How real is video game addiction?

[Mai72]

Is video game addiction real, and if so should game companies be required to put warning labels on their games? Also, should they be held liable?

I'm on the fence about this issue. Yes, it's the persons responsibility to monitor their video gaming. If you are playing for too many hours and it's impacting your personal life than you should stop playing. Or at least scale back the hours. But, what if you're not able to stop playing? What if that one more turn becomes too many and it ends up destroying your life? It has happened. Gamers have had their great lives ruined because of their addiction to Everquest, CoD, or WoW.

When developers make their games they do it with the intent to make it as addictive as possible. They implement strategies that are also utilized by gaming halls and casinos. The intent is to make their game addictive, so they can extract more money from their fan base. What happens when we play video games? Dopamine rushes to the brain, and to keep the high we must keep gaming at a high level. Thus, addiction and daily bad habits are formed. This is the same thing tobacco companies did in the past. They used chemicals in their products to make the smoker want to continue smoking. Smokers know smoking is bad, but they continue to do it.

I know that video game addiction hasn't been included in the DSM yet. It's up for review and I believe as more gamers come forth with their personal stories on addiction, we might think differently.

Finally, if you would have told people in the 1950's that ex-smokers would be suing the tobacco companies for large sums of money and winning you would have been ridiculed. In 10-20 years we might witness personal lawsuits against gaming companies because their games were addictive, and there were no warning labels on their game.

 

[Jaskalas]

Gaming lights up the reward center of your brain. I'd say that over time, months or years, you build up a tolerance. Interesting part is there are no chemicals delivered to you via a game, so this is all dependent on the person. It's all you... just that you are being played like a fiddle. Manipulated.

Is it acceptable? Interesting question.

 

[zerocool84]

Anything can be addictive. Same reason why people can be addicted to gambling.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I think it comes down to the individual as with all addictions. Humans have the unique ability to get addicted to anything under the sun. While it is certainly real to the person being adversely affected, trying to quantify it would be problematic.

 

[Mai72]

Gaming lights up the reward center of your brain. I'd say that over time, months or years, you build up a tolerance. Interesting part is there are no chemicals delivered to you via a game, so this is all dependent on the person. It's all you... just that you are being played like a fiddle. Manipulated.

Is it acceptable? Interesting question.

I read an article a while back on WoW. The developers were in talks with a few psychologist, and the reason behind this was so they could make their game as addictive as possible. They wanted to find what they could do to trigger the reward center in the brain of their players.

Should the developers be held liable if a few people had their lives ruined because of their WoW addiction. Why are some people able to smoke recreationally, while other people let their smoking addictions ruin their health? It's not that they were weak minded.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Depends on the game as well. MMO style games are designed specifically to facilitate a pseudo addiction, regardless of if you're actually having fun. Grinding is work, not fun btw.

I play almost exclusively single player games as they're easier to break from for daily tasks, and are typically more fun than work.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I read an article a while back on WoW. The developers were in talks with a few psychologist, and the reason behind this was so they could make their game as addictive as possible. They wanted to find what they could do to trigger the reward center in the brain of their players.

Should the developers be held liable if a few people had their lives ruined because of their WoW addiction. Why are some people able to smoke recreationally, while other people let their smoking addictions ruin their health? It's not that they were weak minded.

I would think the developers could only be held responsible (and then, only partially) if the addicts were unaware of the possibility of addiction.

 

[Kaido]

I met a guy once who had lost his job because of an Everquest addiction. Had to have been in his late 40's or early 50's, i.e. not a kid. Just depends on the person. I think it's important to realize that anything can be addictive, and no one is above addiction. I knew a dude who was addicted to Pepsi of all things. Ruined his stomach & had to have his stomach pumped multiple times.

It also depends on how you want to define addiction - I think there are definitely multiple levels of addiction. The worst is when you're hurting yourself & other people, which is common with drug & alcohol addictions. I mean, I have over thirty thousand posts here on AT, does that mean I'm addicted? The kneejerk reaction to 30k is "yes", but if you look at my post average, that's less than 8 posts a day, so basically lunchbreak surfing if you wanted to boil down actual time & effort spent in posting or replying to threads. And it's not like I'm neglecting other things in my life like my family or my job, so the definition depends on context & the situation as well.

But I think there are people who, while they're not causing direct issues from their addiction, definitely fill up all of their free time with their addictions. But hey, it's America - if you're an entrepreneur or a CEO who works a billion hours a week, then that's called a solid work ethic. I've met a lot of Type A personalities who I would absolutely say are workaholics, but that's something that's just commonly accepted & even looked up to in our society. My common workweek is 60 to 70 hours, but that's just because I'm in IT - I'm definitely not driven to be a mover or shaker at work, haha.

