Overcoming My Video Game Addiction
I used to be addicted to video games. I would frequently play for hours every day. After a while, it started affecting my school work, social life, and sleep schedule. I realized it was a problem and tried multiple ways to control it, but each attempt failed. Reading Adam Alter’s book Irresistible taught me various methods that helped me overcome my video game addiction.
First, I learned to change my environment. In the book, Irresistible, Alter described how many American G.I.s during the Vietnam War became addicted to heroin, but when they returned to the U.S., 95% stayed clean. The book explained these veterans stayed clean because the environmental cues that reminded them of the euphoria they experienced while using heroin in Vietnam (the jungle, humid temperatures, gunfire, etc.) were gone. I decided to apply this to my video game addiction. Rather than studying in my room, where I could hear the beckoning of my PlayStation 3, I started studying in the library after class. The library was quiet. The only discernable sounds were the flipping of pages on books and the tapping of fingers on keyboards. Studying there let me avoid my game console, the primary environmental cue that triggered my impulse to play video games. While in the library, I could control myself. While in the library, I could avoid playing video games. While in the library, I could focus on studying and do so for extended periods.
Second, I learned to replace bad habits with good ones. In the book, Irresistible, Alter explained how the key to overcoming an addictive behavior was to replace it with something else. Previously, video games were my primary method of relieving stress. They served as a distraction, allowing me to transfer my mind away from the problem I was facing. To apply Alter’s method, I tried reading books when stressed rather than playing video games, and I found it to be as effective. Moreover, I found I had better control over when I stopped reading, usually at the end of a chapter, than when I stopped playing video games. At first, it was difficult to maintain this habit. I would find myself constantly slipping back to playing video games. But over a few months, I found it easier and easier to pick up a book rather than a controller.
Alter’s book, Irresistible, uses stories and examples to explain the reasons for behavioral addictions and how to overcome them. I used two of Alter’s methods to overcome my addiction to video games. I now spend my time on more productive and meaningful activities, such as studying for my classes, fostering my friendships, and taking care of my health. I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling with behavioral addictions.
Fred Vincent Margallo is a senior at UNLV and has been a member of the Interactive Measurement Group since summer 2022. He is majoring in biology and minoring in psychology. After graduation, he hopes to go to medical school with the aim of becoming a radiologist. During his time in the lab, he has taken on several leadership roles and has co-authored two conference posters.