Video Game Addiction

Imagine a perfect world. A world without politics, pollution, hunger or crime. A world with no traffic jams, no bills to pay, and no lines to stand in. A world devoid of all the mundane aspects of everyday life. The people you encounter in this perfect world are supreme beings. The women are beautiful and voluptuous and the men are strong and powerful. Everyone possesses superhuman powers. Imagine that you are God in this utopia. You alone shape the destiny of this paradise. With your sword in hand, you fearlessly slay the evil dragon, and are celebrated by all as a hero. Your reward is great: you get the girl, you get the treasure, and you get the respect. And if, for some reason, things do not go your way in this ideal world, you can just hit the restart button. Such is the world of a video game addict.

It is easy to understand why people play video games. They are fun. They relieve stress. They offer a temporary escape from reality. When exercised in moderation, playing video games can be a fun and rewarding activity. Video games can even provide many benefits to players, such as strengthened technological skills and improved eye-hand coordination. However, for an increasing number of people, excessive video game playing has become problematic.

Aaron Hazell, a thirty-one-year-old software developer and former self-proclaimed video game addict would sometimes spend up to eighteen hours a day playing video games, occasionally even skipping work so that he could continue playing his favorite electronic games (Snider 2). According to video game enthusiast Darren Mckeeman, his own obsession with video games strained many of his social relationships. "I had a girlfriend dump me over an Ultima game," he said, "I spent too much time with my computer" (Mckeeman 2). Stories like these are not at all uncommon. On the Internet, one can find numerous message boards filled with similar accounts. There are even support groups and organizations, such as "Online Gamers Anonymous," dedicated to helping people overcome their issues with video games. Parents, teachers, and health care professionals are concerned about this epidemic of overzealous video game enthusiasts, and have begun to seriously investigate the issue. Many have come to the conclusion that because people who spend an excessive amount of time playing video games tend to neglect other aspects of their lives, video games can be addictive.

The topic of addiction
Can someone truly become addicted to video games? After all, video games in themselves can hardly be considered dangerous. We never hear of people being hospitalized due to a video game overdoses, or of taking lethal doses of video games. As a society, we are all too familiar with substance abuse additions. We accept the notion that certain chemicals and drugs, such as alcohol and nicotine, have addictive qualities that cause people to develop chemical dependencies on them. More recently, however, the definition of addiction has been broadened to encompass other things as well. We now hear of people with food addictions, sex addictions, even shopping addictions. These are indeed valid problems that cause much distress to the suffering individual. However, many are hesitant to label these issues as true addictions, as they involve no biologically addictive chemical substances. In 1980, the American Psychiatric Association broadened its own definition of addiction to include pathological gambling as a valid psychiatric disorder ("Pathological"). This event was significant, for it established the idea that a chemical component is not necessary in the development of an addiction.

The question remains: What is an addiction? One dictionary offers several definitions for the word. According to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, addiction can be defined as a "compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance," or "the condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something" ("addiction"). According to the first definition, a "habit-forming substance" must be involved. This, of course, calls for the definition of "habit-forming substance." Is chocolate a habit forming substance? How about chemicals released by the brain in response to certain emotions? Are those habit-forming substances? Furthermore, the second definition for addiction could refer to just about anything. Clearly, finding a definition everyone agrees on can be quite tricky. Therefore, for the purpose of this article, I will define addiction as a compulsive behavior, engaged in without moderation, that directly causes harm to an individual's life (Messerly 31).

How video games hurt
Anyone who has ever played a video game before knows that is easy to become engrossed in the game, and that it can be very difficult to break away. However, after an hour or two of gaming, one eventually realizes that the real world awaits, and that he or she must enter back into it. It when a person loses this ability to break away from the virtual world, when he or she spends more time staring at their television screen than engaging in life, that problems occur. These problems, if left unchecked, have the potential to seriously damage one's life.

