British Tabloid The Sun Brands Gaming "As Addictive As Heroin"

Anything can be addicting, but likening gaming to heroine?...WTF?

It's just sensationalism to grab attention.

With facts like those who can argue their findings? Seriously anything can be addictive if you enjoy doing it. Books, TV, phone, religion, whatever.........how dangerous it is....well I don't think any of the above have the same ill effects as heroin.

Hahahaha, "The Sun".

Oh naive reporters who know nothing about what they are talking about, please do us a favor and gtfo. Put down your addicting, high quality game "Flappy Bird" and shut up.

Meet Tom behind Kicks. He has what you need, if you have the bells.

He is the one who Nooks.

The Sun is the next level of mental health risk. Guaranteed to kill every single neuron.

Maybe they'll have a story next about the dangers of jogging, too many people are clogging up our sidewalks looking for that next "runners high" and it's led to an epidemic of knee surgeries. That's valuable tax dollars being spent on every medical procedure to feed addictions!

By there logic, every mario life lost, another dose of heroin. Just plain stupid and proves they have nothing better to research.

Haha...Ok, there has to be more important things they could spend their time on...

"Hey guys, we need to release another story for the sun before its printed."
"We need something eye-catching, any ideas?"
"Heroin=Video Games"
"That's brilliant! We'll draw more attention to ourselves than Peta!"

I think it probably does have some similarities. (Great whilst it lasts but its not enough and then always want more).

If it is true that people stop having sex to check their phones that is worse than any of the drug addictions or smoking. (At least then people have the self control to wait until afterwards).

There again in civilised parts of the UK if you sell the Sun you get your windows smashed. (It would be for the better if that was extended to the rest of the UK).

The more you have done it the more you have to spend for the same enjoyment that is another thing. (Increasing dose for heroin - Increased numbers of games needed for games).

It's a tabloid for feck sake x

I wouldn't even realize what I was doing and I'd already have that controller in my hand. Woke up every morning with DS carts strewn all over the floor and think, "What did I DO last night?".

What's the hottest part of The Sun?
Page 3

Could NintendoLife maybe edit this video into the main article? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5RSngCFpsc

It's from Extra Credits and it debunks the myth of "game addiction". That'd save readers a LOT of trouble and grief from this idiotic publication.

And yet, almost all tabloids promote their web presence on facebook, which is plastered with adds for games like candy crush and the likes.
Just look at the current generation and try to find a person who is not addicted and dependant on facebook anymore, and yet, that is not a problem ?
Maybe because its free webspace for companys like this to promote their own stuff and lure in more and more customers.
Or smart devices in general really, and im not strictly talking about games here.
Give these tabloids some free add space in a game and see, if they will still criticise it.

To be honest, these people should be intrigued by the fact that games still manage to bring forth brain activity. Something, the common media hasnt been able to achieve in years

Also, as @S-Miyahon said, its a simple math problem: Call of Duty as a whole is so darn wide spread, that you could basicly say that EVERYONE owns at least one copy of it (since they havent stated which one specifically). So, the odds of finding someone commiting suicide / murder who doesnt own a copy are slimmer than the other way around.

Ugh, the Sun, what trash for low life scum to read.

'Call of Duty link to three suicides’ world wide? Out of 10's of millions of sales? haha, yeah, CoD caused those 3 people to top themselves. Such rubbish.

Gaming is a hobby, just like any other hobby of god sake.

I dont think we have anything to worry about, their test subjects were Bigfoot, the Lochness Monster and a Leprechaun.

Oh, and they also found that the breakfast cereal Lucky Charms is addictive as well. So are Trix, but only to rabbits.

ok enough of this nonsense, I have to get back to Candy Crush.

There is no reason to give these kind of stupid articles any more advertising. The mainstream media is going to bash video games because they're the newest form of media, and least understood by most people. Much like there used to be scares about people being addicted to television or even books, we don't see any of that any more, and its because video games can now be bashed.

◾‘Call of Duty link to three suicides’
When they say linked what they mean is that the three people happened to play Call of Duty. They also had other hobbies - but lets focus on gaming for little reason.
◾‘Dopamine levels increase in the brain’
It also increases when you eat food, and do fun activities. Once again the paper shows its lacking understanding of science.
◾‘It gives you a kick and a chemical buzz’
SO DO ALL OTHER ENJOYABLE HOBBIES. Honestly, the sensationalism is real. If only the writer hadn't flunked out of high school chemistry.

