Products Liability
Addiction to video games and online gaming has become a significant issue recently as the gaming industry has evolved to new levels of sophistication. Video game addiction is real and it causes serious damage to teens as well as individuals in various other age groups and demographics.
People who have been seriously harmed due to video gaming addiction are now filing lawsuits seeking to hold the video game companies responsible. Our video game addiction lawyers are pursuing these cases across the country. If you think you have a video game addiction lawsuit, call us today at 800-553-8082.
About Video Game Addiction
Video game addiction, also known as internet gaming disorder, is a condition where individuals experience a severe loss of control over their gaming habits. This condition leads to a prioritization of gaming over other essential activities such as self-care, social interactions, education, and work. As the addiction deepens, the affected individuals spend increasing amounts of time gaming, resulting in significant negative consequences in various aspects of their lives.
Video Games are Designed for Addiction
With the advent of online gaming, cloud gaming, and game streaming, the scope of video game addiction has expanded. These technologies provide unfettered access to games at any time and on any device, making it easier for individuals, especially minors, to engage in prolonged gaming sessions. Many of these games are marketed as “free,” but they incorporate microtransactions that encourage players to spend money on in-game items and advantages, creating a cycle of spending that fuels the addiction. This business model exploits psychological vulnerabilities, particularly in younger players, leading to increased financial and emotional strain.
The design of these games often includes addictive features such as feedback loops and reward systems, meticulously crafted with input from behavioral psychologists and neuroscientists. These features are intended to keep players engaged for as long as possible, thereby maximizing the profits of game developers through continuous gameplay and frequent microtransactions. Such practices have drawn significant criticism for prioritizing profit over the well-being of players, especially when the primary target demographic includes minors and young adults.
Impaired Brain Function
Cognitively, video game addiction has been shown to impair multiple brain functions. Individuals may experience altered time perception, where hours pass unnoticed, leading to neglect of responsibilities and basic needs. Inhibition and decision-making capabilities are also compromised, making it difficult for addicted individuals to regulate their gaming behavior or make rational choices about other important life activities. This cognitive decline often manifests in extreme social withdrawal, where sufferers isolate themselves from friends and family, showing little interest in any activities outside their gaming world. The constant stimulation from gaming can also lead to excessive rage and frustration when not playing, further straining relationships and social bonds.
Negative Social Consequences
The social consequences of video game addiction are profound. The addiction creates significant rifts between the affected individuals, particularly minors and young adults, and their loved ones. These rifts go beyond typical family conflicts, causing deep emotional distress and sometimes leading to hostile environments at home. Parents often find themselves at a loss, unable to effectively communicate or reconnect with their children who are consumed by their gaming worlds.
Other Consequences
The repercussions of video game addiction are not limited to cognitive and social domains. Affected individuals often experience severe emotional and physical consequences, including emotional distress, physical injuries from prolonged gaming sessions, and a marked decline in social interactions and academic performance. The addiction can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues, which are compounded by the isolation and sedentary lifestyle associated with excessive gaming. In extreme cases, individuals may drop out of school or quit their jobs, further exacerbating their problems.
Researchers have determined that excessive video game use can lead to several negative effects, including stress, aggressive behavior, verbal memory deficiency, depression, lowered cognitive abilities, sleep disorders, anxiety, and behavioral addiction. Clinical evidence has shown that individuals addicted to online games exhibit biopsychological symptoms similar to those of drug addiction. These symptoms can include hangover-like effects, mood changes, adaptability issues, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and recurrence of the addictive behavior.
These revelations are not new. Sixteen years ago, the United States Federal Communications Commissioner identified online gaming addiction as one of the primary reasons for college dropouts in the U.S. Empirical studies further indicate that internet gaming disorder is linked to adverse health outcomes. Brain imaging research has shown that long-term video gaming affects brain regions involved in reward processing, impulse control, and sensory-motor coordination. Additionally, studies have demonstrated that excessive video gaming negatively impacts cognitive processes such as multi-second time perception, inhibition, and decision-making.
