How modern video games hook us, and kids, so completely

In today’s Big Story Podcast, recently a feature story in Maclean’s magazine described parents who were “losing their kids to Fortnite.” While some gamers may hear that and see the kind of rhetoric that has followed video games around since their inception, others heard recognition and acknowledgement.

But what makes video games different is that they are constantly evolving, and rapidly — usually with the goal of increasing the time spent playing them. As technology has improved, so has game design, and games with an online element have a social aspect offer.

Luc Rinaldi wrote a feature about modern gaming addiction for Maclean’s. He said although video games addiction likely only occurs in very small subset of people, the research we have currently isn’t adequate to assess just how many people that would be.

“Video games are evolving at an extremely rapid pace. And I think that’s what’s changed is that when some of this research started, games were pretty primitive,” said Rinaldi.

So are modern games more addicting than ever? And if they are, how do we recognize and deal with that?

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