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Unplugged: My Journey into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction
THIS VIDEO GAME MAY IMPAIR YOUR JUDGMENT. IT MAY CAUSE SLEEP DEPRIVATION, ALIENATION OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY, WEIGHT LOSS OR GAIN, NEGLECT OF YOUR BASIC NEEDS AS WELL AS THE NEEDS OF LOVED ONES AND/OR DEPENDENTS, AND DECREASED PERFORMANCE ON THE JOB. THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY MAY BECOME BLURRED. PLAY AT YOUR OWN RISK. NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR SUICIDE ATTEMPTS. No such warning was included on the latest and greatest release from the Warcraft series of massive multiplayer online role-playing games—World of Warcraft (WoW). So when Ryan Van Cleave—a college professor, husband, father, and one of the 11.5 million Warcraft subscribers worldwide—found himself teetering on the edge of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, he had no one to blame but himself. He had neglected his wife and children and had jeopardized his livelihood, all for the rush of living a life of high adventure in a virtual world. A fabulously written and gripping tale, Unplugged takes you on a journey through the author's semireclusive life with video games at the center of his experiences. Even when he was sexually molested by a young school teacher at age eleven, it was the promise of a new video game that had lured him to her house. As Ryan's life progresses, we witness the evolution of video games—from simple two-button consoles to today's multikey technology, brilliantly designed to keep the user actively participating. For Ryan, the virtual world was a siren-song he couldn't ignore, no matter the cost. As is the case with most recovering addicts, Ryan eventually hit rock bottom and shares with you his ongoing battle to control his impulses to play, providing prescriptive advice and resources for those caught in the grip of this very real addiction.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 23, 2010
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93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 28, 2011
While this book is about video game addiction, and I do agree that there are addicting elements to gaming, the book is more of a cathartic purge for the author for his many other issues. I can't say that I enjoyed this book, but I could relate to it. What I can't relate to is the personality of the author as described by himself; his issues seem more based in anger and other disorders that may have predisposed him to game addiction rather than the title disorder as the cause of his problems. Overall, the book was at the same time whiny and arrogant, not a good combination for a reading experience.
December 12, 2012
Inadequacies abound. Decent read, mildly insightful, but I wish it would've touched on positives of gaming in healthy doses. Though, I did recognize some things in myself when I first starting playing CoD.
July 19, 2012
I acknowledge that video games can become an addiction for some people, but I was slightly disappointed that much of this book didn't seem to have much to do with video game addiction. Van Cleave spends so much time trying to right all the wrongs in his past that a lot of the descriptions I was hoping for got pushed to the side. Van Cleave's story is definitely compelling, but perhaps it should have been called something like, "An Apology to Anyone Who Ever Mattered in My Life: How Video Games Proved to be More Enticing than Reality."
September 26, 2017
I don't know when I've read a book as unflinchingly self-exposing and honest as this one. Van Cleave's account of his life and circumstances leading up, into, and through, his years-long video game addiction was riveting to me. I've barely played video games, not finding them compelling. But this memoir WAS compelling; I see how the addiction works, and my blood runs cold to imagine what's going on with millions of gamers right now. I highly recommend this book.
February 2, 2022
4.00 out of 5.00
The first 150 pages of this book were good, no doubt about it, but it hardly touched on the concept of the book itself. The last 100 pages are exactly what I expected this book to be. That’s one of my only critiques about it, but I think it’s a large one.
Otherwise, I do think this was a very well written book. The first chapter grabs you quite quickly; it deals with him about to end his life over his addiction and it pulls you in quickly. Then, it starts to deal with a myriad of other problems that has gaming sprinkled into it, like drinking, sex, etc. Again, it’s not bad, but it just felt odd.
The last 100 pages or so really takes you into a deep dive of what can be addicting about gaming. It really kicks off with the horribly depressing story about all of his dogs dying within a year (which is probably the most I’ve cried reading a book). And then, we get into the meat of his addiction and what he was going through.
