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Videogame Addiction debate on CHCH: Canadian television knows I exist
12:16 AM on 01.08.2008, Faith 75 comments

     Canada

Appearing on Attack of the Show via webcam was the coolest moment in this little geek's life, so imagine the uncontrollable happy dance I did when a local Canadian TV station contacted me to appear as an expert (shows what they know) on a segment about videogame addiction. Let's just say that there was a long and merry jig performed after I hung up the phone.

CHCH Hamilton or E! has a small debate show called Live at 5:30pm where two hosts Mark and Donna talk about the latest issues with a few experts on the subject. Friday's show covered the subject of videogame addiction and I was one of three experts asked to appear on the show.

The other two guests were Mark Ouellette, an assistant professor teaching pop culture at McMaster University and Liz Woolley, the founder of Online Gamers Anonymous and mother to a son who committed suicide in front of his computer after a year long struggle with an Everquest addiction.

I really wish the segment had been longer but the show covers a couple of topics at once and they only have half an hour to cover them. It really bothers me that the con side of the conversation got more air time than the two pro sides, especially when I had the academic on my side. I felt like Adam Sessler when he debated Jack Thompson, in that I was cut off before I got a chance to rip the misinformed game-hater a new one. Don't get me wrong... I feel bad that her son took his own life, but blaming his obviously serious problems on a videogame is a cheap way out of blaming yourself or him for what happened.

Games maybe the stuff of peoples' addictions sometimes, but they are never the cause. If you know anyone who is so badly addicted to videogames or anything else that they have reverted from their family, friends and general life, please get them help before its too late. Addictions are always a serious sign of something really wrong with a person's state of mind.

[Writer's note: Sorry about the watermark. My brother-in-law ripped, edited and uploaded the video for me and the program he had to edit was a trial version. I can't complain cause my computer couldn't even process the 10 minute video. I suck.]


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A Humble Mr Perfect's Avatar
A Humble Mr Perfect at 01/08/2008 00:21
Eloquently stated, and your cohort was equally good.

Negative anchor points to Mr. Mook, who could do nothing more than spout tired pong jokes.
Neonie's Avatar
Neonie at 01/08/2008 00:23
The audeio is misplaced x3. But ya there are a lot of holes in this whole thing and a lot did not get said that should of been said and the whole thing kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Interesting way to spread word on the new girl gamer web site btw.
A Humble Mr Perfect's Avatar
A Humble Mr Perfect at 01/08/2008 00:23
Let's do the math:

Video Games = Judas Priest

Space Giraffe = Bitchin' Metal
Cheeburga's Avatar
Cheeburga at 01/08/2008 00:27
You totally got cut off.
braulio09's Avatar
braulio09 at 01/08/2008 00:31
damn....they shouldve dedicated the whole show to that one debate. i was really getting into it when the guy had to cut off.

also, they mispelled you blogspot.....
riomccarthy's Avatar
riomccarthy at 01/08/2008 00:33
Wow you really got cut off.. and that mom's a psycho. I hated that "Well because you're a gamer you're going to watch your kids more carefully!" Uh no.. she should have watched HER kid more carefully since she DIDN'T know about video games. She said he turned into a completely different person and didn't do anything about it? I think she lacked as parent because she didn't get him the help he needed before he took his own life. You did a great job girlfriend. It's a shame they cut you off before you got to finish. =/
Ravana's Avatar
Ravana at 01/08/2008 00:34
Wow. EQ mom speaking out, a reporter frightened of something within her control, and the lovely Miss Winterburn to speak up for us. YAY for TV coverage! But that female reporter was not to my liking. She seemed like she had something up her ass.
grailx3's Avatar
grailx3 at 01/08/2008 00:36
I live in Hamilton and have watched the show several times... Most of the time they argue about ridiculous things and the examples they use are generally poor. You can't really do this subject justice in 5 minutes. It's like trying to read War and Peace in an afternoon. You just can't cover it all.
grailx3's Avatar
grailx3 at 01/08/2008 00:37
BTW you said you make videogame crafts? What kind? Do you sell these things?
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 01/08/2008 00:41
This is a little scare to listen to. How did you not laugh and/or cry?

Good job though. :)
Edarios's Avatar
Edarios at 01/08/2008 00:46
Dude, Hamilton represent! I was actually interviewed by these guys a few weeks ago, the topics was drugs in high schools, i got my 2c in but they cut most of what i said :D
MissHinasaki's Avatar
MissHinasaki at 01/08/2008 00:47
And that's why the world is so misinformed, because we keep cutting people off.

Nice job, btw! ^_^
Neonie's Avatar
Neonie at 01/08/2008 00:49
"And that's why the world is so misinformed, because we keep cutting people off."

<3333333
vexed alex's Avatar
vexed alex at 01/08/2008 00:49
That woman was considered an expert? She said some of the most ignorant and mis informed things I have ever heard.

God, I hate these damn discussion segments. No one ever gets to make any point and the host was a complete and utter douche.
icarus's Avatar
icarus at 01/08/2008 00:52
Nice job.

I feel bad the guy killed himself, but you can't blame a game for that. You started to hit on the point (and it sucks you got cut off) that anything can be addicting and to try to place the blame solely on the game is really not right.

And the Halo footage was a nice touch by the news station... way to be objective there. =/
dotdotdot216's Avatar
dotdotdot216 at 01/08/2008 00:52
ok i'm an addict i admit.

one comment that angered me was when she said the game was designed to be addictive as though thats unusual, um gambling and smoking are both designed to be addictive. MMO's are fun but i always need an addiction to an mmo to be bothered to play it, the company does need to make money after all and addiction is the only way they'll get money from me. I must say though the only mmo that ever really hooked me was wow and that was incredibly short lived when i stopped after 2 months.
vexed alex's Avatar
vexed alex at 01/08/2008 00:53
Also, great job out there. Stickin' it to the dumb ass news reports.

I honestly do not know how some of these people were ever considered journalists. They're such morons.
corduroy26's Avatar
corduroy26 at 01/08/2008 00:59
I must commend you for taking on this spot on CH. I'm local to Hamilton, and try to avoid watching Mark "Windbag" Hebscher at all costs for reasons such as this. It sounded like they wanted to stir the pot of video game propaganda with some sorry tortured soul that wants to allow others to learn from her mistakes. But sadly, it's Everquest's mistake, and not the mother, as I think she is mostly to blame.

But good job for getting some of your valid point across. One day maybe they'll let you get all of it across.
Fronz's Avatar
Fronz at 01/08/2008 01:00
no sound right now but i'll listen to it later. just wanted to say congrats faith!
CrackaSlim's Avatar
CrackaSlim at 01/08/2008 01:01
You and the professor managed to bring up valid points leaving the everyone else to make lame comebacks/jokes. Good Shit.
Ratcliff's Avatar
Ratcliff at 01/08/2008 01:17
That Mark guy was twitchy as hell, they should have kept talking to you Faith, you don't have any tiks
Tino's Avatar
Tino at 01/08/2008 01:18
In all honesty if her son couldn't tell the difference between everquest and the real world, after living for 19 years within the real world before ever picking up everquest then there are some deep rooted issues at work here.

He must have been super sheltered.
freeman1's Avatar
freeman1 at 01/08/2008 01:24
People who get to sucked into games like WOW or Everquest, or basically any other game, usually have other problems to begin with. A lot of times they have low self esteem, poor social skills, and lack of direction in their lives. The games aren't the problems, the games are what people are using to escape their problems instead of dealing with them. No one kills themselves because they play a game too much. If that lady's son committed suicide, he obviously had other problems.
dprime's Avatar
dprime at 01/08/2008 01:28
As an expert at living in Southern Ontario (I've done it for 18 years! so far no failing) let me say I've never heard of that channel.
ArrestedDeveloper's Avatar
ArrestedDeveloper at 01/08/2008 01:33
You're Canadian famous, which is only slightly lower than internet famous.
Smithers's Avatar
Smithers at 01/08/2008 01:34
I feel sorry for her son but games weren't the problem.

The most depressed kids in my school are the ones who's PARENTS mother them and don't let them drink until there like 18 the kid was obviously screwed up because of her not the game and she knows it she's just not addmitting it.