People can get 'addicted' to anything. If someone locked themselves up and played video games all day and didn't ever go outside then the person has issues to deal with. If they weren't allowed to play video games they would turn to television, books, or some other hobby. I swear if someone wrote a joke article about Game Addiction I wouldn't be able to tell amongst this stuff.

I've never thought of robbing my family to feed my gaming addiction.

@unrandomsam

"I think it probably does have some similarities. (Great whilst it lasts but its not enough and then always want more)."

You could say that about almost anything though. Doing too much of anything could be labeled as an addiction. The Sun is just making connections for the sake of making connections.

@Einherjar Facebook is an interesting one. My mum tried and failed to give it up (For Lent) and failed (first time I can ever think of her failing at that). That is some sort of addiction. Stuff like MMO's have cases where it has the same life destroying properties as any other type of addiction.

(@unrandomsam) @MoonKnight7 - Exactly.
Once someone gets into reading and enjoy it - they will want more books to read. Soon nothing will quench their addictive thirst for reading! Except that isn't seen as a problem (Spoiler: Because It isn't). Someone who reads a lot is seen as intelligent and devoted since books have been around for generations. Games though? They from the devil himself.

@Stu13

LOL, you made me laugh!

I don't know where they stand across the pond, but in the US, the word "tabloid" is a red flag.

3 suicides is hardly proof of an adictive substance. Suicides can happen about a lot of things, that's like saying cats and dogs are addictive. But we do all know a night in with your friends with beer and a bit of "class A" Mario Kart is extremely dangerous stuff.

Is that like the UK version of the National Inquirer?

"the next level of mental health risk."

I think you are at a higher risk if you read (and believe) the complete drivel that the Sun publishes...

Oh the Sun... Are Amelia Eirheart's grandchildren addicted to their Game Boys on the moon with aliens? Maybe they were, but killed themselves from Mario Land.

If Sun in Mainstream — God save the Queen.

Can people get addicted to gaming — of course.
To what degree do people get addicted — unknown because either we have people trying to create controversy, make a name for themselves, or not willing to listen.

Sounds like politics in the 21st century,

@ryanator008 It is Murdock like Fox News (Possibly even worse because there are no safeguards on what they can and cannot do at all.)

@Geonjaha

Well said, that's a great example.

Slow news week, not just in video games.

While I do believe video games can influence the behaviour of mentally fragile people and those whom are easily lead, especially if people play them non stop and don't live in the real world. I don't think you can say video games are as deadly as heroin. They don't make your teeth rot, give you diahorrea, or shut down your internal organs.

Are they addictive? Yes, but so is Sugar and so is exercise. Would a lot of people live better lives if they could cut down on staring at screens. Most likely.

Don't worry, X-Factor and Strictly are back in a couple of months and they'll have something else to write about again.

And that's what happens when you read crap like the sun. This is the second or third article posted on this site by that rag from memory, I like visiting this site, but if I see another article reported on then I wont be coming here again.

@Morph It is important to know when others post drivel — and that is exactly what the Sun is doing. Thankfully, since it has placed it behind its pay wall, access and dissemination will be fairly limited, especially outside the UK.

@TimLatshaw xD That was too funny!

@unrandomsam Even with MMOs, its less the game itself creating the addiction and more the social component about it, just like with facebook.
It creates a false image of "friendship" and dependance and conditions you to seek out recognition by other players / users (Facebook friends and likes, Game leaderboards and rare, sought after loot).
It taps into the most primal needs of being recognized and "becomming the best there is" through fals fame and popularity.
Though i have to say, the MMO example is in fact a more rare case these days. Facebook on the other hand is acepted by the general public as "perfectly normal" and therefor, no one really realizes the level of addiction.
An alcoholic among a crowd of drinking party people is just another drunk in the flock. No one can see the difference because at this point, its all the same.
To see cases of, say, facebook addiction, shut the site off for a week and see how many people get mentally crippled by it.

THIS is, in my opinion, much much more dangerous than any real video game could ever be.

Sun = crap journalism on a level with Yahoo Journalism. I.each not interesting and not news and quite often not true.

