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I think, like with other addictions, you need to take a holistic view of video game addiction that also includes the circumstances of the addicted people during
by opportune 7y ago
I think, like with other addictions, you need to take a holistic view of video game addiction that also includes the circumstances of the addicted people during their transition from casual use, to abuse, to addiction.
Why? Because most people don't get addicted to video games, just like most people don't get addicted to alcohol. And while you might be able to chalk some of it up to addictive personalities (predispositions to addiction regardless of circumstances) I'm guessing a lot of it comes down to environment more than pure chance.
For video games, I think there are a few serious structural/societal issues leading to addiction. First and foremost is that keeping kids busy is hard, and the lowest effort way to keep some kids busy is to give them video games. Couple that with most kids not being allowed to just wander around outside anymore, and living in a car culture where they can't drive, and video games become the primary way most kids can play with other kids.
A lot of video games addict will tell you that the thing that keeps them coming back to games are usually 2-3 things: well-defined goals with clearly actionable tasks to be completed to meet those goals (getting level 99 or a specific rare item, etc.), the community aspect, and the feeling of proficiency/accomplishment. In real life, important goals are harder to meet and less well-defined, much higher stakes, and are done over the course of months/years instead of hours/days/weeks, so video games are much preferable to hitting goals in real life. Social isolation is prevalent so videogames can easily replace that. And in real life, not everybody can be a winner, yet in videogames everyone can feel like a badass for grinding out a skill requirement or getting a rare/expensive item.
- syndacks 7y ago>Because most people don't get addicted to video games, just like most people don't get addicted to alcohol So, uhh, what _do_ they get addicted to?
- jachee 7y agoDopamine is the only thing that truly makes me happy.
- opportune 7y agoMost people aren't addicted to anything. Most people who try alcohol and video games don't get addicted to them
- xfitm3 7y agoMost people are addicted to emotions.
- close04 7y agoSugar is actually one of the most common addictions in Western countries at least. It's sometimes introduced at a young age (via baby formula) and then it's present in more or less everything we eat, most times in relatively high quantities. Even in food you wouldn't imagine having sugar. So it's hard to notice you're addicted until you start to explicitly avoid it and the realities of withdrawal (to the respective degree of addiction) kicks in.
- abraae 7y agoFacebook.
- pjtr 7y agoCoffee, religion, cigarettes, facebook, anger
- scns 7y agoshopping, sex ...
- toomanybeersies 7y agoThe root cause of addiction is the same, whether it's a behavioural addiction like video games, exercise, gambling, or sex, or drugs. It's reward seeking behaviour trying to cause a rise in dopamine levels. The physiological effects of substance abuse is generally worse, but the cause is the same, from my experience and people I know the root cause is underlying psychological issues that cause people to engage in self destructive reward seeking behaviour as an unhealthy coping mechanism. This is where I think that addiction education is completely inadequate. They teach you in school that a certain percentage of people who will do drugs (or gamble, or play video games) will get addicted, like it's some random chance. It's not a random chance though. It's easy to tell people to not do drugs, or not play video games, or to ban them from doing it, but fundamentally they're just going to engage in some other destructive behaviour if they aren't given the tools and support to engage in healthy coping strategies. We need to be teaching people how to identify addictive behaviour as it starts, we need to teach people how to reach out for support and to ensure that support is available, and we need to teach people mental hygiene. We tell people to brush their teeth and wash their hands because you don't want to get sick, but we never bother to teach people how to look after their mind.
- isodude 7y agoApperently a big issue with "gamers", which should not be confused with game addiction, is that kids use it to sooth their mental problems. If you have ADHD it's a effective way of getting something to do all the time with short bursts of dopamine. If you have social problems you can hide behind a screen with something you are familiar with.If you feel really unwell, like dealing with thr death of a relative, it's easy to play longer. To find out how healthy the relationship with gaming is, other factors are used instead, like do the person shower, eat and don't start the day by playing instantly? There are currently science being done on this right now, I should find this. Some kids are more prone to "get stuck" also, opening the door to an investigation into autism/asberger. In the end kids kinda find their own way and go out and play and get bored behind a screen. Alcohol addiction and video game addiction does not work in the same way.
- isodude 7y ago