Games Addiction
Can Your Child Be The Victim Of Video Games Addiction?
With the online gaming community that has blossomed in recent years, it is no wonder that parents and researchers alike have become interested in video games addiction. Anyone who has experienced the extraordinary pull of the popular video and computer games can attest to the fact that these types of games can be very addictive.
There is no official psychological diagnosis of games addiction, but it is not uncommon for gamers to become completely obsessed with a certain video game and play it compulsively. This is true for video games and computer games alike, but it is most prevalent with MMORP (massively multiplayer online role-playing) games.
These types of games join multiple players together online in a fantasy world where they can become someone else who they have created and live a totally different life. Several of the most popular MMORP games have caused quite a bit of controversy because of accusations of games addiction. In extreme cases, these games have even been blamed for suicides.
Most addictions we hear about are those involving drugs and alcohol, and they are called addictions because they have two major components. The first is addictive behavior, which includes total life disruption for the pursuit of the substance or activity at the root of the addiction. The second is the addictive substance itself.
Drugs like cocaine, alcohol, and even caffeine have addictive properties that make the body become physically dependent on the substance to the point that there are severe withdrawal symptoms when the substance is withheld. Video and computer games do not have any of these addictive properties, so a video games addiction is not based on physical dependence. Rather, it is based on psychological need.
Video games provide the player with a number of seemingly valid reasons for playing the game: loads of fun, special rewards, a sense of accomplishment and control, and a common thread that can be shared with other players. It is understandable that the draw of a whole new fantasy world where you are in total control and everything is in your hands can be hard to resist, especially for young people. The camaraderie that develops in the online gaming community is appealing to teenagers as well.
Young people do not yet have a fully developed impulse control mechanism, and they can have a tendency to use poor judgment from time to time. That's why they have parents! Video games can become a very, very bad habit, and a high level of control must be administered to prevent problems from creeping up. This is usually as simple as good time management.
Video games are a harmless source of fun and entertainment, and as long as they are played in balance with other normal activities and not at the expense of relationships, school or work, they should not develop into any type of addiction, gaming or otherwise.