Effects Of Video Game Addiction

As with any addiction, video games act as a comfort zone for those who are addicted. Video game addiction is much sneakier than many other types of addiction, it hides often going completely unnoticed until it has caught its prey. Unlike gambling or drugs, video games won’t leave a physical paper trail such as an empty wallet or needles behind. This type of addiction takes hold on one’s mental and emotional state. The lack of a paper trail is what makes it most difficult for loved ones to realize that there may be a real problem. And even furthermore, family may unknowingly exacerbate the problem, increasing the strength of the addiction. Video games are something that I 've played for most of my life. I 've fought with my parents over them

However, even as video game addiction is not currently universally accepted as a disease, it acts similar to a combination of gambling addiction and drug addiction. Video games will reward their gamers frequently, similar to that of gambling in which lots of small rewards will keep players hooked. Matilda Hellman, a professor at the University of Helsinki, tells us in a study on whether or not video games are actually addictive themselves, that the rewards of video games come in many forms to include: in game currency, character progression, special unlockable content, and even respect from other players (Hellman 105). In addition to this, gamers will develop a “tolerance” for these rewards, as with drugs, therefore requiring more and more of these rewards to feel satisfied (Hellman 105). Video game addiction is in fact, so similar on the brain from a biological perspective to other addictions, that it can be effectively treated with a drug commonly used to quit smoking, called Bupropion. A study by Doug Han, a professor at Chung Ang University, tested this drug on people addicted to an online PC game called Starcraft, and found that along with a reported decrease in craving and play time, an MRI of the brain shown almost identical results as compared to patients with substance dependence or gambling addiction (Han 306). This further enforces the information behind video game addiction being classified as its own