40 replies to this topic

[3liseOBrien]

Are video games addictive? Why can't some people stop playing?

[HeyYou]

Likely depends on the personality of the player. Some folks are more prone to addition than others..... (like, the guy in korea that played for several days straight, and subsequently died......)

[Ethreon]

Yes.

[SnowFox35]

Video games are addictive, and they've been manufactured more and more over time to take advantage of this. Take lootboxes or heavy playtime incentivization like battle passes as examples. They want to hook players.

 

Some of my favorite types of games are games made with actual love from their developers, which usually happen to be singleplayer or local multiplayer titles. Games with unique artstyles, plentiful stories, full gameplay mechanics, and similar aspects (e.x. Hollow Knight, Inscryption, Divinity 2) are usually all devoid of these "hooks" without also being $80+ right off the bat. My opinion isn't shared by everyone, and although these games could get "addictive" in their own ways, I think it can be divided from gambling-esque to simply enjoyable.

 

Games abundant with microtransactions are a bad kind of addictive, because players can be caught in spending traps. However, on the other end, anyone can become addicted to pretty much anything, and those could affect their lives if severe enough. Like skipping work or cutting off family to play games for your entire life. That's dangerous.

[HeyYou]

Video games are addictive, and they've been manufactured more and more over time to take advantage of this. Take lootboxes or heavy playtime incentivization like battle passes as examples. They want to hook players.

 

Some of my favorite types of games are games made with actual love from their developers, which usually happen to be singleplayer or local multiplayer titles. Games with unique artstyles, plentiful stories, full gameplay mechanics, and similar aspects (e.x. Hollow Knight, Inscryption, Divinity 2) are usually all devoid of these "hooks" without also being $80+ right off the bat. My opinion isn't shared by everyone, and although these games could get "addictive" in their own ways, I think it can be divided from gambling-esque to simply enjoyable.

 

Games abundant with microtransactions are a bad kind of addictive, because players can be caught in spending traps. However, on the other end, anyone can become addicted to pretty much anything, and those could affect their lives if severe enough. Like skipping work or cutting off family to play games for your entire life. That's dangerous.

Humans are notorious for doing things that are inherently bad for them.......

[gnarly1]

Yes.

This can be set as the best answer and this thread can then be closed.

[Oblivionaddicted]

Every source of pleasure is potentially addictive, at least except if I'm wrong.

[streetyson]

Addictive? Balderdash. You might as well claim fun is addictive! Anyway, addiction is one of the most widely abused (pun intended) terms in the English language. Addiction is where your body's physiology literally cannot function without it even though it's doing you no good. For example, my late father became addicted to steroids because his doctor left him on them for too long. But today too many with obsessive or weak personalities use the term as a victim-hood excuse for their lack of self-restraint.

 

PC games like anything else can certainly be habit-forming, which may be harmless enough, possibly even helpful. But if you have a weak or compulsive personality then the pleasure and escapism such things can offer may ultimately become an unhealthy obsession.

Edited by streetyson, 23 January 2022 - 02:29 pm.

[Evilslayer]

No. At least not the way drugs or smoking is addictive. Technically you can get addicted to video games, but the few who are are an exception, not a rule. Most video game addiction is caused by something else, like loot boxes, or it's specifically online addiction. I wouldn't class either as video game addiction. When I'm addicted to a game the addiction is usually satisfied after a few days of intense playing. That's the opposite of how drug addiction works.

[billybell8]

Games are definitely addictive. On the other hand, for me the game is a kind of therapy. I can quickly calm down or have fun especially when I win. Does this happen to you too?