MCV are having a highly entertaining public spat with the Sun over this.

People can get addicted to games, and they can let their lives go to hell because of it, but to equate the dangers to the same level as drugs and alcohol is ridiculous. Of course they know this. Like most things, it's all about money. Controversial articles cause more buzz than just informing people of the news. They're not stupid. Just look at how every major gaming news site has mentioned them today.

@Geonjaha / @MoonKnight7 : Reading is not the same though. Reading late at night does the absolute opposite for me to playing online games late at night. (In terms of sleeping properly).

I have seen people being anti-social reading a book either. (Unlike messing about with phones and stuff like that).

Sigh. It's a tabloid, the only type of publication now known exclusively for irresponsible sensationalist journalism. To me, the best medicine for this kind of misinformation is education on the real facts — any attention the Sun gets is positive for them.

I would like to see a scientific test involving everyone at the Sun being given a month of addictive gaming or a month of heroin and see who suffers more.

I did a school project based on the Sun's "Nintendo Killed My Son!" headline from 20 odd years ago. At about 9 years old I was smart enough to know that the Sun was a comic book and not to be taken literally.

Activision probably paid the Sun to make this headline to court controversy for their upcoming Heroin Hero series.

@9th_Sage Here comes The Sun, doo do doo do...

This reminds me of my mom saying I have an un-healthy addiction to video games just because I had some low averages last semester. [It's not my fault I suck at french]

@Nintenjoe64: I see what you did there!

@FalconPunch lol Perfect. I wish I'd thought of that!

That's why I like digital downloads over physical carts. It's a lot easier to get the digital version in the syringe.

Facepalm Just Facepalm

@technotaylor98 I KNOW!!!

Yeah, suuuureee >.< This is the same sensationalist, shoddy outlet that said the 3DS blinded children... Jesus...

"The report has been published in today's edition of the tabloid, and can be read online here behind a pay wall."
Ya... that is the worse bait to pay (even if it's a month free trial) I seen in a long while. Still a good laugh.

In any case heroin is an extreme compare. Maybe chocolate or even gambling, but heroin? Might as well compare bullying to accepted murder to get more views.

i don't understand why the games which some calls addictive , aren't mostly addictive for me ?

i really believe that if we spends lots of time for playing games that can be harmful

@unrandomsam - I've seen people who enjoy spending a lot of time reading alone. Anything can have the same effect on people. Its just because video games happen to be one of the more popular options that its becoming the target.

Ah, The Sun.

Everything that causes joy, can be addictive, some things more than others though. As a general rule, if a person is susceptible, and the object of stimulation is abused, you end up with an addiction. You don't have to look to heroin though, there are far more natural joys people can get addicted to ... Also I think it is never wise to compare a chemical substance, meant to be addictive in the first place, to anything else. It will always lead to an argument wide open to serious criticism ... but I guess all of that is beside the point, this article makes for good copy no doubt!

"Journalism". The word should be used loosely every so often now...

The Sun = kiddies who never do the research and post this donkeypoopoo. (So I see that the UK news is just and laughable as the US news, LOL)

How do these guys think they'll be taken seriously if they keep unloading this stuff? It just makes it more clear they have a strong bias

Chocolate is very addictive, eat chochocolate then play video games! CRAZY this article is stupid to say the least!

Wouldn't Mario Kart lead to more suicides

From the Tabloid that prints what on "Page 3"? No-one should actually believe this crud, regardless of age... Just... [sigh]....

Could be worse, they could try to cover up the death of 96 people by blaming it on the people themselves.

I just love snorting my daily dose of Smash, you guys. I am glad The Sun made me see the light.

This is a horrible comparison and lacks any understanding on what addiction really is. Heroine has an undeniable, unavoidable physical impact on the user and videogames do not. Heroine induces chemical dependency, meaning that a person using heroine NEEDS to have it or they suffer withdrawal symptoms. A gamer can stop playing games and suffer no symptoms whatsoever, other than boredom of course. I could go on, but it is pathetic to compare a harmful drug that makes people extremely ill and ruins lives with a form of interactive entertainment that millions of people grew up with and are completely fine. It's as much an insult to heroine addicts as it is to gamers.

The Sun?! See ya! Tabloids shakes head

@neohopeSTF - Yeah and lots more bananas on the road!

@9th_Sage I've been told that I'm quick on my feet. But still an inadequate athlete...

Woah, they're right! I can't stop! I'm gonna lie, cheat, and steal to get my next gaming fix! I can't live a functional life! Can't hold down a job or support a family! My health is rapidly deteriorating!

Oh wait... none of that is true.

@unrandomsam (@Geonjaha)

Let's take a step back for a second, and I'm going to reiterate. Nearly anything could be labeled an addiction. It is just a matter of opinion whether or not said addiction is good for you. However, there are obvious "bad and good addictions" of course, given overwhelming amounts of studies. So in that regard, has been plenty studies that state video game are indeed, at least to some degree, good. I discount this opinion mainly due to the fact that it is basing it on drugs for the attention, as you have to have a lot more variables to make such an accusation. I could say that gambling is as additive as heroin, throw four random facts up, and it has just as much weight as their statement, which essentially, at it's core, tells you nothing.

If the title of the article would be "video games are addictive," there would be no interest, but if the title is "video games are as addictive as heroin," then it gets people's attention. I think it's important to see through these kinds of articles as they are just intended to get clicks and nothing more.

This is just plain silly. Being addicted to games IS NOT the same as being addicted to heroin. It's not like I'll die without gaming after sometime.

What a load of BLEEEEEEP!!

@unrandomsam
But I like Fox News!

The Sun is a far greater 'mental health risk' than any video game will ever be. It's nice to be able to play games and escape a world where some people will probably believe this garbage. - goes to turn on Wii U-

I guess I'll see you all in therapy,then!

Question is what game is that in the picture. I'm usually good at this kind of stuff but this ones got me beat. Looks like Skylanders perhaps?

The article loses all credibility as soon it is mentioned that The Sun newspaper instigated it. It is an absolutely atrocious publication.

I brand the sun a trash sexist tabloid that is stuck somewhere still in 1980's

It also a brand of toilet paper in Liverpool I hear

Just like the west baptist church, anything for attention.

I don't do drugs but if video games are as addictive as one then all I can say is...video games are a hell of a drug. I'm Rick James.

I don't know about you guys, but I find P@rn more addicting.

@JDig

You mean this?

Totally different things. Games are a sinister addiction, mostly played by psychopathic would-be school shooters, while bingo apps lavish fabulous riches on the weak willed and financially unstable.

Games are as addictive as heroin? I have no idea what you're talking about.
Now here, hold this syringe for a sec, I have to cook this MH3U disc down in this spoon.
Inject it between my toes, my mom checks my arms!

I'm just gonna throw this out there- I've been through heroin addiction. 10 years hooked on opiates from age 16-26 (clean 4 years praise God). And gaming doesn't even come close. Even barring the fact there are no physical withdrawals, the mental addiction isn't comparable either. Not even close.

Yah, gaming is about as addicting as it gets for not being an actual drug or substance of abuse. But drugs, particularly heroin, are in a league of their own.

I don't know... I feel like I'm pretty high when I play Pilotwings.

@FJOJR F yo couch?

@TimLatshaw: Sir, that was awesome.

The Sun is essentially a whole newspaper of lies and/or controversy to make consumers purchase it. This isn't exactly out of their league. However, that doesn't mean this isn't absolutely stupid. What proof do they have? Who provided this information? Why games like Call of Duty specifically? Is it because it's popular and they needed an example?

Call of Duty is linked to three suicides?
139,600,000 total CoD sales
3 of those people committed suicide, so...
If you bought a Call of Duty game
you have a 0.0000002 percent chance to commit suicide.
Wow, what a serious problem. Let's ban video games.
JACK THOMPSON FOR PRESIDENT

I feel like I'm more addicted to buying games than playing them... I'm buying games at a rate far faster than I'm finishing them. I've got tonnes of unstarted games. Sun newspaper, please help!

I think that when people don't know the difference between cause and effect, or between escapism and addiction, they shouldn't be writing articles. The masses are ignorant and swallows these things raw, so they are contributing to the downsizing of the collective intellect.

Lol... you can more or less ignore everything the Sun say's. - althow this topic has been spoken about befor.

If only I was addicted to my Wii u. There are just not enough games to get me hooked.

