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Written by: April Gammal
Question: I think my roommate is addicted to playing video games. He is constantly in front of the computer, and it is so difficult for my friends and I to get him to stop playing. Does my roommate really have a problem or am I just blowing things out of proportion?
As you have probably witnessed, time will fly by and your roommate will remain fixated on the figures moving across the screen. I will provide some general information regarding video game usage, and then you can draw your own conclusions about whether or not your roommate is addicted.
The Cooperative Institutional Research Program released data on male, freshman college students from over 600 different colleges. The data from 1998 reveals that 13.3 percent of these male students play video games for at least six hours per week. However, by 2005, the statistic rose to 21.4 percent. So, what makes video games so addictive?
How can staring at a computer or television screen all day be more captivating than, say, socializing with friends or playing sports? Individuals become addicted to video games because the games provide various alluring and captivating features, which make it hard to stop playing.
Among these qualities is the concept of getting a high score. The drive to beat someone else’s score and the competitive nature of the high score enable individuals to remain fixed in front of the computer for hours. An example of this is Tetris, in which each individual game is short-lived and one can continually attempt to beat the high score.
The next addictive characteristic is role-playing games which create an emotional attachment between the individual and the character in the game. An example of this game would be World of Warcraft, in which individuals conquer territory by defeating other players. You can build relationships and bond with other people who play these games over the Internet.
Another feature of video game addiction is preoccupation, which is when a person feels anxious away from the game or constantly talks about the game when they are not playing. Also, people will tend to downplay the amount of time they spend playing video games or just flat out lie about how much time they have spent.
Other signs to look for are if the person is neglecting to foster social relationships or if their video game playing is affecting their school work.
Lastly, a person with video game addiction may have trouble sleeping and will also fail to take care of themselves in terms of personal hygiene and nutrition.
So, I hope that your roommate does not have many of these signs, but if he does, then it may be a good idea to talk to him about it and try your best to pull him away from playing for awhile. Good luck.
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