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INTRODUCTION:
Every gamer has probably heard the following phrases:
“Get off that stupid game”, “You’re always playing video games” and “You’re so addicted to video games”.
It can get really annoying, especially when you try to kill the last player in the game. Most parents and carers always think of one thing when they look at you playing video games: they are so addicted. However, millions of kids and teenagers (and even adults) play video games and are not addicted to them, mainly playing them for entertainment and to just kill time - I certainly do, and I know for a fact that I am not addicted as I am able to control myself, and all my friends are like me too. This raises many questions from kids and teenagers. Do parents even know what they are talking about when they call us addicts? What classifies as a video game addict? Should we be worried about video games? A lot of questions can pop up when you think of video game addicts. This article talks about how to spot the symptoms of someone with an addiction for video games and how to help them treat their condition.
WHAT CAUSES VIDEO GAME ADDICTION?:
A lot of children, teenagers and adults use video games as a way to kill time when they are bored and have absolutely nothing to do. I play video games every day, and you probably do too! However, a lot of people do not suffer from addiction even though they play a lot. So what does cause addiction to video games? Video game addiction is usually caused by the person playing games they are really into. The person is stuck playing the game, trying to beat their high-score or role-playing. Whatever the game is about, the person playing gets addicted after playing their favorite games for many hours in one session. The game makes them want to come back every single minute to complete missions and challenges. Any game can cause addiction, whether it’s a shooting game, dressing up game or a racing game. Also, when people play games, their brains release a chemical that creates pleasure: dopamine. This happens to lots of people. However, a lot of people like the sense of pleasure playing games and try to feel that by playing games excessively. This causes addiction to video games as they are stuck playing games non stop. Addiction is also caused by people having a rough time in their life and are using gaming to help them out. (1)
SYMPTOMS OF VIDEO GAME ADDICTION:
Just like any other addictions, there are a lot of symptoms that come with video game addiction. It may be hard to spot them at first, but once you examine someone who plays a lot of video games, you can be able to spot someone with video game addiction and try to help them.
A lot of symptoms you will spot is when people ruin their health for video games:
They get a lot of headaches (this occurs from too much screen time)
Their hygiene is extremely bad
They have a bad diet
Constant fatigue (caused by not sleeping a lot)
They get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (the excessive use of video game equipment)
Another batch of symptoms link to real life and how they treat others:
They lie about the amount of screen time they use
They isolate themselves from others to play their games and focus on then in peace
The final few symptoms are how they acted before and what has changed:
They are having a lot of problems in work and school
They are always in a bad mood when they don’t play games
They don’t like doing things they found fun before.
They always think about games when they are not playing (2)
These are most of the symptoms you will find in a video game addict. A lot of these symptoms are just like the symptoms you would see a drug addict have. A lot of addictions are the same, once you get into it, it’s hard to stop it. However, with the right help, these addictions can be controlled. (3) Remember that video game addicts don’t show every single symptom above, only a handful of them are shown. It may seem like a lot to take in, but when you educate yourself on the different symptoms, you will be able to tell who has an addiction. This should also help you help people. This brings us onto our next point.
“Something in their lives has gone very wrong for them, they’re almost putting a plaster on an open wound and whether that plaster is gaming 18 hours a day or whether that plaster is injecting heroin: the wound is still there. They will carry on doing that and re-applying the plaster until (they believe) that wound is healed.”- Claire Havey 5 October 2018 (4)
WHERE TO AND HOW TO HELP YOUR VIDEO GAME ADDICTION
Ever since video games were showcased to the world, people were becoming addicted everyday. Because of this, many people have been able to open clinics and help people who are seeking advice. There are lots of programmes to help you control your video game addiction. This includes therapy, counselling and rehabilitation. (5) These places can help you control your urges to play video games every minute. They offer a wide range of help to different people. Another way to cope with addiction is to talk to someone close to you about how you feel and why you are playing everyday. This will help you calm down and feel a sense of ease and happiness. (6)
CONCLUSION
To summarise, the main points I have talked about were how addiction is caused, the symptoms of video game addiction and how to help your or someone else's video game addiction. Video addiction has become a serious issue in the 21st century, especially the amount of gaming technology out in the world. However, we can all help each other control our video game addiction together and make sure we are able to battle our urges to play games every minute and do more different activities like going outside and doing sports. Of course, games are way better than sports, but hey, it’s a suggestion!
Footnotes:
- https://www.middlegate.co.uk/video-game-addiction/
- https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/video-game-addiction#1
- https://www.ukat.co.uk/gaming-addiction/
- https://www.ukat.co.uk/gaming-addiction/
- Clinics that can help:
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