Parents keep telling me “Video games cause mental disorders” which I find pure bull shit

[KenjiUmino]

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Video games cause mental disorders

yeah - they used to say the same shit about masturbation and heavy metal back in the days

 

it drives kids mentally ill, makes them do drugs, commit violent crimes and eventually suicide. 

[Arika]

So many people in this thread are so defensive about this topic.

 

Sorry but gaming CAN cause mental disorders/illness. Addiction in itself is a mental illness. does that mean that EVERYONE who plays video games has a mental disorder? no, but that doesn't negate the fact that it can have a massive effect on people. Just look at all the news stories you hear about kids dying from playing 20+ hours straight at an internet cafe.

 

People in this thread are saying "well i play video games and i don't have a mental disorder" just because YOU don't have one (or think you don't) doesn't mean it does not exist. Sure it's not as common as the media makes it out to be but that doesn't mean you can discredit everything surrounding it. Using the same logic, car accidents don't kill people. I've been in 2, 1 minor and 1 major that i had no right to survive, so in my experience; car accidents don't do shit. This that true? HELL NO, because there is evidence that people die all the time from car accidents.

 

WHO recently have defined the gaming disorder, do you know what this means? that it is very much a real thing, but with that comes a diagnosis. So it's a mental disorder that has to be diagnosed like every other disorder, you may have it already, but without being diagnosed it doesn't really mean much, but trying to ignore it or saying that it doesn't exist is dangerous.

 

Might as well tell people that consume gallons of alcohol that they are not an alcoholic because you drink, and you're not addicted (or at least that's what you tell yourself, because you can stop when ever you like, right?). you can't use your own anecdotes as evidence that a diagnosable disease doesn't exist.

 

TL;DR Video games can cause mental disorders, but not everyone will be affected.

 

 

[descendency]

20 hours ago, AtomicWaveBlast said:

That requires effort 

You should tell them having shitty parents is far more likely to cause mental disorders. 

[ExplosiveSloths]

I think it's bullshit.

 

Though I've been diagnosed with schizophrenia so yeah. Who knows?

 

 

[Canada EH]

Well it can, but then again anything can cause a mental disorder. Recently the W.H.O. stated that gaming is an addiction, in which anything and everything can become an addiction. Over eating is a disease, alcohol, working too much, gambling, illegal drugs, weed, prescripts, working out, nicotine, coffee, energy drinks.

 

Basically anything that changes your mood and most importantly changes your thought pattern, because when it comes down to it, the mental disorder at hand, meaning addiction problem, boils down to the way we think and that the disorder itself is just a by-product. Many love to drink booze, some have 1/2 or 1 or two and feel abit woozy and stop, while others can never have just 1/2 or 1 or two. There inlays the problem at hand. Also a normal life is about balance.

[AtomicWaveBlast]

3 hours ago, Sierra Fox said:

So many people in this thread are so defensive about this topic.

 

Sorry but gaming CAN cause mental disorders/illness. Addiction in itself is a mental illness. does that mean that EVERYONE who plays video games has a mental disorder? no, but that doesn't negate the fact that it can have a massive effect on people. Just look at all the news stories you hear about kids dying from playing 20+ hours straight at an internet cafe.

 

People in this thread are saying "well i play video games and i don't have a mental disorder" just because YOU don't have one (or think you don't) doesn't mean it does not exist. Sure it's not as common as the media makes it out to be but that doesn't mean you can discredit everything surrounding it. Using the same logic, car accidents don't kill people. I've been in 2, 1 minor and 1 major that i had no right to survive, so in my experience; car accidents don't do shit. This that true? HELL NO, because there is evidence that people die all the time from car accidents.

 

WHO recently have defined the gaming disorder, do you know what this means? that it is very much a real thing, but with that comes a diagnosis. So it's a mental disorder that has to be diagnosed like every other disorder, you may have it already, but without being diagnosed it doesn't really mean much, but trying to ignore it or saying that it doesn't exist is dangerous.

 

Might as well tell people that consume gallons of alcohol that they are not an alcoholic because you drink, and you're not addicted (or at least that's what you tell yourself, because you can stop when ever you like, right?). you can't use your own anecdotes as evidence that a diagnosable disease doesn't exist.

 

TL;DR Video games can cause mental disorders, but not everyone will be affected.

 

 

Then again anything can be a disorder. I know you said "it might not be you with it'' but everyone at the many schools ive been to family member (kids/ young adults in family) have no disorder they act as usual. My friend he's been gaming since he was 6 and he gets A's in school gets his shit done has a job not depressed does not have anxiety.

