Obsession, anger and poverty: how video games will ruin your life.

Video games are evil! At least psychologists, fighters for social justice and television are sure of this. Today you will learn about the dark side of video games, which gamers would like to forget forever.

Addiction

Video games are a great way to relax and get new emotions. In western clinics even equip rest rooms with consoles. Games help patients forget about the pain and just have fun, but any medication has side effects. Sometimes games become a real problem for gamers that ruins their lives. Even people far from the topic heard stories when a person lost his job, family and friends because of video games.

This rarely happens with adults, but now children are more susceptible to dependence on video games. Dr. Andrew Pržibilski of Oxford found out that with the help of video games, children satisfy their psychological needs. Whereas parents and teachers tell them what to do, in the game the child himself makes decisions, copes with difficulties and even teaches other players. Often this desire goes into the absolute and the child already forgets about real things, throwing study, work and so on.

The study involved more than 5 thousand girls and boys aged 10 to 15 years. They spent more than three hours playing games and were more prone to behavior disorders than other children. Scientists have discovered increased hyperactivity and attention disorders, decreased compassion for other people, and decreased satisfaction with their lives in general.

Obsession

As a result, addiction turns into obsession, which is not limited to a couple of hours of play per day. For example, a Chinese man spent six years in an Internet cafe. The owner of the place even stopped noticing him, calling him “a piece of furniture”. But these are flowers: in the same country, a woman gave birth in an Internet cafe and continued to play. It's like in the initial scene of “Perfume”, only in modern China.

In July, another event occurred, of which even the gamers had gone nuts. FaZe Censor, a 23-year-old Call of Duty player, threw the sexiest weather presenter Janet Garcia. The reason is simple: he was preparing for e-sports competitions and he did not have time for a girl.

A month later, he said that he did not regret the break and everything is fine with him. Yes, this is how games drag the championship blanket over themselves, making gamers really obsessed.

Toxicity

Some players take video games too seriously and take defeat too close to their hearts. At such moments, the allies, opponents, developers, and even the girl from work, who suddenly remembered, are to blame. Players begin to insult each other, turning the game into a toxic farce.

In 2018, it turned into a real problem, which even the creators of video games are concerned about. For example, Ubisoft, the developers of Rainbow Six Siege, added fines to the game for using obscene expressions and insults. For the first puncture, the fighter is blocked only for 30 minutes, but for the second violation, the ban increases by two hours. If this does not stop the verbiage - it is blocked forever.

Blizzard went a little different way. The developers have added to Overwatch a system for assessing the behavior of players for which good allies receive prizes. It was planned that users will become more friendly - so it happened. After a couple of months, Overwatch lead game designer Jeff Kaplan reported that the players had become kinder. The percentage of insults in the “Competitive Match” chat fell by 26.4% in America and 16.4% in Korea. During the day, "toxic players" are found at 28.8% less in America and at 21.6% in Korea.

Irritability

Yet toxic players continue to appear in multiplayer projects. This affects the overall atmosphere in the community and specific players. Jokes about the love relationship with the opponent's mother are already passed by the ears, but the sediment remains. After another skirmish, the mood may drop to zero, and the gamer himself becomes irritable.

But not only colleagues, but also video games themselves can infuriate a player. Dark Souls fans are familiar with the feeling of hopelessness when the boss does not give in even after the hundredth attempt. In addition, gaming experience is affected by complexity, level design and control. So sometimes video games can only ruin your mood, but for the most part we are to blame. In my life, I broke only one gamepad, thanks to the game Show Knight and the leader of the level of Mole Knight.

Video games will empty your pocket

In recent years, gamers have a little poorer. They did not give up work, just the games became more expensive. The last point partially concerns the inhabitants of the CIS, but this also applies to European, American and Asian gamers. Usually, “profile media” cling to luthboxes, chests with gaming items, which are now equated with casinos. In part, they are right, but even gamers despise these "chests." Just remember the scandal with Battlefront 2 and understand everything.

The reason is that video games have become steeper, and it is simply impossible to miss the next novelty. Sometimes a monthly check from the game store reaches $ 150, and we still have 12 months a year. The price of the “Standard” edition starts at $ 60, but the publisher can ask for between “Gold” or “Collectible” from $ 80 to $ 150. Add to this addition, seasonal passes, and the price instantly grows fat by $ 30- $ 40. This is not bad and not good - this is a fact that sometimes drives melancholy when you realize that you still need to eat.

P.S. Despite the disadvantages, video games remain a great entertainment. In normal doses, they help to relax and even pump the intellect, but know the measure. The gaming community has already gained 2 billion people. Among them, you will stumble upon eccentrics, and also find friends with whom you share hundreds of cool moments.