ADDICTION TOWARDS GAMING

JAI SURYA S
14CSR046
III-CSE-A
 PLAN
1. Introduction
2. Video game addiction
3. Mobile games a life threat
4. Recent Trends in games
5. Symptoms
6. Notable Incidents
7. Conclusion
Introduction
There are several things in the world to which an individual could get addicted to. Video
games is something which needs to be diagnosed properly as we rehabilitate other forms of
addiction. Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the
World Health Organizations criteria for addiction.
Most adolescents like to spend at least part of their free time playing video games. But for
some, what starts out as innocent recreation can become an addiction. Soon, friends, family,
school, and even personal hygiene are neglected as nearly every spare moment is spent
playing the game.

Video Game Addiction

Video game addiction is caused due to excessive or compulsive use of computer games or
video games which interferes with a person's everyday life. Anyone who has experienced it
knows all too well that video game addiction is real. It actually interferes with the human
mind and diverts him from his actual routine and forces an individual to concentrate only on
the games.

Video games are becoming increasingly complex, detailed, and compelling to a growing
international audience of players. With better graphics, more realistic characters, and greater
strategic challenges, its not surprising that some teens would rather play the latest video
game than hanging out with friends, playing sports, or even watching television.

Of course, all gamers are not addicts many teens can play video games a few hours a week,
successfully balancing school activities, grades, friends, and family obligations. But for some,
gaming has become an uncontrollable compulsion. Just like gambling and other compulsive
behaviours, teens can become so enthralled in the fantasy world of gaming that they neglect
their family, friends, work, and school.

But what makes a game addictive? Are there certain characteristics that make some games
more addictive than others? Why are some teens more susceptible than others to this kind of
addiction?

Games are designed to be just difficult enough to be truly challenging, while allowing players
to achieve small accomplishments that compel them to keep playing. In that respect, the
design of video games is similar to the design of gambling casinos, which will allow players
to have small "wins" that keep them playing. There are several "hooks" that are built into
games with the intent of making them "addictive" and they are High Score, Discovery, Role
playing and finally the eager to complete the game.

Mobile Games A Life Threat

Mobile game addiction is even more threating when PC games are considered because when
you are playing PC games you are confined only to the region when you have your consoles
and devices. When you are playing mobile games you are not confined to a region you have
an entire world where you can play whatever game youd like.
One game which turned out to be a life threat is Pokmon Go. It is a free to play, location-
based augmented reality game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. The game
was the result of a collaboration between Niantic and Nintendo, by way of The Pokmon
Company, and was initially released in selected countries in July 2016. In the game, players
use a mobile device's GPS capability to locate, capture, battle, and train virtual creatures,
called Pokmon, who appear on the screen as if they were in the same real-world location as
the player.
Due to over involvement to the game people are not aware of what is happening around them.
The Thirst to capture every Pokmon found in the pokdex people started walking to the
place which they have never been to. Once a Pokmon shows up people loses their presence
of mind and their only aim is to capture that Pokmon somehow.
Another game which actually is not as worse as the former but when addiction is considered
this Clash of Clans hammers a lot. Clash of clans developed by Supercell is a strategic game
where players compete with players all around the world.
Clash of clans is actually not a life threat but when time factor is considered it flies when you
play clash of clans. Every game has an end at some point even Pokmon go does but clash of
clan doesnt. Super cell, the developer of the game looks forward to extend the game to make
the players to continue playing the game. Due to the introduction of new features players
continue to play in order to keep themselves in the race.
The craze for every game fades out within sometime but in case of clash of clans it is still
trending in the market for a long period of time.

Recent Trends in Games

The current trend in gaming is Virtual Reality. Virtual Reality gaming is something through
which a person can experience being in a three dimensional environment and interact with
that environment during a game. This is an essential part of the game.
Virtual reality makes addiction even more worse. The user wears a googles which immerses
the user into the virtual world. Playing games in handheld devices can cause addiction,
imagine the situation when you can play the game in a virtual world this can cause even more
addiction. VR gaming, with its massively increased feeling of immersion, its total shutting
out of the real world, could continue these sad stories.

Symptoms
There are a few symptoms that you can find in the individuals who are addicted to games.
The individual will experience a feeling of restlessness and/or irritability when unable to play.
There a situation when one cant play which is a normal thing for an individual but for
someone who is addicted to games that particular situation is intolerable.
Another symptom is the individual will lie to friends or family members to avoid spending
time with them so that they can get some time to play those games.

Notable Incidents
There are a lot of incidents happening around in this world and one of the most miserable
incidents is about Tyrone Spellman. He is one of the worst people youll ever read about. A
man in love with his Xbox, Spellman went apoplectic when his 17-month-old daughter,
Alayiah, accidentally pulled the cords out of the wall. Rather than ensure the childs safety or
just fix things and move on, Spellman cracked her skull repeatedly, killing her. He got up to
47 years in prison for the crime.
Another incident is In June 2003, a teenager named Devin Moore, who was a big fan of the
Grand Theft Auto series, went on a killing spree. Hed been brought to a police station on
suspicion of stealing a car, at which point he grabbed a gun, shot two officers and a 911
dispatcher, and grabbed a set of car keys as he made a speedy exit. He drove off in a police
cruiser but was quickly captured. When caught, he reportedly said, Life is like a video game.
Everybodys got to die sometime.
Finally an incidents caused due to pokmon go. A new study in the US suggests that more
than 110,000 incidents in a 10 day period have been caused by drivers and pedestrians
distracted by the game.

Conclusion
People play video games in order to relax themselves and also to get rid of their stress which
may be caused due to work or some other things. If playing video games becomes an
obsession that is an issue that must be taken care of. Thus anything not only video games
which diverts an individual from the routine activities must be taken care before it causes
some problem.