Video Game Addiction Can Ruin Relationships

Addiction to any number of things can ruin relationships but gaming addiction seems to go about doing it in a rather interesting and underhanded way. First of all, when an individual becomes addicted to a game whether it be a console game, a PC game or an online game, one of the first things those around the game addict will notice is that he/she becomes so interested in the game that it effects every part of their life beginning with the social aspect.


Video games are increasingly becoming a factor in the crumbling of relationships. So says a Daily Mail reported survey by One-Poll.com, anyway. The survey polled 1500 gamers and their partners – and the conclusion is that video games break hearts.

On out of 10 respondents claimed they’d skipped a date or rejected sex in favour of playing video games. I don’t know about you, but for me? Boobs win out over digital guns any day of the week. 5% said games had cost them their relationship, while a much larger 70% said their partners become regularly annoyed at the amount of time played.



Roughly half of the women polled were jealous of the time their partners spent playing games. ‘It seems like a games console often means there are three people in a relationship.” Said a One-poll.com spokesperson. ‘It’s a bit sad if the virtual world is taking precedence over the real world.’

Here’s the compiled list of games that are likely to destroy relationships :

1. Call of Duty
2. Football Manager
3. Grand Theft Auto
4. FIFA
5. Medal of Honor
6. Halo
7. Super Mario Brothers
8. Gran Turismo
9. Mario Kart
10. Guitar Hero
11. Assassins Creed
12. Pro Evo Soccer
13. Resident Evil
14. World of Warcraft
15. F1
16. Red Dead Redemption
17. Need for Speed
18. Fallout
19. Gears of War
20. Angry Birds

I was surprised to see World of Warcraft so low on that list, until I remembered that for most World of Warcraft players significant others’ to leave would require them sawing off their own right hands. Because it’s for nerds. On a more serious note, I definitely see video games causing untoward friction in households. I won’t lie if I say it’s caused issues in my own home – but not for the reasons stated above. No, she wants to play Fable and I want to play Fallout – and with just the one big screen TV you can see how it’s a problem. Of course, she has boobs – and that means that Fallout’s wastelands are going unexplored.





Gaming addictions can curse anyone of any age, gender or race. It particularly puts a strain on relationships because of the anti-social behavior it encourages. A game addict will become so engaged in whatever game it is that holds their attention that they begin to lose sight of other things in life that matter, the first usually being their family and others in the household. This process usually begins gradually and progresses from a few hours a day playing games to several hours a day sitting in front of the PC or TV.

Game addicts lose the will to take care of themselves, eat, maintain personal hygeine and take needed breaks from their game. They will sit in front of their games until well past the point of being uncomfortable. They may even develop back or neck problems as a result of their immobility. These individuals often ignore others in the household whether it be their spouse, children or other relatives to the point that they totally isolate themselves to their game.

A majority of the time, these gaming addictions reach a point where they become serious enough to cause intervention by a spouse or another family member. When this point in time arrives, the addict will most likely be unwilling to spend any time whatsoever away from the game, they will become angry with anyone who attempts to get them to spend time away from their object of addiction and may even employ the use of a headset to further isolate themselves. They will constantly think about the game and perhaps not bother to prepare nutritious meals for themselves because they are too caught up in whatever game they happen to be playing and might miss something that would happen in a role playing game if they step away from the computer to eat.



When someone is addicted to gaming, they will often lie about how much time they spend playing the game, they will have intense feelings of pleasure or guilt that may seem uncontrolled, social withdraw to the point that it causes extreme disruptions in work and home life, experiencing feelings of anxiety or depression, possibly even anger during times when they are not able to game, addicts may also spend large sums of money on games, gaming items or computer upgrades, and may often think or talk about playing games while they are involved in other mandatory daily tasks such as their job or other family activity.

One of the first people who will usually notice that a person has an addiction or problem with gaming is their spouse. This can affect a relationship in many different ways and can even become so severe that it leads to divorce. When one spouse becomes addicted to gaming, it usually takes up a majority of their time away from work or other mandatory activities. In some cases, it may even cost them their job because they are not performing due to lack of sleep from gaming all night. Gaming alone will begin to quickly take its toll on a husband and wife's relationship.

When one spouse is gaming, it takes up a lot of time and leaves the other spouse holding the proverbial bag. The effected spouse will often try to talk about the problem with the addicted spouse with no avail. Usually the addicted spouse will deny that there's a problem or refuse to discuss it period in which case the problem will only get worse. Addicted individuals sometimes become very upset when confronted with this issue just as drug and alcohol addicts become irate when their item of addiction is removed during an intervention.

It is advisable to seek the assistance of a professional if you or a loved one are experiencing gaming addiction.


Credits: Lazy Gamer, Helium, MMOsite

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