Mike is Wrong about Video Game Addiction

Tilting at Windmills

Video Game Addiction

Video games are almost ubiquitous in today’s society, especially among the younger generation. Most people play games to relax and get away for a bit but just like any other activity, there can be downsides. If you are finding yourself unable to disconnect from games at the cost of your real life, friends or health, you could be experiencing a video game addiction.

Today on the show, Michael talks with Dr. Alok Kanojia and Kruti Kanojia to discuss the problems with playing too many video games. Michael tries to figure out if he is addicted to video games, and run through ways to solve issues you might run into with a parent-child relationship. You don’t need to completely cut off your child from video games, that will only cause resentment. Instead find out what they love about playing video games so much, and trouble-shoot what might be missing from their real life.

It’s clear that developers want you to play the game as much as possible, but is that contributing directly to video game addictions? Well the answer is a little more tricky than you might think, while developers do contribute to the problem, it’s a lot more nuanced than just shiny loot boxes getting you to play more. It’s easy to confuse spending a lot of money on a game, with playing the game more, but just because someone is paying more, doesn’t mean they are playing more.

Whether you’re playing to get away from reality for a little bit, or playing to compete and win against 99 other people in an arena, there are healthy habits to form while gaming, and unhealthy habits. Make sure you are keeping an eye on the rest of your life and take a break, step outside, and form healthy habits to live by.

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