Behavioral addictions aren't "addictions," they're different manifestations of compulsive disorders (under DSM 5). There's little evidence to suggest that the game itself can cause this disorder, but it does give the symptoms a place to latch on in terms of the dopamine cycles of the brain.
Essentially, what games like WoW revolve around are small actions that lead to small rewards, which give the player a small hit of dopamine from the brain. Someone with a compulsive disorder values those dopamine releases far more than someone without one, leading to them seeking those releases.
But it's not anything unique to video games. Behavioral compulsions form around anything that gives that dopamine hit; food, exercise, sex, lying, etc.
Essentially, anything that's low effort with a decent-enough reward in terms of happiness can trigger these compulsions.
The fault isn't with the game; all the game does is make you happy, and it does it in a way with simple investment -> reward formula. The person needs medical intervention (through some combination of therapy and medication) to help them manage their ability to regulate their responses to positive stimuli.
This isn't like with substances, with cause actual, chemical changes to brain chemistry to create a physical addiction. This is a person with a separate disorder that happens to be manifesting itself to that particular game. It's not possible to purge life of those simple reward situations (like eating), but encouraging treatment, removing the stigma around it, etc. are all possible. But if you focus on getting rid of the stimuli, you're not really going to help anyone; you're just going to send those people to other compulsions.
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IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people
lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.