How Addictive Are Video Games?

Growing up a week rarely went by where I wasn't on a console spending hours after hours of completing levels and gathering all collectibles within a game. Whether it be Tomb Raider, Micro Machines, Final Fantasy or Mario, most of my free time was spent gaming.

I was well and truly addicted. I still went out and played with my friends using our wild imaginations but if it came to a game of football then I would always prefer to play it on screen rather than kick a ball around a park. This has nothing to do with the fact that I'm not very good at football of course...

As I grew older and Playstation was released I spent even more time playing games than spending time with my friends. These days this is not the case, I spend less than half the time I used to gaming which is probably the reason my list of games to play is piling up. It doesn't quite reach the ceiling yet but it's not far off!

No I prefer spending time with my friends but gaming is still part of my life otherwise it wouldn't be included in the blog. However I still find video games addictive even mini ones like Candy Crush.

Yeah I'm kind of a Candy Crush addict and often load it up on my phone if I have a spare few minutes or I'm bored but I tell you that game is addictive as! 562 levels later and I'm still going! 

Another smaller game I play is The Simpsons Tapped Out, rebuilding Springfield after Homer destroys it. I go on it nearly every day unlocking new characters and earning money for new buildings.

One of the most addictive games these days is Call Of Duty and Battlefield. Why? Simply because of their online mode. When I first started playing MW2 online the hours used to fly by without me even noticing and I could easily spend a entire day on there. These games are popular with kids and I know a few who spend hundreds of hours online and hardly give any other game a second glance. I myself prefer to play a variety of different games but RPGs will always be my favourite.

Is a video game addiction a bad thing? Well not unless you want square eyes (I'm pretty short sighted) and want to spend your life stuck in your room. However I've said before that games can be educational and puzzle games can be very constructive for you. A lot of people speak to their friends online as an alternative to hanging out and playing games at each others houses. If you're down with that then that's cool but for me if I could go back I would spend more time outside and having adventures with my friends.

Oh but of course I still love video games and will always play them but not just as often these days. Maybe the reason I don't play them as much is because of my job? If I didn't work would it make a difference? 

Anime comes into it too and Netflix and Lovefilm and...there's just not enough hours in the day is there?