Discussion

Addictions are substances or behaviors a person depends on to get through each day, and without these, they become irritable and miserable. Addictions are more commonly associated with dangerous substances or activities people engage in, but recently, video game addiction has become more broadly known and recognized. Video game addiction is the excessive or compulsive use of video games which causes an interference with daily life activities.

The direct biological cause of video game addiction is unknown. Unlike with drugs, it is unknown how exactly the use of video games affects the brain. Some believe video games elevate dopamine and cause players to prefer being in a virtual world. Being in a virtual world allows players to dominate in ways they may not be capable of doing in the real world. In role-playing games such as World of Warcraft, players assume the role of a fictional character and interact with other players through online servers. Guilds are created in the game and players are welcome to join or invite other friends. Players become familiarized with their guild members and other daily players, so friendships are often created. Players who are not well seen in school or who are bullied may prefer dealing with others in the virtual world as a monster to feel liked.



Living in the virtual world to engage with others with similar interests seems harmless when compared to substance abuse, but excessive gaming could destroy lives. Addictions create a dependency and often consume people’s thoughts at all times making it nearly impossible to maintain stable relationships and jobs. Fortunately, there are warning signs one can look for to identify when a loved one is struggling with video game addiction. Actions such as spending increasing amounts of time playing games, constantly thinking or talking about video games during other activities, escaping to a virtual world to avoid dealing with real life lying to hide their time spent playing video games, and irritability while trying to cut back are all warning signs of video game addiction.

To prevent video game addiction, it is recommended parents keep logs of a child’s play time and encourage the children to interact with peers. If someone is suffering from video game addiction the best solution is to talk to them and limit their interaction with computers and/or video gaming systems. Since computers are such a big part of a daily life, it is important to always be open about the dangers of this addiction and keep track of progress regularly.