World Builders,

Game addiction is a real, challenging, potentially debilitating disorder with life-altering consequences [1].

You can hear that voice from your past saying, "Nintendo is going to rot your brain! Get outside. NOW!" The thrust of this admonition is that people who want us to prosper know that over-consumption of games is a roadblock to success.

Will video games "rot" your brain? No scientific evidence suggests that the physical matter of your brain will decompose when exposed to too many pixels on screen. But, what about the effects games have on your life, wellbeing, productivity, and other cognitive factors like memory, attention, problem solving, and reaction time?

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio

There are competing interests, as always, and we need to be careful how we navigate these arguments and viewpoints. It's on us to curate our playtime to maximize personal outcomes.

On one hand, there is an industry that, in my opinion, is doing hard work to get people who are truly addicted to games and gaming off the habit and regain a sense of balance in their lives. It's no surprise that they take a strong, often extreme, anti-video game stance to further their initiative. Kudos on them for helping people to reclaim control.

However, their claims don't take into account the breadth and depth of meaningful video gaming experiences. They focus on the products they identify as designed to be addictive. While it's true that these types of games and products tend to dominate the marketplace, they can overshadow and cast into doubt the legitimacy of other types of video game products that do not attempt fleece customers of resources over a long period of time. Gamequitters, a popular game addiction coaching and recovery service says this about how games are intentionally designed to addict:

Every second of color, light, sound, purpose, task, instruction and experience within video games is carefully crafted to keep players (brains) gaming for as long as possible and spending money on in-game purchases.

I will also point out that the same article fairly and accurately portrays games as a healthy part of a balanced and well-integrated life:

When video games are played for fun as part of a healthy range of activities, there is generally no cause for concern.

This is not a takedown of Gamequitters or other similar services. Quite the opposite: I acknowledge the danger of games as vehicles for addiction that serve as a detriment to one's healthy and productive life. These services offer critical opportunities for those struggling with the addiction disorder. They are no different than groups that help one's battle with alcohol, sex, gambling, drugs, or other destructive behaviors.

This is our opportunity to be intentional about which types of games and gaming content we enjoy and consider the effects on our life and wellbeing.

Photo by Ben Hamler

There are important ways to identify these experiences and set ourselves up to engage with them actively rather than passively. You're probably wondering how you can passively play a video game since compared to Netflix, for example, you are physically interacting with the medium through a keyboard or controller.

We'll explore in the next edition.

To future worlds,

Matt Ventre

[1] - The APA's DSM-V-TR (aka, the manual that describes all legitimate psychological conditions and illnesses) lists game addiction as a recognized psychological disorder.

Check out the replay of the live recording of the Infinite Levels podcast where we discuss the LifeRPG app genre and unbox a beautiful and helpful level-up product called The Hero's Journal Sidequest Deck.

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