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Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven

Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven age.

Hidios 7y ago
> Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven age. Umm you stop eating food if you are completely starved of dopamine. Are you afraid of living in this... Food...driven world, considering they are much more easily available than games?
weq 7y ago
This isnt just games. Lets be frank. We can become addicted to anything given the right physiological triggers. Capitalism has optimised itself to the point where you are nothing more then meta data. Its at the point where a team of accredited people can sit infront of the meta data, and your product, and they can design ways to trigger dopamine responses. Putting "any" kind of "modern product" in your childs hand will lead to one thing. Now put a connected device in their hands, and your putting your child in the hands of unlimited amounts of teams, using unlimited amounts of tickery, to earn profit from your child. Now add back in a dynmically manipulated game environment, where these tools are utilised by predators to exploit your child for their version on profit. This is the challenge of being a modern parent. Junk food, everywhere, all the time. https://www.sparringmind.com/supernormal-stimuli/ https://www.sparringmind.com/supernormal-stimuli/
- kennyadam 7y ago
  Yeah, it's definitely not just video games. I became physically dependant on opiates in much the same way.
  - synctext 7y ago
    Heavy. There is a scientific book discussing these topics. Centered around our 'neanderthal within': "The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution", https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465020429/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465020429/
- saiya-jin 7y ago
  Well take an inspiration from ultra-rich - don't cheap out on raising your kids and entertain them with potentially addictive games on phones/tablets/computers. They don't expose their kids to any of this till age 7-8 IIRC. I see it so many times around us - parents are tired, so here ya go kiddo, play with a phone so daddy/mommy can rest. Kids get addicted quickly, then when you take their game away they go mental, try emotional extortion, break stuff, whatever just to get it back. I know I must have had a mild addiction to PC gaming when being teenager, so many hours, days, weeks and months of wasted life. I won't allow the same thing for my kids, if I can help it. Replace it with physical activities, adventures, travelling, education. Harder, but much more rewarding for everybody involved
  - maccard 7y ago
    At some point (particularly with teenagers) you have to accept they're making a decision. 16 year old me certainly wouldn't have been impressed with a parent pulling the plug on me playing Counter Strike so I could go do something "wholesome" on my own outside. Video games can be a heslthy release/form of entertainment - is it any worse to spend 10 hours a week playing Roblox than watching whatever garbage I was plonked in front of when I was 8 or 9?
    - slavik81 7y ago
      I wonder how many adults would respond better in that situation. It's been a long while since I've had anyone tell me what I'm allowed to do with my free time.
    - TomMarius 7y ago
      If the kid is more interested in playing counter strike than to go geocaching or build a robot with a parent, something is wrong. Obviously everything has limits, too much parent activity is too much, but that applies to counter strike as well.
      - maccard 7y ago
        Just because youre more interested in geocaching and building robots doesn't mean everyone else is. I get that these are just examples, but it's ok for kids to be interested in things their parents aren't.
- Cthulhu_ 7y ago
  For sure; I'm addicted to distractions, in a way, in that I get restless from just sitting on the couch for a while. It's too easy to whip out my phone and go on Reddit /all until it gets weird, and my daily rituals include spending an hour at least browsing HN. I don't think it's that problematic yet, but it is definitely a thing. I'll have vacation in a couple weeks, I'll try and disconnect and go through some books again.
mhh__ 7y ago
As do food, love, sex etc. Some video games are worse than others but I think the video games themselves are more of a symptom than a root cause.
Cthulhu_ 7y ago
You should be afraid for yourself as well. I mean I'm not going to poo-pooh my kids for getting engrossed in video games, I was just like him and if I had my way I'd be in there all the time. And you know this would go for you as well. I'd argue it's even worse today, with e.g. mobile phones being always within reach and games and media being always-on, infinite in content (Roblox has millions of user-generated games, youtube gets more videos a day than anyone could watch in a lifetime, Reddit / Twitter / etc are infinite, etc). I mean our games back when were singleplayer and story-driven, but they were still super engrossing. It came to a point with me when after obsessively playing Pokemon for a few weeks (getting super red in the face and everything) I went sick for a week. Probably not related since my dad got the same bug but still, it felt related. Didn't enjoy Pokemon after that. eve online and other MMOs on the other hand <_<
anthonypasq 7y ago
literally everything in this life worth doing releases dopamine to make you feel good. Its why we do everything. I dont know why the internet thinks video games are something special.

Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven age.

