Are Video Games Addictive? Why?

More than just fun, a 2007 study suggests that the best gaming platforms fulfill basic psychological needs.

A study that just came out this month shows that video games may be difficult to give up because the authors have discovered a way to put such realism into the games that they are actually fulfilling basic human needs.

Although some games were found to be just "fun" it was the games that provided opportunities for achievement, freedom and a connection to other players that created a players desire to come back again and again. "Players reported feeling the best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges that connected to what they knew in the real world," said one researcher.

It's the gamers' connection to other players that's the psychological pull of games, the study reports. And it is their capacity to create feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness" - thus creating a short term feeling of wellness that brings players back.

For those who play massively multiplayer online, or MMO, games -- which are capable of supporting many thousands of players simultaneously -- the need for relatedness was found to be a key satisfaction, one that promotes a sense of presence, game enjoyment and an intention for future play," the researchers found.

In our culture of latch-key kids and using video games and the television as babysitters are our children being vicariously denied their basic psychological needs? It would seem so. If not, they would not have the intense need to find electronic ways to get their needs met. Healthy families require time - both quality and quantity.

Source: HealthDay, Medline, and psych-net.com