Escaping video game addiction: Cam Adair at TEDxBoulder 

All those who quit: That's REAL strength! All those who are trying: Be strong. Behind you 100%!👍👍

This video honestly made me tear up. I was in your shoes at a certain point in my life and I knew I needed to quit. I managed to bring down my gaming early in high school as I made friends and didn't have as big of a hole to fill as I did. But as I lost more and more friends through normal aspects of life (graduation, drifting, going different paths), I filled that void with online FPS's and MMO's. Luckily, I fell in love with an amazing girl and quit practically cold turkey for a little over a year or so. I noticed so much improvement in my life, I was finally being the person I wanted to be. But, I got too comfortable and started playing online MMO's again. Our relationship ended shortly after. I'm not saying it was solely because of my addiction to gaming I recently got back into, but it definitely played a role. Now I'm junior and college and want to break free from this. The reasons you listed as to why we play were spot on and I'm sure that many people are partially aware of them. But they really resonated with me and were completely accurate. I had a game plan for how I was going to do it but I kept making excuses. Thanks to this video, I'm going to stick with the plan. I just wanted to say thanks for this video. People have no idea how much a lack of self control with video gaming can harm a person's life. It's an actual addiction. It isn't a joke and it's not "just a video game". If anyone is reading this, there's one crucial point that isn't mentioned in this video. If you're a video game addict and you decide to quit, you're taking a HUGE part of your daily routine and life away from you. That isn't a bad thing, it just means you're going to have a lot more time on your hands, making it easier to 'relapse'. Before you quit cold turkey, make sure you can't come back to the video game. Sell your consoles, delete your accounts, do what needs to be done, play your final games so you can have closure. But even before that is done, plan out what you want to do with your life. What are your dreams? What interests you? Is it love? Adventure? Friends? Set new goals and make sure to fill the void video games left. It's fucking hard, trust me I know. Video games make everything so easy. Achievement is measurable, friends are easy to make, and progress is clearly seen. Life isn't that simple, unfortunately. But it can be as you get better at it. If anyone managed to get this far, thank you for reading. You *can* do it. And even if you fall, you can stand back up. Thanks to the video maker and to Cam. You're helping a lot of people and doing amazing things just by making this issue more public.

the truth is you can't play video games in moderation if you've been addicted to them for so long. the only way to stop the addiction is to stop all together

100,000 views! Wow! Thank you everyone for supporting my talk. It's so cool to see how many people it's managed to help over the years. Very grateful for each of you. - Cam

I've been struggling with this for a long time and I want to break this cycle. I have developed no/little social skills and I'm paying the price at the age of 29. Sure I'm a skillful gamer but a noob in real life. Recently I've sold my consoles and began to take walks outside or going to the gym. I've managed to greet strangers in my small way and I hope it can become conversations and eventually establishing friendships. To those who are struggling, please don't give up because myself and many others are trying to change it. Don't give up!

Lol I legit just looked that up word by word “how to quit video games”😂

The hardest thing about a video game addiction is that no one takes it seriously, therefore its really hard to find support. I told one of my closest friend that I was addicted to video games and she replied " but its not really an addiction" even though she knew i was playing 14 hours a day 5 days a week.

I've been addicted to video games for about 6 years now. Team Fortress 2, Dota, running this channel... It takes a huge chunk out of my life. The reason I do all these is because at school I'm treated like I'm invisible, my teachers are jerks, and I'm depressed. Like you mentioned in the talk, online you are judged on how you play and how you interract with the community. I have made over 300 friends playing online who like me only for who I am, and not for some embarrasing happening or a bully. It's a place where I can be me with no judges. But becuase of this I am failing my schoolwork and and getting more depressed. I don't know why, but my addiction feels more like something glued me to my chair infront of my computer. Great talk. Thank you.

Hey everyone! It's Cam here. Thanks for checking out the TEDx talk, I really hope you've enjoyed it. I've decided to launch a RU-vid channel to answer reader questions and share more insight into the gaming problem and how you can overcome it in yourself. Feel free to come leave a comment and I'll answer it in a video. :)

“You’re not playing the video game, the video game is playing you”

I can't comprehend why people cannot understand how quitting an activity I've been doing everyday for 10+ years is a massive undertaking

Gamequitters seems like a cool guy, I like how he's replying to ever comment and helping people.

