The Dark Side of Video Games|| How They Hook Your Brain and Ruin Your Life
Video games are awesome, right? They let you do all kinds of cool stuff, like saving the world, exploring new places, fighting monsters, and making friends. They can also teach you things, like how to solve puzzles, how to strategize and how to work in a team. But sometimes, video games can be too awesome. Sometimes, they can make you forget about everything else in your life and just play and play and play.
That’s when video games become a problem. That’s when you have video game addiction, or internet gaming disorder, as the fancy doctors call it. This is when you can’t stop playing video games even when they mess up your life. This is when you play video games so much that you don’t care about school, work, family, friends or yourself. This is when you need help.
But why are video games so addictive? How do they make your brain want more and more?
One of the main factors that contribute to video game addiction is the reward system. Video games are designed to provide constant feedback and reinforcement for your actions, such as points, coins, levels, achievements, badges, and loot. These rewards stimulate the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is involved in motivation, pleasure, and learning. Dopamine makes you feel good and motivates you to repeat the behavior that triggered it.
But how do video games reward you exactly? Well, there are different types of rewards that video games use to keep you hooked:
- Extrinsic rewards are external rewards that you get from the game or from other players, such as items, currency, rankings or trophies. These rewards are usually visible and measurable, and they can increase your status and reputation in the game or in the gaming community.
- Intrinsic rewards are internal rewards that you get from yourself, such as satisfaction, enjoyment or mastery. These rewards are usually subjective and personal, and they can increase your self-esteem and confidence in your abilities.
- Unexpected rewards are rewards that you get at random or unpredictable times, such as loot drops, rare items or critical hits. These rewards are usually exciting and surprising, and they can increase your curiosity and anticipation for the next reward.
Video games use different combinations of these rewards to create a dynamic and engaging experience for you. For example, some games may use extrinsic rewards to motivate you to complete a quest or a challenge, while others may use intrinsic rewards to make you enjoy the gameplay or the story. Some games may use unexpected rewards to spice up the game or to create a sense of luck or skill.
Another factor that makes video games addictive is the variable ratio schedule. This means that the rewards are not given every time you perform an action but at unpredictable intervals. This creates a sense of anticipation and uncertainty, which makes the rewards more exciting and satisfying when they occur. This also makes you play longer and harder, hoping for the next reward.
The variable-ratio schedule is one of the most effective ways to reinforce a behavior because it exploits a cognitive bias called the gambler’s fallacy. This is when you think that a random event is more likely to happen after a series of opposite events. For example, if you flip a coin 10 times and get heads every time, you may think that tails is more likely to come up next. This is not true because each coin flip is independent of the previous ones.
The same logic applies to video games.
Another reason why video games are addictive is that they make you feel like you belong. Many video games let you play with or against other people online, which can be fun and social. You can chat with them, cooperate with them or compete with them. You can also create your own character and show off your skills and style. Some people may feel more comfortable and confident online than in real life. They may also look for approval and praise from their online friends and peers.
These social factors can make video games more attractive and satisfying than real-life interactions.
Video game addiction can be bad for your health and happiness. Some of the signs that you have a problem with video games are:
- You suck at school, work or chores because you play video games too much.
- You feel sad, angry or cranky when you can’t play video games or when someone takes them away from you.
- You need to play more and more video games to have fun.
- You don’t care about other things that used to make you happy, like hobbies, activities or social events.
- You lie about how much time you spend on gaming or how it affects your life.
- You try to quit gaming but you can’t.
- You keep playing video games even when they cause you trouble, like health problems, relationship issues, money problems or legal problems.
If this sounds like you or someone you know, it’s time to get some help. There are different ways to treat video game addiction, such as talking to a therapist, joining a support group, taking some medication, or going to rehab. These treatments can help you figure out why you game so much, how to deal with your emotions and stress, and how to balance your life better.
Video games can be a lot of fun if you play them wisely and responsibly. But if they start to ruin your life and make you unhappy, it’s time to take action and get help. Remember that you’re not alone and that there’s hope for change.