People who spend long stretches of time with their video game consoles may end up neglecting their careers, spouses, friendships, even sleep and personal hygiene (Schlimme). As one's life becomes deeper entrenched in video games, the video games, much like a drug, become a top priority in his or her world. They may begin to gauge their own self worth by their skill and success in a particular game. Suddenly, "real life" accomplishments, such as receiving a promotion at work, good grades in school, even spending time with friends and family become secondary in the video game addict's world. Because their feelings of self worth are based upon their success with video games, they devote more and more time to mastering the virtual world. In extreme cases, a video game addict may forego all but the most necessary contact with the real world in order to satisfy his or her "habit." In time, the addict becomes a hermit, giving up work and school, and avoiding any social interaction that may interfere with game time. Such a severe level of addiction is not common. However, most video game enthusiasts do experience varying degrees of the aforementioned behavior.

Though most of the harmful effects of video game addiction pertain to one's social life, there have been several cases in which excessive video game playing has caused mental breakdowns in some individuals (Miller II). One college student had a psychotic episode after playing video games for thirty-six hours straight. According to Jay Parker, a chemical dependency counselor and co-founder of Internet/Computer Addiction Services, the man "thought the characters had come out of the game and were chasing him" (Miller II).

After giving up school, work, friends, and family to devote himself entirely to video games, twenty-one year old Shawn Woolley shot and killed himself in his apartment, following a video game binge. Shawn's mother, Elizabeth Woolley, said that prior to her son's suicide, Shawn had been playing twelve hours every day. Shawn, an epileptic, also suffered from seizures that were triggered by the video games. Of her son's addiction to video games, Woolley said, "It's like any other addiction. Either you die, go insane or you quit. My son died" (Miller II).

In neglecting responsibilities, avoiding social interaction and other important aspects of everyday life due to an obsession, such as gaming, an individual exhibits compulsive behavior, characteristic of addiction. The loss of the ability to moderate one's own behavior in the presence of a certain stimuli, videogames, which directly results in harm to one's life, as described above, is, according to my own definition, the hallmark of addiction.

A widespread problem
Because insufficient scientific research has been conducted on the topic of video game addiction, it is difficult to accurately predict the number of individuals who suffer from this malady (Richards 3). However, much anecdotal evidence suggests that video game addiction is a widespread problem, especially in the United States (Richards 3).

Video game addiction seems to run rampant on college campuses. One concerned Computer Science Instructor at the University of Texas at Austin reports that an alarming ninety percent of his students know someone whose social or academic life has been negatively affected by excessive video game playing (Messerly 29). Many of these students related accounts of their peers going on video game "binges," which lasted anywhere from a few days to a few semesters (Messerly 29). One British study found that one-fifth of teenagers are addicted to video games, and spend more than thirty hours each week gaming (Jenkinson 1).

Video game addiction is not limited to teens and adults. As technology has advanced, computers and video game consoles have become standard in many households across the United States, and children are being introduced to and addicted to "virtual play" at younger and younger ages (Schlimme). Too many youths today, some as young as three or four, chose to spend their free time playing video and other electronic games, and therefore miss out on the numerous physical and cognitive benefits to be gained from physical and imaginative play. At this time, we can only imagine what future effects video game addiction will have on these children.

Why are video games so addictive?
What is it about video games that make them so addictive? According to many mental health professionals, several psychological, social and even biological factors play a role in video game addiction.

Video games operate on a very basic psychological concept: stimulus and response (Richards 2). The video game provides a stimulus, such as a target to shoot, and the player is conditioned to respond to it, in this case, to shoot it. Furthermore, it is a fact that humans are designed to enjoy being challenged (Muhammad et al.). Video games, of course, gradually become more difficult and therefore more challenging as the game progresses. This makes it extremely difficult for a gamer to "give up" the satisfaction of overcoming the "challenge," artificial as it may be. Another reason why video games are psychologically addicting in due to something video game manufacturers call "the God effect" (Richards 2). According to Kim McDaniel, a licensed mental health counselor, with video games, "You're the center of the universe, which is very attractive for teenagers without a lot of power, psychologically, in the world (Richards 2). More startling is the fact that the actual violence and aggression present in an increasing number of video games may play a role in the addictive nature of these games. According to Psychologist Bob Kuney of Rutger's University, because males have a tendency to enjoy violence and "being in control," they are more likely than females to be attracted to, and therefore become addicted to video games (Muhammad et al.).

