argumentative essay about online games addiction

Online Gaming Essay | Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Gaming

Online gaming is the most talked about fun topic among the teenagers of the 21st century. At the same time, it is the most talked about serious topic among the parents and teachers. Everyone has their own reasons to discuss online gaming. Our reason today is to help you write an Essay on Online Gaming so that you are exposed to the unseen side of online gaming addiction.

Long Essay on Online Gaming Addiction in 500 words | Argumentative Essay on Online Games Good or Bad

How online gaming started.

The Internet has changed the way we live, we eat, we dress, we work and we play. It has become a preferred and comfortable mode which has made our lives way too easy. Today almost everything is available at the click of a button. You ask for a thing and it reaches your doorstep within days. Amidst these gratifying moments, when we are saved from the daily hustle-bustle, another trend of online gaming has emerged. 

Advantages of Online Games

Online gaming is a huge platform today. A platform that has broken all barriers and boundaries amidst countries around the world. In online gaming, you can connect to anyone anywhere in the world and play. Sometimes you don’t even know with whom you are playing and this mystery makes the experience even more thrilling. It also gives the player an opportunity to make new friends from other countries and get a chance to showcase their talent worldwide.

Nowadays, many online gaming championships are organized where gamers get a platform to compete with the best of the best and enhance their skills. It has gained much popularity over the years because one can play an online game on even a basic smartphone. What one requires is a consistent internet connection. Developing, designing and marketing online games has turned into a full-fledged profession and many are earning their bread and butter through it. 

Disadvantages of Online Gaming

But then there is always the other side of a coin which is often dark and dingy. The other side of online gaming is not only dark but dreadful too. Many tend to become addicted to online gaming and it takes away all of their productive time. When money gets involved in it through betting, families are ruined. It pulls an individual into isolation as mostly online gamers play alone. Their social interaction becomes nil which leads to depression and loneliness.

Online harassment through many gaming sites is not a new thing. Children can easily be trapped in this way. Long hours spent in front of the computer can harm their posture and eyes too. These games, through their catchy visuals, entice young children and they become addicted to them to such an extent that they forget to eat or sleep and prefer to sit in front of the screen all the time. Such addiction not only harms the individual but the whole family suffers due to it. Besides social effects, there are many psychological symptoms like anxiety, irritability and uncontrollable mood swings which take a toll on the health of an individual due to addiction.  

Ways to Control Online Gaming Addiction

Self-control, time management and focus can serve as the three pillars for fighting the addiction to online gaming. The external prohibitions from the government in the form of laws, certain regulations and even a ban on a few of them are not going to solve the problem. Good parenting, positive family time and socializing with friends can prove to be helpful.  In some severe cases, guidance from a counsellor could become necessary. Positive reinforcement & support from loved ones is required for an individual to come out of this addiction. 

‘Nothing can be more exciting and thrilling than a victory in real life’. So, let’s look forward to a win in real life than online.

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Essay on Online Games Addiction

Students are often asked to write an essay on Online Games Addiction in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Online Games Addiction

Understanding online games addiction.

Online games addiction means playing games on the internet too much. This happens when someone spends more time playing games than doing other important things. This can cause problems like poor grades in school, less time with friends and family, and even health issues.

Reasons for Addiction

Effects of addiction.

Playing games too much can cause many problems. It can lead to poor performance in school or at work. It can also cause health problems like eye strain and lack of sleep. It can even hurt relationships with friends and family.

Overcoming Addiction

Overcoming online games addiction can be tough, but it’s possible. It’s important to set limits on how much time you spend playing games. It can also help to find other hobbies or activities to do instead of playing games. It might also be helpful to talk to a counselor or therapist.

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250 Words Essay on Online Games Addiction

What is online games addiction.

Online games addiction is when a person cannot stop playing games on the internet. They spend too much time playing these games and ignore other important things in life. This can harm their studies, health, and relationships.

Why Do People Get Addicted?

People get addicted to online games for many reasons. Some find these games fun and exciting. They enjoy the challenges and rewards that these games offer. Others use these games to escape from stress or problems in real life.

Effects of Online Games Addiction

Online games addiction can have many bad effects. It can cause poor grades in school because students spend too much time playing games instead of studying. It can also lead to health problems like eye strain and lack of sleep. Moreover, it can harm relationships with family and friends because the person is always busy with the games.

How to Overcome Online Games Addiction

500 words essay on online games addiction.

Online games addiction is when a person spends too much time playing games on the internet and finds it hard to stop. This can lead to problems in other parts of life like school, work, or relationships. It’s a bit like when someone can’t stop eating sweets, even though they know it’s bad for them. They might want to stop, but they find it very hard to do so.

There are many reasons why people get addicted to online games. Some people play games to escape from real-life problems or to feel good about themselves. Games can make people feel like they’re winning or achieving something, which can be very satisfying. Other people might get addicted because the games are so much fun and they lose track of time. Sometimes, people get addicted because they’re trying to be the best at the game and can’t stop until they are.

The Impact of Online Games Addiction

Secondly, addiction can harm relationships. If a person spends too much time playing games, they might not spend enough time with their friends and family. This can make people feel lonely and isolated.

How to Prevent and Overcome Online Games Addiction

If someone is already addicted to online games, it might be hard for them to stop on their own. In this case, it can be helpful to seek help from a professional, like a counselor or a psychologist. They can provide guidance and support to help the person overcome their addiction.

