Have you ever played a game nonstop that you started playing it was around seven o’clock but when you exited the app you notice that three hours has passed and the time reads ten o’clock. Nowadays, this situation has become routine for many people as they become attached to the game wanting to play with no control of keeping an internal clock. For us, students, we tap on that app to give yourself a brief five minute break away from stress and homework, but end up playing longer than expected.

We all went through that phase with popular ones from Angry Bird, Temple Run, Candy Crush, 2048, Flappy Bird, to the most recent Trivia Crack. Gaming apps have become addictive from children to adults

However, we away of how much you go on your phone whether to text or play games. Recently, a twenty-nine year old man played Candy Crush all day for six to eight weeks and suffered from a ruptured tendon in his left thumb. According to the Journal of American Medical Association Internal Medicine, his injury had been a consequence of excessive game play because the constant swiping motion can cause tendons to inflame. Also, as an extreme case, in the beginning of the year, a 32 year old male gamer was found dead at a Taiwanese Internet cafe following a non-stop three-day gaming session.

Although a great amount of time on games can cause harms, gaming has also been a natural painkiller since playing video games can stimulate the mind and body to release natural chemicals such as adrenaline. This explains why we tend to relieve our stress while playing such apps because they dull our pain or gloomy mood. It begs the question of whether people should be gaming in general because gaming can bring positive and negative side effects, so we must be careful and limit our time spent on them or serious injuries may follow. Esther Kuan (12), as an avid Clash of Clans gamer, believes that she and everyone else “needs to caution the addiction of video games though it helps her distract herself from the massive AP homework load.” Students need to realize the benefits and hindrances of games in this technology mediated society.

How much would you spend on playing games on your phone? Would you spend the same amount of time despite certain reports of injuries that may follow?