Is video game addiction really a problem? Well, just about anyone with a teenager knows how difficult it is to pull them away from the game once they’ve been “sucked in”. But, allowed to escalate with a limitless amount of time spent playing video games, it’s likely that an attempt to quit will result in depression and other withdrawal symptoms. Definitely signs of addiction!
Have you seen the movie “The Prince and Me” starring Julia Stiles? The Prince’s butler becomes addicted to a video game over the long Thanksgiving weekend when he’s left at the dorm alone with everyone else is away. It was a funny scene in the movie but video game addiction is no laughing matter. Even the Prince couldn’t break the “trance” that the video game had induced.
Video Game Addiction – Most At-Risk Personality Types
Associate Professor Paul Delfabbro from the University of Adelaide’s school of psychology, said video games can be as addictive as pokie machines because they operate on the same brain processes.
“In video games people have the sense that … the next event or outcome or solution is just around the corner, so they keep on going back to it all the time,” he said.
“That’s one of the similarities between pokie machines and video games – is that people have to keep on doing it.”
Mr Delfabbro said certain personality types were more prone to video game addiction than others.
“The sort of characteristics we’re looking at are things like perfectionism, obsessiveness, proneness to rumination, the sort of things that make people dwell on things,” he said.
“Also procrastination, people who use video games as a way of getting away from responsibility.”
Adolescents should not be left unsupervised to play video games or even to roam the internet. With any addictive behavior, the immature brain is less capable of making appropriate decisions and more susceptible to becoming dependent on what the behavior does to create a feeling of well-being. Whether it’s a behavior or substance, the addiction alters the way the brain produces the chemicals needed to manage pain.
Video game addiction is no different. When someone is engaged in any behavior that is consuming time and energy to the point that activities of daily living are being pushed aside, there is a problem that must be addressed. It can be difficult to find satisfaction again in activities that were once enjoyed. Once the addictive behavior is eliminated, though, the brain will begin to heal itself and start producing the “feel good” chemicals naturally. And, the sooner the better.
Have you played video games? And, if so, did you find yourself getting “hooked?” You’re not alone! Please comment, like and share so that we can help others know the risks of developing video gaming addiction.