The social factors involved in some video games, are, perhaps, the most addicting. It is no coincidence that people at greatest risk for video game addiction tend to be lonely and isolated, have poor social skills, and may suffer from low self-esteem or have a poor body image (Miller II). For these suffering individuals, online video game worlds are havens for them to safely experiment with being social and forming friendships, while, at the same time, maintaining their anonymity. Players on these online games have been known to form strong friendships and even romantic relationships with one another. According to video game player Vincent Frederico Rochester, many people who play video games are unhappy with their own lives. Instead of going to a bar to meet people, many gamers prefer to play video games, because they lack the social skills necessary to succeed in real life situations (Miller II). Says Parker, "The social component is big because it gives players a false sense of relationships and identity. They say they have friends, but they don't know their names" (Miller II).

Research suggests that there may even be a chemical component to video game addiction. Scientists have found that the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a chemical that carries signals between cells in the brain, increases when one plays video games. Researchers believe that dopamine aids in attention and concentration, and also plays a part in reinforcing behavior that causes pleasure. According to Alain Dagher, an assistant professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute, all addictive substances, such as heroine and cocaine, cause dopamine to be released in the brain (Snider 2). The discovery of a chemical component to video game addiction is significant, for now the medical establishment must begin viewing and thus treating it as the valid addiction that it is.

Video game addiction is a significant problem in our society. Despite the fact that the medical establishment does not yet recognize video game addiction as a true addiction, the suffering it brings to individuals is very real. For the many friends and family of video game addicted individuals, witnessing their loved ones' withdrawal from reality can be a distressing experience. For these reasons, the topic of video game addiction needs to be seriously addressed, and individuals suffering from this addiction must be helped. Through education about the addictive nature of video games, the warning signs of addiction, and through the implementation of programs to help addicted individuals improve their social skills, perhaps the problem of video game addiction can be solved. Though the virtual world is a seductive one, filled with glamour, excitement, and experiences not offered by the real world, in the end, one must realize that the "virtual world" is just that: virtual. After all, who, looking back, wants to come to the tragic conclusion that their life was filled with numerous electronic memories and achievements but no real ones?

Bibliography

"Addiction." The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 4^th ed. 2000.

Jenkinson, Michael. "Bloodshed, Butchery and Video Games." Alberta Report/Newsmagazine 5.32 (1994): 32-33. EBSCOhost. University of Hawaii at Hilo Lib., Hilo, HI. 18 Oct. 2004 .

Mckeeman, D. "Games Addiction: The Troubles I've Seen." Compute! 13.1 (1991): 116. EBSCOhost. University of Hawaii at Hilo Lib., Hilo, HI. 18 Oct. 2004 .Snider, Michael. "Wired to Another World." Maclean's 116.9 (2003):23-25. EBSCOhost. University of Hawaii at Hilo Lib., Hilo, HI. 10 Oct. 2004 .

Messerly, John G. "How Computer Games Affect CS (and Other) Students' School Performance." Communications of the ACM. 47.3 (2004): 29-31.

Miller II, Stanley A. "Death of a game addict." JSOnline: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 2002. 1 November, 2004. < http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/mar02/31536.asp>.

Muhammad, Salaam, et al. "The Internet and Video Games: Addictions or Innocent Escape?" New York Amsterdam News 89.32 (1998): 18. EBSCOhost. University of Hawaii at Hilo Lib., Hilo, HI. 10 Oct. 2004 .

"Pathological gambling: An addiction embracing the nation." Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery. 2004. 20 October, 2004. .

Richards, Chris. "Addicted Gamers Losing Their Way; Support Groups, Therapies Provide a Healthier Restart." The Washington Post. 5 October, 2004. LexisNexis Academic. University of Hawaii at Hilo Lib., Hilo, HI. 29 October, 2004. .Schlimme, Mary. "Video Game Addiction: Do we need a Video Gamers Anonymous?"

Serendip. 2002. 20 October, 2004. .