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Argumentative Essay On Online Gaming Addiction

Samuel Adkisson

Firstly, one of the most pressing concerns associated with online gaming addiction is its detrimental effect on physical health. Prolonged gaming sessions often lead to a sedentary lifestyle, increasing the risk of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal problems. Players frequently disregard essential self-care practices, such as sufficient sleep, proper nutrition, and physical exercise. Over time, this neglect can culminate in severe health complications, diminishing the overall quality of life. The lure of online gaming often makes it challenging for individuals to balance their virtual adventures with the necessary physical activities, thereby inviting a host of health issues. In addition to physical health detriments, online gaming addiction has a pronounced impact on mental health. Individuals who are excessively involved in gaming are more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and stress. The constant exposure to exciting and often violent content can desensitize players, making real-life interactions feel mundane and unfulfilling. Moreover, the competitive nature of many online games can lead to frustration and low self-esteem, especially when players fail to achieve their in-game goals. This can create a vicious cycle where individuals increasingly rely on gaming to escape their distress, further deepening their addiction. Furthermore, the social implications of online gaming addiction are significant. Relationships with family and friends often suffer as addicted gamers prioritize their virtual interactions over real-life connections. The lack of face-to-face communication can lead to social isolation, impairing the development of critical social skills. These individuals may struggle with forming meaningful relationships or maintaining existing ones, as their primary mode of interaction becomes confined to the digital realm. The sense of community that online games offer is superficial at best, often proving insufficient to replace genuine human connections. However, it is essential to recognize that online gaming in moderation can have potential benefits, such as improving cognitive abilities and providing a platform for social connection and community building. Some educational games are designed specifically to enhance learning and problem-solving skills. Nonetheless, the addictive nature of online gaming makes it difficult for individuals to maintain a healthy balance. The benefits quickly diminish as gaming shifts from a leisure activity to an all-consuming obsession, underlining the necessity of moderation and self-regulation. In conclusion, while online gaming can serve as an entertaining and sometimes educational pastime, the risks associated with addiction far outweigh the benefits. The adverse impacts on physical health, mental well-being, and social relationships are profound and require serious consideration. Measures should be taken to raise awareness about the dangers of online gaming addiction and to promote healthier lifestyles that prioritize balanced and varied activities. As society becomes increasingly digitized, it is imperative to ensure that technology is used in ways that enhance, rather than detract from, human well-being.

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Students and Video Game Addiction

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Until the academic warning letter from my son’s college arrived home last December 23rd following his fall freshman term, he assured us that he was getting Bs in his classes. 

Confronted with this letter, he broke down in tears, admitted that he spent most of the last half of the semester playing an online computer game, and didn’t attend the final weeks of classes nor even sit for his exams. 

An activity that started out in high school for fun and as a coping strategy for stress had hijacked his brain, and he lost control.  He was addicted – as are nearly 2 million other U.S. college students. And if the computer game industry continues to succeed in its marketing strategy to hook youth on their products, its market success will trigger bigger avalanches of academic warning letters every December -- unless college leaders take action to address this worsening epidemic.   

For the past six years as an administrator at a large community college, I’ve focused on developing workforce education programs that have helped hundreds of at-risk students succeed in college programs.  However, as a parent of a game-addicted college student living away from home on a college campus, I felt powerless to help my son succeed in his own college launch.  As a young adult, he’s responsible for his choices, and he chose games over college success.  At the same time, the heart of addiction is a loss of control, and still-developing teenagers like my son are especially vulnerable to the instant gratification of games that can entrap them into addiction before they know what has hit them.  My hope is that our family’s story can help the higher education family grapple with this epidemic, so that other parents’ sons and daughters don’t experience the calamitous crash that my son did at college. 

Excessive Gaming Linked to Lower Academic Performance

Because computer game-playing is legal, hidden away in dorm rooms, and doesn’t result in obvious impairments like drug or alcohol addiction, the problem has stayed under the radar.  However, many studies have linked excessive computer game-playing to lower academic performance, as well as a variety of disorders often treated at campus health centers, such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, and social phobias. 

In one of the most authoritative studies, a longitudinal study of 3,000 third- through eighth-graders in Singapore , researchers from Iowa State University and elsewhere found 9 percent of gamers to be “pathological,” meaning that their gaming damaged multiple parts of their lives, including school performance.

Additional Resources

National Academic Advising Association Clearinghouse Article on Gaming Addiction, by Le e Kem of Murray State University

Online Gamers Anonymous , an online support community modeled after 12-step programs.

The Center for Internet Addiction , an online information resource, professional training and treatment service pioneered by Dr. Kimberly Young.

NBC Rock Center story on computer game addiction.

Just like my son, they didn’t grow out of it on their own, either.  Two years later, 84 percent of the pathological gamers in this study were still experiencing similar impacts, a finding that suggests that nearly 10 percent of first-year college students bring these pathologies to college with them.  Students who reported pathological impacts played an average of 31 hours every week.  Gaming within this subculture of students is so prevalent that my son convinced himself that 5-8 hours of daily gaming when he started college was normal.

