Last month, a viral tweet claimed that a user received a "take a shower" warning after 16 consecutive hours of Battlefield 6. The player found her account temporarily restricted with a message from EA stating that "We have an obligation to keep our players and community safe". Soon after posting, the tweet spread to Reddit and other corners of the internet where people quickly turned it into a meme.
Some posters praised the message for encouraging gamers to take care of themselves. The pop-up even game with an official-looking QR code. There was only one problem: it was a hoax.
A Well-Intentioned Hoax
No, EA didn't actually tell a player to take a shower while she was locked out of her account. The warning was quickly debunked, even if it was believable. However at the bottom of this meme lies a core of good intentions.
Playing video games activates neurotransmitters in a similar way to exercise. The feeling of progress along with achievement pop-ups raises both endorphins and cortisol. For this reason, video games can be addictive.
We don't want to underplay the very real consequences and experiences of video game addiction. Just like other forms of addiction, video game addiction initially makes you feel good. It's literally all fun and games—until it isn't.
You may be struggling with video game addiction without even realizing. Video game addiction can be difficult to pick up on and even more difficult to get control of. Let's look at some warning signs that gaming may be taking over your life.
Even for streamers and others whose lives literally revolve around playing games, breaks are always necessary. Games should be something you use as a break from the stress of the ordinary world, not a stressor in itself. When games stop being fun and stop being stressful, you should take that as a sign to unplug.
Some warning sides include feeling irritable and antsy whenever you aren't gaming, and being unable to engage with the offline world. Perhaps, your game of choice stopped being fun a few hours ago and now you play out of obligation rather than a feeling of enjoyment. Eventually, you'll need to sink more and more hours into games to get enjoyment out of them
Warning Signs Of Gaming Addiction
Spending the better part of your day sat in front of a screen can be detrimental to your physical, emotional, and mental health. Extreme gaming sessions may harm your vision through eyestrain or headaches; they can cause back and wrist pain no matter how ergonomic your gamer chair is. Repetitive motion can lead to carpal tunnel, which further gaming may aggravate.
While you may have great friends on the other side of the screen, spending all day gaming isolates you from friends and family, damaging social connections. Gaming may impact academic or professional performance if you're unable to fully disconnect and give things besides gaming your full attention. Like quicksand, excessive gaming will only suck you in deeper and deeper.
On the mental health side, excessive gaming can actually lead to depression and anxiety—the very emotions you use games to escape. Gaming can affect your mood and ability to regulate emotions. It can also lead to acute or chronic insomnia, which may only worsen these symptoms.
At the end of the day, gaming should be fun, It shouldn't come at the expense of taking care of yourself. A good rule of thumb is to treat checkpoints like rest stops. When one arises, pause your for a few minutes and stretch, clean yourself up, and get something to eat or drink.
We hope that most people aren't binging Battlefield 6 in grueling 16-hour sessions, but the truth is that people probably are. If you're going to play for extended periods of time—after all, what else is there to do in the nebulous period between Christmas and New Years?—make sure to take care of yourself.
