I think you'd be surprised on both counts. Chasing a dopamine hit in a game is seeking a "state" as much as a thing to do — after all, you do things because of

I think you'd be surprised on both counts. Chasing a dopamine hit in a game is seeking a "state" as much as a thing to do — after all, you do things because of the way they make you feel, right? And multi-day drug and/or alcohol binges are actually very common. But certainly you're right that the loss of time/opportunity is far from cheap. Although with someone who has the means to be addicted to something like a game - implying a computer, power, a place to stay - one might speculate that they have more to lose, materially speaking.