(slow gentle music)
- Come on, let's go, let's go.
Let's go!
(uptempo electronic music)
(mid-tempo mellow music)
(upbeat lively music)
If you're a gamer,
you probably know that those hilarious dances are
all emotes from the hit video game Fortnite.
It's become one of the most successful
video games of all time,
with more than 125 million players,
raking in over $300 million a month for its publisher.
But as the game is taking over the world,
there's a rising panic that some gamers
are getting full-on addicted,
with headlines like Parenting the Fortnite Addict
and I almost lost my sons to Fortnite
popping up all over the place.
Even the World Health Organization
is worried about video games.
Just recently, it officially recognized
gaming disorder as a mental health condition.
But it's not that simple.
The American Psychiatric Association isn't convinced,
and says there's not enough research showing
that video game addiction is its own disorder.
So what's going on?
Is video game addiction really a thing?
Okay, so first of all, I'm not a gamer.
The only reason I knew those dances was
because they existed before Fortnite,
or I've seen them on Instagram.
But I do have a lot of friends who game,
and I can't tell you how many times I've shown up
to kick it with people, and they're just glued to Fortnite.
And I'm like, uh, hello, guys?
Can we actually do something
or are we gonna sit around here all night?
And we just always end up sitting there all night.
So when we were digging through research for this story,
it was hard to find a universal definition of addiction
that everyone agrees on,
but in general addiction is when someone uses a substance
or engages in a behavior repeatedly and compulsively
and continues to do so
even if other areas of their life suffer.
Whether you can truly be addicted to video games
the same way you can be addicted to heroin or alcohol
is up for debate.
Research is kind of all over the place.
For decades it was generally believed
you could only be addicted to physical substances,
like if you started smoking cigaretes,
over time the nicotine will start
to alter your brain chemistry.
Smoke one, you will get a quick pleasure boost.
Ignore the craving
and you will get physically uncomfortable.
That's when you're addicted.
But then, in 2013, gambling was officially reclassified
from an impulse control problem
to an addiction.
This was the first time that a behavior
was put in the same category as drugs or alcohol.
And guess what?
When you look at the brains of some people
who have problems with gaming,
the reward pathways activate in the same way
as people addicted to drugs.
And then there are a bunch of stories out there
about people losing their jobs
or failing out of school
because the gaming has gotten out of control.
- [Narrator] It's unthinkable,
but his fixation is so complete,
Logan has refused to go to school for the last two years.
- To combat this, South Korea,
home to maybe the most intense gaming culture in the world,
went so far as to pass a law
preventing kids from under the age of 16
from accessing gaming websites between midnight and six A.M.
They just straight up shut it down.
But this is where things get tricky.
Games are meticulously designed to challenge or reward you
at just the right moments to keep you playing.
Those rewards, like new weapons or new skins
or more in-game currency, motivate you to keep grinding
to keep leveling up,
because the next reward is just around the corner
you're so close.
So when you can't put your controller down
is it because you are addicted,
or because you're really motivated to keep playing?
Which brings us to the concept of self-determination theory.
One of the most widely accepted theories
to explain what motivates people.
Basically, there are three key characteristics
of motivation.
Autonomy, mastery, and purpose,
and video games like Fortnite
offer up all three in abundance.
Autonomy is the desire to be self-directed
and have the freedom to choose.
Like, when you have your enemy dead in your sight
with your trusty SCAR, but then bam!
Out of nowhere you're getting sniped from God knows where
and it's time to build to stay alive.
Or maybe you never got into that situation
because you chose to be a camper
and don't mind just sitting back
and waiting for everyone else to die.
Mastery is the desire to progress and improve.
It takes some serious skills to take on 99 other players
and come out on top once,
let alone win consistently.
I mean, there are professional Fortnite players out there.
This game is their job.
Purpose is the desire to be part of something bigger.
Something meaningful.
Fortnite is kind of like its own culture.
It goes beyond just playing the game.
You can post your best kills or funniest emotes on YouTube.
You can follow and interact
with your favorite player on Twitch.
You can literally spend hours
discussing the game on Fortnite's dedicated subreddit.
Because video games give you almost instant feedback,
it can be easier to get your motivational needs
met in the gaming world than in the real world.
Researchers who don't think video game addition is a thing
argue that gamers who have a problem
regulating their gameplay
might be escaping an underlying real world problem,
like anxiety or depression.
But gaming isn't all bad.
There is research that shows
that games can be good for the brain
especially fast-paced action games.
In a series of controlled tests,
kids who played first-person shooters
showed faster and more accurate attention,
quicker visual processing of 3D objects,
and demonstrated an increase in creativity.
And in some cases,
these benefits could carry over to other real-world tasks.
In another study,
pilots and surgeons were able to outperform their peers
after playing action games.
The researchers think the gaming
increases their ability to filter out distractions
and focus.
And researchers are just starting to learn
how video games affect social behavior.
After all, 70% of gamers play with other people.
Players are actively engaged with each other.
Players play cooperatively.
They play competitively.
They share tips and tricks.
They teach each other how to get better at the game.
So at the end of the day
researchers are divided about video games.
Some think there is enough research to say
it can be an addiction in some people.
Others think we need more research
to make sure that video games aren't just an escape
from a problem someone already has.
So what do you think?
What motivates you to keep playing a video game
and how do you resist temptation when you need to
or when you have to?
Let us know in the comments below.
Oh.
And if video games and tech are kinda your thing,
then we've got two episodes we think you'd really enjoy.
One is all about how facial recognition being used
more and more to track our whereabouts.
Yeah, creepy. I know.
The other is all about virtual reality
and if it can make you a better person.
Alright guys. I'm going back to my game.
I'll see you guys in about two weeks.
For more infomation >> Supreme Court in India rules controversial biometric ID program is constitutional - Duration: 1:02. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét