Candy Crush Detox Delete seemed to be the only way for me.
I confess that when I first wrote about Candy Crush Addiction on March 25, I
had only played the game for a couple of days. I claimed quite truthfully that
it was for research because it was. It is now April 15, and after reaching
Level 95 on the original game, and Level 45 in Dreamland, I deleted the App from my iPhone. I had become obsessed, addicted,
lost in the game too many times, though I didn’t delete it from my Facebook account initially because if I did that I would lose my entire account. If I decided to play again, I would have to start over.
I knew I was really addicted last night when I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. I blamed it on the full moon, and the intense energy I felt circling around me, but was that really the truth? I decided to go downstairs and get my computer to play a couple of games of Candy Crush. What could it hurt? It hurt. At 3:45 a.m., when the moon was at its fullest, I was still playing. A true addict. At that point I deleted the game from my Facebook account, thus it is gone. I suppose this is like giving up drinking or gambling when one decides it’s time. There isn’t a Candy Crush-aholics Anonymous yet, but there is Internet Gamers Anonymous, which falls into this category. Clearly I am not the only one suffering from this affliction.
That is not to say we are all addicted. There are non-addicted players who actually find some positive aspects to the game. My good friend Patty has been playing it for three years because it helps her fall asleep. She plays until she runs out of lives and sometimes she even falls asleep while playing. When she gets stuck on a level too long, she stops playing for a week or a month. I, on the other hand, get completely wound up by the game at night and play longer because I am no longer tired. Leslie, another friend, is the one who inspired me to go cold turkey. When she realized that throughout her day she spent more time on Candy Crush then work, her family and other things that were important to her, she deleted it. She is 40 days Crush free.
I knew I was really addicted last night when I woke up around 1:30 a.m. and couldn’t go back to sleep. I blamed it on the full moon, and the intense energy I felt circling around me, but was that really the truth? I decided to go downstairs and get my computer to play a couple of games of Candy Crush. What could it hurt? It hurt. At 3:45 a.m., when the moon was at its fullest, I was still playing. A true addict. At that point I deleted the game from my Facebook account, thus it is gone. I suppose this is like giving up drinking or gambling when one decides it’s time. There isn’t a Candy Crush-aholics Anonymous yet, but there is Internet Gamers Anonymous, which falls into this category. Clearly I am not the only one suffering from this affliction.
That is not to say we are all addicted. There are non-addicted players who actually find some positive aspects to the game. My good friend Patty has been playing it for three years because it helps her fall asleep. She plays until she runs out of lives and sometimes she even falls asleep while playing. When she gets stuck on a level too long, she stops playing for a week or a month. I, on the other hand, get completely wound up by the game at night and play longer because I am no longer tired. Leslie, another friend, is the one who inspired me to go cold turkey. When she realized that throughout her day she spent more time on Candy Crush then work, her family and other things that were important to her, she deleted it. She is 40 days Crush free.
My first
blog entry on Candy Crush was prompted by the IPO that did not do very well,
given the fact Wall Street saw it as more of one hit wonder. I relayed the
astounding statistics of this phenomenon. Over 500 million people downloaded it
last year, and play more than 1 billion times a day. In addition, the company
makes roughly $900,000 a day on the game, and an astounding 493 million in 2013. At the time I had not experienced the
addictive qualities of the game first hand. Now that I have, the research is
compelling to me, as well as the suggestions for treatment. As I said I took
the abstinence route this morning, but it remains to be seen if I can stick to
my conviction.
In an
article Candy
Crush Addicts Come Clean, the statement, “To be an addict, by definition,
is to habituate to something compulsively or obsessively?" There are other types
of media addictions including television where one may begin to watch an entire
season of a show in an addictive fashion by watching one after
another into the wee hours of the night. This can be thought to be synonymous
with the way we play just one more game of Candy Crush, only to be lured
into another and another until we’ve spent 2 hours pushing candies around on a
digital screen. I speak from experience on both of these. I admit to watching
Mad Men in sessions of multiple episodes, but not the four seasons of Downton
Abbey. I was able to pace myself to no more than one a day, and I succeeded. I wanted to relish every moment of the series. With
this success one might think I would be able to do it with Candy Crush, but I
admit in the 21 days I played the game the length of time I played and the intensity of
neglected tasks increased. I suppose this could also have something to do with the dopamine hit
that comes from the congratulatory sounds and music as well as the exclamations of excitement with the words, “Super Crush!”
One of
the distressing statements by
some programmers of the game was their desire to create addiction, “There’s an
intriguing possibility that may appeal to Candy Crush addicts. Can we profit
from the millions of hours humans spend solving Candy Crush problems?” These same programmers are creating a problem that will be examined in another blog entry which is about the danger of pedestrians walking and texting, emailing, and playing Candy Crush. Have you ever walked down the street, texting or playing Candy Crush, only to bump into people or things with an embarrassed, "Excuse me." I have, but again I'm not the only one. Research on the dangers of texting and walking is an addendum to texting and driving.
So how
does one counteract this addiction similar to other Internet, digital device,
and iPhone addictions. It begins with mindful awareness that there is a problem, but
even though some people realize this, it doesn’t mean that they can stop. Given
the statement by some of the programmers, it’s no wonder that people cannot
stop, for it is one of the intents of the game to keep people playing and
spending money when they run out of lives or need to buy boosters or more
moves. It is a very sneaky way to lure people into spending their money.
Some
tweets reveal humorous, and not so humorous, confessions on Twitter: “I refuse
to be a slave to you! #CandyCrush,”
“I never had heroin, but I assume it has a similar effect to Candy Crush
Saga,” “I think my Candy Crush addiction is curing my Facebook Addiction,” and “Finally
submitted my grades, I can now go back to playing Candy Crush.” Keeping names
anonymous there are some teachers at my daughter’s school who are on levels in
the 500s. I’m sure they only play after their schoolwork is done. I hope we can
say that about students who play the game, for there are many.
If awareness
doesn’t work, then there are boundaries one’s spouse, family or friends can put
on them. Just like screen free zones at dinner, at a restaurant, and other
socializing times, this needs to include Candy Crush. There are other times
when it is a time sink hole keeping people from doing necessary things like
work, car pool pick ups, and spending time outdoors, to name a few. The most
emphatic continues to advise, “Life really is too short for sliding candies
around. DELETE, MOVE ON, spend your time on something else!”
Wish me
luck in staying on the Candy Crush wagon, and my one piece of advise is don’t
download the App! Don’t play on someone else’s phone or computer! Find mindful alternatives like walking in the woods, gardening, cooking, or reading. With reading, I mean a "real" magazine, newspaper or book. The screen could be too tempting for it holds the key to the addiction as well. Only one step away from the download. This is my advise to myself as well.