When Gaming Becomes Serious

Video games and computer games are supposed to be fun and harmless. In drawing individuals into worlds that are entirely different from their own, they have provided a perfect for of escape to the stresses of life. For kids, these games are even sneakier, convincing parents that they provide a great opportunity for kids to play with their imagination. However, the underlying effects of virtual games have lead to serious points of concerns. In modern societies, computer game addiction and video game addiction come hand in hand with alcohol, gambling and other traditional forms of addiction, being a serious point of concern. What's disturbing about this new trend of addiction is that it affects significant portions of the world's population. As young as five years old, individuals might get hooked into the problems regarding compulsive gaming. This emphasizes the need to promote awareness on the seriousness that this new face of addiction brings to modern society.

Video and computer games usually lure people to a wonderful world where they maintain control, become easily powerful and become an entirely different person. This often causes them to be detached from the realities and stresses of their actual lives. The psychological elements that brings forth this kind of addiction is the realization that there is a way to escape life and feel good about it. Existing in a fantasy world allows them to succeed and do things that they can never do with their own lives. The power of dominance and the feeling of sheer satisfaction, these are the factors that cause people to become vulnerable to the addictive potentials of playing these forms of virtual games.

In the past, where crude graphics used to thrive, there were no problems regarding video game addiction and computer game addiction. Older game designs used to have self-limiting features, making them repetitive and boring to play at some point. The incorporation of more complex virtual world and game mechanics, more appealing graphics and worldwide-based gaming made the used-to-be-harmless-games more enticing and engaging. The satisfaction brought by the reward-system that these games impose made them even harder to resist and more likely to promote addiction as they provide individuals with a great form of escape from the realities of their own lives.

Compulsive gaming disorder is characterized by the feeling of needing extending hours to play video and computer games, the feeling or irritability or being miserable when prevented from playing the game and the persistence of playing despite the adverse consequences brought by these virtual games. When not immediately treated, the disorder will eventually be translated into video game addiction or computer game addiction, depending on which type of game the addict is too fond of playing. Thankfully, many institutions have already devised combinations of psychotherapy treatments to manage this modern-day form addiction. In relation to that, many countries have taken the proactive side of implementing stricter rules and guidelines in the design of video and computer games.