I was addicted to video games since I can remember , Took me 2 years to try and get out of it . since i quit i lost 25kg , traveled and lived abroad in 3 countries and keep evolving as a person , I hope you all find your way , some people can manage but I know for me I had to cut off the thing i loved the most . You have to cut it out , otherwise its impossible , I'll always love gaming but I cannot have it in my life .

"THEY NEED INTERACTION, NOT ENTERTAINMENT"

I had a video game addiction but I stopped by doing heroin

I uninstalled all the games on my computer and picked up a few books at chapters instead of buying skins for LoL. I'm tired of these feelings of regret, depression, disconnection and temporary escape. The worst part is that I was aware of these feelings since I would be bombarded by them constantly. Time for me to change myself..

One of the biggest things I've noticed with my video game compulsion (I hesitate to use the term addiction) is the loss of presence in my every day life. I've played video games since I was a small child but it didn't become a compulsion until around ten years ago. Originally it began as a coping mechanism and pure escapism since I had just been forcibly uprooted and moved to a place where I knew nobody. Video games gave me a sense of presence and agency in my life, where the real world did not. Over the two years I lived in that place it was not uncommon for me to spend 10 to 16 hours a day playing video games. This is behavior pattern followed me as I moved back to my home town. I would work, then come home and spend the rest of my time playing video games. This behavior became further compounded when I loss my job due to an injury and no longer had a reason to leave the house. I would spend all day, from the moment I woke to the moment I fell asleep, playing video games. It has progressed to the point where (pardon the crassness) I can't even sit on the toilet without playing a game on my phone because I feel like it's a waste of time. Any time I get into a stressful situation I immediately want to retreat to a virtual world and escape the situation. Any time I become remotely bored I feel the strong compulsion to run to a game. This compulsion hasn't cost me anything truthfully. I lead a full life. I'm a loving husband and attentive father, but, even while spending time with my daughter, i'm thinking about video games, Googleing video games, watching videos about video games. Looking back, this loss of presence in my life has felt like it has robbed me of the most important of human currencies, time. Through my lack of presence in my life I feel that the last ten years of my life have disappeared in a blink because I just wasn't there.

Feels like im 10 years behind everyone else at my age because i've spent my whole youth playing video games..

Playing Skyrim 14 hours a day. It's got to a point where I can't really do anything else, even playing another game for that matter.

I'm really struggling with my video game addiction during this quarantine. I was kinda beating it back then when I broke up with my gf a few months ago by traveling more. But damn, this quarantine got the worst of me again. I play 5-8hrs a day during this pandemic! I'm 28 years old, have a supervisory job, earning well, and I'm with my family so I'm in much better situation than others, but damn, I feel horrible about it. I should be doing more productive things.

Video game addiction sucks

Just uninstalled League of legends, Fortnite and all my other games in one go. As much as I love playing them, it's taking away from me being able to learn guitar, play darts and get outside more. Hey, we might be back for some games down the track. But i'm happy cleansing that dopamine rewards system with some fresh exciting new activities in life.. and maybe a job lol.

I’m a therapist working to understand a client more and this was wonderful insight. Thank you for helping others learn through your experience.

The best thing i’ve done to stop is Gym. i started lifting weights and saw progress just like video games and started getting into bodybuilding/powerlifting. 10x better then video games. when you get home from work or school, don’t sit down. Make yourself a pre workout meal, i like to make peanutbutter sandwich with banana and a bit of cinnamon. Play some Mad Tunes, Pump yourself up and Hit the gym. Even better if you have a gym buddy. i love the competition ❤️

Today I quit cold turkey after putting 3 years of 6 hours or more into gaming daily. It is an overwhelming feeling to know that such a huge part of my life is going to change. There is however no logical reason to keep playing. I am going to focus on becoming a pro concept artist, and will put all my newly liberated time into that. To whoever may be thinking about quitting, good luck, and make sure that you can look fondly upon the rest of your life, rather than a blur of sitting in front of your PC.

Mad respect my dude. This applies so well. DON'T BE AFRAID TO SEEK OUT HELP. Even just googling or going to youtube.

I know this problem. I've gone through this myself. The key is finding a passion that you can occupy your time with rather than video games. It can be something simple like going to the gym or learning to draw. If you can find a skill that you can use in the workplace that would be even better cause you'll get so absorbed in it that you'll forget about playing video games and you will reap the benefits of that skill in real world rewards.

A really nice talk. I played video games all my life and I've been able to enjoy it healthily for the most part, however there are times where it does get a little too much or when I should be focusing on other things. So I'll definitely be trying to adjust my gaming to manage it in moderation a bit more. This speech was very eye opening, well done!

Playing in moderation is impossible. If you play immersive games, they take a toll on your brain’s ability to focus. The high dopamine release makes regular things look boring and hard.

I want stop playing it, but video games make me excited and my mom and dad had to take away my devices, every time I would get back on the games. I’m in the middle of trying to quit every time I try I become depressed, that’s why I’m trying to work on it.

I like how this message doesn’t come from a place of judgement, but from a place of compassion. People listen more when you make your ‘mess’ your message. I love this. Thank you for sharing.

My husband of 5 years has played video games without moderation his whole life. He had to quit cold turkey bc his obsession ruined many parts of our lives. But he still has the itch and now he becomes obsessive about any hobby he picks up. We’ve tried many different solutions and nothing seems to work. He hates his mind, and everyone just says “use moderation” but they don’t understand the addictive nature of the brain. I wish there were more help out there for this, I see him suffer and it’s like an invisible withdraw symptom, and he can’t find relief. He’s doing his best, but man it’s the hardest thing we’ve been through. 😢

Deleting all my video games and planning to give all my time to studies and football. Wish me luck!

I am 14 going into grade 10 and a huuuuuuugggge gamer. I play up to 8 hours a day on different games. Here is my story: it started in grade 4 I moved halfway across the country and couldn't make any friends. My life all of a sudden sucked, then I found "Minecraft" and all my worries seemed to go away. Around grade 5 my parents realized that I played way too much so they set a time limit of 1 hour, I freaked out and fought them a lot. After about a month of fighting I realized that they were never gonna change this "limit" so I found ways around it, like the public library which has computers, my friends, sneaking and playing at midnight, etc. I kept doing this until about grade 8 when I started feeling very depressed and anxious. So the computer became a even bigger escape for me. The feelings became worse, so I fought even worse with my parents, a took a downward spiral. Then one day I got put into foster care because of the fighting. I am determined to fix this issue. THANKyou!

Like all adictions the reason is the same: short term pleasure in exchange of long term misery

For me, I just become competitively obsessed. Once I start playing a game, my desire to win just completely takes over, and my brain tells me that I must absolutely improve to be the best. It’s really sad because I want to be able to play in moderation, but my brain won’t allow it.

There are so many things I want to do with my life... many of those include mastering guitar, chess, wrestling, and many other activities that I, unfortunately, could not have already done because of video games. I watched this video because I typically spend anywhere from 3 to 5 hours every single day playing video games, and I am getting to the point where I am realizing "Hey, I'm 15 years old. I have three years left of my childhood where I actually have time to get good at things." As of right now, I am currently punished for all video games and I want to take this time to learn how to not need them.

I think, as in any other discussion about addiction, it is very important to know when you're crossing the line between high consumption and addiction, or wether you should see it more like a spectrum rather a line. In my case, I've been in love with video games ever since I was 5, now I'm 24 and still play them on a daily basis, and probably have never gone more than a few days straight without playing them. I went through school with good grades most of the time (though while feeling I could always do better), have been talented and various different things such as writing, playing music, arts, etc, but never fully developing any of those talents. I completed a major in college and am about to complete a second one, I have a loving girlfriend, etc. I play about an hour every day when In studying, and more when I've got the chance, although there are periods in my life where i've played, 2, 3, 5, 10 hours a day without even realizing it. I know I coould've achieved a lot more in my life if i had dedicated all those thousands of hours to something, but at the same time, I gotten a lot of joy out of video games, I see them as a form of art and I just feel happy while playing them. However, I get depressed when I realize all the things I could've done with all that time, and end up in a sort of cycle. While I don't consider my life in any way destroyed, I do know I could achieve much more, and while I know I could achieve much more, I enjoy my time in gaming greatly. Where should the line be drawn?

