What Makes A Video Game Addictive?

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

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

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’.

From the past till now, video game never loses its popularity, from Gameboy to Wii, and from NDS to LOL, millions and billions of people are obsessed with this imaginary world. Some of the video games are created for educational purpose, however, most are created for the people who wants to escape from reality. “In a national Harris Poll survey of 1,178 American youths (ages 8-18), ISU Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile found nearly one in 10 of the gamers (8.5 percent) to be pathological players.” ("Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) ") Not only the statistic shows the high rate of addiction towards video games, terrible consequences of the addictions are more than enough to be served. For example, an extreme case of an Chinese kid called Xioyi suicide because he lose in one of his game on December 27, 2004; where he left a note that said he wanted “to join the heroes of the game he worshiped.” Video game has the potential to ruin a person’s life, as well as their family, or even the

Advances in technology have forever changed the way that children play, communicate, and view the world. Have you ever told your child that it was time to turn the video game off, or to put away the cell phone? Of course you have. Did they become upset, aggressive, or even depressed? These are warning signs indicating a potentially dangerous addiction. Addiction is characterized by the intense need for a substance and the experience of withdrawal symptoms when that substance is taken away (Rauh). Video games fill the player with strong feelings of pleasure and fulfillment. When considering the effects that video games have on your social, academic, and financial life; when do these fun technologies morph into a dangerous addiction?

My brother would play in the middle of the night and would always get in trouble. He was obsessed! Jack Flanagan, in his article, “The Psychology of Video Games” reports, “Video games are built to exploit this part [reward system] of our brain. Kill monster, get points. Complete level, get happy music. Win game, feel satisfied. It’s a very simple and primitive part of who we are.” However, I think video games offer much more than addictive downfalls. Daphne Bavelier, scientist at the University of Rochester and the University of Geneva, researched on how video games enhance people’s vision and attention control in which she discusses in her speech, “Your Brain on Video Games.” I believe the benefits of video games outweigh the harmful consequences they cause because video games offers finer motor skills and as the zombies we are, we want bigger and better brains to

Although we may not notice it, but people can be addicted to video games and it will have serious downsides on your health. Like gambling addictions, both video game and gambling addictions both fall under the same categories of disorders. An Impulse control disorder is defined as psychiatric disorders that are identified by a sort of an impulse- failure to resist a temptation, an urge, or an itch. Both Video Game & Gambling addictions are both recognized as Impulse Control Disorders, both are caused by the need for thrills and highs and the social status correlated with being a successful gamer. Even both addictions both contribute to an elevated dopamine level, which in turn goes into the brain’s reward center; relating to various activities most find pleasure in such as eating or consuming drugs.

CNN, Samantha Bresnahan and Will Worley in their article, “When Video Games Become an Addiction”, argue about how and why video games become an addiction. They support their claim by first talking about video game addiction in the US, then about who mostly get addicted and in what age it is more popular, and finally why video games are addictive. Bresnahan’s purpose is to explain video game addiction in order to find a solution for it. They establish a hopeful tone for the readers.

While some people play for a sense of reward, others play to connect with friends. Everyone plays different games for different reasons. A stress reliever by shooting a few hundred zombies, driving your imaginary dream car down the highway going 120 miles per hour, or working out with a virtual trainer to get into better shape.

    The initial argument I mentioned about video games is probably the one you hear about most often. How many times have you heard a set of parents say that their child is rotting away in front of a video game. Well, there is actually some truth to that. Children who show addictive behavior in regards to video games have also shown symptoms that are typical in addicts of other sorts (Bavelier, Green, Han, Renshaw,  Merzenich, & Gentile, 2011). Some domains that are affected by this type of behavior include behavioral, social, academic, occupational, and developmental (Bavelier, Green,

The implementation of player motivation within games has been experimented with since the dawn of games to produce the perfect formula of general interest to be relevant towards the majority instead of the minority, nevertheless before the motivation in game can be delivered the first step is to attack the end user psychological state of mind which is marketing through by

The first time I actually saw what a video game addiction looked like was when I discovered the Tetris syndrome, more formally known as Game Theory Phenomena, or GTP for short, was when I saw a 23 year old man break his leg. He was running on rooftops, jumping between the empty spaces that were allies between each apartment. Some of the jumps were smaller, others were bigger. Luckily the running start allowed him to get over safely. That’s when he reached a 10 foot gap between one apartment to the roof of a convenience store. With one giant leap, he made it halfway, fell landed on the metal dumpsters below, rolled off, and was left lying on the ground, clutching his leg. The first thing he said? “I usually always make that jump.” How is it possible that a five foot seven man was able to land a 20 foot jump? It wasn’t physically possible - at least not in the real world. That man was indeed able to land a 10 foot jump, in a videogame, but he played so much his brain was convinced that he was able to do it.

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.

"It is true that video games can become a form of training for the mind or reward for doing good, but excessive use can lead to serious problems.” Qiu Zhu Chengwei was stabbed to death because Caoyuan sold Chenwei virtual sword in the game Legend of Mir 3. Caoyuan offered to pay the sword Chenwei , but he refused and stabbed him while he was sleeping. This is only one case of what children addicted to video games can cause. There are many more cases like this all over the world. It seems like an electronic chip is already fully installed on the new generations and that makes children more able than adults to handle new technologies.

Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment that are played and enjoyed by millions of people across the world. But while many people have taken tremendous enjoyment playing video games without facing any adverse effects; some children and adults have become addicted. Whether if it is how easy it is for people to get and play video games, the increased realism of many video games, or the competitive nature of many people who play video games. All of these have led to many people becoming addicted to video games. Video game addiction has been caused by many children and adolescents not being able to control and manage the way they play video games.