Are you addicted to Candy Crush?

TALI FEINBERG

The respected US weekly, Time magazine, describes the problem this way: “Players say they have left their children stranded at school, abandoned housework and even injured themselves as they try to reach new levels of the game.”

“I can’t understand how it became an addiction,” says a Joburg Jewish mom, who asked to remain anonymous because she is embarrassed about her obsession with this game. “It is a silly game of crushing candies – you get rewards and bonus candies to add to the excitement of the level. Some levels are simple and you pass them in no time, while others are way more challenging. The frustrating part is that you get stuck with one candy left over. And then you say: ‘Okay, I’ll buy an extra life, it’s only R16.’

“It first started at R10, if I remember correctly, and then they offer you a bundle with special hammers, and the ability to move a candy to the next spot for just over R100. Those are bottom-of-the-range prices. The prices go higher. I have been playing since the game’s inception and am still playing.

“I am on level 3 043, which is high in the game. When the levels get really hard I often just give up and feel that, finally, I’m going to delete the game and that will be it – but then I win the level and continue. It sounds crazy, but it’s real.

“Strangely, I wrote to a friend yesterday who is ahead of me and told her that while I find her Facebook profile picture beautiful, I find that her picture on Candy Crush torments me. It feels almost condescending that she is two levels ahead of me! Clearly, I have serious Candy Crush issues.”

Stacey Stein says Candy Crush has taken over her life. For example, she goes to bed later than she used to because she wants to play “just one more round”, and finds it to be a relaxing way to wind down from the day. Usually an avid reader, she has found that she reads much less than she did before she played Candy Crush.

“It’s addictive because it occupies your mind in a relaxed way, and it’s a good way to pass the time when waiting in a queue or whatever. I would think addiction counselling for gaming in general is useful.

“I can see how easy it is for kids to become addicted and prioritise digital games over school work, sports and sleep,” she adds.

“I think it’s human nature to want to win, and if you’re not winning on a Candy Crush level, you’ll carry on playing until you do!” says Cara Kagan, a copywriter from Cape Town who plays the game intermittently. “It has a competitive aspect because you can see how other people are doing, so sometimes I’ll play just to catch up to a friend.”

However, she says that the game can be enjoyed without spending money and it is possible to contain it – it is not always addictive.

While addiction rehabilitation centre Houghton House is yet to check in a patient with a Candy Crush addiction, it may very well be on the horizon, says the centre’s Dy Williams. “Online gambling and gaming is becoming a huge problem. But medical aid won’t cover gambling, gaming or sex addiction because they’re not classified as a disease, like drug addiction.”

Yet she warns that playing Candy Crush affects the same area in the brain as drugs, and will give you the same rush of endorphins and dopamine that drugs do, just to a lesser extent. Her advice to addicts? “Just stop!”

Dana Tadmor, a senior addictions counsellor practising in Cape Town, agrees that Candy Crush addiction falls into the “process addiction” category, similar to sex addiction, eating disorders, gaming and gambling.

While she has not specifically treated anyone for Candy Crush addiction, she has treated gaming addicts, and a friend of hers was fired from a job for playing too much Candy Crush. “We would look into what the patient is trying to avoid or escape, because playing the game physically relaxes you and creates a sense of familiarity and predictability.

“While some people can keep it contained, for others it can start to negatively affect their life – yet they continue to play despite the consequences. If it is making your life unmanageable, I recommend going into an outpatient treatment programme,” she advises.