{"id":29911,"date":"2023-01-09T17:20:24","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T01:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=29911"},"modified":"2023-01-11T16:51:30","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T00:51:30","slug":"game-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/game-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Eagleman, PhD. wrote of The Molecule of More<\/em>, \u201cLieberman and Long tell the epic saga of dopamine as a page-turner that you simply can\u2019t put down.\u201d[1]<\/a> A page turner about science? That did not seem likely to me, but as I started perusing the book, I found it to be true. I worked hard over last semester to learn how to not read every word of every book and yet this book drew me in and captured my attention. As I read, I thought of so many ways I could go with writing this blogpost. Where do I start? Then I read a quote on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to remember the game is geared to trigger addiction and they want you to spend money.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

During the Christmas break, I had some free time on my hands, and I started playing a game on my phone, TriPeaks Solitaire. It is a fun, mindless game. I found it relaxing, especially with the added stress of having my daughter share space in our 27-foot Airstream for the break. I went online looking for tips about how to play and found a Facebook group that shared them. That is where I read this quote. It reminded me of what Lieberman and Long wrote, \u201cSome scientists claim that video games can also be addicting.\u201d[3]<\/a> \u00a0They go on to say, \u201cVideo games are about progress\u2026 It\u2019s a dopamine dream come true. To keep progress front and center in a gamer\u2019s mind, the screen constantly displays the accumulating points or growing progress bars so players never forget. They have to keep pursuing more.\u201d[4]<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I thought about playing this game over the past month and the dopamine effect on how I played. Here are some aspects of the game that come into play.<\/p>\n

Free Coins:<\/strong> Every 20 minutes, you can click on a link in the game for 1000 free coins. Why not make it 3,000 coins every hour or 36,000 coins every twelve hours? To keep you coming back, logging on, playing.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jackpot:<\/strong> There is a jackpot you can play for the potential of one million coins. The jackpot is like Plinko from The Price is Right. You drop a coin that bounces down and lands in one of nine slots. There is a sliding boat under the middle slot. If it lands in this slot and<\/em> lands in the boat, you win the jackpot. To keep you interested and let you know it is possible, the game highlights previous winners. Congratulate a winner five times and you earn a medallion to play. You can also pay to play or watch an ad to play.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Clubs:<\/strong> If you join a team, you can earn even more rewards. There are club challenges, and each team member is ranked by how many points they earn. Different clubs have various rules and requirements to be a member. Points and rankings reset every week and new challenges pop up.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Shop:<\/strong> Of course, the money maker is encouraging players to make in-app purchases. You can buy more coins, boosters to help with play, wild cards, etc.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I could go on with more ways this game immerses the player and triggers a dopamine reaction. As Lieberman and Long say, \u201cdopamine activity\u2026 is a reaction to the unexpected \u2013 to possibility and anticipation.\u201d[5]<\/a> When I open the game and play, each round is the unexpected. What cards will show up? Each win elicits a reaction, and each loss creates a desire to play again, to try for that win. Hours can pass before I realize it. With the start of the new semester, it is time to set this game aside and focus. Understanding how the game triggers my desire to keep playing is helpful in doing this. As GI Joe says, \u201cKnowing is half the battle.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Daniel Z. Lieberman, and Michael E. Long, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity \u2013 and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/em>. (Dallas, TX, BenBella Books, Inc., 2018), front pages. (Praise for the Molecule of More<\/em>)<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Victoria Kruzynski<\/a>, \u201cTip of the Day,\u201d Facebook, January 8, 2023, https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/1576541145858293<\/a><\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Daniel Z. Lieberman, and Michael E. Long, The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity \u2013 and Will Determine the Fate of the Human Race<\/em>. (Dallas, TX, BenBella Books, Inc., 2018), pg. 53.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Ibid., pg. 54.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid., pg. 5<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pele5vptVgc<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Eagleman, PhD. wrote of The Molecule of More, \u201cLieberman and Long tell the epic saga of dopamine as a page-turner that you simply can\u2019t put down.\u201d[1] A page turner about science? That did not seem likely to me, but as I started perusing the book, I found it to be true. I worked hard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":155,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2172],"class_list":["post-29911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-lieberman-and-long","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/155"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29911"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29922,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29911\/revisions\/29922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}