Gaming addiction is a growing problem in our society.
The National Council on Compulsive Gambling estimates that more than 2 million people in this country are playing video games compulsively, and it's not just kids who are affected.
According to one survey, two-thirds of adults who play video games find themselves addicted at some point in their lives—and over half say they've experienced withdrawal symptoms like irritability or depression when they quit playing too soon.
Lets take a look at possible reasons for this behaviour:
Reward
Reward is a positive outcome that makes you feel good.
It can be anything from an internal reward, like feeling proud of yourself for completing a task, to an external reward such as money or food.
Reward motivates people to do something again because they want more of it. For example, if someone has done well on their test and gets rewarded with ice cream then they may be more likely to take another test again in the future because they’re now more motivated by rewards than fear of failure (which would make them less likely).
Rewards are also used as ways for companies or organizations to encourage people towards certain goals or behaviours by providing tangible items such as prizes and awards for achieving certain goals within their organization.
Competition
You may have noticed that gaming addiction can be a little bit different from other addictions.
For one thing, it's not an impulse or a compulsion—it's something you want to do. And while some people get addicted to drugs or alcohol because they're trying to escape their problems, gaming is often used as a way of coping with life.
One reason why gaming addiction feels like an escape is that competition becomes so important in games where players compete against each other for resources or rewards (such as items). The goal of most games isn't just fun; it's also about achieving success within the game world and beating others who are playing along at home—and these two goals often conflict with each other!
Fun
Gaming is a fun way to spend your time. Games are a form of entertainment, and they can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of age or gender. Games help people learn and develop social skills, especially in the digital realm where there's no face-to-face interaction involved.
Games also offer many opportunities for creativity; players can create worlds and characters that are unique to them. They're able to express themselves through their creations, which may include writing stories about games or even creating new games from scratch!
Time Loss
Time loss is a psychological concept that describes how much time you spend on an activity. For example, if you play video games for an hour and then stop playing because the game is done, then it's possible that the game has lost some of its "time loss" value.
Games can be played in short bursts or long sessions; they may be played on a PC or console (or even phone), so there are many different ways to experience time-loss value in gaming.
Games have psychological advantages that encourage users to play more
Rewards: In a game, you get rewards for winning. You can win points or money, be praised by other players, or even see the progress of your character in the game (like when you start a new chapter).
This makes it easy to become addicted because there is always something that can be gained through playing the game—even if it's just a few extra hours here and there. If you're looking for an example of how this works in real life, consider how someone might feel after getting their first paycheck from work. They'll want more money so they can buy things like clothes or maybe even travel somewhere!
Reinforcement: The more times we do something over time without any negative consequences (i e nothing bad happens), our brains are wired differently than if we had done something else instead; so even though our brain still remembers what happened during those moments when we did not succeed yet failed again later...the next attempt feels different because now we know better how hard it really needs to be done!
Conclusion
In conclusion, games have a lot of psychological advantages that encourage users to play more and more.
This is what makes games addicting to some people.
In addition, gaming has now arrived in society. All age groups are affected and acceptance is significantly greater than dependence on alcohol or other addictive substances.
How about you?
Does your gaming behaviour (regardless of preffered plattform) affect your daily routine?
To be honest? For me, it does.
The upcomming Classic Version of "World of Warcraft - Wrath of the Lich King" got me again sitting ingame many hours a day, and the fact, that my wife is as passionate as me in playing this game, the hurlde of staying in front of the monitor is even lower.
At least my job prevents me from getting lost here entirely ;)