Once these students arrive on campus, freed from the constraints of high school attendance monitors and parental oversight, students are more likely to binge on gaming, with results that can be as traumatic as my son’s.  In the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement , completed by 27,000 first-year students, over one-third of incoming males and nearly one-fourth of females reported playing computer games more than 16 hours per week. These students had lower SAT scores and lower high school grades, and completed fewer AP courses.  So, they come to college less prepared to succeed, and are likely to fall further behind if their addiction takes root more deeply. 

An older 2003 study of college students by The Pew Internet and American Life Project confirmed this crowding out effect, with nearly half (48 percent) of college student gamers reporting that gaming keeps them from studying.  Perhaps the former Federal Communications Commissioner Deborah Taylor was ahead of her time in 2008, when she created a brief media firestorm with a speech in which she claimed that “one of the top reasons for college dropouts in the U.S. is online gaming addiction – such as World of Warcraft.”

Emulating the Tobacco Industry’s Marketing Strategy

This problem is poised to get much worse.  More and more online computer games are designed to profit by hooking addicts -- starting at a young age -- on their products, just as cigarette makers profited for decades by hooking young nicotine addicts for a lifetime. This Christmas, children being groomed by game-makers will find "Halo" and "World of Warcraft"-themed Lego sets under the tree.  At a 2010 conference , one industry executive admitted that “we have to bring them in and keep them addicted and make them keep playing.” 

After the computer game industry succeeded in getting and keeping my son addicted at college, he was hardly recognizable as the high school senior with a 3.7 GPA, 2100 SAT, and active participation as a high school athlete and trombonist in five bands.  In a 2010 magazine article , an anonymous game designer described the creepy science of addiction that designers are engineering into their products. 

Game-makers’ profits increasingly rely on addiction.  Consider the meteoric rise of the game that became an addiction as strong as crack for my son: Riot Games’ "League of Legends."  In 2009, Riot Games released "League of Legends" as one of the first free-to-play online massive multiplayer games, which require no upfront subscription payment.  They extract money from players later, after they get hooked. By the fall of 2012, Riot Games reported that "League of Legends" had 70 million registered player names and 12 million “daily active users” (likely addicts) worldwide.  The company’s business model was attractive enough to score a massive $400 million payoff for the company’s founders when they sold the company in 2011. 

Its phenomenal success has induced a Pavlovian response within the industry to design even more intense free-to-play games that seek to ensnare and addict its customers – with youth and college students directly in their crosshairs.  This prospect should motivate every dean of student services into action to warn students, starting with the first day of freshman orientation. 

Campus Strategies to Address Computer Addiction

Such warnings are rare, however.  “Given that college students are at the epicenter of America’s computer addiction epidemic, I’m shocked at how few colleges and universities are addressing this problem aggressively,” says Hilarie Cash, executive director of ReStart Internet Addiction Recovery Center , and author of Video Games and Your Kids .  One reason is that the problem of compulsive or pathological computer gaming is often hidden from college officials by addicted students. 

For example, when the dean of student services asked my son why he was withdrawing from college, he said “because of depression” – without mentioning that he had spent nearly every waking hour in the last month of the semester compulsively playing a computer game while isolated his dorm room. This kind of response is typical of many addicts, who feel a deep sense of shame about their out-of-control compulsion for gaming, and engage in elaborate self-deceptions and lies to protect their addiction and their self-image. My son thought he was the only student with this problem.

Tracy Markle, Founder of Collegiate Coaching Services , has directly observed a chilling rise in pathological computer gaming among her young adult clients.  “When we conduct our initial assessments on new male clients, 75% have some level of computer gaming and/or Internet abuse issue that contributes to the original presenting problems such as poor academic performance, difficulty concentrating, and social anxieties.”  In addition to these reported problems, Markle points to other indicators of potential gaming addiction problems with college students, such as frequent absences from classes, roommate complaints, social isolation, and calls or e-mails from concerned parents. 

Cash and Markle both encourage college and university leaders to provide in-service training to build awareness among staff – especially front-line leaders such as resident assistants, teaching assistants, and student health clinicians -- on how to recognize the warning signs of computer gaming . Colleges can also launch student awareness campaigns to warn students of these problems, and encourage affected students to seek help rather than to retreat into dangerous isolation.  If my son’s college had trained its resident advisers to recognize that holing up in your dorm room all day, not emerging for classes, ordering delivery pizzas alone every night, and turning away friends at his doorway are all signs of a potential problem, he might have been steered to get help before he crashed so completely.  Cash also encourages campus leaders to develop new campus resources, such as offering a 12-step group to address computer gaming, and building a referral network of local therapists who have experience with this unique form of addiction.

Computer game companies already have their grip on nearly 10 percent of college students.  They are coming after more of them, with more potent products.  You can’t stop them. But college and university officials can begin to address this issue by doing what we do best – education -- starting with ourselves to learn more about the growing epidemic of pathological computer gaming. Without action, we need to be prepared to mail even more academic warning letters each semester.

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Video Game Addiction Essay

Does Computer Gaming Addiction Lead to More Dangerous Consequences Among Children or Adults?

The contemporary world develops extremely fast and becomes more globalized and digital in comparison to previous times. Advanced technologies resulted in the creation of a new lifestyle in society, which has somewhat different features. Within the digital world, people gained an opportunity for self-realization in the online realm, which can be considered an adverse outcome. Video games are one of the most popular and widespread ways for realizing personality and expressing the character.

Realization in the virtual world may stimulate a person to further self-development. In most cases, however, computer gaming leads to addiction and causes harmful effects, and even dangerous consequences on the children and adults’ by influencing their physical and mental health, and relationships with society and close people.

Computer gaming addiction causes violence among adults and children, where the latter social category is exposed to making it more than the first one. Violence can be manifested in various ways, although the most frequently used is attacking, which means demonstrating disrespect in uniquely rude manners to the people around a person. One of the main reasons for both social groups is that computer games consist of harmful content in the form of violence itself. If a person becomes addicted from such type of games, they start to follow the behavior of the game characters, whose primary goals are making physical and moral harm to others, killing them with different weapons, and even being able of conducting the most severe crimes. As the addiction itself takes a long time, it means that youth or adults spend it by playing games. In other words, they obtain a particular habit, which in its turn, reduce their repugnance to being involved in the virtual world of violence.

Consequently, the players overcome the psychological barrier and develop the desire to harm instead of being an upstanding citizen. When it comes to children at a young age, they have much exposure to the violence because of unstable character. It is said that “At school age, teenagers have less experience in life and less knowledge than adults in identifying reality from a simulation, and these young people may be more easily drawn to the borderless web game world or even aberration than are adults” (“Violent Video Games and Young People”). Undoubtedly, children can hardly differentiate the real and virtual worlds, and thus, their ability to take responsibility for their actions becomes very small. It mainly happens in cases when parents do not follow the adequate norms of upbringing their children, do not pay attention to their development, and, moreover, have no interest in them. It also correlates with the situation when teenagers have a particular stress situation, in which they easily fall under the influence of the video games system.

Raising children in disadvantaged families together with a tendency to abuse causes addiction among the children, which may lead to more dangerous consequences. As it was mentioned above, stress can become a trigger for addiction. Those children being raised inadequately, face the problem more frequently in comparison to their opponents. Moreover, the problem is also about the adults who had a difficult childhood. Physical abuse can always serve as a reason for the occurrence of mental problems of children at a young age. When a parent demonstrates some disrespect or ill-treatment to their children and family itself, family members try to either solve or avoid it in a various way. For children, it is likely to choose the second option, what they do in many cases because of inability to defend themselves and stand to be under the psychological pressure. One study revealed a clear example of this issue when analyzing the relationship between the family and the influence of the abuse problem on the child’s behavior. It proved that computer gaming could cause danger to a child’s mental health. When it comes to a boy as a participant of the investigation, “the mental state that he attained while playing assisted his avoidance of the family problems and repression of aggressive and violent feelings toward his father” (Keepers 50). Chiu, Lee, and Huang suggest parents take much part in the lives of their children and make an attempt to decide this problem in the way of developing their worldview and improving skills needed for self-realization. From these researches, one can see the negative consequences of video games (575).

What is more, such a process can also be followed by forming of another issue like isolation among children. Trying to escape reality, they go to the virtual world feeling themselves much better. This tendency is also common for older people, who have been suffered in childhood. As a result of avoiding communication, the building of some relationships with others, and socialization, they develop an addiction to gaming. This influences the lifestyle of children and adults, making them be out of society and spending a lot of time alone with themselves. Such consequences are considered as negative as they have an adverse impact on individual growth, mental and physical development, the realization of personality in a particular, professional sphere. A study of computer gaming addiction among young people reveals the idea of their involvement in this process as the way of emotional compensation for those who had experienced some issues in the childhood (Chiu et al. 272). The scientists make an argument that there is “a close relationship between sensation seeking and drug abuse, smoking, playing video games, sexual activities, high-adventure sports, and crimes” (Chiu et al. 272). To clarify, this relationship finds its realization in various negative and dangerous consequences revealing through the chain of addiction, isolation, demonstration of aggression, violation, conducting the crime and even using alcohol and drugs with the aim of reducing the influence of the childhood background. Thus, personal isolation, inability to proper self-realization in real society, aggressive behavior, the disposition to conducting the crime, the possibility of becoming addicted from certain substances can be identified as the dangerous consequences of the computer gaming addiction.

In conclusion, video games are one of the most popular things to cause addiction, which has an adverse impact on various things in psychological and sociological contexts. Being a subject of virtual reality, a game creates an illusion of a world very similar to the real but comparably useful for the players. Addicted children and adults consider it as an opportunity to live a better life and thus isolate themselves. However, within such a result, computer gaming addiction lead to dangerous consequences as violence, aggression, and crime. These problems prevent the social welfare and growth as well the personal development, and for this reason, should be addressed.

Works Cited

Chiu, Shao-I, et al. “Video Game Addiction in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan.” CyberPsychology & Behavior, vol. 7, no. 5, 2004, pp. 571–581. Keepers, George A. “Pathological Preoccupation with Video Games.” Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, vol. 29, no. 1, 1990, pp. 49–50. EurekaMag, doi:10.1097/00004583-199001000-00009. “Violent Video Games and Young People.” Harvard Mental Health Letter, Harvard Health Publishing, Oct. 2010, www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/violent-video-games-and-young-people.

The argumentative essay above is dedicated to one of the most acute modern problems – computer gaming addiction. This psychological phenomenon is common both for adults and children. Computer games are an easy and quick escape from reality. Children hide behind their virtual life from real problems: bullying at school, bad parenting, and communication issues. Addicted teenagers hardly see the difference between the real and virtual worlds. They begin to copy a behavioral manner of game characters that commonly includes violence, committing crimes, etc. Video games addiction influences physical and mental health, perverts their relationships with relatives and society. The obsession with computer games is also widespread among the adults who have had troubled childhoods or suffer from failures in professional and social spheres.