The actual crux of the story was worth the wait. It was an incredible deep dive into this world and proved the title factual by the end of it. It’s always been a subject I’ve been interested in and I’m glad there’s been a book written about it finally. It even inspired a potential fiction piece that was only a nugget before I read this. Another cool thing is that it ended with a Robert Frost poem who I was reading alongside this book as well.
It’s not a perfect book, but I do think it’s mostly good. Every page was rife with heavy emotion and read pretty easily.
The first 150 pages of this book were good, no doubt about it, but it hardly touched on the concept of the book itself. The last 100 pages are exactly what I expected this book to be. That’s one of my only critiques about it, but I think it’s a large one.
Otherwise, I do think this was a very well written book. The first chapter grabs you quite quickly; it deals with him about to end his life over his addiction and it pulls you in quickly. Then, it starts to deal with a myriad of other problems that has gaming sprinkled into it, like drinking, sex, etc. Again, it’s not bad, but it just felt odd.
The last 100 pages or so really takes you into a deep dive of what can be addicting about gaming. It really kicks off with the horribly depressing story about all of his dogs dying within a year (which is probably the most I’ve cried reading a book). And then, we get into the meat of his addiction and what he was going through.
The actual crux of the story was worth the wait. It was an incredible deep dive into this world and proved the title factual by the end of it. It’s always been a subject I’ve been interested in and I’m glad there’s been a book written about it finally. It even inspired a potential fiction piece that was only a nugget before I read this. Another cool thing is that it ended with a Robert Frost poem who I was reading alongside this book as well.
It’s not a perfect book, but I do think it’s mostly good. Every page was rife with heavy emotion and read pretty easily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2013
If not WoW, this guy would have found another addiction. (I was pretty impressed by his drinking, too.) He warns you that you won't like him, and you don't. Every time you start to feel sorry for him, he gives you another fact about himself, like how he dumped the love of his life because she got diabetes, or how he enjoys the music of Creed and Nickelback.
I'm glad I read this book, though. I can see some parallels with my own use of social networks. I'm happy to say I've never gone on a 24-hour jag like this poor guy! WoW sounds like a fascinating universe that I will never visit.
I'm glad I read this book, though. I can see some parallels with my own use of social networks. I'm happy to say I've never gone on a 24-hour jag like this poor guy! WoW sounds like a fascinating universe that I will never visit.
September 18, 2018
As I read this book, thinking about how I might review it, I kept telling myself that video game addiction was a very real thing. Because it is. We've all known people. We've all had games we can't put down. I believed that until the very last Q&A of an interview stuffed in the back of the appendix made me rethink that whole idea.
A video game developer suggested that it's not so much single-player games that people get addicted to. Those have beginnings and ends. It's the social ones, where the challenges change and the competition and social engagement are what keep people coming back. And that's when it hit me. Video games themselves aren't universally addictive. It's one part the internet itself (think Facebook, WoW, Farmville, Twitter, Google, etc.), which is ultimately just a digital enhancement of face-to-face interactions. It's also one part the concept of gamefication itself. Games are inherently addictive, like Bingo, or scratch-off lottery tickets, or Dungeons and Dragons. Setups of achievements and tests of skill, prowess, and luck, and competition is too irresistible for many. And lastly, it's old fashioned storytelling. Stories are the key to engagement and just about everything. And video games are one of the few mediums in which all of these components can be combined to lure a person in and keep them coming back.
That said, this book is somewhat important in starting a dialogue about these topics; however, the structure of the narrative is muddled. It begins with Van Cleave considering suicide over his addiction, and at no point does the story revisit this scene. We never know what moment pushed him to that brink. In fact, as he talks about WoW--the only game that sounds like it truly addicted him, while the rest were just games he just really loved--he tells us about his addiction and what he did, but the "showing" part is lacking. There's one scene where two crying kids compete with his attention after he's been kicked from a server, which is refreshingly manic, but other than that, he only describes the hours he logs, the money he invests, and the way he feels when he plays, but outside of that once scene, we never really see it impact his real life. He says he argues with his wife. He claims it distracted him from being a better writer and professor, but it's not really shown through vivid anecdotes or through the reactions/eyes of those most affected by it.
I guess it's part voyeurism, but also because if you're going to tell me you have a story about how video games ruined your life, and all I get is various metrics and metaphors on how it did, I'm going to miss that story.
Last thoughts: he tells about his childhood in an odd way, about games he loved as a kid and in college, but these seem largely irrelevant and like non-addictions. He also talks about being adopted, being passed over for several jobs, and of being "sexually assaulted" as a kid as these facts might have some impact on his addiction, but again, the connections aren't there. In fact, he (intentionally and fully aware) comes off as a bit of an asshole throughout, to the point where talking about being sexually abused feels less like a shameful, terrible thing but almost a humblebrag. Not saying that it was, but he found the woman attractive, willingly visited her several times (without being directly lured), and was sad when she finally ended it. All in all, the components of an addiction story are there, but this doesn't quite read like one.
A video game developer suggested that it's not so much single-player games that people get addicted to. Those have beginnings and ends. It's the social ones, where the challenges change and the competition and social engagement are what keep people coming back. And that's when it hit me. Video games themselves aren't universally addictive. It's one part the internet itself (think Facebook, WoW, Farmville, Twitter, Google, etc.), which is ultimately just a digital enhancement of face-to-face interactions. It's also one part the concept of gamefication itself. Games are inherently addictive, like Bingo, or scratch-off lottery tickets, or Dungeons and Dragons. Setups of achievements and tests of skill, prowess, and luck, and competition is too irresistible for many. And lastly, it's old fashioned storytelling. Stories are the key to engagement and just about everything. And video games are one of the few mediums in which all of these components can be combined to lure a person in and keep them coming back.
That said, this book is somewhat important in starting a dialogue about these topics; however, the structure of the narrative is muddled. It begins with Van Cleave considering suicide over his addiction, and at no point does the story revisit this scene. We never know what moment pushed him to that brink. In fact, as he talks about WoW--the only game that sounds like it truly addicted him, while the rest were just games he just really loved--he tells us about his addiction and what he did, but the "showing" part is lacking. There's one scene where two crying kids compete with his attention after he's been kicked from a server, which is refreshingly manic, but other than that, he only describes the hours he logs, the money he invests, and the way he feels when he plays, but outside of that once scene, we never really see it impact his real life. He says he argues with his wife. He claims it distracted him from being a better writer and professor, but it's not really shown through vivid anecdotes or through the reactions/eyes of those most affected by it.
I guess it's part voyeurism, but also because if you're going to tell me you have a story about how video games ruined your life, and all I get is various metrics and metaphors on how it did, I'm going to miss that story.
Last thoughts: he tells about his childhood in an odd way, about games he loved as a kid and in college, but these seem largely irrelevant and like non-addictions. He also talks about being adopted, being passed over for several jobs, and of being "sexually assaulted" as a kid as these facts might have some impact on his addiction, but again, the connections aren't there. In fact, he (intentionally and fully aware) comes off as a bit of an asshole throughout, to the point where talking about being sexually abused feels less like a shameful, terrible thing but almost a humblebrag. Not saying that it was, but he found the woman attractive, willingly visited her several times (without being directly lured), and was sad when she finally ended it. All in all, the components of an addiction story are there, but this doesn't quite read like one.
January 18, 2022
This was a book I picked up at a book store closing sale (insert sad face here) that I picked up on impulse because I wanted to read some more nonfiction. Plus, I was curious. Just how dark did this man's journey get?
Well it's pretty incredible, I'll tell ya what. Dr. Van Cleave illustrates how he went from impressionable child fascinated by early computer games to a professor who shirked the rest of his life to squeeze in insane amounts of time in World of Warcraft on multiple accounts and characters. He wasn't a video game aficionado. He was definitely an addict, and all the symptoms of addiction were definitely there. Becoming addicted to a form of media might not seem as bad as, say, a drug addiction, but I think Dr. Van Cleave pointed out how wrong that assumption is. There was a physiological response and a psychological one. He was nearly driven to the end of his life.
I thank him for sharing his story and all the gory details (it does get real graphic real early, including some childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a trusted teacher).
It was interesting to see how WoW had overtaken his life. I remember other students at college talking about how addicting WoW was but I had never partaken. "You have to pay a monthly subscription to play a game you already own?" I balked, firing up GTA.
My video gaming habits have never gotten to addict status -- but I can see the allure to escape into a digital realm and leave real world problems behind. For that reason, I think a lot of people will need to read this book.
It's a little outdated at this point. This book was published in 2010 and makes references to Playstation 2/3, things like Second Life and MySpace, but it's still relevant. Don't bother going to his website for the Unplugged book, the domain appears to have been bought by someone else in the interim. If you wanna reach him or see his other books, visit: https://ryangvancleave.com
Well it's pretty incredible, I'll tell ya what. Dr. Van Cleave illustrates how he went from impressionable child fascinated by early computer games to a professor who shirked the rest of his life to squeeze in insane amounts of time in World of Warcraft on multiple accounts and characters. He wasn't a video game aficionado. He was definitely an addict, and all the symptoms of addiction were definitely there. Becoming addicted to a form of media might not seem as bad as, say, a drug addiction, but I think Dr. Van Cleave pointed out how wrong that assumption is. There was a physiological response and a psychological one. He was nearly driven to the end of his life.
I thank him for sharing his story and all the gory details (it does get real graphic real early, including some childhood sexual abuse perpetrated by a trusted teacher).
It was interesting to see how WoW had overtaken his life. I remember other students at college talking about how addicting WoW was but I had never partaken. "You have to pay a monthly subscription to play a game you already own?" I balked, firing up GTA.
My video gaming habits have never gotten to addict status -- but I can see the allure to escape into a digital realm and leave real world problems behind. For that reason, I think a lot of people will need to read this book.
It's a little outdated at this point. This book was published in 2010 and makes references to Playstation 2/3, things like Second Life and MySpace, but it's still relevant. Don't bother going to his website for the Unplugged book, the domain appears to have been bought by someone else in the interim. If you wanna reach him or see his other books, visit: https://ryangvancleave.com
September 5, 2018
I had read this book a few years back and held on to it. It definitely warranted a second reading. Absolutely fascinating!
August 31, 2012
This book was very eye-opening. There is language and sex in it for those opposed to reading about such things. It's the authors ideas on what lead him into video game addiction, and how he has worked to get over the addiction. Though it still calls to him and he constantly wants to start playing again. I find the arguments about whether video games themselves are addicting, or if it's a symptom of other mental issues like depression. This man had enough outside 'problems' (can't think of a better way to describe it) that I think video games became his escape and then the nature of the games, designed that way, sucked him in deeper.
November 19, 2010
Unplugged is a somewhat disturbing memoir about one person's struggle to overcome his video game addiction. I chose to read this book after my dad brought home a copy from a professional training where Ryan G. Van Cleave was a guest speaker. If you are skeptical about the validity of video game addiction being on par with gambling, food, sex, and exercise addiction, read this book and Van Cleave will change your mind.
July 28, 2010
I picked this up since all of my other books I wanted weren't in the library. It's a nicely-written (though somewhat rambling) peek into the emerging category of addiction concerning video games. Cleave takes a really long time to finally get to actually describing his addictive behavior but the journey is still interesting, anyway.
July 31, 2011
This is an excellent insight into the dark world that is so easily snaring those who game. It is an addiction that people don't recognize but that destroys lives just as easily. This book gives excellent advice and practical ways to help. Thanks Ryan.
Want to read
December 2, 2011I think this is a huge problem in our society and I look forward to reading this book
October 1, 2014
He has a talent for prose style and storytelling.
October 27, 2016
A good story about addition, illustrating the most memorable definition of addiction: a choice between short term gratification n long term deleterious effect.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews