Can't break being addicted to videogames.

[Blahness]

Hello. once again, I'm making some large post where I complain about me, my situation, and my life in general. If you don't give a crap what I say, that's nice, but if you really don't give a crap, you won't say anything.

Anyway, back to my badly formatted complaint about myself.

Age 15, sophomore, in College Algebra, Marketing, English, and Physics. All but the College Algebra are really easy.

Problem that interferes with doing good in school is:

I'm addicted to video games.


Or, more specifically, I'm addicted to "leaving reality", as I call it. Reading Fiction novels, Videogames especially, movies , and discussing situations completely unrelated to anything that might directly concern me anywhere in the near future.(Not TV, I hate TV.) Probably comes from trying to avoid family issues earlier in life, so I'm not sure what to do now. It's definitely heavily impacting my grades, making me get Cs in rediculously easy(But not with little work!) classes.

I've tried to "leave reality" to work, but anything that actually requires thought, especially mathematically, seems to just push me away. I think "I should get up and do the work", but then I try to move my body towards it and I resist myself, and then I hit huge pockets of procrastination factors, resulting in what I call the "Oh my god I'm a lazy ass" factor. Having ADD and no medicine for it might be a part of the problem, but I'm no expert in that(or anything for that matter). I think that that'd throw off note-taking, but that's something else.

Kind of annoying when you have an english essay due in 2 days, and you've not started it.

I've only been passing classes on extremely good test grades, but now that I've not been doing math homework, as my math classes get harder, I make more of these, as I call them, "TINY ASS STUPID MISTAKES THAT THROW THE PROBLEM OFF!". Example: I multiply 8 by 60. Unfortunately, 8 times 6 is not 42, so 8 times 60 is NOT 420, thus resulting in a C instead of a B(by 2 points!) on my last math test. I'm guessing that it's because I'm not practicing math before taking tests, but I'm pushed away from working by my laziness factor.


So I've got to force myself to work, but the invisible laziness barrier pushes me back to playing video games and being on the internet.

Though I feel I'm being rather vauge on asking this, and I feel that I most likely didn't give enough information on exactly what I'm dealing with, what should I do?

 

[AngelShare]

I get ya...I have that problem sometimes. I tell myself, "You're a senior, this is serious...if you want to graduate you're going to have to do the work." but something always distracts me. It's the same way with my brother. His addiction is video games, mine is the internet and music. My problem is a bit different though...I get distracted when I get frustrated and I'm almost always frustrated. Chemistry won't click no matter how hard I study...there are things I learned that I understood at the time but I've now forgotten. Marine Biology is hard simply because of the labs...who can build a model of a phytoplankton at home while reading Angela's Ashes, Hamlet, and The Importance of Being Earnest, eh? And now, on top of all of that, I've got to do my graduation project and, even though it's just now starting, I'm already afraid I'll fail.

As if that isn't enough, my house is a horrible place in which to study. My brother insists upon bringing a friend over every weekend to spend the night even though he, himself, is failing, so it's always loud. That means I can't concentrate so I don't even attempt to do anything on those weekends. My Dad doesn't leave for work until 11:30am so that means he's got extra time in the morning...so now he's got to run all over the house doing things...he slams doors, throws stuff around, and yells stuff like, "Where in the f*ck is my hat?! Where are my f*cking shoes?! This place is such a mother f*cking dump!"...who in the hell can concentrate with that going on when you're already having problems?:uhh:

I haven't even been able to read and I love reading...my problem extends even further past not being able to concentrate-- my memory is getting worse. Really, I'll be doing something downstairs when, all of a sudden, I'll get thirsty. I'll walk up the stairs towards the kitchen but, by the time I get to the top, I've forgotten what it is I wanted in the first place. It's kind of worrying...how can you get by when your mind seems to be going? I'm hoping it's just all of the stress my Dad and school puts on me because, if that's the case, at least I can fix the problem-- just got to find a way out of the house as quickly as possible.

 

[moose]

Fellow Arizonian!

Last year, first semester, I was taking the class before college algebra and I always made stupid mistakes, such as 5+8=12... things like that. However, through college algebra I gradually got to a point where those mistakes just weren't made and now, in my calculus class on our last 80 question two day with take home portion exam thing, I only missed one question out of lack of remembering a certain property and reading the question wrong.