The prefrontal cortex, which is crucial for judgment, decision-making, and impulse control, undergoes significant development and reorganization during adolescence and does not reach full maturity until the age of 25 or 30. This executive control center is essential for evaluating risks and rewards and delaying immediate gratification for more adaptive long-term goals. This developmental aspect may explain why young people are more likely to engage in prolonged gaming sessions, often neglecting basic needs like food, sleep, and hygiene. Without fully developed frontal lobes, minors and young adults struggle to assess negative consequences and regulate potentially harmful behaviors like excessive gaming, further impacting frontal lobe development.
Brain imaging studies have also revealed structural changes in the brain, particularly reductions in white-matter density (which consists mostly of cells and axons transmitting signals) and gray-matter volume (associated with emotions, perception, memory, and motor control). Several regions of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, have shown reduced gray-matter volume in individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD). Brain activation studies have demonstrated that video gaming activates brain regions involved in reward and loss of control, similar to those activated by drug-related cues. These studies also show that individuals with IGD exhibit impaired inhibition and that video game cues can trigger craving, attention, and executive function areas of the brain. These cognitive, sensory-motor, and emotional processes may undergo long-term changes due to prolonged exposure to gaming.
Structural studies indicate that alterations in the volume of the ventral striatum (a critical component of the brain’s motor and reward systems) can result from changes in reward processing. Comparative studies of young adults, with a mean age of 24, have revealed that those who engage in excessive internet gaming tend to have lower cognitive function, particularly in verbal ability and working memory. Furthermore, video game play is associated with dopamine release similar in magnitude to that experienced in drug abuse and gambling. These increased dopamine releases can lead to withdrawal symptoms, including anger, irritability, or physical outbursts when access to the game is restricted.
The American Psychological Association has explained that gaming disorder leads to an increased need to spend more time gaming, an inability to reduce gaming time, and unsuccessful attempts to quit gaming. As concerns over video game addiction grow, various treatments, including psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, twelve-step programs, and continually developing treatment enhancements, have been proposed to address this disorder. By designing and distributing games with addictive features, companies ensure increased and sustained profits by targeting and exploiting their most vulnerable users, leading to a growing call for accountability and legal action against these practices.
Families of addicted individuals bear the brunt of these consequences. Parents and siblings often suffer from emotional distress and financial burdens as they try to cope with the addicted individual’s behavior and the associated costs of treatment and lost productivity. The constant exposure to the addicted individual’s withdrawal symptoms, such as rage and anger, can create a tense and fearful home environment.
Video Game Addiction Lawsuits
Product liability lawsuits are being pursued against the video gaming companies, accusing them of using deceptive practices that prioritize profit over user safety, particularly targeting young individuals to secure a future consumer base. These practices have resulted in significant emotional and social issues for affected individuals, necessitating extensive treatments and interventions.
The video game addiction lawsuits aim to hold video game companies accountable based on a failure to warn theory. The lawsuits claim that these companies had a duty to inform users about the potential addictive and habit-forming nature of their games, and that such addiction could be harmful.
At the core of these lawsuits is the allegation that these games specifically target minors and young adults. Plaintiffs contend that each defendant intentionally designed their products to exploit the vulnerability of young users, making the games highly addictive. The lawsuits highlight the use of psychological tactics, such as random rewards and social components, to increase addictiveness. The product liability claims focus on defective design and failure to warn.
Plaintiffs argue that these design defects were present from the inception of the product through to its release. When children used these products as intended, they became addicted due to the defendants’ failure to provide adequate warnings.
It is alleged, and difficult to deny, that each defendant could have adopted alternative, less harmful designs or features to mitigate the risk of addiction and other negative impacts, even if these alternatives might have been slightly less profitable (though still generating substantial profits). These alternatives include avoiding addictive elements in game design, implementing robust age verification systems, effective parental controls, and providing warnings about health effects.
As a direct result of these alleged design defects, children suffered physical injuries, mental harm, emotional distress, and economic damages. These injuries were foreseeable consequences of the defendants’ actions in creating these games.
Contact Our Video Game Addiction Lawyers Today
Our lawyers are accepting video game addiction lawsuits across the country. If you have suffered physical or mental harm as a result of video game addiction, call us today for a free case evaluation. Call us at 800-553-8082 or contact us online.