Are Video Games Not Addictive?

Throughout the school day, teens constantly feel stressed. The students arrive at home, finish their homework and immediately get on their phone or computer and play games as a way to relax. This impulsive need to play games expresses parents’ concerns that video games are truly addictive. People constantly have concerns about their child or friends’ fixation on video games, especially when they can get these games just about anywhere. Video games have a reward system that makes the gamer want to sit and play for hours, trying to achieve the goal of the game. This has caused problems and concerns from a multitude of parents, however, some argue that video games do not cause an addictive behavior. Although some people believe that video games
On the contrary, to those who believe the addiction is real, they might recognize this desire as only a means to relax, have fun, or have an excuse to sit around and be lazy. According to the New York Times article, “Video Games Aren’t Addictive,” “Playing video games is not addictive in any meaningful sense. It is normal behavior that, while perhaps in many cases a waste of time, is not damaging or disruptive of lives in the way drug or alcohol use can be,”(Ferguson, Markey). They, like so many others, believe that playing video games is not addictive in any manner. It only takes up someone’s time, but it is not damaging people’s lives like drugs or alcohol. No, it normally does not damage someone’s life for the reason that it is not harmful, but the addiction is still there. In the same article, Ferguson and Markey also claim that, “the American Psychiatric Association has identified internet gaming disorder as a possible psychiatric illness, and the World Health Organization has proposed including “gaming disorder” in its catalog of mental diseases, along with drug and alcohol addiction.” The journalists disprove their own argument by showing that professional psychologists fear that gaming is almost, if not as addictive as drugs and alcohol. Video games have an addictive quality about them. Yes, they are not as effective or harmful as drugs and alcohol, but they cause the addictive behavior to become hooked on substances
The pervasiveness of technology allows teens to easily play games whenever they want. Also, the reward system, that regularly appears in popular games, causes an addictive behavior and for players to become immersed in the game. The problem with this behavior is that it could lead to other atrocious choices, such as becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol. Some critics might state that video games are only a way to relax and are nothing to be uneasy about. Video games are addicting, they edge on the player so they want to keep playing. This impulsive behavior, the desire for a reward system to help relax, ends up causing this