This blog post examines why smartphone game addiction occurs and what impact it has on modern society.
Smartphones were first introduced about 30 years ago. The first commercial smartphone was the “Simon Personal Communicator,” developed by IBM. Announced in 1992, it hit the market in 1994. This device is considered the first smartphone, featuring functions beyond phone calls, such as email, fax, and note-taking. Since then, smartphones have rapidly evolved alongside various technological advancements to reach their current state.
Smartphones became widely popular around 2007. This was the year Apple released the first iPhone, a product that revolutionized the smartphone market with its user-friendly touchscreen interface and app ecosystem. Subsequently, in 2008, Google announced the Android operating system, enabling various manufacturers to enter the smartphone market and leading to a rapid increase in smartphone adoption.
Today, smartphones are used for diverse functions like calls, texting, social networking, and internet access, primarily establishing themselves as tools for leisure. Before smartphones became widespread, such immersion in mobile games was rare due to many limitations. However, it’s now common to see people staring at their smartphones not only on buses and subways but also during social gatherings. Some users even secretly use their smartphones in public places. According to research from Derby University, smartphone games are spreading as rapidly as a virus, with one in eight people currently infected by this ‘virus’. This is leading to new social problems, such as the gradual breakdown of communication between friends and family. What exactly causes people to become addicted to smartphone games?
On the surface, it might seem simply because smartphone games have become more accessible. With smartphones becoming ubiquitous, countless types of games are available for free, and nationwide infrastructure systems have provided an environment where smartphone games can be accessed anytime, anywhere. However, the mere absence of time and space constraints doesn’t fully explain everything.
As the smartphone game market continues to expand, the temptation is great to enjoy games that match one’s preferences even while resting. Beyond real-time online games, offline games can be accessed in spare moments requiring only minimal interaction, making them easily accessible even to beginners. A cycle emerges where, upon growing tired of existing games, players seek pleasure through new ones, repeatedly falling into smartphone game addiction. Compared to the complex demands of schoolwork or office tasks, games offer easily attainable rewards and immediate gratification, gradually leading to addiction. Game companies exploit the universal desire for achievement, fueling competition among smartphone gamers and encouraging them to invest their precious time into the games.
Even setting aside the issue of information competition, many services provided via smartphones are designed to be addictive. Fundamentally, service providers employ various strategies to attract users, with triggering competitiveness being the most effective. One company, for example, publicly displays the game scores of friends and acquaintances, designed to encourage score competition between them. Methods to induce a sense of cooperation are also used. Games are designed for multiple players to progress together, drawing each other into the game. Recently, game companies leverage users’ social connections to increase user numbers. They reward users with items when they introduce the game to non-players, or facilitate item exchanges between existing players.
Furthermore, while individuals may have desired roles or personas, real-life constraints often prevent achieving them. Smartphone games allow users to transcend these limitations, transforming into heroes, protagonists, fairies, wizards, billionaires, and countless other characters. Achieving the immense satisfaction of becoming a savior by wielding magic in a virtual game world is as difficult as plucking stars from the sky in reality. Often, social rules and legal systems breed a rebellious spirit, and many find satisfaction for this through gaming. Since smartphone games can fulfill desires unattainable in reality, they lure people into playing all day long.
It’s a logical leap to claim that the fundamental reason the ‘virus’ of smartphone games addict people is simply because they are fun and convenient. Companies have produced increasingly stimulating, violent, and easily addictive games to maximize profits. Furthermore, individuals become engrossed in games to satisfy their sense of achievement, vanity, or desire to escape the real world. Like other leisure activities, smartphone games can have positive effects, such as relieving stress and improving relationships with others, if enjoyed as simple play. However, we must recognize that excessive gaming can have serious impacts on our society.