“When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.”
-Victor Frankl
The popularity of gaming is on the rise. Online competitive games are played by billions of gamers worldwide. Games are a form of artistic expression where players are drawn into the world that the game developers have built. This alluring nature of games gives rise to an immersive experience that pulls you out of mundane everyday life. The problem arises when games are played excessively to escape reality (escapism). Especially in the modern era, video games are a multimillion-dollar global industry investing tons of money into creating the most immersive, socially integrated, and monetized games. Although video games have many benefits, unreasonable screen time especially in younger and vulnerable populations can lead to addiction and mental health problems. This creates a ‘self-enhancing vicious cycle' of gaming to escape the negative consequences of excessive gaming itself, thus perpetuating the cycle which can be difficult to escape without professional help.
Gaming Disorder (GD) has been listed in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 11th revision (ICD-11). It is characterised as frequent use of the internet to play games usually with other players which leads to clinically significant impairment or distress. Even though ICD-11 considers GD an official disorder, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has listed it as a condition. Further in DSM-5, GD is indicated by meeting five or more of the nine criteria listed (which is similar to gambling and substance use) in 12 months.
Another negative consequence of excessive gaming includes Game Transfer Phenomena (GTP), which is “an interplay between video game features, events while playing and the manipulation of hardware, which can lead to sensory-perceptual and cognitive intrusion (e.g., hallucination and recurrent thoughts) and self-agency transient changes (e.g., automatic behaviour) related to video games”. Some might identify it by the name ‘Tetris effect’, initially known for devoting too much time and attention to a game or any activities that it begins to change one’s thoughts, mental images, and dreams. It was coined from the video game ‘Tetris’. This effect can happen voluntarily or involuntarily regardless of which game you play, the latter having a negative connotation. Players have reported altered states of consciousness after playing games for hours. These emergent experiences include seeing health bars on top of people’s heads as an indicator of health points portrayed in video games, perceiving buildings as Tetris blocks, the urge to climb a wall and perform parkour like in Assassin's Creed games, and environments perceived as blocks and moving objects as if you are in the Minecraft universe, etc. Further, these phenomena can manifest as sensory or cognitive intrusions related to the video game (e.g. images, sounds, or intrusive thoughts), involuntary automatic responses, specifically verbal outbursts, walking towards objects, or involuntary limb movements. Furthermore, many GTP has been reported to reflect failures in attention and inhibitory control among gamers.
Younger generations are the most vulnerable population when it comes to the negative consequences of games. One reason is that games release the feel-good (pleasure) neurotransmitter dopamine which is difficult to resist when the prefrontal cortex is still at a developing stage, making them play for hours while ignoring basic needs such as food, sleep, and hygiene. Adolescents who play internet games excessively also have higher reward dependency that may make them prone to other addictive behaviours and instant gratification.
Thus, it is important to practice gaming or any other activity in moderation. Many have broken free from this vicious cycle of excessive gaming; some,Matthias Dewilde and Cam Adair have given testimonials of their experience with gaming disorder and how to break free from it. A game like Destiny 2 by Bungie Inc., makes mental health resourcesavailable to its players and encourages them to share it with everyone who’s experiencing mental health issues. Thus, prioritisation of mental health is essential and could be practised especially by all the MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) because these types of games encourage players to invest a lot of time playing them, making them susceptible to getting addicted. While games are a form of artistic expression and a tool for entertainment, they need to be consumed in moderation and be only a part of one’s life.
Reon Michael
