Video Game Addiction As A Serious Problem For Many People In Every Country In The World

Nowadays, video game addiction has become a serious problem for many people in every country in the world. Although it is not yet recognized as a diagnosable disorder, it deserves more attention. In many countries throughout the world, especially Japan, China, and the United States, there is no secret that children and adults play video games every day. Most players are able to control their usage of video games in ways that do not interfere with their daily lives; however, other players have developed an addiction to playing video games. Other players suffer harmful effects from playing video games like they often avoid eating proper meals or sleeping because of the urge to continue playing video games.

An addiction can be defined or described in some ways, however, generally speaking, addictions really involve in some harmful activities that eventually disrupt the ability of people to keep up with their regular daily responsibilities. Video game addiction usually involves playing games in a way that cannot be controlled and it takes many hours at a time. Some players will only play 3 hours at a time while others can’t stop over 24 hours. Regardless of the severity of the addiction, there are still effects that will be experienced by all.

Like other behavior addictions, there are also negative effects of video game addiction that can be mild or severe. Most of the symptoms have short-term effects such as fatigue, having an uneasy feeling, getting easily irritated when they are unable to play, isolation from their friends or family just to spend more time on playing games, eye strain from intense use that leads to migraines, and poor hygiene. Long-term effects of video game addiction involve money, career and academic results. We know that video games and its equipment can be very high costs and the required high-speed internet that can hurt our wallet especially for online multiplayer games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Fortnite, Overwatch, etc. The overuse of Video games is seen mostly in players of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, in short, MMORPG games. These games are really addictive and time-consuming, leaving less time for addicted gamers to focus on their career or education.

Now, we will focus on the common effect of video game addiction which is social withdrawal and isolation. Players frequently hide in their homes and they lock themselves in their gaming room, they are only emerging and going outside for some pressing tasks and necessities such as food, water, etc. The effect of this can lead to a frequent loss in socialization or loss of interest in socializing and communication breakdown. However, it can be also healthy for the players because usually in MMORPG games, there are e-based communication and coordination with others which often result in real communities. It is usually giving the players the impression that they are socially interacting, however, their true social lives and personal relations may suffer because of this. Video game addiction can also disrupt the player’s career. Some players manage their jobs on hold and enjoy playing video games without any problems, some experience problems managing their jobs at their workplace, and others end up losing their jobs. We know that playing video games for long periods of time usually leads to sleep deprivation and that tends to carry over to the workplace as a result of poorer performance. Video game addiction also may result in poor personal hygiene and poor eating habits which is harmful to our overall health.

We all should be aware that video game addiction can be just as dangerous as any other addiction. There is still room for us to be aware of its existence. So, let us all just enjoy playing video games as a fun activity. But just like everything else, let us all balance everything from the amount of time we spend playing video games to our personal and social responsibilities.