#3 Video Game Addiction

In former times people played parlour games on boards, like Monopoly and Scrabble, which entertained the whole family on Saturday evenings. Now computers and interactive game consoles are more and more replacing the game's carton board by the computer and tv screen, and offers the player to alone control exciting characters in new imaginative worlds, playing against the computer. Who can resist that? But the new way of playing games is not only positive.

There are many people, not just teenagers, who are spending years of their lives with their video games. They get addicted. And actually, even though I don't play video games that much myself, I understand that there are people who just can't stop. Some of the games today are just so challenging and fun that the player just want to keep playing. Now there are also online versions of the games which enables playing live against other like-minded on internet. It makes the games even more challenging by competing with others from the whole world.

In an way it is tragic that these addicted people can't see what they are doing, that they are wasting so much time for nothing. Because when it comes to life and its true qualities, the video game offers nothing. I don't think it's easy for an addicted to wake up and realize that life can be better with just an hour of playing a day instead of 15. It will probably need a real happening that affects the player quite much to take him or her out of the addiction. Hopefully, the video games of tomorrow will be more integrated with everyday life and family.

I have been playing video games and the number one favorite of mine is "Conker: Live and Reloaded" for Xbox. I did play for hours some days, but my conscience caught up with me and made me realize that I sacrificed parts of my life for the funny squirrel in the game. A terrible feeling. I don't want to lose parts of life, but sometimes I play to enjoy life. The difference is huge.

//Maria