If you are inspired by our argumentative essay about computer gaming addiction and want to create your own you should check out a list of interesting argumentative essay topics. Moreover, when you don’t have enough time to transform your ideas into a real paper, you can take advantage of our service EssayShark.com. We provide our clients with original and well-structured essays according to their requirements and academic standards. Our support team is available anywhere in the world!

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Online Video Games Addiction Essay

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Online video games have already become an essential component of popular culture. A variety of technological products is actively used to train pilots and other safety occupations for better professional skills. Until recently, there was no specific knowledge or empirical evidence with regard to the effect video games may produce on users’ skills. It appears, however, that video games can become a relevant source of better practical knowledge and abilities which young users are to use in the practice. Unfortunately, there is no sufficient information that could unilaterally confirm the positive nature of video games when used by users in practical performance, but the results of recent researches suggest that video games provide unlimited opportunities for the development of better practical skills and avoiding major mistakes (Soukup 43). Video games are often linked to problems including bad grades and violent behavior of people. The idea has been accentuated in the ScienCentral News video reports. The study suggests that might make users do a better job. Confidentiality relates to information sought, obtained, or held by an organization, the disclosure of which might be detrimental to that organization or to the third party that supplied it. In many cases, it is difficult to control e-mail communication between employees and protect information security (Aarseth, 99). The paper will try to answer and research the question “Why people are addicted to online video games? How does it affect their life?”

Online video games create a new reality and can be interested as a “second life” of the user. Bad communications lead to conflict. In this situation, employees cannot find a unified and single solution for the project or program competing with one another during meetings and negotiations. Also, e-mail is not an ideal form to solve current business problems, because it takes time to type an e-mail instead of “simply calling someone if the message is short” (Hartt n.d.). In some cases, employees must accept e-mails inflexibilities, and learn how to interpret the information provided to them and how to make correct deci­sions based on written short messages. On the other hand, electronic mail systems store and then deliver to electronic ‘mail boxes’ which enable the recipient to retrieve the message when convenient.. The main problems that affected e-mail communication include lack of mutual understanding, lack of openness in relations, and damaged relations, chaos situations (Bates, 45). Critics admit that:

Despite this growing concern, children still seem to be spending time playing video games. A recent report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation (1999) reveals that a majority of 2- to 18-year-old children in this country have access to video game technology in their homes. (Smith 54).

As such, whatever is happening in the society in According the theory of the social construction of reality, each person is undeniably a perception and interaction with others. As such, this proves that culture is a vital component that affects the formation of one’s identity. In line with this, the concept of cultural identity was formed. Cultural Identity is often described as an individual’s feeling or perception of his or her belongingness to a certain cultural group. It is also described as the extent to which this feeling affects him or her and influences him/her to act in accordance with the actions, beliefs, traditions, and behavior imposed by the cultural group. A cultural group, on the other hand, refers to a set of individuals, which may be or maybe not be bounded by time and place. However, it is given that members of a cultural group carry the same set of symbolic meanings used in the interpretation of actions and communication. Normally, cultural groups exist in a common cultural space and time also (Berger, 98).

Through the sense of belongingness to a certain online video game, one tries to modify his/her behavior and practices in such a way that they are in accordance with the norms that are accepted by the online video game, to which the individual belongs. Thus, the end product will be that of identity. However, if an individual identifies himself/herself as a member of online video games that have cultural practices that oppose each other, he or she will be exposed to the question of which tradition to follow. Thus, his or her online video game identity will be compromised. In this case, the sense of free will, motivated by which cultural group he/she thinks he/she can more identify with, acts. In the analysis of the cultural identity of the interviewee, the act that he only tries to stay in line with norms of the “majority” while strongly not acting against the norms of his Islam community emphasizes that he identifies himself more as a member of the latter one. However, the fact that the interviewee acknowledges the norms of the “majority” also signifies his appreciation of the culture of this group, and therefore the concept of online video game assimilation exists (Faber, 76).

The changes are far-reaching: the definition of online video game; the nature of the information ‘commons’ for the citizen; the right of privacy in communicated expressions; the regulation of information infrastructures (computer operating systems and networks); the definition of information goods; and the nature of government communication with its citizens. These changes mostly revolve around information ownership and yet no consistent framework has yet to emerge as the question has mostly been approached in a piecemeal way. It is argued in conclusion that a new information dispensation must be built which guarantees information ownership, as this is the foundation on which systems of trading, governance, and research can be built. More interesting, though, was the extent to which users of the Internet as a news source said that as a result, they are using traditional news. It seems that using online video sites may have a more negative effect on news viewing than news reading. This might be because Internet users most often go online for the sort of information featured by television news, especially cable. In the early days, online companies did their very best to replicate the printed or media product (Berners-Lee, 33).

These emergent online video game standards now pose a major problem for competition regulators around the world as they span jurisdictions and the market dominance they create is not easily broken up by their nature. Although in some markets the developers may license the ‘standard’ technology to widen participation (the digital cellular phone standard GSM is one example), in others the standard-setter may aggressively protect its control over the standard as it regards it as an asset. At present most of the dominant information standards have been developed by US companies and they can only be regulated effectively by the US Department of Justice. These technological questions will, however, mark out the information infrastructures of the next century. In the emerging technological and commercial environment defined by the digital encoding of information representations ‘ownership’ is coming to mean different things (Aarseth, 33).

