Gaming Addiction Likened to Cocaine Addiction

The average individual may perceive a teenager playing a video game as something teens do to pass the time. In some cases this is true; while in others it is much more complicated than that. In fact, according to a recent news report, it is as addictive as cocaine for a number of people.

One Lancashire Counselor, Steve Pope, noted that a number of young people get themselves involved in a situation where they use video games as a means of escape from the world. In the process, they get hooked on the release of adrenaline they feel while they play.

Pope added that spending two hours on a game station is considered the equivalent of taking a line of cocaine in the high that is produced. Gaming addiction is the fastest growing forming of addiction in the country, affecting young people mentally and leading to physical problems like obesity. And, while it provides peace and quiet for mom and dad, it becomes a real concern when it is all the child actually wants to do.

A number of professionals tend to liken gaming with an amphetamine addiction, yet Pope takes it another step further. He claims that gaming violence can spill over into the real world. Children are known to turn to violence after playing violent games and they may turn their fantasy games into reality.

The problem does not just surround children, however. There are a number of adults who have a true addiction to the Internet and to sites like Facebook. In one family working with Pope, the 74-year-old grandmother is addicted to online poker, the daughter is addicted to eBay and the granddaughter is addicted to Facebook. This form of addiction does not play favorites.
 

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