@zool Yah I see where your're coming from. I have a Wii U and I use it quite a bit but half the time I am using Wii games. Can't wait for the new titles coming out in the next year or so (hopefully the next years goes fast).

UK
wut r u doin
UK
stahp

Do The Sun still do weekly videogame reviews? If so, total hypocrits.

@Chouzetsu No glenn beck with his BS ideas about gaming should be president. And if you don't know who glenn is look him up and listen to his ideas about violence in games.You're going to laugh especially with the watch dogs segment.

@JaxonH awesome that you were able to free yourself from heroin addiction. I have no personal experience with it, but I have tried to learn about it and understand it unlike a lot of people. From what I've learned, getting clean is no small feat, which is why I always find it ridiculous when something like video games is compared to heroin just because a certain response in the brain is similar. You can probably say something similar about anything largely considered to be fun.

Here we go again...

@JaxonH You were addicted to heroin and now you're clean for 4 years?That's respect, i knew people that were addicted to heroine is not easy.And the sad thing people don't get the help they need in time.

So its in the sun. Its got to be true. Lol. The scum as it known In most parts of the uk. Yes games are addictive, iv been gaming since 1984 and iv never stole a car shot any one or gone into space. But I did break my anke playing ruby and had to have treatment maybe rugby should be banned as it clearly costs the NHS much more them video game injurys. Plus the scum are can not be trusted. The truth by the sun.........http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsborough_disaster#Controversies

British media in 'made up headline based almost entirely what they think' shocker. Money grabbing from a dying trade, manned mostly by corrupt, lawbreaking a##holes.
Keep gaming brothers and sisters! I wonder if they'd dare study the effects of miserable soap operas on the lazy drunken masses that populate this self-centered dog pit.

HARRUMPH! I need to chill out, perhaps I played too much Pikmin 3 today.

Sensationalist 'news' outlet making sensationalist claims towards other sensationalist forms of entertainment?
No!! Say it isn't true!!
AHEM.
The Sun is no better than tabloid trash. The same people who think Rhianna flashing a tit, Lady Gagging's downhill spiral, and nothing country music 'stars' divorcing as news has no traction for such brazen opinions.

Anything can be addicting. The question is if you get addicted and to experience whatever it is in moderation.

I guess I'm pretty darn messed up

@sdelfin @midnafanboy

The people that make these comparisons obviously haven't ever been through a real addiction, or they'd realize just how preposterous the notion is. I'm not denying the science of certain brain activities and all that, but you can't summarize an addiction down to one single brain reaction. There's a lot more going on mentally than can be reflected through their data.

And ya, I got hooked on prescription painkillers when I was in high school. Started off thinking "oh, it's just a Vicoden or Percoset". Then a little later you stop taking them and discover what withdrawl symptoms are- by the time you realize your mistake it's too late. Tolerance builds, you need stronger prescriptions like Oxycontin and Morphine, and then one day when you can't obtain any pills, you resort to heroin to cure the withdrawls (it's all opiates, basically all the same stuff just different potency).

I give all credit to God for breaking that addiction. I tried for years- couldn't do it by myself. And not a moment too soon either. Right around that time is when all my friends started dying from overdoses. Attend a few funerals of your best friends and you realize how serious the addiction is.

Which is what makes this comparison almost comical!

I thought in that country people/companies could sue easier for slander?

They forgot to mention how video games are as evil as Hitler.

Hyperbole is my favorite.

My dopamine levels rise when I have a good gym sesh too.
Maybe lifting is as addictive as heroin too. It's most certainly bad for you to stay in good shape.

uhhhh... people blaming video games for bad thing happening or comparing to drugs... people who do these things make me sick!

Ahh what!!! I missed this article today as I purchased the sport instead.

Some great funny comments that l've enjoyed reading on here tonight.

If you live outside of the UK, don't take the Sun newspaper so seriously. No one in the UK ever does.

anything you really enjoy can be addictive for the same reason some drugs are. Dopamine flushes can do that, it's the reward chemical of the brain..... Heroin binds to the opioid receptors which causes the brain to flood itself with dopamine (one of the feel good neurotransmitters). Tasks that we really enjoy flood the brain with dopamine as well. There is lots of tasks that can do this as well, exercise, eating, gambling, video games, sex, car/motorcycle racing.