The internet and online video websites have become a new sales channel uncontrolled by the state and free for mass consumers. If any element of the channel can be provided in a more cost-effective way, either by another organization or the application of technology, then the producer will have a strong incentive to change their sales strategy. Mainstream media is limited by censorship and regulations, channels of communication, and geographical scope. In other words, this situation creates a channel conflict for mainstream media. Whenever there are a number of different sales channel elements that can address the same customer base, then there is the potential for conflict. The computer industry is renowned for having multiple channels which often find themselves in direct competition. There have been many instances when the computer manufacture, its distributors and resellers are all fighting for the same business (Smith et al 54).

The online video game is an area occupied by online companies. Some direct marketers have long suspected that the reliance of media advertising on attitudinal factors, instead of behavioral ones, has resulted in “much ado about nothing.” Moreover, they consider the Internet an information media and therefore antithetical to media advertising. When these capabilities are combined to address traditional business situations, it is possible to generate tangible benefits. The American media marketplace is not only larger but far more specialized than any other environment worldwide (Smith et al 54). Also, historically, marketing and advertising, in particular television and electronic media, have had a far more significant role in the United States than elsewhere. These abrupt turns can best be seen through annual changes. In the light of the Internet and its direct potential, these targeting options remained narrow and one-sided. Based on a broadcast model, they made real-time interactivity impossible. Having assessed the degree to which the Internet will affect the organization, the challenge is to manage the adoption of the new technology and the changes it will cause to existing processes. Decisions will be required about the advisability and cost implications of running multiple sales channels and the conflicts that can be created (Aarseth, 66).

Constraints on the geographic, industry, or application areas of trading, available to each channel element, can suddenly disappear. Perhaps the most important thing that can be done is to recognize that a problem will exist and to ensure that the existing channel elements have been informed of how the changes will affect them. If possible, these existing channel partners should be involved in the use of technology and encouraged to accept the changes by sharing part of the planned benefits. There are several reasons why it may be necessary to reduce the level of margin on media products that are being sold via the Internet-related sales channel. It may be sensible to offer a pricing advantage to encourage customers to use the channel. This does not necessarily affect the overall net margin since the cost structure of maintaining the channel may be significantly lower than the traditional alternatives (Berners-Lee 5).

In sum, it was found that people are addicted to online video games because they help users to change their own identity and create the ideal personality they cannot reach in real life. Jones writes that: “As in a video game, in which players acquire new weapons and capabilities within its digital geography and learn more and more about how to play from the collective knowledge of gamers online, both Lost’s characters and its audience are acquiring sequentially the “tools” they need to play. (51). Aarseth states that: “virtual environment has penetrated identity unevenly, thus marketers and advertising use this medium to promote their” (61). These quotes agree that online video games create a new reality for users but do not have a positive and educational impact on their personalities. Lack of regulations and censorship help video websites better position themselves against mainstream media companies. Online video sites succeed in moving economic activity closer to users (viewers) proposing low transaction costs, low barriers to entry, and improved access to information for the consumer. Thus, they have a negative and threatening impact on mainstream media, its audiences, and media messages. (Jones 51). Taking this measure helps the people to engage themselves in doing different kinds of exercises. The same thing can be told about the classic game Asteroids. This game has many important characteristics. One of these characteristics is the ability to rotate the wrist moves of a spaceship. The game is often associated with the waste of time. This is especially true when we are talking about the vast majority of people who are engaged in the research.

Works Cited

Aarseth, E. Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997.

Bates, B. Game Design: the Art and Business of Creating Games Roseville, CA: Prima Tech (Game Development Series), 2001.

Berger, A.A. Narratives in Popular Culture, Media and Everyday Life Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1997.

Berners-Lee, Tim. Weaving the Web. London: Orion Business Books, 1999.

Faber, L. Re: Play Ultimate Games Graphics London: Laurence King Publishing, 1998.

Jones, S. E. Dickens on Lost: Text, Paratext, Fan-Based Media. Wordsworth Circle , 38 (2007), 51.

Smith, S. L. et al. Popular Video Games: Quantifying the Presentation of Violence and Its Context. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media , 47 (2003), 54.

Soukup, Ch. Mastering the Game: Gender and the Entelechial Motivational System of Video Games. Women’s Studies in Communication , 30 (2007), 43.

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Video Games Thesis Statement

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The Argument for Video Game Addiction

Some research suggests video games can be addictive..

Updated August 10, 2023 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods

• What Is Addiction?
• Find counselling to overcome addiction
• Video games use psychological tricks to be habit-forming.
• Self-professed "gaming addicts" report similar experiences to people addicted to other substances.
• Video game playing is associated with less brain activity in certain regions.
• Video games appear to be addictive, so "gaming disorder" may meet the criteria for an official diagnosis.

This is half of a pair of articles that highlight the evidence for and against the existence of video game addiction . Read the counter-argument here .

In 1982, three psychiatrists warned of a new concern, which they named Space Invaders Obsession . They had observed three men in their 20’s and 30’s whose time spent playing the popular arcade game was undermining their personal relationships. Mental health professionals worldwide noted similar patterns in their clients for the next several decades.

