https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1IFyuT4nTfK-flr27JY5zJIMFzMOl2928/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=113170761157527505294&rtpof=true&sd=true

Addiction has always casted a long shadow over society, whether it’s smoking, gambling, or gaming. Smoking is said to kill, gambling can bankrupt you, and gaming addiction is often linked to degeneracy. Can the captivating world of video games lead to darker consequences in the real world? As gaming addiction tightens its grip on millions, concerns are growing about its links to criminal behavior and the darker side of video games, where virtual violence intersects with real-life actions. In America, 53% of households report owning at least one video game console, and 65% of Americans play video games. According to the Entertainment Software Association (2024), 61% of the U.S. population play for at least one hour per week, and 78% of households have used a gaming device in the past year. Games are a staple in many homes, especially among kids and teens drawn to titles like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Valorant—all violent shooters. This raises concerns about whether such content might influence behavior, especially in those addicted. Could violent games really convert into real world violent actions and more specifically crime?The media often portrays gaming addiction as a cause of violent behavior. When crimes are committed by gamers, the games themselves are blamed. But is that fair? Though video game addiction affects only 1.7% to 10% of Americans, the fear persists. The average addict is 24 years old, and 8.5% of those under 18 are addicted—more commonly males (AddictionHelp.com, 2023). Addiction of any kind alters brain chemistry. Studies show addiction affects the prefrontal cortex (PFC), ventral striatum (VS), and nucleus accumbens (NAc)—areas tied to decision-making and reward. Over time, addicts feel less satisfaction from everyday rewards and become dependent on their vice for stimulation (Mohammad et al., 2023). Like drugs or gambling, gaming addiction leads to intense cravings, social withdrawal, and neglected responsibilities. Cravings involve complex brain circuits, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), amygdala, and hippocampus. As the addiction deepens, the brain’s natural reward system becomes inadequate, prompting a craving for stronger stimuli. Eventually, an anti-reward system kicks in, making it harder for addicts to find joy in normal activities, pushing them further into the thing they are addicted to. These brain changes mean an addicted gamer is literally rewired to value gaming over real-life priorities. Personally, I play video games almost every day, often for hours. Sometimes I forget assignments or lose track of time. Friends share similar experiences. Sometimes our cravings for fun can take control. As with drugs or gambling, addicts need more of the activity to feel satisfaction, and judgment can become impaired. Like other addicts, some gamers go to dangerous lengths to satisfy their need whether it be to afford paying for the game, or needing money for in game purchasesAddiction often drives people to crime. Drug addicts may steal, and gamblers may commit fraud. Gaming addicts sometimes turn to theft or violence. One infamous case is Daniel Petric, a 16-year-old who became obsessed with Halo 3. He played for up to 18 hours a day. When his father confiscated the game and locked it in the same safe where he kept his handgun, Daniel found the key, retrieved both, and shot his parents, managing to kill his mother and injure his father (CBS News, 2009). What was supposed to be punishment for too many video games, became the trigger for this devastating act of violence. This shows how far addiction can push someone beyond normal rational behavior. Some students fail out of school due to excessive gaming. Others go into debt buying in-game items, racking up thousands in microtransactions. Some steal from friends or family, lose jobs, or miss opportunities. As addiction deepens, many isolate themselves socially and emotionally, making intervention harder. Sadly, gaming addiction is often ignored until it reaches crisis levels. This is especially dangerous because gaming is often seen as a harmless or even healthy hobby.In less extreme cases, people have spent their entire life savings on virtual currencies. Others have committed violent crimes, and many have allowed their relationships and education to fall apart. The game becomes a coping mechanism, a place to escape real-world pressures, but also a trap that gets harder to break away from. The problem is, the more an addicted gamer tries to cope with stress through games, the worse the addiction gets. An example of one of these less extreme but troubling stories comes from the Uk with a man named Jamie Cross. While addicted to mobile games, he started stealing from his grandfather. He eventually took a total of £65,300 which is $87,451 United States Dollars. However these thefts escalated from small amounts to thousands of pounds a day, showing how addiction can push someone into fraud (BBC, 2023). In India, a man addicted to PUBG killed his father with a sickle after his phone was taken. Even in custody, he begged police to let him play, which only showed how deeply disturbed and mentally unwell he was.(Deccan Herald)  Just showing how far a hole addiction can dig.One reason this problem is so hard to manage is because games are designed to be addictive. They offer rewards, achievement, and escape. Features like daily rewards, loot boxes, and limited-time events push players to return constantly. Over time, casual play can become compulsive. The more immersive the game, the more it affects the brain’s reward system. For some, the game world becomes more meaningful than real life. This psychological trickery is used in many popular games to encourage longer and more frequent sessions. People play for longer and longer periods, wasting away their life, rotting away in their rooms. There are many solutions to video game addiction. Parents and educators must learn to spot the signs. Taking away devices can cause aggression, but letting kids play freely also causes harm. Parental controls help, but therapy is often needed. Treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy, group sessions, and individual counseling have shown promise. Governments should also help by possibly enforcing age limits, regulating content, and requiring addiction warnings. Prevention can start with education in schools and stronger guidelines for developers so that they cant put whatever they please in these addictive games. Game developers do share a lot of responsibility. They should be required to limit features like these loot boxes and install playtime reminders or parental controls. Public awareness campaigns are also key to stopping possible gaming addiction. Smoking used to be allowed for children until 1996. Just as smoking was glamorized before education exposed its risks, society must acknowledge the dangers of gaming addiction. Our schools can teach digital wellness, and  guidance towards support systems like hotlines and treatment centers, these resources should also be widely available. Making treatment more accessible is crucial, especially for who are younger and aren’t able to recognize that they have a problem that can destroy their lives.Gaming addiction simply doesn’t develop overnight. It often starts with long hours, ignored responsibilities, and a slow withdrawal from social life. It creeps in and becomes routine. People addicted may not even realize the grip games have on their minds until consequences appear. By then, their grades have dropped, friends have distanced themselves, or financial issues have started. Recognizing early signs is key and some are secrecy or lying about time spent on games. When noticed Early intervention can prevent the addiction from spiraling into criminal behavior. The stories of Daniel Petric, Jamie Cross, and others show how addiction can take over a person’s life. It strips away rational thought, and for some, leads to crime. What starts as fun can end in tragedy if left unchecked. Without awareness and action, addiction can turn a harmless hobby into a dangerous obsession. With more education, support, and regulation, we can help prevent video game addiction from leading to crime, tragedy and suffering for those afflicted and involved. 

