Freeware Puzzle Games

Are Video Games Addictive?

If they are addictive which parts of the brain would they have an affect towards? And what in the game triggers the addiction?

Public Comments

1. yeah some
2. Heck to the yeah
3. uhh, i don't think video games are liderary adictivcve
4. yes. they are fun
5. i dont personally play them but all the guys i know love them, like thats all they do
6. yes
7. OMG I LOVE PLAYING POKEMON!
8. Yea i have been playing grand theft auto for like 2 years now and it still wont end. one of these days I will go to work instead
9. video games are addictive. they are doing studies now that prove that game addiction is a mental illness. different people get addicted to different game aspects. lots of people like the fact that some games let you live out fantasies that you wouldnt normally be able to do in real life.
10. My daughter loves video games she like plays them 24/7
11. To clarify...Video games are not addictive. PEOPLE can have addictive reactions to some things. I got caught up in W.O.W. and wasted several months before I got out of it and deleted the application from my computer.
12. I don't know the answer to the second part of your question, but are games addictive? YES YES YES! Good grief, yes. Even Yahoo Answers is addictive... In the games that I played, I just try to get further and further. Once I have finished the game, "saved the princess" or whatever, then I usually quit playing. Or if it's a game of points or a rating (like yahoo pool), then I just try to keep my rating up.
13. Video Games can be addictive. But don't let them be too addictive. Video Games have been proven to make people under the age of 18 lose brain cells and slow mind quickness.
14. In terms of them saying that they are as addictive as a drug? That's a load of bullsh**! They are addictive in terms of saying that they're extremely fun to play! The worst that can happen is that your so obcessed that you won't go outside to play once and a while. Once again, video games are NOT DRUGS!!!!!
15. o yeah u can play for days more like years
16. I'm not sure what parts of the brain it affect but usually they can get addictive if they are fulfilling the dream of that person or if they allow the user to do things that are against the law etc - Also Manhunt 2 has been banned in the UK because it was available on the Wii which meant to strangle a person on the game you had to physically do it in real life with the Wii remotes.
17. so says some people it depends on what you consider addiction to be
18. HELL YEAH!!!! If you play a video for too long and then keep playing everyday and forever then you want to play it more and more till u cant stop then u end up going crazy when u cant play the video game and u get to addicted to it so yes video games r addictive!!
19. Anything is addictive if you have an addictive personality. Video games are just another thing that people indulge too much of from time to time. Most of us know when to unplug and take care of business.
20. neurotransmitters in the brain trigger the desire to play and the more you play the better you feel. Deprive yourself of these items and it may become stressful and hard to cope inducing anxiety and panic attacks in some people. It is similar to tv addiction (see below) There are three major problems with television. Switching to "watching television" (pre-recorded and edited content) lowers the risk of incurring the damage that comes from "television" (owning the device and having a live source like cable, satellite, or Internet TV). The 3 evils of "television" can be avoided by switching to DVDs, downloadable content, and time-shifted and prerecorded shows (as available on TIVO) that edit out all commercials and promos). Viewing television is like consuming any central nervous system depressant like alcohol, tobacco, antidepressant medication, or recreational drugs. Television creates the same psychological and mental state in the viewer as a drug creates in a drug abuser. Skipping television creates the same problems with withdrawal as any other addictive substance. Similar to other drugs, television viewing is required in increasing doses before the addict is satisfied. Loss of Logical Thinking The human brain involves something known as the "Fight or Flight" response. Unfortunately, despite all evidence of intelligence the brain is not smart enough to know which trigger is real and which is not. In the presence of false triggers the brain self-induces anxiety and panic attacks. This means that the brain cannot distinguish between experienced (real) and visualized (only seen) terror. The eventual upshot of this all is that the brain's capacity for logical thinking is reduced because the "logical" part of the brain is constantly defeated by the "reflex action" part of the brain. The human brain is highly tuned to any change, no matter how small, in light and shadow that can help in identifying a potential threat. The television (even HDTV or whatever might come next) is nothing more than light and shadow manipulation to create images. This is the reason why, when there is a television within eyesight, it is impossible for human beings to ignore it. Your brain will demand you look at it because it might be a potential threat. It not only causes the muscles and heart to suffer but also involves the brain in needless processing leading to needless complications in thoughts and emotions. There are some serious physical, psychological, and emotional complications that can arise from television addiction. This is especially true of children who have very little mental control and absorb all received information without questioning its legitimacy
21. I don't exactly know which part of the brain video games effect but i do kno that alot of video game play slows brain development in young children and usually what triggers addictions in video games are what a person likes ex: if u like alot of excitement then action and fighting games will trigger addictions, if u are a person that likes romance then games with love storylines and games like the sims may trigger addictions.
22. Hell yeh!
23. absolutely steffers... however, my husband has a psp and an xbox and he plays it in moderation... he will even go a couple months without playing and then get it back out. i however, have lost pretty much all desires to play video games.