"First-Person Shooter": Fabulous Earnings and Addiction

Industry video games is experiencing a dizzying growth in revenue, so it is expected that in the next five years, the global revenue of the industry will increase by more than 50 percent.

Analysis predicts that global video game revenue will grow from $199 billion in 2022 to $307 billion by 2027.

That growth is driven by the engagement of numerous people young people gamers, especially those between 13 and 17 years old, who spend about 40 percent more time in games than in other media, writes the New Economy.

Dopamine, serotonin and lots of clicks

Clinical psychologist and psychotherapist Marija Manojlović explains to "Vreme" what is so seductive about video games, how much they can help young people and what are the potential dangers of playing video games for a long time.

She says that video games are made in such a way that there are always levels and that there is always a reward waiting for the players when they beat them.

"Video games work according to the principle of dopamine and serotonin secretion, which is a basic mechanism that exists even in simpler organisms, which is why there is an addiction to playing video games," says Manojlović.

She points out that the first levels in the games are the easiest and that the rewards are frequent in them, which encourages players to play more and more, because they feel good about the progress they have made, and that the game then becomes more and more difficult and demanding.

"Rewarding in games is not proportional to the effort invested, because at the beginning players are rewarded for a small effort, which is an additional stimulation, but the situation changes as the levels become more difficult," says Manojlović.

A starting point for practicing social skills

She hypothesizes that for introverts, playing video games could help them establish better social contacts, because it is difficult for them to expose themselves to social evaluation in person.

"For introverted and socially anxious people, contact that would be 'hidden' would make it easier to connect with others, but if contact remains only at that level, there is no significant progress." This could be the starting point for them to practice their social skills, however, if the contacts remain at that level, it is then a disservice, because the person has the impression that they have quality social contacts, but in fact they don't," Manojlović believes.

Asked if playing games and the successes achieved in them can strengthen self-confidence, Manojlović says that it is healthy if a person is aware of his success, but also of the fact that success in a video game is a specific success, only in that game.

He adds that such a person has self-confidence in the sense that he plays a game well, but at the same time he is aware that there are other things besides that.

"The feeling that we are good at something encourages and motivates us to be even better, but if we ignore all other aspects of life, such as school achievement and functioning in the peer group, this will have a negative impact on our self-confidence," says Manojlović.

Benefits of video games

She points out that video games can be useful if, for example, players are required to make some kind of strategy, but not if they are games that require very little mental engagement and more luck.

"If someone is good at the game, it is important to look at what they are successful in, whether it is visual-motor coordination, perceptual organization or making strategies." He can then use his qualities in other aspects of life, for example in education or future choice of profession. But if he doesn't know what he's good at, but only strives to break the score in an individual game, he gets locked in a kind of vicious circle. This reduces the chances of developing any other skills," says Manojlović.

Since it is often heard that children playing so-called "first-person shooters" can lead to them becoming aggressive in the real world, Manojlović points out that research is contradictory on this issue, that is, some believe that even more aggressive children choose to play such games, while others claim that children are violent precisely because they play such games.

She recommends that parents of children who play "first-person shooters" ask them what motivates them to play such games, what they like and why they play them, what they find meaningful and exciting about such games.

Manojlović says that if the children's answers are meaningful, parents should see if they could offer the child some other content.

Mass consumption

She emphasizes that parents often complain that their children play video games a lot, but that at the same time they do not offer them anything else, no different content, and points out that if parents do not want their children to spend a lot of time playing video games, they need to help them design their time.

She adds that most teenagers can be heard playing a game because many of their peers play it too.

"That is the question of mass consumption and the question of why there are so many shooting games, and there are no games based on rescue or humanitarian work," says Manojlović. "The question is why, for example, a game in which the protagonist is a member of a humanitarian organization with the aim of helping others was not promoted."