A **REALLY** important habbit for you to get into is to double check every single answer on your tests.

BTW, yesterday I started an english essay at 10pm... it was due today(however, I generally avoid these encounters...). A good idea would be to sign up for an extremely hard AP class for next year. I guess hard isn't the right word, I meant some class which requires endless work. I took AP US History this year and I averaged probably 3 hours of work for that class every day and it has helped me so much. However, this will backfire if you end up not putting in the work!

Anyway, which part of arizona do you live in?
EDIT: Which part of Phoenix

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Do you have a girlfriend?

 

[JasonRox]

Just throw the games out.

What's so hard about that?

Sure, you love it, but don't you love the success you can have in school and in the future?

It's not easy I know, but it's all dedication.

The way I looked at it when I was hooked on online gaming was that, if I don't stop, I'm going nowhere in life.

Therefore, I wanted to succeed, so bye bye games.

I have it burnt in my head... play video games and become a nobody... or atleast not the person you want to become.

Write what you want to be all over your room. Get it burned in your head!

I WANT TO BE A MATHEMATICIAN!

 

[JasonRox]

A **REALLY** important habbit for you to get into is to double check every single answer on your tests.

Yes, this is a good habit, but it can lead to bad ones too.

It can waste precious time on tests that can't afford anytime for double checking. Also, it can lead you to start doubting your own answer, and possibly later on even lose trust in your own answers.

That happened to me, which is worse in my opinion.

I trust my own answers, but now I've become very critical on what's good enough.

 

[AngelShare]

That's a good habit to have when you have the time to go through the motions of checking each and every answer but I don't suggest doing anything of the sort on the SAT...I had about fives minutes left every time so all I had time to do was briefly scan over things.:rofl:

 

[Blahness]

@Angelshare: My mind(or at least memory)'s already slipped away. X.x'

@moose: Peoria, Sunrise Mountain High School.

And about always checking your answer, I tend to... hmm, not exactly daydream, but think of completely unrelated issues, so I don't have enough time. Or, if I do have enough time to check it, I'm in a horrid mood and I say "screw it, I want to get it done", which I KNOW I must stop, and am actively combatting.

@Greg: Unfortunately, I'm not exactly a catalyst for social reactions. So, no.

@Jason: I think you self-contradicted, unless I'm mistaken, which I think I am. The second sentence talks about the difficulty of throwing away games, and the fourth about setting myself at the work, right?

Anyway, it's not just "throw away games". It'd have to be "Throw away all games, movies, books, and the computer", and the last one is pure impossibility. I need to use a computer for school stuff! X.x

@JasonRox(2): Are you saying that I should only check ones that aren't apparently obvious that they flow smoothly from question to answer, to avoid overchecking? Or just to check only if I have spare time afterwords?

@AngelShare: From this, I'm guessing that I shouldn't overcheck because of time. If I were to check, I should check the hardest ones, right?

@General: I've been told by some friends that by claiming to have wasted 10 years(2/3rds of my life!) on it, I'm having my mid-life crisis 30 years early.

...*shrug*, at least I caught myself before I failed any classes, but I know my GPA-based scholarships are pretty much screwed. >_<

Also, since I need something completely and utterly unrelated to this...
I love word problems. They take about 3 seconds longer then a normal problem, and you get less of them at a time for homework/tests/quizzes! =D

 

[Bladibla]

A good way is to have extremist attitudes: if i don't finish this work today, i die a horrible painful death and eternal damnation in hell.

Heck, it worked for me.

 

[neurocomp2003]

yeah i had the problem in my 5th year of university...dropped my thesis because of it =[ my suggestion is to pick up 3D graphics coding or web development something with the same visual appeal as games...if you like games why not build them =]

 

[Blahness]

@Bladiba: Unfortunately, I'm too realistic to believe I'd die a horrible death of fire for not finishing work. X.x

@neurocomp2003: I tried a programming class once. He tried to teach us Java.

I still have nightmares from that class.

 

[moose]

Yes, this is a good habit, but it can lead to bad ones too.

It can waste precious time on tests that can't afford anytime for double checking. Also, it can lead you to start doubting your own answer, and possibly later on even lose trust in your own answers.

That happened to me, which is worse in my opinion.

I trust my own answers, but now I've become very critical on what's good enough.

