What Makes Games So Addictive?

Who would want people to look at you with wonder, respect and appreciation? We all do. As a human being, it’s natural to want acceptance. The highest admission is honor and adoration. This attitude is mostly available to influential people. Royal families, great leaders, or inspiring personalities have the highest admiration for their status, talents, or hard work. But we all know that not everyone can reach such a position or even be at the top with the perseverance of most successful people.

Human Nature
There is one thing that makes most people feel at the top. It offers a moment what it’s like to be number one, celebrated and recognized. Sports events are the main place when we can see what it is like to be on top physically and spiritually. It provides a glimpse of glory when we can be the only ones that shine among the crowd, feeling the great emotions we desire. This feeling can be found in simpler activities. Simple games that people play. When we play games, there will be one winner and the rest who lose. Depending on the rules of the game, trying to get a prize can be difficult or easy. However, the feeling of being on the top is something very few can beat.

Needs to Win
The desire to be a winner is always present in today’s society. How can we all be number one at the same time? It’s not possible, but it can happen when we play games. Currently, games are numerous and easy to find. Have you ever wondered why the gaming industry in this century is the largest in history? According to Newzoo senior market analyst Tom Wijman, by the end of this pandemic year, the global gaming market will generate $ 159.3 billion. When all business goes down, the gaming industry soars. This is the only industry that hasn’t experienced a slowdown in the last eight years. With an average growth of 5% per year, gaming companies are getting better with their money making products.

Nowadays, online games have made many people experience brief milestones. The game itself is not addictive. That is not possible, because games are just a basic exercise of rules and regulations with prizes. It is different from our reality, when we have to follow the law because we obey the rules of the country where we live. Plus, we won’t get anything in return, but instead, we have to pay them to make laws. Yes, a well-known term is called tax.

The Part That Makes It So Addicting
The addicting part is the emotional attachment we have with the game. The virtual opportunity it gives us. Games give us endless opportunities to try again when we fail. We don’t find this opportunity in real life. In games, we can stop at any time and come back there without burden.

There is no commitment involved as the game level will be the same as when we left it. Another thing, what makes it so attractive is the complexity it has, we humans love challenges, but it shouldn’t be too hard to knock us down. Since the game offers endless possibilities to repeat the same level until we understand how to beat it, it makes it a safe environment for us to try again. In the process, people will not reject us. We will not hear people mock or belittle us. When a person persists to win a level in a game, he or she can keep trying without fear of being teased by others.

Let’s get to the main thing about why people can’t get enough of games, the need to win. Humans love to be winners because everyone hates losing. After we finish any level, there is an urge to complete the higher level. We climbed higher and higher until we reached the final stage which proved that we were smart enough to solve all the challenges in this game. When we get to this point, we are not only confident in our intelligence, but will also increase our status with our fellow gamers. In the end, we can be the winner, even though everything is just virtual reality.

What Should We Do?
Now that we have analyzed all the elements of addiction, we can return to reflecting on ourselves what we can do as followers of Christ. Addiction is no small matter, it looks so innocent when we talk about games, but the effect is huge. Many lives were destroyed by the games, many of them turned into gamblers and used up everything they had. Others make it a priority in their life. Their schedule is reserved only for thinking about how to get to the next level. On the other hand, we understand that the gaming industry provides precious jobs for programmers, but for those of us who can only be end-users, how do we solve this situation?

How about returning to ourselves and reflecting silently. What exactly do we want? Why are we so desperate to win something? Is it because we never achieve anything important in our lives? Or maybe other people never give us the appreciation we expect? The problem is, we will never get enough human acceptance as long as we are on this earth because humans themselves have shortcomings. How can people give what they don’t have?

The only source of appreciation and reward is Jesus. Only He is able to give everyone fair treatment and be sincerely happy when we accomplish the smallest possible task. Therefore, let us turn to Him for approval, to fulfill our need to be admired, as special beings who are precious before Him.•

|NADINE MUSTIKARINI