It's like if someone didn't have sex till they were 20 then they were depressed about it so they looked up porn and killed themselves.
Ravana's Avatar
Ravana at 01/08/2008 02:06
What are you talking about? I was mothered, smothered, and I only got addicted to crack and corner hussels...
Dennen's Avatar
Dennen at 01/08/2008 02:06
Did that woman say that thousands of people were committing suicide over games? I do believe that's what I heard.

The worst part about any news broadcast getting a hold of anyone is that they have to turn everything into a story. They do this by overstating. Do something as a routine, maybe every other day and they call it an obsession. It's all a play of words and a seeming control over the wrong section. They're attempting to hold the knife by the blade and not the handle, and going through that route - they're not going to do much in the way of enjoying sliced apple.

Now, they recite gaming addiction to be a growing problem, yet this has appeared in countless forms in the past. It's just the newest trend for media to point to to make some headlines. Yet the way I see things from my eyes is, is this an actual addiction? Or is it a play on an extreme lack of self control.

If anything is growing, it's interaction with electronics in general - something very new to humanity. But just because it is new doesn't mean it's a problem. I, for one, do not believe that anything new that is done for recreation should be seen as a problem unless it is severely damaging the persons mental capacity. We are not talking about someone doing lines of coke for an 8 hour high a day. As the old choiced words of wisdom said. Anything in excess can be bad for you. Video games apply to this no more than running, football, television, writing, arguing. You name it, it's bad in excess. This is the same old process in modern term. But when will the media pick up on this bit of knowledge that should be very well known in our well educated age? Not sure I will see the day even until the day I die.
Summon's Avatar
Summon at 01/08/2008 02:21
What happened to responsible parenting? Now its a blame-athon.
Azereki's Avatar
Azereki at 01/08/2008 02:24
I'm really starting to get sick of this tired old debate. When can we get a new scapegoat? I already know it's too much to ask that people stop looking for something to blame other than themselves.
TheBrain's Avatar
TheBrain at 01/08/2008 02:31
Why does Everquest look like Halo 3?

OH WAIT ALL VIDEOGAMES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME I FORGOTS
Detry's Avatar
Detry at 01/08/2008 02:35
My character died in Call of Duty 4, now I have to kill myself. Yay.

Great Job Faith!
Technophile's Avatar
Technophile at 01/08/2008 02:36
Again, ignorance = fear = deflected responsibility.

I'm so tired of this shit. I'll say it, I don't feel one bit bad for HER that her kid killed himself. In fact, if there is such thing as an afterlife, I would bet he's screaming at his mother right now saying "Maybe if you took an interest in what I was doing or tried to understand it, maybe I wouldn't have gotten to the point of killing myself so someone would show a positive interest and acceptance of my life"

Call me heartless, but I'll bet you anything that was the root of the problem or close enough to it. It's sad that kid killed himself and pathetic that his mom took the easy way out and used his death to martyr her cause.

Video games don't make kids violent and neither do they cause addition anymore then a violent movie, book or painting. Deprive a kid of love, attention and respect and you are sure as hell gonna get one that tries to escape that and/or becomes violent as a way to get the attention they want.

I don't even have fucking kids and I understand this shit.

Good job Faith, it's too bad that reason and responsibility doesn't make a good news story.
hammburglar's Avatar
hammburglar at 01/08/2008 02:42
ban everquest? why exactly? too much enjoyment is a bad thing now i guess. i enjoy video games so let me play video games. i enjoy smoking crack so let me smoke crack. i enjoy slapping toddlers so let me slap toddlers. the anchors enjoy touching themselves to the sound of their own voice so let them. why cant they just let us all have fun.
bl4km4th's Avatar
bl4km4th at 01/08/2008 02:48
grats on the TV appearance. I didn't even realize there were still support groups for Everquest. Talk about kicking a dead horse. And for the mom who's son committed suicide sometimes it takes alot to get on TV and spout your ignorance.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 01/08/2008 03:19
Congrats, Christina...it’s a damn shame that you were cut off. As others have mentioned, I’m sorry that Woolley’s son killed himself, but that seems like an anomaly to me — more the exception than the rule. You certainly don’t have thousands of MMO gamers killing themselves, that’s for sure. I don’t know that you could classify video game addiction as a disease — is gambling addiction a disease? I mean, alcohol/drugs/cigarettes/etc. are different — they involve chemicals that alter your state of mind. Sure, gambling and video games elicit responses from your brain in the form of pleasure and such, but I don’t know about classifying them as diseases. Either way, I feel as if most people who become addicted to things have some sort of tendency to do so, like a personal weakness (or, as you mentioned, “a hole in their lives”.
AfroJoel's Avatar
AfroJoel at 01/08/2008 04:04
Bah, the video stopped loading half-way through
The Johnggernaut's Avatar
The Johnggernaut at 01/08/2008 05:20
Awesome, Faith, I think you did a good job of getting the main point through in the beginning. I could just imagine the lady rolling her eyes as you said it.

It's unfortunate that she will just never get it. She will never understand why she was the problem and I just hope she doesn't have any more :P
atheistium's Avatar
atheistium at 01/08/2008 06:15
Well done, you should of just said "hey he's playing an MMO, what were you expecting?!" lulz.

You need to be more forthright, just push your point in there like that lady she kept butting in what people were saying.
Namelessted's Avatar
Namelessted at 01/08/2008 06:20
that bitch blatently lied. She said that they has psychologists on staff and designed Everquest specifically to be addictive. that is just retarded. They designed the game to be fun, to be rewarding. They didn't have this idea to make an addicting game.

Yes, people can become addicted to video games, just as they can ANYTHING. maybe that mom should have done a better fucking job raising her child instead of blaming a video game. I am all for educating parents about video games and educating them on how to be a better parent. But i am not for the false accusations against video game designers, that is bullshit.
Namelessted's Avatar
Namelessted at 01/08/2008 06:22
that and why are we still talking about EQ? the people that are against video games are always 8 years behind the curve. They talk about EQ on addictive games and teh talk abut Doom and Mortal Kombat with violent games. These people that are against video games should at least bring something relevant to the fucking table.
Jonathan Holmes's Avatar
Jonathan Holmes at 01/08/2008 06:24
Faith is hot.
FrozenDelight's Avatar
FrozenDelight at 01/08/2008 06:42
I thought reporters and interviewers were supposed to be neutral. This is so dumb, of course they try to make it addictive, everyone making entertainment tries to make their product addictive.
UselessKor's Avatar
UselessKor at 01/08/2008 07:15
Great work, Faith.

Living in the Hammer myself, I steer clear of CHCH on TV or any of their "reporters" when I see them. CHCH is on the same level of journalistic integrity as a high school gossip column, they're only looking for the sensationalism of any story. Reporting actual news in Hamilton hasn't happened in any media format for at least a decade(with the exception of small magazine named The View).

Woe to intelligent dicourse :(
Bluefusion's Avatar
Bluefusion at 01/08/2008 07:34
I do believe there can be something addicting in games, but not because of something inherent in the game. Like Christina said, people can use it as a form of escapism or catharsis, whereby they become addicted to the freedom of the imaginary world the game creates.

Secondly, I think that doctor guy hit the nail on the head with the whole "reward schedule" tidbit. People can become addicted to gaming for very much the same reason people get addicted to gambling, etc.

In any case, we're talking about a pre-condition to the gaming addiction that arises, which is important to attributing causes.

So, for instance I would be happy if there were medical conditions known as "escapist disease" or "reward schedule disease" that dealt with the motivations a person has for doing something. In this case, you're looking at a broader picture and gaming addiction is just one manifestation of these diseases, and is not the source of the disease. This shifts the focus and blame away from games, while allowing all of us to admit that gaming can be addictive for some people.
DOOM's Avatar
DOOM at 01/08/2008 07:46
Weak minded people shouldent play videogames...
pierrerodriguez's Avatar
pierrerodriguez at 01/08/2008 07:55
anyone want to come over for some pong&pizza?
Mozgus's Avatar
Mozgus at 01/08/2008 08:29
Ya did good Faith, but there's no way they'd let you have enough time to completely destroy the validity of their news story.
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