
Show HN: Beat video game addiction - camerondare
http://gamequitters.com
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p1necone
Filled out the quiz for shits and giggles, last step: "What is your email so
we can send you your results".

Holy dark UI patterns Batman.

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fartcannon
Is there a way to report a link for dark patterns? If not, why isn't there?
Exploiting someone's fears/addicition is a deplorable way to build an email
spam list.

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guessmyname
You can send the link to @darkpatterns on Twitter [1].

They run the “Dark Patterns” website which is quite famous.

[1] [https://twitter.com/darkpatterns](https://twitter.com/darkpatterns)

[2] [https://darkpatterns.org/](https://darkpatterns.org/)

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p1necone
Some of the questions seem a bit silly to me, and not really indicative of
anything negative.

    
    
      >"Have you lost interests in, or reduced participation in other recreational activities (hobbies, meetings with friends) due to gaming?"
    

Of course becoming engaged in one hobby (gaming) would cause you to become
less engaged in other hobbies you may have. I don't see why this is bad.

    
    
      >"Do you game to escape from or forget about personal problems, or to relieve uncomfortable feelings such as guilt, anxiety, helplessness or depression? *"
    

Yup, that's kinda what hobbies are for (partially). Imagine replacing gaming
with say - cooking, or watching old westerns - does the scenario presented in
the question still seem sinister to you?

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camerondare
A single yes to one question isn't necessarily indicative of a problem - it's
the combination (for the DSM proposed criteria it's 5 or more of 9) that
creates the pattern and may show a problem. These questions are from the
Gentile Scale of Internet Gaming Disorder (published in the APA) with a few
adjustments based on other research (such as King's paper on Tolerance.)

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sgarman
This reminds me a bit of the scammy motivational speakers that get people to
buy their plans and go to their events. On one hand theres some value in
there, some people really change their life. On the other hand the end of the
tunnel for the speakers is money. With both of these things in mind it's hard
to know is this something I need and how much do I need it since the other
party is monetarily motivated for me to need it. It's possible it starts out
with the goal of helping people but I'm always worried about if or when it
starts to cross that line. Maybe I'm being out of line, interested in
thoughts.

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camerondare
It's certainly a valid concern and something I think is always worth being in
the discussion. Personally the way we've navigated this is making sure you
don't (need) any of the paid programs to succeed - all of the help and more is
available either for free on youtube or with peer support on the forums. The
paid programs are only a curated version of the content with a few bonuses
like extra worksheets.

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Jetroid
As a former 'video game addict' myself, I can't overstate how important I
think this project is.

I never used Game Quitters myself, but I wish I had. I wish that I had found
Game Quitters when I was younger, as Video Games were essentially the only
thing I was living for. Video Games prevented me from getting outside and
experiencing the world when I needed it most - when I was a deeply unhealthy
kid who couldn't walk and who had been hospitalised and away from people his
own age for a few years. Some things, like social interaction, I still
struggle with today, and I wonder if that would have been the case if I quit
video games.

I'm lucky that my path in life moved me away from Video Games, but I know
others aren't so lucky. This is why I think the world needs Game Quitters to
raise awareness of these issues.

I met Cam two months ago, and just by my interactions with him, I realised
that even after a year since I last played a video game, it still has a big
effect on my lifestyle and thought patterns. I've found Cam's Game Quitters
YouTube channel helpful in indentifying those problems.

I think it says a lot that when I wanted to learn web development, the first
thing I made was from a video game. And even now, I still find myself watching
videos and streams of gaming from time to time, and Cam's work has helped me
to realise my actions are having a negative impact on my life.

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camerondare
Amazing to hear your story bro. Thanks for sharing it.

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skilled
The first time I ever played WoW was during the TBC expansion, the only thing
is... this first experience happened from an account I had hacked at the time.

And the encounter was fairly short, maybe a few hours. I remember going to the
Black Temple raid with a random group and also spending time in the area where
the Sunwell raid was. Looking back, it's quite surreal to think that this
little 'chance' encounter planted a seed that made me fall in love with the
game.

But a few years down the line I knew I had to cut ties with the game, as I
would sometimes go on a binge playing spree and not stop for many months. I
say interesting because the game has been turned into an absolute garbage-can
that I never want to touch again.

Playstyle became lifeless, classes got obliterated, and there are more
cosmetic features being added than there are actual class improvements.

I'm kinda relieved that this is the case but I feel for the players who have
literally invested their lives into their characters. Getting out of that
cycle is really hard.

Fortunately, I never collected any psychologically-valuable items and simply
played the game for the 'action' aspect of it.

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camerondare
WoW was really tough for me to break away from - it was pretty much a 'second
life'.

Was there anything particular that helped you quit when you decided to?

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skilled
Yes, WoW is a tough one to leave behind. Hindsight, the game is a
psychological rollercoaster, with high downs and even higher ups.

I think for the most part -- other than the game turning into crap -- it was
the feeling of degradation, and I think this comes with age. And it helped
that during my breaks from the game I actually got to live life, and have
meaningful experiences that further fueled my decision.*

*: I don't like the word decision here as it implies forms of hatred/anger, which I don't believe is the case in my situation. Since it happened naturally, I don't have feelings of guilt or regret.

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pjc50
I don't think decision implies hostility. It's possible and maybe even
healthier to take a Marie Kondo / Ariana Grande approach to things like this.
Thank Warcraft for the good times, but now you're moving on.

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camerondare
Hi HN! I am a former video game addict who searched for help online and found
none. When I shared my story in a blog post I heard from thousands of others
asking for help, and decided to create a community for all of us to support
each other: Game Quitters.

We have hundreds of resources, inspiring stories, free tools to find new
hobbies, and community support. 99% of the website is free with a few
reasonable paid programs with structured step-by-step guides and additional
bonuses.

Happy to answer any questions you may have. :)

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stabbles
I flagged this post because the last entry of the quiz requires users to enter
their email to receive results. Please don't do that.

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stunt
"HN Guideline: Please don't complain that a submission is inappropriate. If a
story is spam or off-topic, flag it. Don't feed egregious comments by
replying; flag them instead. If you flag something, please don't also comment
that you did."

According to HN guideline, you shouldn't comment about flagging a submission.

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iends
I sold my windows machine and just use Macs exclusively.

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danielvf
I did this exact thing, and went Mac only for fifteen years!