I was addicted to videogames for 14/15 years due to a unstable family and being bullied nonestop... Just this year I noticed it was hazardous to my health I eventually ditched the family a year ago my sight was going really downhill I felt numbness from normal situations feeling of fatigue not wanting to speak or associate with anyone including my fiancé... the past few current weeks I've been staying away I feel reborn no stress no drama to hide away from... I feel like the old me again if you enjoy games please do it in moderation I learned that this has very negative effects on your personality and health

I’m addicted to The Sims. It’s literally a second life!!! I really need to stop.

when u imagine those guys were bullied etc in school and now they are able to make a speech to an audiance .. maybe some ppl have to fall deep down, to rise much stronger than they could without this failing experience.. maybe not.. dont know

This is the most accurate video on gaming addiction that I've seen.

Hey Cam, so I stumbled onto your website and this video last night and it all made sense to me. The biggest things for me are that when I play video games, I feel like I'm wasting time and like you said in the article, games make you stagnant in development. As of yesterday, I was playing anywhere from 3-12 hours a day and I'm going to quit cold turkey. Those 4 points you mentioned are legit, I think the problem is more so competitive online gaming for me. I enjoy the challenge, and the social aspect of it. Instead I could challenge myself with sports or socialize with people face-to-face. Thank you so much for the article and video. I think they are going to change my life. To give you an idea of how inspired you made me to quit, I've never even commented on a youtube video before. Keep up the good work inspiring people to quit!

“I didn’t know what to do: so I googled it” Audience: HYSTERICAL LAUGHTER

Thanks for the talk, Cam. I've been struggling with it for over 9 years now and it's screwed me over hard. I'm still working on quitting for good and doing what I always wanted to do with my life.

Thank you Cam for sharing your story. I can't believe this talk has been out for over 3 years and this is the first time I've seen it. You give very practical advice from someone with a lived experience. Also great way of addressing the controversy on the addiction model, regardless of a consensus, so many people will benefit from this talk. Dr Huu Kim Le (Australia) 2015 TEDx Speaker "The Spell of Digital Immersion"

For me, i dont care if im addicted, i only get A's and B's in school but my problem is eyesight

today is my first day of not playing videogames anymore. Hope i make it far.

Very inspiring talk about recovering from video game addiction... hopefully, it's not just substance abuse that gets widely addressed soon.

It’s honestly mind blowing how many people out there struggle with it like me. I thought I was the only one! I’ve let it control my life for so long and now I want my life back. I’m going to try new things (healthy things!) to replace video games and I guess I just have to be strong

What can I do if I have these amazing friends online, but I don't want to wash them away so suddenly? I mean, I need to quit games now

I am about to cry...so effective :'(

Thank you so much for bringing the harm of video game up, and share your experience! Gaming addiction is pandemic

Glad I found this. I've watched a lot of addiction videos regarding video games, but this guy's is probably the best, even though it's quite short. Main reason is because I can relate to him 100%.

the 1st time I see a genuine sincere ted talk

how does eating a cold turkey make you stop playing videogames?

My dad's ADDICTED and it's making me depressed. he never stops. He doesn't hang out with me anymore and doesn't answer when I talk to him cause of his headphones. He plays constantly

Really liked how you mentioned studying ins't always a problem solver. I've been told many times myself to study more and I will forget gaming but most studying and report writing is done on computers so it's really easy to get side tracked.

I played less than 5 hours a day but video games were considered an addiction for me. I used it to ignore my significant other and ruined the relationship, and it killed my desire to go outside and do activities like I normally would. It also made me extremely irritable the next day after playing and felt emotionally unstable all the time. I stopped my senior year in college and got straight A's that year - never felt more motivated and focused in my life. Then I met a wonderful woman and we still date 4 years later because she was attracted to my ambition and sense of joy. I'm so glad I stopped, and I do fall back sometimes but going months without it will drastically change your motivation and outlook on life. It does help to have activities, a job, or studies you make your primary focus. Great speech and good luck to everyone changing their lives.

Thank you, it really helped with a school rant!

I used to be a big gamer, I played for 10-16 hours playing video games in my Xbox. I'm 14 and recently diagnosed with depression and anxiety, I now have no interest in video games, but since my friends are nerds it's hard to build up a conversation with them because all they talk about is video games. I don't know if I just mentally loss interest, or if I'm just growing out of them.

