Online Games: Why are They So Addictive?

    Games today revolve around playing with other people online. Whether that mean playing an Xbox 360, or something downloaded on the computer, young people today are hooked on online games. Why that is well known to most people, what has not occured for some people to ask is the simple question, “Why?”.

   Given the opportunity, the average person today forms habits as often as possible. Sometimes these habits exceed casual attention, and become addictions to which devotion is required. Smoking, dipping, drinking, etc., are all considered common addictions. But what is not really noticed is addictions that involve buttons, a mouse, and a screen.

    According to a study done by Harris Interactive, about 8.5% of today’s youth ages 8-18 “can be classified as pathological or clinically “addicted” to playing video games.” More than that, about 40% of the students that were interviewed in the very same study said that they “felt addicted to video games” and 80% of kids say that one of their friens are addicted to video games. The big twist to this is that it only includes ages 8-18. According to blizzard, it is estimated that about 55-60% of their major players for the game, World of Warcraft, are at least 20 years old.

    Given this information, it is almost certain that there is a major addiction of games across the country. That still doesn’t cover why though. According to the researchers at the University of Rochester and Immersyve Inc., extremely active game-players play for more than fun. The play for the freedom, the rewards from advancing in the game, and the connection of playing with other people. With a different spin on the same answer, Dr. Brody, head of the media committee at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says that addicts seek a way to escape reality, and to immerse themselves into a fantasy world where they can put on a whole new persona. This gives the players a world where they can be anyone that they want to be. A world where they can forget the reality that waits away from the screen.

    People who are addicted to games are widely accused of having no life. It seems that things are quite the contrary. People who play online games in an excessive amount have more in their game life then any normal person would ever experience. While the emotions that come with the success or failure in the game or some what more misted than they would be in a real life experience, it is still there.

   Given this information, addiction to games loses some of its propaganda. It is no more than people who smoke or drink to alleviate some of the feelings that come with every day life, or to relive some of the stress that drama and crisis brings into the feelings of the average person. On another note, addiction to games can get out of hand just like an addiction to alcohol that drives someone to stay in a constant state of drunkenness. Whether or not the addiction gets as far as that is not the fault of the game, but the person playing it.

   So, just like any other addiction that people get, playing games is nothing more than a release, that, if not watched, could go into a full blown obsession.