Video Games...Harmless Amusement or Clinical Obsession?

[Midnight]

Okay, this problem started on December 25, 2006, when my family brought home an Xbox 360 for my stepbrothers and I. I admit that it was fun at first; we would have family game nights playing different games of our choosing. However, in 2007, my older stepbrother started spending less and less time with society and more time interacting with people halfway around the world through the Xbox Live function. How did this affect me? Well, the TV in our apartment was downstairs, the walls were thin, and I happened to have the room right above the living room. So every night, I would hear constant yelling, cussing, and explosions that made it sound like I was in the middle of a war zone. Well, I tried to deal with it without confrontation, so I bought myself a pair of BOZE headphones to try and quiet things down. That worked until my family moved to a house. I happened to get the room between my brothers, and they each got their own Xbox, plus one downstairs. That's when things got bad, considering my headphones got lost in the move. Once more, my nights were filled with explosions, shouted insults, and loud heavy metal music. Eventually, this led to me losing sleep and doing poorly in school. My stepbrothers were both suffering in school as well due to this. Things got worse during this summer, as my brother would invite friends over, get on opposite systems and play each other for about twelve to twenty four hours without end. Consequently, I was kept up in the process. Now it comes down to the final questions. Is there a cure for this obsession and what am I going to do about it? Help a sleep-deprived person out?

Note that I am not trying to bash video games or the Xbox, as I am a gamer myself, but I can actually control myself when I play.
Also, my friend, my parents and I have constantly asked them to turn it down. At first they would oblige very reluctantly, but recently they've been just brushing us off.

 

[gee]

Buy them some headphones?

I mean if they really yell and just max the volume, there's a problem, but if you just hear some talking and stuff, it's not that unusual.

I had the impression that you might be over-reacting especially when you wrote "like in the middle of a war zone."

They probably play competitively at a mid-high level where sound and communication is really important. That's why they don't want to turn the volume down or stop talking loudly, because they're part of a team and it's really hard to just quit.

There's no treatment for this specifically, just let them know it bothers you and if they can't find a compromise, bring them to a psychologist. Getting rid of some psychological problems such as low self-esteem or personality disorders will allow them to spend more time outside or to study.

Can't really think of anything else..
I hope this helps and good luck solving that problem,
Gee

 

[DJA]

The harsh method would be to just take the 360s and hide them, but I think there are some parental lock devices (or features built into the consoles themselves) to limit how much time is spent on them. Now about ignoring requests, It'll be difficult to deal with that without creating resentment.

I love games. Now in the Summer, I play like 12 hours a day, and back in school, like 4 hours. I never have had games drag down my grades, in fact, as I got intensely into them as I entered High School, I've scored A+ semester grades, but if their gaming is negatively affecting grades, I'm sorry, limits need to be placed.

My idea of how to make everyone happy is to get them a very long,fun single player game. That way, they wouldn't need to scream through a mike. How much do they like plot in games? The reason I personally am not into multiplayer is that online matches don't really feel like they're expanding my horizons because, at the end of the day, I'm not going to remember how everyone performed and matches mean nothing in reality, meanwhile my favorite games are ones where the story and characters actually made me cry and made me feel more human than before I played them.

Sorry if this was long-winded or annoying. I hope you and your step-bros develop some compromise.