'They need interaction not entertainment' WOW

spot on my friend.....I'm forwarding this excellent vid to somebody who neeeeeeds it.....

@ CJ Mick - Hey! I can't reply directly (your G+ privacy settings) but happy to hear you don't have a problem with moderation. Thanks for watching also. For your friend, definitely the best thing you can do is help him get out of the house (skating is perfect) so he's less tempted to play. Maybe come up with some new goals for skating you can do together. I always found new goals helped me a lot.

I am dealing with this currently. PS4 is so addictive. I keep projecting into the future and fantasizing about new games coming out. obsessed with the Final Fantasy 7 remake. I know this needs to go but it seems so harmless, kind of like smoking in a sense. I have overcome other addictions like alcohol, so I am well aware of recognizing a problem. I bought many PS4 games on credit, Xbox one games on credit, don't have money to pay my bills. I hate this but when in the middle of gaming it feels like heaven. the controller feels so good in my hand. Fear life will be boring without gaming but the irony is that my life is boring with gaming.

Hey Les Paul! Great to connect with you more. Thank you for your kind words - they really do mean a lot to me. To be honest when I first wrote the article I didn't think it would lead to this. I just wanted to provide an answer for people and then move on to other things. But so many emails from people like you changed all of that, so here we are! I really appreciate all of your kind words and helping spread the message. This is bigger than us, it's about the community! Have a great day!

The video game addiction is so real! I didn't realize how bad i was addicted til i'm at the point of losing a really great relationship. I either have to chose video games or her and i want her but how do i quit my video game addiction? I've tried so many times and so many ways but thanks to you cam and your videos of how to quit has really helped! It has related to me with my every day life for the past year and now i realize i can do more than just play my Xbox one all day. I now am trying your ways of quitting the addiction and will try my hardest to stay away from the video gaming world. Thanks Cam with your video help :) and i will continue to follow you along the way.

For anyone listening, please help. I am so absorbed in my gaming addiction that it's affecting my grades and relationship with my family. My behaviour is worsening and I can't quit. To my family... I am so sorry.

Video game addictions are mentally unstable and can really hurt a person emotionally especially when they are introverts. I known from past experience even though I'm only 14. I got addicted to Minecraft (don't judge) when I was 11, and I felt the game was a dream. I played non-stop for maybe just 3-5 hours every day. Now that may not seem like much especially to those who play 10+ hours per day, but I was heartbroken when I lost interest in the game 3 years later. I was very shaky, uncertain with decisions, and overall just broken mentally. I'm still recovering from my decision, but I've been getting better slowly but surely. So if you're a person who has been sucked into the video game community, I wish the best of luck to you. My personal recommendation is to get involved in activities outside video games, and you'll eventually just start getting the confidence to just quit video games overall.

Im addicted to RU-vid:(

2020, stuck at home playing animal crossing

Shared your ted talk in my class' short presentation today and my teacher(s) said that it is good and they liked it.

Hey Cam, I uninstalled everything from my computer today. All 2000 hours of work removed in an instant. It was tough to do it, but truthfully now I feel free. I could never have imagined it would have such an effect, but in any case, thank you for sharing your story.

Gaming took so much out of my life if I could go back in time I would never have picked up that ps3 controller

I keep saying to myself I’m going to quit but then I keep giving myself excuses. At night time I will be like it’s ruining my life and then the next day I will be like 1 game won’t hurt and then when I’m not playing it I’m watching it. It’s so hard because it’s the only thing that keeps me happy in life but in reality I know that it’s actually taking away my life. But as of writing this comment I hope that I mean it this time and I will escape this addiction and that in five years time I will be happy and in some sort successful without video games in my life.

One of the biggest factors I decided for myself in order to start quitting was that I was able to get my head around the idea of what it was like before I played video games, I didn't have any obligations what so ever to play them and I knew that playing these games weren't going to benefit me in the long-term much like an education would.

The truth is that this didn’t help me at all

I needed to see this video in 2013. The problem is I didn't want to change back then.

thank you for sharing this.