What makes heroin physically addictive is your brain is constantly flush with dopamine for most of the day, everyday for weeks on end which causes the withdrawal effects if it's suddenly removed...... The question is could all of these seemingly benign tasks cause withdrawal symptoms as well if done for weeks on end, all day long and then abruptly stopped? I can't say I have ever seen any studies on that.

OMG!! I knew it, I've been playing video games since I was 5 and its just been a battle to break my addiction for years, I mean my hand-eye coordination has increased, I-I've made...Friends with the same interests while doing it and have LEARNED from some... I think I need help...

The thing about gamers, some of us do acknowledge there are issues and try to help if possible. Sometimes we need to get outside the house, see other people and take a sabbatical.

However anything is addictive. Like internet and TV. To be honest, I've found videogames better for my mental health. I have not had the greatest experienced of the internet. Sometimes it's like watching the news 24/7.

Well, I wouldn't say this is entirely wrong. Similar studies have found similar results since the 80s. Heroin could be a real overstatement, but nonetheless, cutting back on gaming would only be healthy for me, considering how I have felt its addictive effects.

Personally, video games are more addictive than heroin.

Well, not the first time games have been targeted on a slow news day, and won't be the last. I'll be sweeping this one under the rug as well...

Say, wheres my SNES tourniquet peripheral? I want to inject some Star Fox into my veins.

"‘Call of Duty link to three suicides’"

I'm pretty sure I know exactly what story they're referring to, and those teenagers were suffering from depression. Chances are, the only 'link' with their suicide video games had were as a form of escapism from it.

@neohopeSTF Mario Kart leads to road rage. Mario Party leads to homicides.

'Man killed as plumber jumps on his head, eats a mushroom and escapes through nearby sewer pipe.' Videogames blamed.
Alcohol is cheap, legal, addictive and kills many people a day in the UK in various different ways, anybody for a sensational study of it in the tabloids?

Well I wouldn't say that's entirely untrue, though the labeling could use some work. I dunno about you all, but I've spent tons of time on my Nintendo games than pretty much anything ever. And I've heard of people clocking in upwards of 300 hours on MK8 since it's launch.

But in all seriousness, It's kinda sad that people who either never picked up a game or seriously put effort into trying to play one once they found the controller or keyboard and mouse too cumbersome to use in a game, immediately want to write games off as something awful and bad just because they can't, don't, or won't understand it.

I do, again serious this time, love how they just slap the Gameboy image on that and equal it to drugs though. My teen and childhood self would probably be very interested in drugs if I were told they were as good as my Gameboy color... Hmm I should probably get it off my book shelf, dust it off, and pop in Pokemon Yellow... I've been feeling a lil down lately and could use a fix.

@BLPs Gross? lol

This just in.. Lifting Weights, Spending time with people you care for, laughing at a joke, and going to nightclubs all as addictive as Heroin. Why? Because they raise dopamine levels just like heroin!!!!

Dopamine levels rise as a result of you being happy, enjoying yourself. So if that's the reason for it being as addictive as heroin, then anything that makes you happy is, haha.

What's next? "New Report suggests intentionally making yourself unhappy to not get addictive to rising dopamine levels associated with happiness". I haven't slept tonight and it's now quarter to 6am so maybe I'm not making a ton of sense because I'm exhausted but this article just seemed so STUPID! (Not on NL's part, but on whoever created it in the first place)

@BLPs
I love your word choice, haha. I agree with you on that.

But honestly, you could compare anything to heroin if you follow their logic.
Did you hear? Mayonnaise is addictive because 3 people ate too much of it. Sex is addictive because testosterone levels increase in the brain. Imagine combining those two, good heavens, an orgasm for crappy newspapers.

I dont EVER read newspapers i Never watch the new because of the BS brainwashing manipulating nature of the misinformation i wont let myself absorb it, Common as you like Paracetamol is more dangerous Nuff said.

Click bait, get your click bait, right here!

Quoting from the Sun, a UK tabloid newspaper more famous for it's page 3 topless models than anything written within?

Wow. Just ... wow. O_o

@sinalefa So true! They just make up bullsh!t
scandals if they cant find anything to report about.I love how they bring up mental health and video games every year."Someone will believe us someday!" is what you'll hear them say as they copy and paste there article from some anti-gamer blog.

Lol as if the Sun is a serious publication the last thing I remember is page 3