Video Game Addiction

Playing video games is fun for many people. The game industry has become bigger than every other entertainment outlet in the world. However, with massive growth like that, problems also appear. The idea of video games being as addictive as drugs has been floating around for a while, and recently it has begun to blow up again. The first thing to look at is if games actually classify as an addiction versus a hobby.

A hobby is something that one enjoys doing, but that person will still make time for his/her responsibilities. He/she will continue to do homework, go to work, and keep with cleaning the house. An addiction, on the other hand, is a hobby that has gradually taken over more and more of a person’s life. Eventually, that hobby becomes that person’s life. He/she begins to stop completing his/her responsibilities, and is consumed by their addiction. Do video games align with the second definition? In some cases, yes. However, that is somewhat misleading. It is true that games do cause some people to slip on their responsibilities. The Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery lays out some of the symptoms of gaming addiction. Feelings of isolation, moodiness, dropping out of extra activities, and lying to friends and family about how long they actually participate in the game. Some people who play video games do suffer from these symptoms, and to them video games are addictive. But it is important to realize that just because something is addictive does not mean it is negative.

The most common addictions that are talked about are drug addictions. However, things that are looked at positively like being productive and exercise can also be addictive. For example, if one becomes so enveloped in being productive that they wake up to begin working, they will get a lot of stuff done, but they will not enjoy themselves ever. They will become burnt out and despise what at first gave them joy. It is unfair to look at video games as something to be abhorred because they are addictive because everything in the world is addictive. Too much of anything is a bad thing, but video games are looked down upon because of a bias against them.

Addiction is an issue that needs to be addressed, but only addressing video game addiction is akin to having a lego set and pulling one piece out and claiming that it is finished; the world misses the bigger picture when it comes to this topic. It is less that games are addictive, and more so that humans like to be addicted to things, video games or not.