15 Percent of Divorces Due to Game Addiction

[GarGar]

Addiction in general can ruin a relationship, no matter what it's an addiction to: cheating, alcohol/drugs, games, whatever. The article is not surprising, but neither do I think it's necessarily significant. As more and more people get into games, the incidences of gaming addiction becoming a problem will also rise, but that would be the case in any behavior or substance a person could become addicted to.

[Endus]

I'll also mention that I'm a divorced man, whose gaming was a bone of contention, and who gave it up for her. Only to have her continue to find new faults and be otherwise abusive. We literally had a fight because I wasn't getting her flowers for no reason often enough.

I only wish I'd wised up and left her sooner. The problem wasn't my gaming, it was that she expected the world to revolve around her, and anything that took my attention away from her, whether it was gaming, books, my friends, etc, those were all threats to her hold over me.

So yeah, I'm not just acting like I'm all that. I've actually been through this.

[Atrea]

Once again, only focusing on the MEN who get addicted. Women can be just as bad too! I've known many female game addicts who've driven their boyfriends/partners away with gaming.

also, isn't this too similar to the Daily Fail article?

The thing is, no guy ever ditches his girlfriend for just gaming. That's like a woman ditching a man because he is nice to her little brother with down syndrome, or because he likes puppies. It just doesn't compute.

It's always something else. Almost universally involves some other dude she met on the game.

[Herrenos]

Divorce Online, a website dedicated to getting rid of that dead weight in your marriage, claims that 15 percent of the divorces it has handled can be attributed to spouses that are addicted to online games such as world of Warcraft and Call of Duty.

Oh look, a website that handles e-divorce has gamers that use it. WHAT A SURPRISE! The title of the article is so misleading it's practically lying.

[Puremallace]

I am still looking for a blog or article saying to two people got divorced because he played WoW and she left to play another MMO. I know a few couples that broke up because of it (great guild drama btw)

[Deleted]

This makes women jealous too! That guy looks like a WoW player..not going to lie

You gave me the biggest chuckle of my day, hats off to you sir!

[Dakia]

There are often more underlying issues than just gaming. If someone is gaming a lot instead of spending time with their spouse, I would lean towards the gaming being more of an escape mechanism than the root cause of the separation.

[Sansnom]

In other words, "I was less interesting and fun than video games so my husband spent all his time playing them rather than spending time with me, and rather than try and be more fun and engaging so he'd want to spend time with me, I decided to just make ultimatums and then ragequit when I didn't get my way."

The problem here is that Jessica was an immature, spoiled little princess who couldn't understand why her husband's world didn't naturally revolve around her.

I'm not saying game addiction doesn't happen; anything pleasurable can be addictive. But actual addiction is exceedingly rare. Choosing to game instead of spend time with your wife doesn't mean you're addicted, it means your wife is more boring than Call of Duty.

Hm, 8 hours a day playing and also on their wedding aniversary. Does not sound like she was the one causing problems. I hope you was only joking.

[Lau]

The problem with "gaming addiction" is the perception that being addicted to something means you can't quit it, walk away and never look back. I am a firm believer that telling people they don't have a choice is idiotic and damaging. Frankly I think everyone who believes that they are addicted to something should read "Addiction is a Choice".

That said, I don't believe that gaming caused 15% of divorces. It sounds like more sensationalist nonsense. I would believe 1 - 3% have severely addicted spouses that have repeatedly chosen the game over their significant other, but 15% just sounds like way too much.

Seems more likely that people are using the games as a scapegoat to cover up other things.

[MrWolly]

Just remember, the number 1 of divorces are caused by marriage.

[Daetur]

And how many are due to alcohol addiction? Drug addiction? Gambling addiction?

There are many addictive things in this world, and people with addictive personalities will more easily fall prey to any number of them, gaming included.

That said, maybe it's because both my boyfriend and I understand each other, but I don't see what the issue is if they made plans for their anniversary over the weekend, and the actual date fell during the week, and he made gaming plans for that day. They ALREADY had anniversary plans, why does a number on a calendar mean so much?

[Katt]

Pshh, I'm sure a lot of gents would be happy to know that they can just get rid of her by playing a lot of video games.

It's win/win, fellas.

Your statement makes me wonder just how many real relationships you've been in.... not many I think.

[Lau]

Just remember, the number 1 of divorces are caused by marriage.

LOL, yes, studies have shown, that people who have gotten married are far more likely than single people to get divorced!!!!

LOOK I'M DOING SCIENCE!!!

Seriously ty Caninese, you just made my day.

[Kaga]

Thrall and Aggra are destined for doom!

[noteworthynerd]

Calling it now: this article is this week's "Chinese Prisoners Farm Gold", prepare to see 15+ topics about it!

OT: If my girlfriend rewarded me when I do things for her like WoW does with epics when I raid, maybe I'd pay more attention! (Joking of course)

[GarGar]

The problem with "gaming addiction" is the perception that being addicted to something means you can't quit it, walk away and never look back. I am a firm believer that telling people they don't have a choice is idiotic and damaging. Frankly I think everyone who believes that they are addicted to something should read "Addiction is a Choice".

I would agree only to an extent. Some people are genetically predisposed to addictive behavior. It's been shown in many studies. Now, granted, that person still has a choice on whether to start a certain type of addictive behavior, same as anyone else, and in that sense I do agree it is a choice. But once a person has formed a chemical dependency on a certain substance (pain killers, for example) it's not like gaming where they can just turn off the computer. In some cases, withdrawal from substances is extremely dangerous and sometimes lethal. In that case, it's not just a question of choice, they need medical help.

[Atrea]

Your statement makes me wonder just how many real relationships you've been in.... not many I think.

Oh please. Like I said in the other thread, if I killed her, I'd have been out of jail already.

[Darxis]

that are addicted to online games such as world of Warcraft and Call of Duty.

Stopped reading here, yet again. Why do people keep posting these stupid articles? Not a bit of sense is made in any of them. Stop flooding the forums.

[Lau]

I would agree only to an extent. Some people are genetically predisposed to addictive behavior. It's been shown in many studies. Now, granted, that person still has a choice on whether to start a certain type of addictive behavior, same as anyone else, and in that sense I do agree it is a choice. But once a person has formed a chemical dependency on a certain substance (pain killers, for example) it's not like gaming where they can just turn off the computer. In some cases, withdrawal from substances is extremely dangerous and sometimes lethal. In that case, it's not just a question of choice, they need medical help.

Gargar, I'm not denying that they would need medical help if it's progressed to where they would have harmful symptoms of withdrawl. However saying that that is not a choice is incorrect. You still have a choice - to seek medical help and get treatment or to continue abusing yourself.

[Nartalath]

Pretty sure I read in TNT that 1 in 5 divorces are caused by Facebook nowadays.

So between gaming addiction and facebook we can account for... 35% of all divorces? LOL That sounds pretty unreasonable.

Polls that "conclude" these sorts of things are usually horribly biased; it could be the phrasing of the question(s), the phrasing of the responses, or who they administer the poll to. They also usually pick the most extreme cases to use in their "story" because it's more interesting.

It's just the media being... the media. Go figure!