To: Future President

From: Jacob R

Date: November 2, 2016

Subject: How Video Game Addiction Can affect Your Social Life

Dear Mr. President:

Your cell phone beeps and you look to see who's texting. It's your best friend, and he wants to get together. It is Friday, after all. You think about texting him back, but you decide not to. Instead, you tell yourself, "I'll text him as soon as I finish this level.” You promise yourself that you'll text him because you haven't hung out in a while because you’ve just been too busy.

This happens all the time to people who are addicted to video games. They encounter stuff like this where they have to choose whether to connect with the real world or continue playing in their virtual world. Most of the time, they just continue to play their games. People who are addicted to video games spend so much time playing that their relationships with family and friends suffer. A study by Brigham Young University student Alex Jensen and his faculty mentor, Laura Walker, found out that the more time students spent playing videogames, the worse their relationships were with peers and parents got.

Although some people dismiss that video game addiction is a big problem, gaming addiction can have long-term social consequences. An video game addicted teenager may not develop adequate social skills which will hurt his ability to develop social relationships in the future. He may be 21 years old, but he might only have the social skills of a 15-year-old. This can cause a video game addict to spend more time in his online world because it is easier for him.

Gaming addiction can be serious. I am concerned that these people need friends and family members who know when to intervene. I believe that more education on gaming addiction is needed. This can be done by educating the public through public service announcements and commercials. These would give ideas to parents on how to help their children or themselves with this problem.

People with serious video game addictions may need additional help such as psychotherapy or an addiction recovery program. However, these can be very expensive and not everyone can afford them. The government should help fund the programs for people who can't afford them.

In conclusion, video game addiction is a very serious topic and some action needs to be taken so that the world is a better place and we can all develop positive social relationships.

Sincerely,

Jacob R