NEW VIDEO: I Quit MMOs and THIS Happened
Blazing Man
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Posts posted by Blazing Man
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1 hour ago, Peluconus said:
Yeah, well... I disagree.
You can.But I have some shocking news for you: you're not the first human being who has been born and has matured through life.In fact, there's a well known predictable pattern in which humans evolve through in life that has been discovered by a researcher called Clare Graves called Spiral Dynamics.
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1 hour ago, stablish said:
Some or most of them are still having a life, streamers for example. But then, what will they do if their game servers shut down? Also, why compare your life with other 'gamers' life? ?
I'm not necessarily talking about online games and when I say successful people I talk more about real successful people like actors, musicians etc than YouTube personalities.I mentionned Michael Jackson previously but I can also mention Robin Williams who was a huge fan of The Legend Of Zelda.I "compare" my life because I'm a human being too and I work like one, I'm running the same software as theirs.I want to truely understand what video games are and the effects they have on us and why they are bad (or maybe neither good ot bad).
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19 hours ago, info-gatherer said:
Hey!
Yes, sports are similar to videogames. The “jokers” category was in fact invented to describe the difference between games and sports. I extended it to videogames, I find them more similar to sports than games (guess what? They’re called e-sports now).
And yes, there are non-competitive games, but discussing that would take us far away from the current topic. I made the example of LoL because it’s the most addictive game out there and it can serve as a paragon.
Also, I need to add that I didn’t mean to convey the idea that normal games (hide and seek) are not competitive. They are very competitive, and that’s why they are fun. But the difference, both in my personal experience and from a theoric standpoint, is that they stop to be competitive the second the game finishes. They are cathartic, like greek drama, they reconcile the players, the winner and the loser. Videogames, instead, aren’t cathartic. I’ve seen a friend of mine smash his mouse on the ground and screaming after losing a LoL game. They keep the competition alive even after the match has ended. They don’t reconcile souls, and they’re specifically designed to work like this, so that you want to play more and more.
Again, just my two cents. This is my personal opinion on a topic I thought a lot about in the last months (since when I quit). But the real, complete answers keep eluding me and would take a lot of dedication to be found.
I understand what you say but at the same time I still don't fully see video games as dangerous/harmful and I don't know why.I know that there's something fishy about video games but for me it's more a grey issue than a black and white issue.
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1 hour ago, stablish said:
Never had a movie or series which gave me the same amount of dopamine. Everytime I tried to moderate gaming I was in the same hole after like 3-4 days of moderating, I started to spent more and more time, first it was 2 hours to 'chill' after work, then it was 3, then 4, then back to fulltime gaming for nothing.
I'd say, every activity which stops you from archiving something in your life is bad (obviously..).
Your goal is Y, but X stops you from archiving it = bad.Damn, I forgot about that fucking dopamine.But how can you explain that some successful people play video games ?
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39 minutes ago, Peluconus said:
Anything can become your new addiction as long as it prevents you from reaching your real goals and proves to be hard to quit.
True.Thanks for your answer !
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41 minutes ago, stablish said:
Let's say you are playing 1 hour every day of pinball, for 1 year. Now compare it to something like.. learning a skill (Programming for example). What did you get after 1 year of playing pinball vs. learning?
A highscore vs. a paid job (maybe)?
A highscore vs. knowledge?
Well you can say the same thing for pretty much everything in life that is not considered "work" or "serious" or about personal developement. "Let's say are watching a movie for about 1hour every day for 1 year" yadi-yadi-yada...Does it mean that watching movies is bad ? Don't think so.Of course if you spend more time working instead of watching films you'll get better at your craft, but show me one human being who's always working 24/7.Michael Jackson was (and still is) the greatest entertainer in the world which is a pretty BIG fucking achievement and yet he played video games/arcade games.
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What about arcade games like pinball and shit thou ? Are those considered "real" video games ? Do they have the same negative effects ?
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5 hours ago, info-gatherer said:
This is a very difficult topic and a proper answer would take me hours, so I’ll just write a little thought: “games” are not the same thing we get addicted to. Videogames are games, yes, but they’re also industrial products specifically manufactured to get us hooked. Daily quests, grinding, measurable progress, loot boxes: everything is in place for you to spend countless hours on it.
Also, while traditional games (hide and seek) are inherently social, altruistic, and without an endgame (there’s no “goal”, players switch roles every round, and winning is not important), videogames (League of Legends) are inherently antisocial, egoistic, win-driven. In the words of actor Carmelo Bene (the same words of the french psychologist and philosopher Jacques Lacan), there’s a sensible difference between “games” and “jokes”. In games, the players give up individuality to constitute a whole (the game is more important than the player). In “jokes” (the term is of course derogatory), jokers are focused on themselves, they don’t forget themselves, they just want to win, thus destroying the purpose of a game, which is, to be social in a creative, fun and primordial (dionysiac) way. Games are linked to the domains of animality, sex, theater, war, poetry, fun, folly. Jokes are linked to the domains of power, work, struggle, warfare. In short, we don’t play videogames for the same reasons we play games.
Of course this is just an unkempt opinion, and should be made object of further investigation and revision, but I think the core of what I wrote reflects what I think about this topic with a decent grade of accuracy.
All that information really helped me, thank you so much ! But there's also games (that are not video-games) that are competitive like chess, throwing darts, billards, bowling and so on.Sports are also competitive.And there's solo/non-online video games where you obviously don't compete.
