Journal No. 7

Journal No.7, Chapter 10
Question No. 5
Most people do not like to watch a movie or read a book more than once or twice. However, people can often play the same video game for hour on end, repeating levels and characters. Why do you think this is so?

The reason people like playing video games for hours is because the the you never know what is going to happen. In a movie or a book, you know that everything you are seeing or reading will not change in any way. No matter how many times you watch or read it. Video games offer people a chance to be a part of something where the outcome can be different in a multitude of ways. There are a number of other reasons also. One of those reasons is it gives people a chance to put themselves in someone else's shoes. People get to take part in a fantasy world where they can do things be able to do in the real world. People get the chance to go to war, to be a super hero, or be on a professional sports team. Video games are also a great way to relieve stress for someone who needs to take their mind off of things for a little while. Another reason is that people get a form of fulfillment and happiness from solving a level or beating an opponent. When someone beats a level, they experience a "dopamine rush". Dopamine is what makes a person feel good or happy. Sometimes will get obsessed with beating a level or the game and they will not stop until they do so. People are competitive. What person would not feel good after winning the Super Bowl or saving the world? There is also the self-esteem boost that people can experience when they beat other human players at the game they are playing. Nowadays, people can play against their friends even when their friends are across town. People can play with people across the country or even across the world. That is pretty amazing. For me personally, I have gotten a lot better about spending a lot of time playing video games, I only play once or twice a week. But I have definitely spent hours in the same day trying to beat the same game. And I can understand how people do not get tired of playing video games because my favorite games after all these years, are games like Mario Kart, NBA JAM, Super Mario World. I have been playing Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games for years and I am still not tired of them.