Since we're sharing our experiences: I've been in this loop hole twice this being my second time. I had a video game addiction back in 8th grade. Along with this addiction I constantly would be caught up with the soccer tournaments. I did all of this during, after and off school time. This caused my grades in science, math and history to drop. I got out of advanced science, completely missed out on my history ap class, and failed an important math exam that determined if I passed or failed the course. I realized I had wasted half of my school yr. I put the video games down and retook my math exam as a summer course leading me to score 20 points higher. That's when I decides to eliminate any video games and social media completely. Fast forward to present day. I'm 18 almost finished with my first semester at college. My addiction is back and now I'm failing science and math. Which makes it worse to add I want to major in civil engineering. With my addiction I don't see success just pure failure and restless nights. I will have to retake my courses next semester. My pocket will suffer paying for the same classes all over again. However I will start this journey of quitting in high hopes I get back on track. I will come back to let you know how it goes. It'll be tough but if I don't take action I'll be a walking zombie everywhere.

That's great! I think exercise is a key part of being able to move on from games. It gets us out of our funk sitting around being no-energy and gets our bodies moving.

I just delete my video games and now everything is fine

can totally relate to this. He did an excellent job by pinpointing the problems at our roots which leads to these 'problems'. Deal with the problems in reality and it can be done easily once we have the power to do so. Good luck to you guys!

My mom: YOUR ADDICTED Me: just plays 4 hours a day

This man is exactly the same as me right now I can’t get over playing video games

He has really sorted out it perfectly. The reasons are all so true.

Merry Christmas everyone! Thanks to everyone who watched my TEDx talk this year. If you want to quit playing video games our community here to help. -Cam

I want to stop playing video games but at the same time I don't want to.

I do it for the social aspect. Im forced into moderation but i believe that it is causing more problems due to me being constantly thinking about it. I do have friends irl, but unless its in school, I usually am not leaving the house and therefore only see them online. Not only that, its just that you can make friends who will only judge you on your personality due to anonymity. So therefore like many, my personality online is vastly different than in real life. Due to me being 14, I am unable to drive and I don’t have options to leave the house so video games are basically all i enjoy doing after I have been bored of other mediocre activities. There are other things I can do, its just they don’t last for long, such as practicing my instrument, exercising, reading, fishing (occasionally), but if not playing games on my computer, I end up just watching movies.

This is so true. I've been playing video games for almost all my life.... and now I'm 24. I've decided to make irl progress by doing things, well, IRL. So, I've made my channel as a symbol of my exp bar and achievement list lol. I'm kinda now trying to make a game out of real life but damn, about 4 months in and I'm itching to just jump back to the virtual world. Real life is slow +_+

All the comments are too damn long to read!

Im 14 and i played csgo dota and minecraft everyday for hours upon hours i just couldnt stop but im a fan of motorcycles so i sold my custom built pc for 750 and buying a motorcycle soon i feel free already

For some reason video games helped me get higher grades on school and helping me with my english.I started on 2011 or 2012 (i cant remember)and back then i was awful at english and now i think I'm average (i live in the Philippines and i am asian)and it also made me friendly and made me much friendlier and made me new friends

Very nice, informative quick and fact based talk to a rather serious topic imo. Plus, his perspective gave me some new insight

This is one of the best TEDx Talks I've ever seen

Thank you for leaving your feedback Mr. Mister! I really appreciate you taking the time to watch the video and help spread the message further. Hope you're having a great day!

Thank you for the comment. This was an important distinction I wanted to make. It's not about whether games are good or bad, it's about how do we help these people move on from them if they are negatively impacting their lives.

My son is 17 and has decided to forgo college in favor of playing video games for a living. He admitted he started playing them when things were stressful at home, when he was sad, or angry or bored. Now he plays them during all his free time. Heck he sometimes plays during homework. He gets sick a lot and wants to play on days he supposed to be sick. He dosn't see any problems with it but he has changed and we are scared as his parents. We did get him in to therapy, but I think he lied through the whole thing, which he admitted to me he would do to get himself out of it.

I'm a college student and rarely go to school because of this gaming addiction and it's affecting my grades. I will try my very best to stop this addiction

I wasnt addicted but i was way to much into gaming, its just wasting time folks! i didnt quit gaming but you should definitly regulate it. This is precious time your using wich you could be spending in going to the gym or studying.