Zoom Image
Lena Meyer-Landrut at an event: She used to play on the Playstation, but now she mainly uses her mobile phone
Photo: Jens Kalaene / picture alliance / dpa
Millions of people play video games on their smartphones. But some find it harder than others to keep their hands off the games. Lena Meyer-Landrut apparently also falls into this category, as she now stated in a podcast on the SWR3 channel. In the format called "1 plus 1 – Friendship on time", for which the singer spent time with the author Giulia Becker, Meyer-Landrut said: "I'm not at risk of being addicted to gambling – I think I'm addicted to gambling. So no joke.«
For example, she finds it difficult to delete games from her mobile phone, says Meyer-Landrut. They also buy bonus packages in games. "Sometimes I have such seizures that I say, 'So okay, now! Now I'm going to delete the shit! Now I'm going to get away with it!' And then I'll go through withdrawal and then I'll just download it back down.«
Which games she gets stuck on depends on the phase, says the musician. A "big topic" for her, for example, was the farm game "Farm Frenzy", as well as "Hay Day" with its many orders. She also played »Candy Crush« for a while, »but not for that long«. She feels good when she plays something like Sudoku or backgammon, or when she digitally paints pixel images in a game. She is a "Playstation girl," says the singer, and used to like to play titles like "Uncharted" and "Assassin's Creed." In the meantime, however, she no longer plays on the console. "I can't do it anymore. It just fucks my life and I'm away from that."
Giulia Becker says in the podcast that she, too, has had to delete a game "for self-protection". Meyer-Landrut then says: "Self-protection doesn't work for me anymore, so I download it again. That means: I'm addicted.«
Meyer-Landrut is not alone with her problem. Tips in case you also spend too much time on your smartphone can be found here in an expert interview, here in an article for parents and here in a text that explains how to set time limits on your mobile phone. And what parents should know about the world of video games, read here.
mbö