Hi Dakotah and all, Yes, virtual reality gaming would be extremely addictive. There have been a number of science fiction books, movies, and television shows that speculate how addictive it could be. One of the more interesting examples is the Sliders episode where they end up on an alternative planet earth where everyone is cyborg implanted into a world wide virtual reality game. While the show was a bit extreme I do think if the technology is ever invented it could have mass addiction from people who simply don't know how to do things in moderation.
As you pointed out there have been some extreme cases where people have been catheterized whatever just so they could continue gaming. There is a well known story where a guy died of a heart attack after playing a popular roll playing game for fifty-some hours straight. Such is insanity from my point of view, but there are obsessive-compulsives out there who just can't quit for some reason. They go on and on until it kills them. True VR gaming would only be that much more compelling. That said, that sort of thing tends to be the exception and not the rule. A person who is well balanced, mentally stable, with a decent life won't indulge in extreme VR gaming. They have no need to. The people who make headline news for dying after playing games for several hours straight generally have absolutely screwed up lives to begin with. They often play games to escape reality, close themselves off from the real world, and use it as a substitute for real life. Those people are a danger to themselves and need mental help. Cheers! On 7/26/12, Dakotah Rickard <[email protected]> wrote: > Responding directly to the trans-cranial attachments, it would be > tremendously addictive. There's been more than a little speculative > fiction about virtual reality and its effect on human psychology. I > personally hope it doesn't come about for a long time, if ever, that > virtual gaming is that compelling. I've already heard of some cases > where people have been catheterized so that they can continue gaming > uninterrupted. Imagine, then, the disorders and disfunctions caused by > a perfect virtual simulation constructed and played out in your own > mind. > > Returning slightly to a topic I touched on, I do think that there are > levels and levels of perspective, as I spoke about in my previous > post. It would be foolish to assume everyone's perspective is the > same. There is an argument that those who have been blind for the > duration of their lives have a different perspective on blindness than > do those who have gotten used to being blind. This is not to say that > either perspective is superior, just that they both exist, and it is > not an exclusively singular perspective we're dealing with. A person > who was taught to hate blindness and being blind will respond poorly > to it as compared with a person who was taught that blindness is like > godhood. I give ludicrous examples to make a point. The plain facts > are that our perspectives determine our reality. If that perspective > was molded through adolescence to be that of a sighted individual, and > if most sighted people feel that losing their sight would be worse > than losing any other sense, which tends to be the case, then a > sighted person going blind in later adolescence or beyond would feel > differently about the loss of their sight than a person would if they > lost it earlier in life. > > There are many activities, whether they be games, fencing, building a > house, or cooking a meal, which consistently require the same effort > and the same modifications dependent on skill, ability, and > perception, and there are activities which require more effort for > those who lose their sight later on and activities which require more > effort when sight is lost early. This suggests differences in the > psychological makeup of the person, let alone possible physical brain > differences. There are also activities which the sighted person will > find easier to do or conceptualize than will blind individuals. In > some cases, this is because sighted persons make the majority of the > products and services in the world. In some other cases it is because > sight allows for obtainment of visual data and that the brain is more > properly equipped to make decisions based on visual data. I'm not > spouting nonsense. I'm putting forth fact. > > But my basic point remains the same throughout. SOme people can do > some things better. Others do other things better. Hence diversity, > hence an interesting world. > > Signed: > Dakotah Rickard --- Gamers mailing list __ [email protected] If you want to leave the list, send E-mail to [email protected]. You can make changes or update your subscription via the web, at http://mail.audyssey.org/mailman/listinfo/gamers_audyssey.org. All messages are archived and can be searched and read at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the management of the list, please send E-mail to [email protected].
