Week 9 - Video Game Addiction

Video Games should not be the blame of an addiction

Addiction is considered to be "a condition that results when a person ingests a substance or engages in an activity that can be pleasurable but the continuation of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary responsibilities and concerns". This is a definition of addiction and gaming can come underneath this category but I think that it should not be the blame itself if it causes interference in the lives of normal people. 

There have been some interesting scenarios when it comes to video game addiction, but this should not be a problem to people unless they have other disorders themselves. The video games themselves should not cause any harm, towards people. Some people may see it as an escape from the real world but if these people take it too seriously they most likely have some sort of other issue interfering with their interests. Video games should not be a scapegoat for people to blame as if someone does not want to face the world, they more than likely have mental instability to be the blame for not keeping up with day to day activities. This has nothing to do with video games, the only reason it is used as an excuse it because it is a source of entertainment that the person is drawn to. 

If people are playing video games a lot, the game itself is doing the job its meant to do since you are meant to be enveloped into the world and atmosphere it creates. However, you must be able to distinguish the different between the importance of a game and the importance of keeping up with the simple things in life. If you cannot separate the two, then issues arise from this and can cause some instability in some lives, but this is not caused by video games rather issues that people have of their own.

Overall, video game addiction can be considered as an addiction but is only enforced when that person has other issues with themselves and go to video games as a release. This should not put the blame onto gaming itself rather that persons’ mental issues and instability. 

Reference:
Psychology Today, n.a, 'Addiction', viewed 16 April 2017,  <https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction>.