Hidios 7y ago

> Video games can have a very similar reaction on the brain as drugs in the release of dopamine. This is my biggest fear raising my kids in this technology driven age. Umm you stop eating food if you are completely starved of dopamine. Are you afraid of living in this... Food...driven world, considering they are much more easily available than games?

weq 7y ago

This isnt just games. Lets be frank. We can become addicted to anything given the right physiological triggers. Capitalism has optimised itself to the point where you are nothing more then meta data. Its at the point where a team of accredited people can sit infront of the meta data, and your product, and they can design ways to trigger dopamine responses. Putting "any" kind of "modern product" in your childs hand will lead to one thing. Now put a connected device in their hands, and your putting your child in the hands of unlimited amounts of teams, using unlimited amounts of tickery, to earn profit from your child. Now add back in a dynmically manipulated game environment, where these tools are utilised by predators to exploit your child for their version on profit. This is the challenge of being a modern parent. Junk food, everywhere, all the time. https://www.sparringmind.com/supernormal-stimuli/ https://www.sparringmind.com/supernormal-stimuli/

kennyadam 7y ago
Yeah, it's definitely not just video games. I became physically dependant on opiates in much the same way.
- synctext 7y ago
  Heavy. There is a scientific book discussing these topics. Centered around our 'neanderthal within': "The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution", https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465020429/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465020429/
saiya-jin 7y ago
Well take an inspiration from ultra-rich - don't cheap out on raising your kids and entertain them with potentially addictive games on phones/tablets/computers. They don't expose their kids to any of this till age 7-8 IIRC. I see it so many times around us - parents are tired, so here ya go kiddo, play with a phone so daddy/mommy can rest. Kids get addicted quickly, then when you take their game away they go mental, try emotional extortion, break stuff, whatever just to get it back. I know I must have had a mild addiction to PC gaming when being teenager, so many hours, days, weeks and months of wasted life. I won't allow the same thing for my kids, if I can help it. Replace it with physical activities, adventures, travelling, education. Harder, but much more rewarding for everybody involved
- maccard 7y ago
  At some point (particularly with teenagers) you have to accept they're making a decision. 16 year old me certainly wouldn't have been impressed with a parent pulling the plug on me playing Counter Strike so I could go do something "wholesome" on my own outside. Video games can be a heslthy release/form of entertainment - is it any worse to spend 10 hours a week playing Roblox than watching whatever garbage I was plonked in front of when I was 8 or 9?
  - slavik81 7y ago
    I wonder how many adults would respond better in that situation. It's been a long while since I've had anyone tell me what I'm allowed to do with my free time.
  - TomMarius 7y ago
    If the kid is more interested in playing counter strike than to go geocaching or build a robot with a parent, something is wrong. Obviously everything has limits, too much parent activity is too much, but that applies to counter strike as well.
    - maccard 7y ago
      Just because youre more interested in geocaching and building robots doesn't mean everyone else is. I get that these are just examples, but it's ok for kids to be interested in things their parents aren't.
Cthulhu_ 7y ago
For sure; I'm addicted to distractions, in a way, in that I get restless from just sitting on the couch for a while. It's too easy to whip out my phone and go on Reddit /all until it gets weird, and my daily rituals include spending an hour at least browsing HN. I don't think it's that problematic yet, but it is definitely a thing. I'll have vacation in a couple weeks, I'll try and disconnect and go through some books again.

mhh__ 7y ago

As do food, love, sex etc. Some video games are worse than others but I think the video games themselves are more of a symptom than a root cause.

Cthulhu_ 7y ago

You should be afraid for yourself as well. I mean I'm not going to poo-pooh my kids for getting engrossed in video games, I was just like him and if I had my way I'd be in there all the time. And you know this would go for you as well. I'd argue it's even worse today, with e.g. mobile phones being always within reach and games and media being always-on, infinite in content (Roblox has millions of user-generated games, youtube gets more videos a day than anyone could watch in a lifetime, Reddit / Twitter / etc are infinite, etc). I mean our games back when were singleplayer and story-driven, but they were still super engrossing. It came to a point with me when after obsessively playing Pokemon for a few weeks (getting super red in the face and everything) I went sick for a week. Probably not related since my dad got the same bug but still, it felt related. Didn't enjoy Pokemon after that. eve online and other MMOs on the other hand <_<

anthonypasq 7y ago

literally everything in this life worth doing releases dopamine to make you feel good. Its why we do everything. I dont know why the internet thinks video games are something special.