Video games are fast becoming an epidemic in this generation. It is introduced to young children from the moment they learn to push buttons. Children and teenagers are constantly the subject of game advertisements wherever they go. Worse still, adults are sacrificing their lives for a manufactured reality, to escape the real world where making decisions can be overwhelming and demanding. Millions are choosing this life and are suffering the dire consequences.

First, I want to answer the question: why do people get addicted to video games?

1. Boredom

This is a huge factor. If you don’t have a plan to keep your kids active during your free time, video games can easily consume countless hours of your attention. It’s almost human nature to put aside the less challenging functions of life. For example, reading a book requires concentration and patience; It forces you out of your perspective and mindset and introduces new possibilities. Playing video games does little to none of this. It is quite feasible to spend entire days and nights playing without experiencing a single thought-provoking process.

2. Escape

Living in a synthetic cyber world allows you to ignore real life concerns and responsibilities. It encourages you to be happy with whatever state your current affairs are in. While I agree that stress relieving activities can be helpful, especially after a long day at school or work, there is extreme danger in spending too much time on them. For me, this meant feeling good about my lack of direction, my loss of desire for a career, my single status, etc. Getting to this point in life is a very dangerous position to be in, and it becomes increasingly difficult to reverse the process the longer it is allowed to continue.

3. Entertainment

This is especially common in today’s youth. Children are raised to believe that they deserve constant entertainment. Young children sit in front of movies and are given noise-making toys from an early age. Even schools are increasingly based on entertainment, with lessons being delivered through videos and computers. Students are encouraged to watch movies for “research” purposes, rather than “old-fashioned” methods (read!). Those same students come home and what do they do? Turn on the television until dinner time, only to eat in the same place because a large number of families have agreed to eat in front of the television as normal. It’s no wonder so many people turn to video games.

4. Self-esteem

This can be especially attractive to the online gamer. When I played my game online, I had my character built to the point where other players thought highly of me. I was constantly being congratulated on my accomplishments, and not a day went by where they didn’t ask me, or even beg me, to play with another player on their team (the competitive side of the game). I became known as an extremely good player, which really fed my ego and made me feel like a “somebody”. The problem is that it was never enough; I would sit for hours waiting for less skilled players to notice me. When I thought about trying a specific achievement, my motivation was almost always: “People would really think I’m an amazing player if I succeed at this.” Usually he was right, they thought that, but he still couldn’t escape the sinking feeling that none of this is real. Instead of feeling self-confident due to my uniqueness and my different strengths and abilities as a human being, I was getting a poor imitation of people that I would never or even know their real names.

5. “Social” interaction

In my 3 years of online gambling, I came across many people who admitted to me their fear of real social interaction. What was surprising was that they seemed to be very outgoing and approachable to other players. This seems to be a common scenario for those who feel unattractive and uncomfortable in person, but believe that they can gain the attention and approval of others by displaying a false image of themselves throughout their online world. After all, having “friends” online is better than having none, right? Don’t make a bad impression, there is nothing inherently harmful about interacting with people on the Internet. The real danger arises when an individual begins to accept and even prefer it to in-person relationships, even to the point of excluding them entirely.

6. Romance

Believe it or not, a lot of online gamers look for love in the wrong places. Now I’m not against meeting someone online if the end goal is to be with that person in real life, but this is not the case for most gamers. Many are content to simply interact with their “special someone” over the Internet, while keeping them at a safe distance and maintaining their anonymity. The worst thing is the fact that people already in a relationship (even marriages with families) are falling victim to this form of e-romance, and the results are almost always devastating.

The 6 reasons I just mentioned refer mainly to online computer games, but what about console games like Xbox (TM) and Playstation (TM)?

I think a lot can be learned by observing the type of games that a person chooses to play. Most games have an objective, a way to overcome challenging scenarios and “win.” Determining what these goals are can provide a great understanding of why a person prefers some games to others.

1. Is it an aggressive game? Games of violence are becoming more and more popular. Players are encouraged to use any weapon and any means possible to inflict pain and death on their victims. It is entirely possible to use games like this to release pent-up feelings of anger and resentment. Of course, it is far from healthy and must be protected from an early age. Your child may not go to extremes of violence in real life, but the long-term effects on his relationship skills can be detrimental.

2. Is the game geared towards teamwork? Many games involve players working together to achieve a common goal. Sounds good right? It can be, but again, the common concept throughout this book is balance. Do your children also participate in real-life activities that encourage teamwork? A common place in this genre is sports games and “capture the flag” scenario games. Both can be very nice, but they should never be a full-time replacement for the actual device.

3. Is the game very competitive? Like me, a lot of people tend to be extremely competitive, and a lot of games target those trends. Linked to this is usually the desire for distinction, to be noticed and recognized by other players. Again, while competition can be a very healthy and rewarding experience, pursuing it through video games should never become exclusive.