --> not tight.
Lose --> Did not win, misplace, cannot find, subtract.
One extra 'o' makes a big difference.
I like these...
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i went to the bars & clubs to fill up my time in my younger days to fill up my time. At least in gaming, it keeps you home and safe, and physically close to persons that loves you. |
Originally Posted by Taker
You know my wife lets me play this game because its a release from work. I'll admit sometimes I do play a little long, but she understands that. She says at least I'm not out drinking or having an affair. Games in my opinion are like therapy sessions. Some of us have to have them and it's better to do this than to go and talk about what part of our life is so messed up. I have great friends on this game and I can talk to them about life in general. So tell the experts to--and I quote from Nibs---BITE ME
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Originally Posted by GenderPoison
I need a diversion from my kids without actually having to leave them with a sitter. It's less expensive than going out and partying and I like most of the peops I've met ingame. I do physically go out and socialise, but I'm just as happy to stay hermit girl.
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Some years ago my Social Anxiety Disorder killed my Limbic Resonance and buried it in the woods. <.<
'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
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Then Horus found it and sold it at Wentworths.
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Originally Posted by Aneko
Some years ago my Social Anxiety Disorder killed my Limbic Resonance and buried it in the woods. <.<
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A Guide to Champion Drama
My Videos
Ashcraft been published.
I recently read an article where the subject goes through "binges" when he games. He has also almost no social life outside the game and he lost his GF due to that ever popular MMO we all know and love/hate.
My question is this: What do you consider yourself?
According to the experts we (gamers) cannot have an active social life because we do not "physically" interact with others in our games.
"We're social animals - and for our physiological, as well as psychological, well being, we require something called limbic resonance," she says. "This is the stimulation of the limbic part of the brain when two people have a relationship. ... The trouble is limbic resonance only seems to happen effectively when we're face to face - when we can see and hear and touch each other. ... When people go online to try to meet their social needs, it's analogous to being a hungry person who eats sugar. They will, in the end, starve."
Medical jargon aside, what do you think?
IMO I value the friends I've made on this game as well as others. I still am in contact with ppl outside the game that I've met IN GAME. Does the same hold true with other areas of internet social gathering? Like Facebook where our lives become blurbs in our status'?
Feel free to discuss.