Video game addiction

Video games have been a part of our society for almost half a century. Because of my age I weren’t there to experience the first games and consoles that started the multi billion dollar market that it is today. The first videogame that I was introduced to was the Nintendo 8-bit console. But the first console I actually bought was a Playstation 1 console and it really mesmerized me and I spent a lot of time playing it. But it never became addicting, maybe because you can save the game and then start playing from where you where the next time. In about the same time that I bought my Playstation we (my family) got a computer witch became an excellent gaming tool. As the years flew by the Playstation became outdated but we kept updating the computer and soon it became the golden orb of gaming. Today I still use my computer to play games but I have never boarded the SS Addiction to nerdtown.

A couple of years ago I played World of warcraft but only a short period of time and only because I was given a 10-day free trail of the game. A friend of mine gave me the free trail “card” whom himself where a dedicated player of the game. After finishing the free trail I made a summary of the ten days of gaming in my head and it sounded something like this: Really nice game but who the would buy a game and then pay more money to play it and then spend a lot of hours, days or weeks playing it? Not me that’s for sure. The friend of mine whom I just mentioned played the game at an additional level for two years. It started when we both where in senior high and by the second year he started playing “wow” at a moderate level. By the third year he became addicted and started to cut classes and when he showed up in class he looked like a wreck. He’s grades started falling and eventually he dropped out. The only thing he could think about was the game. I remember one time when we watched a film at his place on his computer. He stopped the film before the ending and said that I had to go home because he needed to play at that very moment. The game ruled his life.

I have never been addicted to any form of video game in my life and I feel very fortunate considering what I have seen happen to my friend. Cases of video game addiction increases year after year as more people join into the world of video games. In my opinion video game addiction is placed in the same category as gambling addiction. I can also compare people who are addicted to video games to “adrenaline junkies” who place them selves in situations where they feel the most alive. Maybe it is the same with video game addiction? The players put themselves in a new exciting world where they can relax and express themselves in a completely different way compared to normal life.