Can I justify playing video games?

Whenever I hear the words "video game", I shudder. It brings back dreadful memories of me staring in front of a bright computer screen for countless hours battling make-believe villains in a fantasy world. Some people have addictions to gambling, drugs, maybe even sex - my addiction was to video games.

The word "addiction" has a strong connotation to it, especially when used in a clinical setting. According to wikipedia.org, the ideal video game addict displays the following list of symptoms:

• play many hours a day
  
• gain/lose significant weight due to playing
• disrupt sleep patterns to play
• play at work/school
• avoid phone calls from friends
  
• lie about play time
• strained relationships with family and friends
• performance suffers at work/school

I am guilty of symptoms #1, #3, #6, and #7 - so perhaps I might have a mild form of videogame-itis. But to be quite serious for a moment, addictions of any sort are no small matter. People have died from video game binges in countries such as China, South Korea, and Vietnam. One has to question whether this problem is bigger than it seems and worthy of some form of intervention.

I started playing video games when I was in elementary school. My mother was a computer software programmer at the time and, needless to say, had containers full of games on retro 3.5 inch floppy disks. I played them fervently. My brother was often the local video game competitor, but even he was and still is no match for my skills. Beating him gave me a chance to get back at him for his occasional displays of physical dominance. I showed no mercy...

Come high school, I started meddling with online multiplayer action. My brother grew out of videogaming and so I buddied up with a hardcore Korean gamer named Lloyd. He was a natural marksman at Counterstrike and introduced me to some of the sketchiest web cafes in downtown Toronto. Oddly enough, these places got me exhilarated about being a rebellious young adolescent. I know...I was such a badass!

Gaming became a problem when I was able to play by myself for hours on end after school, lied to my parents about where I was, and became infatuated with winning. The problem only got worse when my parents set up high-speed Internet at home and could see the monster in its full hideous form. I regret those nights where I locked myself in my room without making a single exchange with the P-unit.

When I moved into my new off-campus house in second year, my interest in video games began to wane. My housemates didn't game at all so it was easy to get distracted with other things. Suddenly, I felt that I could assert control over my obsession as long as I was exposed to the right environment. Obviously, action was needed on my part too. I actively deleted all games on my laptop and even bought a MacBook to limit future purchases.

I would lie to you if I said that I don't still suffer from occasional video game relapse. After a stressful night, I often unwind by wasting time on miniclip.net. Last week, in order to cope with the anxiety of waiting for medical school acceptances, I installed my long-last War III Frozen Throne on my computer. It seems that I still have the superior gaming skills intact, but other than giving me a sense of gratification, I often find myself struggling to answer the following question: what have I accomplished with this fruitless squandering of precious time?

Getting into medicine might give me an excuse to play video games...that is, only if I decide on becoming a surgeon! According to simulation and training research done in Arizona, playing game consoles can hone the scalpel skills of surgeons-in-training. Apparently, the Wii can improve eye-hand coordination more so than any other gaming console, which comes as no surprise because it demands more complicated physical maneuvers. Admittedly, playing more Counterstrike or Warcraft III will perhaps improve my manual dexterity, but it will not prepare me for performing simulated surgical procedures such as laparoscopy. Adapting to such a procedure would be like learning a new computer game, and the skills gained in one game are not always transferable to another.

For all its worth, spending time on video games means forgoing doing more productive and intellectually stimulating things such as reading, blogging, exercising, cooking, and socializing. The truth of the matter is that these activities are sometimes mentally, emotionally, or even physically draining while videogaming as well as YouTubing, Facebooking, sitcoming, and MSNing seem to provide me with an outlet for mindless time wasting. My opinion is bound to differ from others.

In any event, my recovery from video game addiction is almost complete.

WC