Gaming addiction is not a problem that can be solved by simple deterrents, and social structures and family environments are major contributing factors. Games are attractive to young people because they offer quicker rewards than real life, and the underlying problem needs to be addressed rather than overly suppressed.
Gaming addiction is no longer a foreign word among teens and young adults. While few people are actually tested, many recognize that they are addicted to gaming, and some even admit it. However, no one knows exactly what it is. The term “gaming addiction” generally refers to excessive gaming that affects a person’s daily life. In fact, the medical community is still divided on whether gaming addiction is real or not.
In order to tackle the problem of gaming addiction, it”s important to consider the positive aspects of gaming. Games are more than just entertainment; they can help develop a variety of skills, including strategic thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. For example, esports has become popular around the world, with many young people choosing gaming as a means to fulfill their dreams. This phenomenon shows that gaming is not just addictive, but also offers new possibilities and hope for young people.
Why do people get addicted to games? Becoming addicted to gaming is essentially a similar process to gambling addiction. When you win, your brain releases substances called “brain drugs,” such as endorphins and dopamine. This is because the human brain is equipped with a “reward system” that keeps the organism actively engaged in survival behaviors. This system is activated to some extent not only when a reward is given, but also when a reward is expected. But importantly, “the effect is greater when the reward is intermittent”. This is how the addiction process works in gaming.
Why do we abandon reality and immerse ourselves in games? If we limit ourselves to students in Korea, we can easily get an answer. Games provide rewards faster and more clearly than real life. Even if it’s a game that emphasizes the so-called “playfulness”, the reward for effort is paid very quickly compared to real life. This reward is much stronger and more stimulating than the same labor in real life. The problem becomes serious when we start using this reward as an alternative or an escape from reality. When the stimulation of the ‘dream’ exceeds the reality and you lose your sense of reality, you are now a ‘dead man walking’. Students in Korea are vulnerable to this temptation because they are forced to pursue an entrance examination-oriented education.
Of course, this superiority of games over reality is significantly weakened if the rewards are fast and clear enough in real life. However, in societies and families currently dominated by older generations, they don’t understand this and implement various measures based on the idea that “all games are bad”. They put the computer away, install surveillance programs, and so on, but this doesn’t suddenly eliminate the stress and cravings that have been building up. Eventually, the addict will turn to criminal behavior, unable to release their anger, depression, or even suicide. This is what we call the “balloon effect”. Furthermore, studies have shown that the more multicultural and low-income people are, the higher the risk of becoming addicted to gaming, suggesting that the problem is not with the game, but with society and the family.
However, the older generation prefers simple deterrence measures, saying, “Kids are weak, it wasn’t like that in our time.” In particular, the government has recently tried to restrict late-night access (midnight to 6 a.m.) through the ‘shutdown system’ to prevent young people from becoming addicted to games. However, this approach is only a short-term solution rather than solving the underlying problem. The underlying causes of gaming addiction are social structures and cultural environments, which cannot be solved by simply banning it without improving them.
What makes gaming addiction different from other drug or gambling behaviors is that it’s never permanent. Fortnite 2 was once called the national game, threatening the ascendancy of StarCraft, but it didn’t take long for the hype to die down. It’s not that there’s anything inherently immersive about the games themselves, it’s just that consumers are always looking for the most fun.
Are games dangerous? If you look at gaming in isolation as a hobby, it can be stimulating and entertaining, which can be problematic, but it’s probably safer than most hobbies. However, like any other hobby, job, or behavior, if you do it for too long, you’re bound to get rusty. Unlike other hobbies, it’s overwhelmingly accessible – simple to prepare, beginner-friendly, and easy to clean up after – so it’s more likely than other hobbies that you’ll stick with it for a long time. It’s also much healthier than drinking, which is a widely accepted hobby in Korea. Of course, there are cases of people overworking themselves to death or passing out while playing, but that’s only because they’ve completely lost their sense of reality as described above. A mentally healthy person will naturally take a break from a game, no matter how fun and addictive it is, when they’ve had enough. You fall into the game, not the other way around. Furthermore, all games are fun because you choose to play them, and if someone forces you to play them, like studying, it’s not a game, it’s just “playing”.
As such, as long as you have a sound mind, you don’t need to worry about gaming because you have enough self-control mechanisms within yourself. In addition, parents and teachers need to strengthen their communication with young people, understand their worries and stresses, and try to solve them, rather than forcibly suppressing stress-relieving methods. This will not only solve the problem of gaming addiction, but also lay the foundation for young people to grow into healthy members of society.
