Jonathan Tang
Annie Yaniga
Writing 39C
4 May 2016
Video Game Addiction
Addiction is signified by a psychological or physical dependence. Most people associate
addiction with drugs, but in reality, it can apply to almost anything. A relatively recent problem
both teens and adults suffer is the rise in video game addiction. Video game addiction is
described as an excessive or compulsive use of video games, which interferes with a person’s
everyday life (Weinstein 270). There is no formal consensus that recognizes addiction to video
games as a mental disorder, but there are many studies attempting to discover factors associated
with developing video game addiction and resulting consequences to the player (Irles, Flanagan,
Kuss). However, video game addiction is still a prominent issue that greatly harms society,
psychologically altering citizens’ minds in ways similar to substance addicts (Weinstein 275).
There are many detrimental consequences to members of society, including discouraging family
relations, depression, social phobias, and lower school performance. However, the greatest
concern about video game addiction is its exponentially worsening psychological effects in the
long-term that are caused by the bi-directional relationship between it and its factors and
consequences.
Video game is a prevalent problem for many current gamers. To quantitatively collect
data about its prevalence, studies defined addiction as exhibiting at least half of the symptoms
associated with a pathological gamer.
Figure 1 Statistics on gaming addiction among the population in Norway. Source: Wittek
Wittek performed a study in Norway and separated the results on the table in Figure 1 into active
gamers (left) and the entire sample (right). For the active gamers, 1.41% was deemed addicted
which consisted of .53% of the population (Wittek 10). Although .53% appears small, it still
means gaming addiction afflicts 27,000 people in just Norway alone. Additionally, the results
from Norway is a lower estimate because “recent prevalence studies found that there is a higher
prevalence of problematic video gaming in East Asian populations, as compared to Western
European and North American populations” (Wittek 11). Similar results were discovered in the
U.S where 8.5% of American youths between 8 and 18 who played video games showed signs of
gaming addiction (George 1). In Singapore, Gentile discovered that 7.6 % to 9.9 % of children in
his sample were considered pathological gamers at one point (Gentile 123). An important
discovery from the research is that “84% of pathological gamers are still pathological gamers 2
years later” (Gentile 123). This means that addiction isn’t just a phase in childhood and is
perpetual once developed. This is likely because the factors and consequences of gaming
addiction slowly trap players deeper into the addiction.
To fully understand video game addiction, it is vital to know factors that lead to its
development. Majority of games are constructed around a system of rewards. Whenever a player
completes a mission or task, the game rewards them with some kind of power-up that fires
dopamine in their brain. The player builds a relationship between the task and the reward, which
causes them to continuously play to feel stimulated (Flanagan 16). This psychological addictive
property aids in developing addiction by fueling the use of video game as a form of escapism.
Escapism is when players seek distraction from reality by living through the virtual world of the
game and was found to be the largest motivation factor for playing games (Flanagan 16). The
temporary high players experience from gaming masks the struggles occurring in their life and
induces isolation. For example, bullying, family issues, or discrimination causes players to form
a pessimistic view of reality, leading to depression and isolation that players attempt to ignore
through games (Gray 8). It is necessary to understand these factors because they are just as
largely consequences as they are causes.
Another factor of video game addiction is impulsiveness. Impulsiveness is defined as
“the incapacity to exercise effective self-control when faced with signs that suggest reward or
punishment” (Irles 98). A study by Irles measured impulsiveness with 15 questions that could be
rated between 0 and 3 with a total score above 20 considered as high impulsiveness. A GASA
scale was used to measure a person’s gaming addiction. By comparing two groups with high and
low impulsiveness, they found that “higher impulsiveness is related to a greater likelihood of
developing video game addiction” (Irles 99).
Figure 2 Chart portraying relationship between impulsiveness and addiction. Source: Irles
On the chart in figure 2, the left side represents participants who tested negative on a GASA
diagnosis meaning not addicted to video games while the right side represents the addicted
players. The results were separated by gender because it appeared to have been a confounding
variable regarding gaming behavior. However, there is still a statistically significant
impulsiveness score difference of 6 for girls and 4 for boys, which clearly demonstrates that
higher impulsiveness is associated with addiction. Even though impulsiveness is a factor that
leads to video game addiction, it is also suspected to have a “bidirectional relationship to the use
of video games” meaning the increased use of video games also results in greater impulsiveness
(Irles 94). Impulsiveness is another factor to be aware of when holistically analyzing the
relationship between addiction and its many components.
Video game addiction has lasting detrimental effects that continuously alter the player’s
life. Because of a positive correlation between addiction and number of hours played, players
usually are unable to properly function in other areas of their life (Zorbaz 495). For example,
addicted adolescence spends less time on school and usually sees a drop in their GPA (Zorbaz
495). A parallel and similar conclusion can be made for adults. Gaming addiction will cause
workers to be less productivity in the workplace resulting in a net decrease in societal
productivity. Addiction also leads to a loss of social skills, which also negatively impacts the
productivity of society (Zamani 36). By isolating themselves with games, players limit their
social interactions and consequently lowers “opportunities to develop social skils effectively and
efficiently” (Zamani 36). This also a correlates with increased depression and social phobia
among addicted players (Zorbaz 494). Dr. Gentile found similar results in his longitudinal study
of 3034 children. He observed that addicted kids developed social phobias, depression, and
anxiety (Gentile 119). This is demonstrated by the video in figure 3 where Anthony abandoned
his friendships and other responsibilities by taking a gap year just to play World of Warcraft.