As a result of these reports and accompanying research, the World Health Organization added “Gaming Disorder” to the list of recognized health conditions in 2019. Although this inclusion was controversial, it reflected a growing understanding of the harm which video games can cause.

Consumer psychology

Many popular video games are intentionally designed to be habit-forming. Psychologists at major game studios frequently replicate strategies from the gambling and retail industries to ensure that players keep coming back.

For example, people are easily fooled into believing that they were very close to winning a game of chance. When McDonald’s releases Monopoly pieces, customers must complete a set of three tokens to win a prize. Random tokens accompany many of the food items. Anyone who acquires all three could win a car, one million dollars, or other sizable prizes. For the biggest prizes, McDonald’s prints a flood of the first two tokens and only a few of the third.

This means that, in practice, the prize would go to whomever found the third, rare token. However, consumers who had gathered the first two tokens in the set assumed that they were close to winning and therefore were motivated to continue buying McDonald’s food. They were not close to winning, but they felt they were.

Slot machines also use this strategy; the first two of the spinning wheels usually contain many iterations of the winning icons, but the third has very few. This results in many “near misses,” which excite us and make us more likely to keep playing . If all three wheels were distributed evenly, the game would not be as thrilling.

Video games use similar mechanics. For example, on-screen roulette wheels often do not actually represent the game’s programming. When players spin a virtual wheel, the animation is likely to show the needle almost lining up with a winning segment. In reality, the game simply selects a random number, decides that the player has lost, then plays an exciting animation to convince them that they were very close to winning. This keeps players coming back.

The “near miss” is just one of many strategies developers use to keep players engaged. Others include:

• Chasing: “You just lost some money; you should keep playing to get it back.”
• Entrapment: “You might be about to win. If you leave, you could miss a huge reward.”
• Fear of missing out: “This special helmet is only available for the next three days,” or, “This deal only lasts for two more hours.”
• Exclusivity: “We only produced 10,000 of this cool, golden sword; you will miss it if you don’t buy it now.”

Although most consumers are aware of these tricks, they influence our decisions without our conscious knowledge or consent. This is especially true for children and adolescents.

Neurological Differences

Our brains do not finish developing until around age 25. Because of this, young people’s more pliable brains are particularly susceptible to the gaming industry’s tricks. In fact, studies suggest that playing fast-paced video games can actually change our brains’ structure. Several studies have found that people who play internet games have less gray matter in regions of the brain responsible for impulse control, attention , emotional regulation , among others.

Critics of these studies note that they are correlative, not causal. They argue that the studies have not demonstrated that the video games caused these changes, only that these changes are observed in people who play games. People with less self-control , ability to focus attention, regulate emotions, etc. might simply be more drawn to video games than those with more of each.

However, recent studies have found more compelling evidence for a causal link. Half of the participants in one study were instructed to spend ten hours playing violent video games over a period of one week, then refrain from playing for a second week. After the first week, those who had played violent video games showed less activity in areas of the brain responsible for controlling emotion and aggression . After a week of abstaining from gaming, these observed changes reduced significantly. Although the study included only 22 subjects, the research provides some evidence that video games do contribute to changes in brain functioning.

Financial Difficulty

These strategies sometimes cost players more money than they can afford. More than 95 percent of players never spend money on optional purchases. However, the players who do spend money on otherwise free games spend so much that they subsidize the game for everyone else. Developers compete for these “whales”—an industry term for gamers who spend the most money on free-to-play games.

Some whales are wealthy enough that they can easily afford to spend a few thousand dollars on a hobby. However, the allure of in-game purchases is so strong that some choose to buy items in a video game instead of paying rent or buying food.

Whales often use similar language to those with a gambling addiction to explain their purchases: "I had this unbeatable rush of adulation and excitement. For someone who didn't get out much, I was on cloud nine. And at that point things changed—I started chasing that high.” “There were nights where I'd be up until 3am, drinking beer and playing Team Fortress and chasing those silly hats with purple text, ignoring the gambler's fallacy and swearing that if I dropped another $50 I'd be sure to win this time.” “I'm in a position where I'm living paycheck to paycheck for the moment as the result of that spending—beyond incurring overdraft for my rent.”

In my therapy practice, I frequently counsel people who were failing classes or have dropped out of school as a result of their gaming. They report that they were unable to balance video games, homework, and class attendance. They felt so compelled to continue playing that they also regularly skipped meals and in-person social events. When describing why they are seeking treatment, some have told me that they had done nothing in the preceding weeks except sit in front of a computer and play their favorite game.

Some report that they have tried and failed to quit numerous times. One man told the New York Times that he disassembled his computer and hid the pieces in different boxes in a desperate attempt to get work done. He reassembled it a month later when he found it too difficult to stay away from the game. Others worry about “missing out” so much that they play mobile games while driving .

Many researchers note that some also experience difficulty sleeping , dehydration, malnutrition, irritability, depression , and even seizures as a result of playing for long periods of time.

International Response

As a result of these reports, video game overuse or addiction has become a major concern for many organizations and countries. In 2006, South Korea declared internet addiction to be the most significant health problem for young people . The country enacted a controversial “shutdown” law in 2011, which prohibited children from playing between midnight and 6am. The law was repealed in 2021 and replaced by a "choice permit" system, which empowers parents to decide when to limit their children's game time.

