You're Addicted to Love! (Love, Games, they are interchangeable)

Have you ever played Tetris? You know those random shapes you have to put together to make fit so that you don't die when they all add up and make one huge block? Oh yes that one, yes that one... have you ever played double Tetris? It is ADDICTING!!! I must have just played it for about an hour straight! That is an hour I could have spent reading, running in front of cars, making food, or talking to my friend (who is sitting in the same room playing the same game!)

This obsessive behavior I adopted for this last hour, constantly thinking "I have to win, I have to win, NO SERIOUSLY I have to win" is making me think of the classic Robert Palmer song "Addicted to Love." Well Rob, I might as well face it, I was addicted to Double Tetris. I wanted to get to the next level every single time, I wanted more stars, I wanted to beat my opponent every single time... but God forbid I lost... I would just try harder, and harder!

Instead of admitting defeat, instead of talking to my friend, I continued to play, and play, AND PLAY! (insert EVIL LAUGH!!)

It is this behavior that reminded me of my speech in my final round for the Rotary Speech Competition of this year, why parents need to limit the amount of time their children spend on video games... In my speech I advocated why games created alternate realities, irritable behavior, and a false sense of identity.

For double Tetris I hit the bullseye for each of these well constructed, highly persuasive points. I was in an alternate reality- the reality of the game.. thinking about the game... wanting to beat the game... needing the game, when in fact, reality and huge amounts of time passed me right by. I became irritable, or got irritated at the game. "WHY DID IT KEEP BEATING ME!" Smack talk was coming from every end of the room! "Crap, I just got stuck in a hole of crap-ness." "Grr, this sucks!" and the timeless question.. "WHY!" But finally, I took on a new identity. For every level I passed the game bestowed upon me a new title, Practitioner, Master, Specialist. The list never ended and I loved my new alias.

When my back started to hurt so bad from bending over I stopped. Only to realize that I was an idiot, no joke. This game just tricked me into playing it when the whole time I lost basically. Then after having a Matrix fight with the computer that ended with me blowing it up using 50 tons of explosives I carry on hand, I turned on the song "Addicted to Love" and began typing... with the computer I just... blew... up... Okay so I stepped away frustrated, checked my phone, THEN began typing this long rant about how games, be video, or computer will most always result in addictive behavior.

Moral of the post, learn to stop while you are ahead, or behind in my case.

*Music begins to play...

"You think you're immune to the stuff, oh yeah

it's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

you know you're gonna have to face it

you're addicted to love..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcATvu5f9vE