[Arika]

2 minutes ago, AtomicWaveBlast said:

Then again anything can be a disorder.

Except a disorder is a diagnosable illness, of which gaming addiction now is

 

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I know you said "it might not be you with it'' but everyone at the many schools ive been to family member (kids/ young adults in family) have no disorder they act as usual. My friend he's been gaming since he was 6 and he gets A's in school gets his shit done has a job not depressed does not have anxiety.

and? like i said, and you even stated it yourself, not everyone is going to be affected. just like not everyone who goes to a casio and gambles gets hooked, or why not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. but just because a majority of people don't get addicted, it doesn't mean everyone doesn't.

[AtomicWaveBlast]

5 minutes ago, Sierra Fox said:

Except a disorder is a diagnosable illness, of which gaming addiction now is

 

and? like i said, and you even stated it yourself, not everyone is going to be affected. just like not everyone who goes to a casio and gambles gets hooked, or why not everyone who drinks is an alcoholic. but just because a majority of people don't get addicted, it doesn't mean everyone doesn't.

BUT! Those people who make the article are making it out like EVERYONE gets a mental disorder or addicted

[Arika]

8 minutes ago, AtomicWaveBlast said:

BUT! Those people who make the article are making it out like EVERYONE gets a mental disorder or addicted

Which is incorrect I'm not saying that. But you're parents aren't wrong, maybe a little misinformed, but gaming addiction/disorder is a very real thing.

 

Trying to say that just because not everyone gets addicted that the disorder is "pure bullshit" is irresponsible and just as bad as your parents believing the media

[Canada EH]

19 minutes ago, Sierra Fox said:

diagnosable illness

Some are just an umbrella disorder, not really diagnosable but still an illness non the less.

[NTDaws]

Yea you might get grumpy when your parents tell you to get off, but that doesn't mean you get a mental disorder from playing. It's how you train your body to react to real life, and games. If you dont sleep, you can get a sleeping disorder, if you don't eat then a eating disorder. The list goes on. But it's all common sense.

[Lewiscpullan]

Avoid arguments because it never leads anywhere and can get you banned or whatever. If you can have a sensible discussion about it and ask them where the proof is etc. Limit yourself to how much you play, do your homework, interact with family and just be responsible with your playing time and they shouldn't have a problem with you playing  

[GanstaKingofSA]

I literally deal with my parents saying that I am Addicted to Video Games cause I play nearly 20 hrs a day. I don't believe I am addicted to games like smoking but yeah it's so irritating for me to hear the same thing over and over. 

[Vantage9]

If your parents are the type to actually think that Video Games cause Mental Disorders, you won't be getting through to them any time soon.  That's some deep-level ignorance.  

 

Learn to ignore them and just wait until you can get away ASAP.

[Majinhoju]

Not sure what to recommend.  How many hours do you play a day?  Do you piss and moan when they ask you to do your chores?  Is your room a filthy mess?  Do you have a part time job (assuming you're old enough to work)?  Video games don't cause mental disorders but they could be a little fed up if you sit gaming all day consuming the food they pay for, the electricity they pay for, under the roof they pay for.

[AtomicWaveBlast]

55 minutes ago, Majinhoju said:

Not sure what to recommend.  How many hours do you play a day?  Do you piss and moan when they ask you to do your chores?  Is your room a filthy mess?  Do you have a part time job (assuming you're old enough to work)?  Video games don't cause mental disorders but they could be a little fed up if you sit gaming all day consuming the food they pay for, the electricity they pay for, under the roof they pay for.

Well depends on the day some days no games at all or just 30min other days maybe 6hrs it depends on how I feel. I get me shit done. Mom doesnt live with me and shes supportive of what I do. Im going to get a job soon but I still look like im 12 so eh. 

[D13H4RD]

My parents told me that.

 

My reply was “So gaming occasionally for a few hours is consider a mental disorder to some, but apparently, being glued 24/7 onto a phone’s display and even being hooked onto it at the expense of real-world social skills and awareness of your surroundings isn’t”

 

I’m really surprised they haven’t classified supreme hardcore fanboyism as a mental illness. I’m not talking about the internet arguments between them, but moreso people getting hurt over these arguments. 

 

I understand some people can get mental problems over video games. But other things can cause them too.

[Majinhoju]

I suppose in your situation game to your hearts content but just stay focused enough on school, work and your chores that you don't appear to be struggling with those aspects of life.

 

I was fortunate enough to have parents who never clamped down on my gaming time as a kid.  I never really got into trouble, i had good grades and I was physically active with soccer so they really had nothing to fear.

 

i'm quite grateful for that time I had as I don't have as much time to game these days.