Video games are a lot of fun. Games can involve you shooting a guy, being part of a mob, or even driving over buildings. For children, playing video games is the the adult equivalent of playing the lottery. You can never quite know what they will come out with next!
Because games are so unpredictable and dynamic, we play them over and over and for hours and hours. Then we spend hours and hours on the couch or in our favorite chair proving to the game that we are worthy of winning.
There are so many reasons that we do not stop playing video games and why we continue to come back even after we have beat the same game multiple times.
5 Reasons You Just Can’t Stop
1. Video games give us confidence.
There is that one game that we just dominate everything in sight. For me, that game might be the Hulk with his mutant powers or Black Ops with the non stop shooting. I love throwing helicopters as a green monster. Then again, I love slamming people with attack dogs on Black Ops. I play video games to help with life problems. Life tends to beat on us a bit, and it is possible to suddenly lose all confidence in real life when it becomes too much. Video games assists in recreating that confidence though shooting people in the form of an outraged gunman or by beating up people in the form of a giant green monster!
2. Video games are mocking us.
You get to the end of the castle and Bowser tells you that Peach is in yet another castle. Games like Super Mario World and Resident Evil include a big variety of puzzles that are really challenging. There are certain puzzles that frustrate us and require hours to solve them. Eventually we get the feeling that the game is mocking us. The game urges us to keep playing. The game wants to really test people of their competence in solving their puzzles and you don’t want to admit that you can’t solve it.
3. There is not enough entertainment outside.
I find this one to be true in most cases of game addiction. Where in the world can you see giant explosions and people falling off buildings? You are unlikely to see that kind of chaos anywhere unless you live in a an apartment of crazy people. Either that or you are from a video game yourself. If that is the case, bring me with you.
4. You can’t find friends like you do online these days.
This is when the supernatural happens. I remember a time I ran into a person who spoke in an Irish accent. I was in an online match in Halo with this guy. Upon killing people he would have a secret phrase he would blurt out. It was along the lines of “I red dotted him.” I don’t really understand. Then I had people who would simply just say the most random things ever such as “eat my pants.” or “jump into my car.” These people eventually befriended me, and we would just have the most random gaming matches ever. We would find the top ways to glitch a game until the impossible happened. Ever see a Scorpion tank fly?
5. You want to find the secret treasure.
Games love to lock items away from you. They require that you complete a certain mission or purchase the game add on pack. They are like the Mafia, in that they try to hide from you until you prove yourself worthy. They know that you will eventually want to see the secret they are trying to hide or that last weapon you need to unlock even though it might be the worst. We have a greedy mind when it comes to having everything. Even in video games.
What do you like about video games and why can’t you stop? Is it the killing, the running over the buildings, or is it just the fact that you meet crazy people?
Children in Perspective 