Well, of course that is true. However, at the level of math he is in, he most likely will have time right now. Then, in his next math classes, he can slowly start to stop checking his answers. It worked for me *shrugs*

EDIT: You have a PM O_____O

EDIT2: I still can't believe that someone on PF goes to my school other than my friend who I know...

Also, never give up hope just because your gpa is bad ;)
BTW, if you really want to do a lot of work, take Ms. Nance's(or Mrs. Johnson's now, since she got married) AP US History class. It's a fun class but it takes so much work.

 

[tribdog]

here's my suggestions:
1. I'll come over and take away your games, I'm right around the corner.
2. The last I heard gaming improved intellect, so I'll give your games back to you either when a. homework was done or b. I was tired of playing
3. If you are making stupid arithmatic mistakes, stop doing that. you are old enough that you should be incapable of misadding or multiplying. go over your times tables and drill them into your skull. you'll use them everyday for the rest of your life might as well memorize them.
4. Checking answers on tests: I don't know if I've ever caught a mistake by going back over my answers. 95% of the time when I get to the last question I am done. I might have to go back and think about a question I wasn't sure about, but there's no way I'm going to rework every problem to check my math

 

[tribdog]

EDIT2: I still can't believe that someone on PF goes to my school other than my friend who I know...

Jesus, two of you was enough.

 

[Blahness]

@moose: <LAUGH>! Smaller world then it seems, I guess.

I had Ms(Mrs). Nance(Johnson) for World History, and she's not a bad teacher. I got a B, I believe. I might look into that.

Also: NO, YOU HAVE A PM! <Rawr>

@tribdog:
1.Go for it, but you'll have to wipe my computer as well, and I sort of need it for school.
2.Let's hope it's the first!
3.I can recite/write down my multiplication tables up to 15, but when doing a math problem, I'll write down a completely wrong number.(Note to self, 1 times 5 is NOT 3.)
4.So people are divided on checking work.

@tribdog(2): Lol, Arizona's a land of congregation. People're (attempting) to escape problems in the west. I actually moved here just 2 years ago.

 

[rocketboy]

I'm similar, except I had the will power to uninstall all my video games and haven't played one since christmas break. But for me it's music and internet. I have a 1500 word english poetry commentary due tomorrow and I just started tonight and I'm posting this instead. I'm getting better though, you just have to really force yourself to get down to work. This post was going to be a lot longer but I'm going to do my english...

 

[mattmns]

I had the same problem a while back, and I lost my scholarship because of it (luckily I got it back later). I think Jason is right on here: Stop immediately. Spend a few serious years in school, and then once you are done have fun and play the video games with your nice job. Unless you are fine with playing video games and working on getting that promotion to manager at Mcdonalds.

 

[tribdog]

managers at McDonalds make more than most physicists

 

[JasonRox]

managers at McDonalds make more than most physicists

Are you counting the Physicists that are not employed?

If yes, that skews the stats. :tongue:

 

[bomba923]

Haha...English classes. I'd gladly write essays, provided they were NOT on literature. Please, anything...but literature. (Yes...by literature, I refer to the fiction, novels, poems, etc. Material that would be covered in an English course)

Honestly, literature/novels/fiction is just art/entertainment.

If the author really wishes to present a serious issue/solution, he/she writes an essay--an argument forwarded via a central thesis logically supported with historical/real examples within the paragraphs that follow. (And, a conclusion would be nice). The burden of proof (of whatever claims an author might make on our reality, often via literary themes) is on the author, NOT on an English student.

You see, a work of fiction--an "imagined reality" created by the author who also (by the way) controls all events, personalities, and characters--needs not necessarily connect to our reality. Such work..well, it's just art/entertainment. You are free to like/dislike/criticize merely on the basis of feelings (which are pretty much at the same level of logic as literature and works of fiction).

Don't get me wrong...I don't despise literature. I despise teachers who demand logical and developed essays--regarding moods, tones, connections to modern reality and involving assumptions on characters/personalities (derived from a few lines or so)--on works of fiction replete with figurative language (whose only purpose is to muster some emotional appeal), written without any reference to any real/historical examples, consideration of economic logic, scientific (or even scientifically derived) evidence, etc. etc. etc.

I will expand/write more on this post, later on...

 

[Mk]

You guys can't manage video games and straight As?

 

[Kakarot]

You guys can't manage video games and straight As?

you can manage a's with video games but not with online video games :tongue2: