Many forms of addiction exist in the society that surrounds us. These include “process addictions,” that individuals become unable to stop gambling, shopping, or gaming; and “substance addictions,” that individuals become unable to stop using substances like drugs and nicotine. These addictions cannot be cured by mere platitudes like “should” or “must.” With the recent evolution of the digital environment, gaming addiction via smartphones and other devices has become a problem. The latest games offer players a comfortable world filled with exhilaration, satisfaction, fulfillment, and a sense of conquest. Of course, games aren’t the only things that provide this kind of comfort. Disneyland offers a fantasy world that promises happiness. Popular K-POP and J-POP concerts offer excitement and satisfaction. These things, regardless of the time available, eventually come to an end.
However, the world of gaming can continue indefinitely, as long as one’s time allows. Furthermore, recent games are designed to draw children into game worlds created by professionals specializing in immersion. They employ numerous mechanisms to draw children into the game world, creating a gap between the pleasant world of exhilaration, satisfaction, fulfillment, and conquest, and the negative world of despair and sorrow. Children, whose judgment is not yet fully developed, can easily find themselves unable to escape once they step into this game world. As children become addicted to games, their time is inevitably consumed. Families who realize this are beginning to experience various tragedies.
Laws and regulations to curb addiction are in place in many countries. For example, underage drinking is prohibited by law, preventing minors from drinking alcohol before reaching adulthood. Japan has a law prohibiting underage drinking. By raising the drinking age, the probability of developing alcohol dependence is reduced. On the other hand, there have been no regulations whatsoever regarding game addiction. Empirical evidence suggests that allowing children to play games at the latest possible age is desirable. This is because it was known that younger children have immature brain development, making them more susceptible to the stimuli of games and more likely to develop addiction. In recent years, it has been found that games can cause symptoms similar to gambling. Both games and gambling provide similar pleasures (escapism, exhilaration, sense of accomplishment, etc.). Gambling addiction also manifests as anxiety and restlessness when gambling is not possible. Games and gambling share commonalities in their impact on lifestyle, family relationships, and mental state.
Social media (SNS) addiction among minors, an extension of gaming, has become a global problem. SNS addiction negatively impacts children’s social health and is a serious social issue. In the United States, 77% of high school students use SNS, and the higher the level of addiction, the greater the tendency towards bullying and suicidal thoughts. In this situation, SNS companies like Meta and Google are facing headwinds in the form of lawsuits. Some are raising concerns that SNS algorithms are intentionally designed to make users addicted. This is following a similar trajectory to the lawsuits against the “tobacco industry” in the 1990s. In the tobacco lawsuit, the issue was the deliberate use of advertising targeting young people to encourage smoking. As a result, tobacco companies overcame the crisis with massive settlement payments. It seems that a similar process will be followed with SNS addiction. In the process, the mechanisms of game addiction and SNS addiction will be clarified, progress will be made in understanding addiction, and it would be great if an environment is created that people can enjoy games and SNS in a fun way.