Some governments have proposed or made sweeping changes to protect children from games. China’s government banned all minors from playing video games on weekdays and restricted play to one hour per day Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 8 to 9pm. American Senators Josh Hawley and Chris Lee have both proposed legislation banning children from accessing randomized rewards for purchases within games. Although this legislation was not enacted, it reflects growing concern within the United States government. Several countries have already enacted laws regulating randomized rewards, to varying degrees.

Video Games Can Be Addictive

The vast majority of gamers do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of “gaming disorder.” For most, video games are a source of social connection , relaxation , and fun.

However, a very small percent of gamers do experience significant harm due to the games they love. Even though they face significant social, financial, and health-related problems, they report that they cannot stop playing without help.

People are considered “addicted” to a substance or behavior like gambling when it causes significant harm to them and they cannot quit without help. This is what self-professed gaming addicts report: they are unable to stop despite harm to their relationships, financial and job security, and other aspects of their life.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) is the book mental health professionals use to diagnose clients. The DSM-5 categorizes gaming disorder only as a “condition for further study.” It may be formalized as an official diagnosis in the future.

This has led a number of clinics and rehabilitation facilities to specialize in treating video game addiction. Each reports great success helping people regain control over their lives and break free from technology’s grip. Although many of these reports have not been independently validated, they align with anecdotal reports of mental health professionals helping patients reduce their use of video games.

In short, video games have a unique allure. Psychologists and game developers use proven strategies from consumer psychology research to augment their intrinsic appeal, which makes them difficult to turn off. Some gamers report that they cannot put the controller down, even when the games cause them significant harm. Should it not, therefore, be considered an addiction?

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Hardawar, D. (2021, August 25). South Korea to end its controversial gaming curfew. Engadget. https://www.engadget.com/south-korea-gaming-shutdown-law-end-163212494…

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Andrew Fishman is a licensed social worker in Chicago, Illinois. He is also a lifelong gamer who works with clients to understand the impact video games have had on their mental health.

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Can You Really Be Addicted to Video Games?

The latest research suggests it’s not far-fetched at all — especially when you consider all the societal and cultural factors that make today’s games so attractive.

Credit... Concept by Pablo Delcan. Photo illustration by Justin Metz.

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By Ferris Jabr

• Published Oct. 22, 2019 Updated Oct. 23, 2019

Charlie Bracke can’t remember a time when he wasn’t into video games. When he was 5, he loved playing Wolfenstein 3D, a crude, cartoonish computer game in which a player tries to escape a Nazi prison by navigating virtual labyrinths while mowing down enemies. In his teenage years, he became obsessed with more sophisticated shooters and a new generation of online games that allowed thousands of players to inhabit sprawling fantasy worlds. Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, The Elder Scrolls — he would spend as much as 12 hours a day in these imaginary realms, building cities and fortifications, fighting in epic battles and hunting for treasure.

During his childhood, Bracke’s passion for video games, like that of most young Americans, didn’t cause him any serious problems. At school, he got along with just about everyone and maintained straight A’s. His homework was easy enough that he could complete it on the bus or in class, which allowed him to maximize the time he spent gaming. After school, he would often play video games for hours with his cousin and a small group of close friends before going home for dinner. Then he would head to the den and play on the family computer for a few more hours before bed. When his parents complained, he told them it was no different from their habit of watching TV every night. Besides, he was doing his homework and getting good grades — what more did they want? They relented.

When Bracke went to Indiana University Bloomington, everything changed. If he skipped class or played games until 3 in the morning, no one seemed to care. And only he had access to his grades. After a difficult breakup with a longtime high school girlfriend and the death of his grandmother, Bracke sank into a period of severe depression. He started seeing a therapist and taking antidepressants, but by his junior year, he was playing video games all day and seldom leaving his room. He strategically ignored knocks at the door and text messages from friends to make it seem as though he were at class. Eventually, he was failing most of his courses, so he dropped out and moved back in with his parents in Ossian, Ind., a town of about 3,000 people, where he got a job at Pizza Hut.

His life there fell into a familiar rhythm: He woke up, went to work, returned home, played video games until late and repeated the whole cycle. “It did not strike me as weird at all,” he recalls. It felt a lot like high school, but with work instead of classes. “And the time I used to spend hanging out with friends was gone, because they had moved to different areas,” he says. “And I kind of just thought that was the way of the world.”

When Bracke was 24, he decided to get his real estate license and move from Indiana to Virginia to work at the same brokerage as his brother Alex, a decision that led to another breakup with another girlfriend and a deep sense of loneliness in a town where, once again, he had no friends. He eventually got in touch with his ex, hoping she would take him back, only to find out that she was dating someone else. “At that point, I lost it,” he says. By his estimate, he started playing video games about 90 hours a week. He did the bare minimum amount of work required to pay his bills. When it was time to log his progress in the brokerage’s internal system, he would just make something up: sent an email to this client; left a voice mail message for that one.

His employer got wise to the scheme and put Bracke on probation. Realizing he had a problem, Bracke dismantled his computer, stashed the pieces among a bunch of storage boxes in the garage and tried to focus on work. About a month later, after making a big sale, he talked himself into celebrating by playing League of Legends for an evening. He retrieved the components of his computer, reassembled them and started gaming around 6 p.m. Ten hours later, he was still playing. The week slipped away. He kept playing.

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