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Have you ever wondered why humans play games in the first place ? What are your thoughts on this ?
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More opinions are invited !
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13 hours ago, Cam Adair said:
In what sense? Can you be more specific about what you're asking?
I mean will my brain be rebooted or some shit ? Will I lose attraction to video games entirely/forever ?
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By the way, what is supposed to happen after the 90 day detox ?
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On 01/07/2018 at 1:44 PM, Alwaysnever said:
I don't want to go cold turkey
You should.Going cold turkey and moving on with your life is the easiest way to overcome any addictions.Just man the fuck up and do it, period.
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6 minutes ago, Phoenixking said:
Thanks man! We're on day 2 today and I can already feel old habits rearing their heads. But we fight and try to persevere :)
We ? Are you schizophrenic ?
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13 hours ago, Phoenixking said:
Damn dude. You sound motivated as fuck. I can relate to the whole porn thing. I quit a couple of months back but I've always felt this itch in the back of my mind. Something that pushes me towards selfdepricating things like drinking, bingewatching stuff, scrolling reddit for hours, porn... I saw the Simon Sinek video and his comments on the instant gratification aspect of our society is something we ex-gamers know all too well, I feel. The ability to have a rush of dopamine whenever you want it is soooo dangerous. Especially when you use it as a reward for putting hours and hours into a game to get that one special killstreak or medal.
I mean, wasn't there this rat experiment at one time? Where they hooked one of the little fellas up to a machine with a button and every time the rat pressed a button, it released endorphins or dopamine into the brain. If I recall correctly, it became instantly addicted and stopped eating and sleeping and just kept pressing the button, like a zombie. That's what porn and all of this instant gratification will do to your brain. So big ups for quitting both porn ànd video games man. That's a really tough nut to crack.
I remember that rat experiment, it's just both frightening and fascinating at the same time.Porn turned me into a lazy dopamine junkie and that lead me to search a false sence of achievement through video games, to me the connection is CLEAR.Furthermore, the more I'm rebooting my brain with NoFap the less I feel attracted to video games at the same time 'cause life (REAL life) starts to feel better.Porn is having sex virtually and video games is accomplishing things virtually, they both have nothing to do with real life and everything to do with instant gratification and dopamine (as you mentionned).Thank you so much for your support, I wish you the best for your Journey !
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10 hours ago, Dylan Tazzioli said:
It took me quite a while to get over the bored issue. It'll all a matter of finding ways to fill your need from gaming to different hobbies. Active, Resting, Social, Achievement Base. For resting what I like doing and what has really helped is reading, cooking, podcasts, getting rid of stuff (I'm a minimalist in decluttering phase), journaling (bullet journaling and also documenting thoughts from an eventful day/creative writing), also I'm a Christian so I aim to read my bible and do devotions.
I believe Cam also made a list of hobby ideas if you sign up for his email list.
Hope this helps!!
Everything is better than fucking gaming anyways.
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On 15/06/2018 at 8:54 AM, Cindpline said:
I think I had kinda the same problem. Games are no longer fun, but they are addictive. Just stay strong and it will get easier over time. (maybe in two weeks)
Maybe that's because we're not addicted to something but to the dopamine that something triggers in our brain.It will get easier hopefully ! Thanks for your support man !
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On 14/06/2018 at 5:57 PM, Philipp said:
probably your brain's craving to go back to your old habits. Humans as a species don't like change, but with a bit of time your brain will adapt. Until then you need to push through it - something that helps is to keep you occupied or out of situations where you'd usually turn to playing videogames (like sitting in your room alone).
My solution for this problem was trying out all sorts of new activities, no matter how "weird" they were - playing a music instrument, sports, martial arts, drawing, playing "The Floor Is Lava" --> totally advise you to try that one ^^
Some other people started meditation and claim it helped - so totally worth a try too.
And about not having fun while playing --> remind yourself of this before turning on the computer/consoleThanks for your answer @Philipp ! That whole brain thing is totally true ! In fact, I experienced the same thing when I was addicted to porn.In the end, all addictions work in the same way, it's about brain and dopamine.I already play the guitar and I meditate everday so I guess I'll try that oldshcool Floor Is Lava !
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When I play games/relapse I ,in the end, don't find them that fun.But when I'm on a no gaming streak and think about video games they seem like the most fun thing to do in the whole world (and that's usually what makes me relapse).What's up with that ?
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Hi Mohammad ! I think that what’s important to do when we want to cut an addiction is to understand WHY we’re addicted to that thing in the first place.To help you do that I recommend you to watch Cam’s vids that are on his Gamequitters YouTube channel, that might be a great start !
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1 hour ago, Symonyzed said:
Hey Blazing Man,
Yes I do! And I am glad about that. I have been playing Team Handball for 12 years now. If I haven't had that for almost my entire life, things would be much worse now.
Also when I first started my detox I joined a local gym and I go there regularly with some friends.
My problem is the boredom at home. I can't motivate me to start studying for my tests at the end of the semester. Usually when I had to study, I gamed. For hours. Motivation is the big thing I am working on right now.
That's awesome dude ! And I understand your struggle with bordedom and motivation, I'm dealing with the same.
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Arcade Games
in Ask the Community
Posted
I did read your full post and I don't believe that video games are not bad, you misunderstood me.What I want to know is, since we're all humans/working in the same way, how can some people be successful while playing video games if video games have negative effects on people.