Psychology is such an interesting topic.

 

[mmntech]

I think gaming can be addictive, and certain types of games are certainly designed to hijack the brain's reward centre. Much like gambling. We're starting to see more studies being conducted into "information age" addictions: gaming, pornography, and the internet. Most of the research is focusing on the latter two.

Basically anything that activates the reward centre of your brain can become addictive if done to excess. I'd say gaming is a bit different because it doesn't hijack natural rewards like porn, junk food, and narcotics do. It's more akin to gambling. An impulsive behavior.

 

[shortylickens]

Does it stimulate dopamine?

Its addictive.

Just like TV and porn.

 

[Adrenaline]

Video game addiction is real. I knew people that played WoW nonstop. The only time they didn't play, they were sleeping.

I read an article a while back on WoW. The developers were in talks with a few psychologist, and the reason behind this was so they could make their game as addictive as possible. They wanted to find what they could do to trigger the reward center in the brain of their players.

Too bad Blizzard dropped the ball on this with Diablo 3. I have seen a bunch of people quit for good.

 

[Zor Prime]

It CAN be addictive.

I know someone who quit going to work and spent a year at home living on credit cards playing WoW. The only way they could quit was getting rid of their computer.

I've let relationships suffer from gaming.

 

[brianmanahan]

well i just spent the last 3 days playing assassin's creed unity 8-10 hours a day, so... :whiste:

 

[Newell Steamer]

They can be, sure.

But, they don't need warnings. I mean, it's not like comic books or Beanie Babies need a "WARNING, MAY BE ADDICTIVE" label.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Video game addiction is real and kills families.

Video games: Not even once.

 

[Zorander]

Failing academic subjects or getting fired for absences from work is a very real sign of video game addiction. The latter is seriously damaging to families whose lives depend on that income.

I suppose game developers can incorporate friendly reminders at in-game hourly intervals (to take a break or stop).

If the number of hours exceeds a pre-determined maximum, they could ramp up the game difficulty such that the player quits in frustration. Of course, there will be checks to ensure they cannot circumvent that timer (even by exiting and restarting the game). :awe:

 

[Blanky]

I think it is real but depends on the game. I refuse to play massive online multiplayer games because they are death to free time. I have a co worker who to this day plays WOW for many hours/week (I'd say 20+ and has for years). It affects his sleep. It's not healthy at all. When the recent release came out for WoW he started playing at midnight and didn't go to bed until the morning. This guy is a manager in an IT department and has kids. I'm amazed he can do it really, but although he says it's fun I have to think some part of him wishes he could just quit it all.

I saw two guys fail out of college for playing online rpgs.

I finished a single player game this morning. It was taking up more hours than I cared for recently, so now I'll not play a game for a while. If it were an MMORPG I would just be back into it.

 

[brianmanahan]

I saw two guys fail out of college for playing online rpgs.

same here, friend of mine played too much DAoC and D&D

 

[Craig234]

It's very real.

For one important issue, there is a long-known trait about the attraction of random rewards.

Scientific experiments with animals found the most effective way to get an animal to compulsively perform an act is not to provide it a consistent reward, but a random reward.

MMO's and some other games are largely designed around this. It's built in to the 'random loot' system with varying degrees of rarity to loot. Also see games like Diablo.

I've heard that psychologists were hired in the design of early MMO's who came up with this approach as a focus, when the business model required keeping players 'addicted' for the years-long paying of monthly subscriptions long after the content had been played and was in 'replay' mode.

I've personally had a Sony games lawyer tell me over a decade ago that they had a company ban on employees saying the word 'addiction', they knew it was a problem.

Google 'EQ Widows' for web sites with stories of thousands of players who alienated their spouses and children for years, and other such real stories.

Other gamers tend to attack this topic - mostly out of ignorance, partly out of that petty sort of internet hostility, some out of not wanting to admit they have had an issue. Most gamers don't have a big problem from it for various reasons. It's a bit analogous to gambling addiction - most gamblers don't have a problem from that, but it's a very real thing.

It's funny how similar 'buy a chest in a game and get a white/green/blue/purple/orange rewards is to 'play a slot machine and get a small, medium, large, huge reward'.

In fact, one or more other countries - I think Japan - actually passed a law against exploiting this is game design because of the impact on many people.

I've seen people say in chat that they had just compulsively spent hundreds of dollars on some new chest made available and can't afford it and are in a panic.

