Confessions of gaming addict: Not all fun and games
Jay Harry spent more of his time online than off. Here’s why it happened and how he came back to life.
Gaming has become a nearly essential part of almost all of our lives. Whether it’s Candy Crush or Halo, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't enjoy them. A 2008 survey by the Pew Research centre claimed that 97% of American teens ages 12–17 play computer, web, portable, or console games. An easy to listen to siren call echoing through the blue-ish hue of monitors, mobile screens and television sets.
‘And, boy, is that call easy to listen to, then you realise you’re shipwrecked only after the damage is done,’ says 24-year-old former gaming addict, Jay Harry.
Harry is a typical 24-year-old. He’s got a girlfriend, a steady job and strives to move out of the family home like many millennials, but in his teen years he heavily self-medicated to handle social problems and deal with reality by escaping into a virtual world, The World of Warcraft.
This hugely immersive story driven multi player game pits your character, an in game avatar, against a mixture of events/challenges and other human players online.
“My main character Abode had around 30,000 hours played,” says Jay of his World of Warcraft days. “It was a second life running parallel to mine, one that was totally under my control, with limits, an off switch and a clear, easily defined sense of purpose.”
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For those that don’t want to do the maths: 30,000 hours is nearly three and a half years of game time on one character, in one game.
Through the echo of cigarette smoke over his microphone Jay explains: “It was just an easy solution to life’s hard to deal with problems, and still is. It’s hard for anyone growing up. We all seek a form of escapism from time to time but this took over.”
“I sacrificed a lot for it; college grades, sleep, friends. But what I was getting at the time was worth it; acceptance, esteem, online friends and many sleepless nights.”
“My dad played games which I suppose is what got me into it. I was maybe 4 or 5 years old and he would hand me an unplugged controller to give me the illusion of playing. I loved it and I still do, gaming is still a huge part of my life. Some of my best memories are of my dad taking me to gaming expo’s and us playing together.”
Chasing a feeling is a common theme with traditional vices and this new phenomenon of video game addiction isn’t dissimilar. Truly immersive games successfully boil down the emotional needs of its players and deliver a menagerie of emotional vindication with in game achievements and online prestige. Why succeed in academia if you’ve aced the latest raid? Who need friends when your guild is one click away?
“What I was getting in the game seemed out of reach in reality, it took my chance meeting with some now close friends of mine that brought me out of it. But gaming is still a big part of ‘me’ I just get more out of life now.”
Written by Ollie Evans