Figure 3 Documentary by Anthony Rosner demonstrating how his addiction to World
of Warcraft made him neglect real life. Source: IGN
He isolated himself from friends and eventually, lost them completely. By losing social
connections, he falls further into isolation and ignores his societal responsibility to be a student
and one day provide back to society.
Video game addiction has a bi-directional relationship with both its factors and
consequences where all three worsens with time (Zorbaz 490). An external issue like relationship
issues pushes the player into isolation in the form of gaming addiction as escapism. However, the
constant gaming does not resolve the issue but worsens it. After playing, those players “did not
feel refreshed and energized as other players did, but felt tense and unhappy” (Gray 14). This is
because the psychological needs the external issue deprived, like freedom, competence, or social
relations, were still not met in real life. Attempting to resolve external issues with an addictive
gaming habit worsens the original factor, which traps the player in a video game addiction cycle
where they become even more reliant on video games. Similar to factors, the consequences are
also mutually reinforcing. Studies support that addiction leads to decreased academic success
from the inability to function in other aspects of life (Zorbaz 498). But instead of moving their
focus back on school, addicted players look towards gaming to satisfy their need for success. As
a result, school performance doesn’t linearly but exponentially decreases (Zorbaz 496). Other
consequences and factors face the same outcome in the long run and stronger addiction further
demotivates members of society. This causes a growing decline in achievement rates and
productivity because addicted players are unable to assimilate back into society.
The transition from mainly public arcade games to home console games made it even
easier for players to isolate themselves and develop addiction. Concerns about video game
addiction rekindled when thousands of space invaders machines became available for kids to
play in arcades in 1978 (Duncan 0:54). Towns like Irvington successfully made it nearly
impossible to open arcades and previously, in 1938, New York confiscated all pinball machines
(Duncan 1:13). In 1981 in the United Kingdoms, Foulkes attempted to pass a bill that would
“limit hours of opening or set an age limit” for arcade games (“Control of Space Invaders and
Other Electronics” 3) People were rightfully concerned about games because kids were
“pumping hundreds of dollars in quarters” into the machines and would even steal money from
their home to play the machines in the Arcade (“Control of Space Invaders and Other
Electronics” 5). There were still issues regarding lowered school achievement, but in the 1980s,
kids were less likely to develop long-term social consequences related to isolation. Of course,
dependency still relies on the player’s context and purpose for playing, but as a teen in the 1980s
stated, “you make a lot more friends [in the arcade]” (Duncan 4:56). Unlike even current online
multiplayer games, real people physically surround the player. The player is playing in a lively
environment with other kids instead of by himself in a room. The human-to-human interaction in
the arcade creates a community that minimizes the psychological consequences from addictioninduced isolation like depression and social phobia.
Some people incorrectly argue that excessive gaming does not isolate the gamer because
of the increasingly growing online gaming community where players interact with friends
(Bowen 2). There is some truth in that statement but to assess the player’s susceptibility to be
trapped in the video game addiction cycle, we need to consider their life context. Addiction is
defined as compulsive use that interferes with everyday life, so it is impossible to study addiction
independently of the player’s context. An individual’s context includes the culture and gaming
environment and differentiates gaming addiction from gaming excessively (Kuss 22). This
relates back to the idea of escapism. If the game context is particularly important for the specific
player, it will provide their gaming with particular meaning and become interchangeable with
cultural context (Kuss 26). That is the start of gaming addiction where the game is used to
compensate and dissociate from real life. Addiction is more related to the player’s purpose for
playing, so the argument is right that people who game mainly to socialize are less likely to
become addicted (Vitelli 318). Subsequently, if they are playing for status or to escape problems
in real life, it does become isolating and an addiction problem. For example, a case study
analyzed by Kuss involved two young men who played MMORPGs, massive multiplayer online
role playing games, an average of 14 hours a day and experienced contrasting results. “Dave”, a
21 year old, used the MMORPG mainly as a social device, and it boosted his self-esteem and had
positive effects. He was able to decrease his playing time once he had a new job and entered a
relationship. However, for “Jeremy”, his gaming addiction led to relationship problems and
losing his job. He was also unable to stay abstinent from gaming. These two cases show how two
similar actions can have such contrasting consequences from difference in context. So gaming
could have social benefits but also detriments depending on the player’s purpose for playing.
Video game addiction is a prevalent problem that lowers the achievement rate and
productivity of society. The development is largely dependent on the player’s purpose and life
context in relation to the game. But once addicted, it and its factors and consequences each
exacerbate the others because they are mutually reinforcing. Players who play for escapism to
ignore external issues fall further into isolation, making it even harder to resolve the initial
problem. In order to find rehabilitation for this disorder, we need to understand the relationship
between the player and the game and reduce their reliance on the game to fulfill psychological
needs.
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