This design has been used heavily in the design, where players are constantly getting 'random rewards. Kill thousand of snakes, each one might drop armor.

So, yes, it is real, and the issues you are about are legitimate, and the dispute is not about that, where it's usually argued by the uninformed, but about what should be done.

That's a question that a lot of people have ideology about - role of government/nanny state type issues objecting to taking measures to protect people.

Just as they had with opposition to smoking, measures against gambling addition, seat belts, helmet laws, speed limits, drug laws, and so on.

There's always going to be a debate between the 'most aren't hurt' versus the 'thousands are hurt' issue. We allow dangerous things from deep sea diving to car racing and all kinds of activities that are dangerous in the name of 'fun' or thrill. One difference here, is that just as cigarettes had nicotine added to create addiction, the game designs often use designs directly designed for the same reason - addiction - for the same reason - profits.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

It's very real.

For one important issue, there is a long-known trait about the attraction of random rewards.

Scientific experiments with animals found the most effective way to get an animal to compulsively perform an act is not to provide it a consistent reward, but a random reward.

MMO's and some other games are largely designed around this. It's built in to the 'random loot' system with varying degrees of rarity to loot. Also see games like Diablo.

I've heard that psychologists were hired in the design of early MMO's who came up with this approach as a focus, when the business model required keeping players 'addicted' for the years-long paying of monthly subscriptions long after the content had been played and was in 'replay' mode.

I've personally had a Sony games lawyer tell me over a decade ago that they had a company ban on employees saying the word 'addiction', they knew it was a problem.

Google 'EQ Widows' for web sites with stories of thousands of players who alienated their spouses and children for years, and other such real stories.

Other gamers tend to attack this topic - mostly out of ignorance, partly out of that petty sort of internet hostility, some out of not wanting to admit they have had an issue. Most gamers don't have a big problem from it for various reasons. It's a bit analogous to gambling addiction - most gamblers don't have a problem from that, but it's a very real thing.

It's funny how similar 'buy a chest in a game and get a white/green/blue/purple/orange rewards is to 'play a slot machine and get a small, medium, large, huge reward'.

In fact, one or more other countries - I think Japan - actually passed a law against exploiting this is game design because of the impact on many people.

I've seen people say in chat that they had just compulsively spent hundreds of dollars on some new chest made available and can't afford it and are in a panic.

This design has been used heavily in the design, where players are constantly getting 'random rewards. Kill thousand of snakes, each one might drop armor.

So, yes, it is real, and the issues you are about are legitimate, and the dispute is not about that, where it's usually argued by the uninformed, but about what should be done.

That's a question that a lot of people have ideology about - role of government/nanny state type issues objecting to taking measures to protect people.

Just as they had with opposition to smoking, measures against gambling addition, seat belts, helmet laws, speed limits, drug laws, and so on.

There's always going to be a debate between the 'most aren't hurt' versus the 'thousands are hurt' issue. We allow dangerous things from deep sea diving to car racing and all kinds of activities that are dangerous in the name of 'fun' or thrill. One difference here, is that just as cigarettes had nicotine added to create addiction, the game designs often use designs directly designed for the same reason - addiction - for the same reason - profits.

Please remain in your basement without internet. It's the only way to be safe.

 

[mikeford]

Real yes, common, no.

Alcohol, nicotine, gambling, and drugs all seem to target the same group of people, in for one, chances are good you could be hooked on the others. So far doesn't seem like games and sex are in with the other group.

 

[John Connor]

Is video game addiction real, and if so should game companies be required to put warning labels on their games? Also, should they be held liable?

Uh, no. This is fucking stupid!

I'm going to sue you because your game is addicting.

 

[Remobz]

well i just spent the last 3 days playing assassin's creed unity 8-10 hours a day, so... :whiste:

Seriously, who has the time for that? Unless you are a teenager with no job

 

[SlitheryDee]

Real as any other addiction. It's just not as common as some other ones, at least not in the form of real addiction.

I don't think companies should be held liable for it though. All the things that people find "fun" and are readily available to partake in are potentially addictive as well. Ask anyone if they think they should do one fun thing so much that it keeps them from doing anything productive in life. They'll all tell you no. We all already know what we should or shouldn't do and how much of what we do we should do. If we don't then we're morons and how the fuck can anyone else predict, much less be responsible for, what we're going to do to ourselves.

 

[Imp]

If WoW and my almost flunking out of college in first year are any indication, ya, it's real. Surprisingly, I got over it before almost flunking because I got bored of the game.