Video Addiction : Video Game Addiction

The videogame addiction may seem funny or ridiculous, but in reality it is a dangerous obsession that truly exposes several needs that have yet to be addressed within the afflicted. Addiction is a damaging problem, and the impact of varying sorts of addictions, such as illegal and

There is debate over whether compulsive online gaming will eventually be acknowledged as a process addiction (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016). Currently, Internet gaming disorder is identified as a condition that needs additional study because it displays diagnostic criteria involving addictive criteria, however it does not endorse a diagnosis at this time (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2016). Internet gaming does acknowledge the following statement,” Internet gaming has been reportedly defined as an addiction by the Chinese government, and a treatment system has been set up” (Capuzzi & Stauffer,2016). There continues to be research that studies Internet gaming addiction, but additional information would help to better understand.

Whether gambling, alcohol or shopping, it is surprising to find video games being a part of this growing list. Video game addiction is a growing epidemic that is running rampant through the world, including parts of Asia. Death from video games is becoming more common and sounds like a horror story (Flanagan). Contributing to the increase are illnesses and social disorders, two well-known conditions being social anxiety and depression. By shutting themselves out from the real world, the only light being the screen of their television or computer and eyes glued to the screen, their basic needs are ignored.

Video game addiction is not yet recognized by the American Medical Association as a diagnosable disorder, but addiction has become a very real problem for many video game players. An addiction is when the person needs more and more of a substance or behavior to keep them going, and if the person does not get more, they can become irritable and miserable. Compulsive gaming meets these criteria, and there have been many studied instances where severe withdrawal symptoms in game addicts are seen when parents take away the child’s electronic gaming system. According to chapter three of the book, a study in Singapore of 3,000 middle schoolers found that the

Merely compulsively engaging in an activity does not necessitate the title of addiction, even if the subject cannot quit of her own volition: there must be an element of negative influence that the habit has on her life in one way or another to be termed as such. The potential adverse effects of addiction are numerous and for any one addiction the detriment can be multifaceted. As addiction is generally discussed, one of the primary negative impacts mentioned is related to a person’s physical or mental well-being which can be harmed by the abuse of certain substances, such as

Using the skill of putting things in perspective, one can realize that life is not as bad as it seems. This would be achieved by taking note of what substance can do to you and how its use will not make things better. Recognizing the effects of spiraling are key here (Army CSF2, n.d.). The situation could be much worse and someone somewhere probably has it worse than you. Your goal is to not to be that person. While significant reasons for use are not detailed in the statistics above, it could be assumed that that indicators existed and had someone taken a few moments to provide positive verbal reinforcement, perhaps outcomes and statistics would be different. In the book How Full Is Your Bucket, the authors describe how filling buckets [enhancing another’s day with with positive reinforcement either through words or action] or emptying buckets [causing distress in another’s day either through words or actions] can create an impact in a matter of minutes or shorter (Rath & Clifton, 2004, pp. 22-23). To say surround yourself with bucket fillers is easier said than done. Words have consequences and if we could learn to recognize the impact that we have when we start off with negative as opposed to positive, change in behaviors is a challenge. This is not to say that every moment of every day is to be filled with positive quibs, but in looking at the above statistics, and take the suicides committed of which 29% involved substance abuse it can assumed that their buckets were empty and in need of bucket fillers in the form taking notice of their behavior and circumstances happening in their lives, then perhaps two issues could

In Iran, there are few and limited studies on the effects of addiction to computer games on players. Considering the increasing rate of addiction to computer games among Iranian adolescents and youth, the present study was conducted to

Addiction: Fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity. Addict: Person who is addicted to a particular substance. Videogames have become our new scape goat when it comes to having fun and doing something in our leisure time. So often, we find ourselves captivated by the new games that are coming out and any new gaming devices. Videogames have managed to take control of our minds and only leave us a pinch of freedom. Electronic games have caused us to be lazy, develop criminal behavior, and has proven to be a leading cause in mass murders. Electronic gaming devices have played a major part in the evolution of America, not only causing us to be addicts- but have given us a reason to not participate in the real world.

International studies have shown that between seven and eleven per cent of gamers show some symptoms associated with addiction. Some teens are heavy users of online role-playing games (RPGs) such as World of Warcraft and multiplayer games such as Call of Duty in which they interact with other players in real time. These teens will often neglect schoolwork and other aspects of their daily lives when they become immersed in these games. The American Medical Association has identified “video game overuse” as ‘behaviour’.

The warning signs of video game addiction are playing for longer periods as time goes on, you start to ignore basic human needs such as eating, sleeping, or needing to go to the bathroom, poor performance at work or school, or as escapism for difficult life situations. Psychical effects include poor personal hygiene, disturbances in your hormones from sleep deprivation, and “Video Gamer’s Thumb” (Repeated use of your thumb which causes swelling and tendonitis).

Video Games cause social isolation, for example a 15 year old boy in Sweden pass out after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight, he passed out because he started experiencing social withdrawal, the kid was lacking contact with other humans, and his body’s response to the problem was to pass out. On an extreme level, Ruya Cunningham, a college student spent twenty hours a week playing video games, she eventually “dropped out of school, stopped exercising, and even stopped bathing” (Marcovitz 70). Later on, Ruya Cunningham developed depression, but she kept playing video games because she was addicted to the game. When people are addicted to a game, there is a spiraling vortex sucking the gamer away from society and from sanity. As a consequence of playing violent video games, many teen gamers struggle with real world relationships, this is because they form close virtual relationships with people they meet online. A man in Wisconsin has formed a tremendously close relationship with a group of guys he plays online with, he discusses politics with them and they send each other Christmas gifts even though they do not know each other (Marcovitz 70-72). Video games can also affect the players mental and their physiological state.

Patient’s will become dependent on the pain relief and begin to crave the drug; once they have continually taken their

The controversial topic of video game addiction is what I have decided to focus my multi-genre research project on. Although a multitude of people do not even know of the existence of such a problem in today's society, I can assure you that this is becoming an increasingly greater problem effecting people around the world of all ages. Through my multi-genre project, I intend on proving the uselessness and detrimental qualities of playing video games, and I am going to explore some healthy alternatives to such a problematic habit.

Video games are addictive. It makes its users forget themselves and their surroundings, including their loved ones. What makes people addicted to video games is the fact that video games are constantly rewarding people for every little in-game act they do when playing the game. For instance, one gains virtual currency or skill points for every point, rebounds, blocks, and steals one records in the game NBA 2K. Another example, one gains money and reputation points every time one finish a mission in the game Grand Theft Auto. The constant rewards are a type of positive reinforcement that people do not easily receive in real life and this makes people want to keep playing the games over and over again: “The addition of a stimulus [will] increase the probability that a behavior will be repeated” (Grison 212). In this instance, the addition of a stimulus is the rewards (virtual currency or reputation points) that video games give to its users and the behavior that is expected to be repeated is the act of playing that video games. In an article for the video-game-addiction.org, Meghan Vivo, the Content & Media Relations Director at Elements Behavioral Health,

Playing video games for hours at a time in one day, every day of the week can lead to another major problem, gaming addiction. Youth may become obsessed with the game and think they have to beat it before they do anything else and never want to leave their rooms because they want to consistently play the game. Dr. Russell A. Sabella states in his article on Education.com that: “for most people, computer use and video game play is integrated into their lives as a balanced manner. For others, time spent on the computer or video games is out of balance and has displaced work, school, friends, even family”(Sabella). Becoming addicted to video games can cause a lot of problems in the family because some parents like to have family dinners and they have to literally fight with their kid to get