Six Signs That You May Be Addicted to Gaming

In the past few decades, the world of gaming has exploded and there are more people than ever before playing the latest exciting games releases. While for the most part gaming is a positive thing that provides hours of entertainment, there is a growing concern that some people may be becoming obsessed with gaming. While this is not classed as an official clinical problem, there are some tell-tale signs that this is something that you may be experiencing. Below, you can find out more about these signs and some of the ways in which you make gaming less severe on your health.

Psychological

Like any other addiction, it is first of all mainly a psychological issue that you need to deal with. If you are finding that gaming is overtaking your life and that you feel unable to control this then it may be time for you to seek help.

Physical Health Problems  

If you are spending hours upon hours sitting on an uncomfortable chair playing games, this can quickly lead to a whole host of chronic problems including neck pain, back ache and eye strain. If you frequently find that you are experiencing pain while playing or afterwards, then this could be a sign that you are spending too much time gaming. In this case, you may also want to invest in a gaming chair as this will help to alleviate many health problems with its well-thought out design and extra cushioning. You should take a look at a site such as www.bestgamingchair.com to find a range of reviews on gaming chairs, so you can choose the one that will best suit you.

Problems with Family and Friends

Another common sign that you are gaming too much is that it is causing problems within your family. Daily arguments can be a common occurrence and you may start to neglect other family responsibilities from spending too much time playing games.

Financial

Gaming can be very costly and you can quickly spend thousands buying the latest game releases and consoles. This can have a big impact on your wallet. Not only that, if you are prioritising gaming over your job responsibilities, are showing up to work late, playing games at work or missing work altogether, this can lead to job loss which can have a massive financial impact on your life. If you find yourself starting to do any of these or you are considering it, then this could be a sign that you need help.

Education

Similarly, to missing work, younger people may be missing out on their education if they are playing games in classes or not turning up to school or university to game instead. This can also include missing deadlines, putting off studying and rushing through assignments to then start gaming again.

Social Interactions

When someone is addicted to video games, the will tend to spend more and more time in front of the screen and less and less time socialising with friends and family. This can lead to feeling disconnected from the world around you and is a major sign that you are spending too much time playing video games.

Movie Review Monday: Trainspotting

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film comes to us via Netflix, and is 1996's Trainspotting, starring Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, & Robert Carlyle, among others.

I've had this film in my queue for quite a while. So long I don't even remember why I put it there in the first place. I know it's a classic film with its own sort of reverence and respect in the film world. After watching it, nearly twenty years after it came out, I can see why it was so engaging to folks. It's a highly unique, stylistic, surreal, fast-paced movie that leaves you disoriented, but still getting a fun ride and a interesting character study in the process.

Ewan McGregor's Renton is the main character, and the story follows his journey to get clean, literally and figuratively. He and his friends are addicted to drugs but Renton is looking to get off the stuff and clean up his life and go straight. A great deal of the interesting elements of the film come from Renton's struggles with drug use and the trippy sequence when he is in withdrawals. Most of the movie is Renton's narration, so you're able to get behind his actions and hear what he is thinking versus imagining it. It is done in such a way to not belittle the audience's intelligence, but to provide a more complex context to the happenings in the film. We also see how Renton's actions affect others, which is a nice touch too. Most of the movie could be watched being against Renton, since he is very morally gray. It makes for an interesting story, that I would liken in spirit to something like Breaking Bad, where you're rooting for and against the main character at different times.

My only criticisms might be that the other characters seem sort of two dimensional at times. It is Renton's show to be sure, but the other folks just seem to be a one trick pony or even just sort of vanish altogether. It's not a major gripe, but the most evident one I can think of.

That being said, I definitely recommend Trainspotting. It has a cinematic vibe similar to Scott Pilgrim VS The World in the way it is edited and shot, so I was definitely sold on it in that way.

You can stream Trainspotting now on Netflix!

Thanks for stopping by!