At a young age, I had a stutter. This was around the time I was in elementary–middle school. At the time, I really struggled with it as it affected my speech negatively and made speaking out loud very difficult for me. It led me to not being as confident in class, and I started to not share out or raise my hand even when I knew my answer was correct. As I struggled more and more, what didn’t help was how I felt frustrated and embarrassed because I was the only one who had it. I was nervous to read aloud in class, even when I knew the words in my head, but they just wouldn’t come out the way I wanted them to. Sometimes my classmates would laugh or whisper, and that made me hate speaking out loud even more. I really hated having to speak at all during class, especially when I was picked since it was out of my control.

One day in history class, we were doing presentations on various battles that took place during World War I. These presentations varied from different wars and skirmishes that took place at that time. My project was based on a Union victory against the Confederacy. As other groups went and presented, I was worried and nervous about my presentation and if I would make a fool of myself while presenting it. When my group and I were called up, I tried to ready myself and really try not to mess up during this presentation, as it was a big part of my grade, and the presentation itself was a part of my grade for it. Along with my groupmates, we presented each of our parts of the group one by one until it was my turn. When I began my presentation, I spoke on the toll of the battle and its results for both sides. As I continued to speak, delving deeper into the aftereffects of the battle, I kept stuttering and messing up on parts of my presentation. As I continued, I heard laughing from some classmates, which really just messed me up more and caused me to do even worse. Eventually, I cut it short and didn’t even finish the rest. Not only was it embarrassing for me, but my grade suffered as well. A grade that should have really easily brought my grade up by a lot didn’t help at all and was a weight on my grade.

As I went through the grade, I was eventually given a speech therapist. Her name was Rachel, and she was a really kind person. When I met with her every now and then, we started practicing ways to help my speech little by little. Rachel always spoke calmly and gave me time to finish every sentence, no matter how long it took. She taught me a lot using lots of worksheets and exercises. I was fine with seeing her and being able to improve myself, but when the time started involving my recess time, it started to frustrate me. I really loved recess time, and because of her, I wasn’t able to enjoy it with my friends as much as I would have loved to. This obviously caused me to complain, and I voiced these complaints, but she reassured me this was for my well-being. I couldn’t really fight it, and I was made to go. While it did anger me, I knew it was for a good cause and that I needed the help. I started to get used to these sessions, and as the year passed, I barely noticed when they started to lower in frequency. When we got to a point where I was barely seeing her, I started to realize and began to miss the sessions. While I was glad I didn’t have to go there, I still missed these sessions as they were fun, and I got used to having to go to them.

One day, as I was going to what I thought was another session that would end quick and brief, Rachel spoke to me about how I wasn’t going to see her anymore and that our time together was done. She told me that I had improved myself by working hard and allowing her to work with me. I sort of expected this, as we had barely seen each other, and it was sort of becoming a forgetful part of my life. However, as I learned she would be leaving, it was sort of sad as I really appreciated the time we spent together, but I knew at one point or another she would have to leave. As I tried to look through a better lens, I realized I had improved so much that I no longer needed her help. When I look back, I realize I shouldn’t have allowed those who made fun of me to get to me. I should have simply taken the hate and tried to improve myself much more and motivate myself. Even today, I still have a remnant of my stutter that I don’t think will go away, but it’s a part of my past, and it reminds me what I went through when I was younger.

Have you ever seen those ads that mention a seemingly impossible feat with an easy way to reach it?  For example, a supplement that supposedly helps you lose weight in only a couple days. With 99% of people saying they lost weight within 10 days! This is known as Pseudoscience, we all obviously know what science is but what is pseudoscience. Pseudoscience is science disguised as being accurate or truthful but in reality it is lacking evidence or false. Some common aspects of pseudoscience are cherry picking evidence in order to fit a narrative, another aspect of pseudoscience is how it ignores or contradicts already known facts. Pseudoscience has been used all throughout the world for a multitude of purposes in order to fool or convince the individual about something, when the truth is purposely hidden. 

Pseudoscience ignores facts and provides untruthful or truth bent to fit a narrative, however where is this seen through our world? One major area we see pseudoscience appear is in advertising. An example being how a named brand SENSA states it is clinically proven to assist the individual losing 30 pounds without working out. Simply by sprinkling the product on your food which sounds outrageous. Losing 30 pounds, depending on the human, can take months, and requires diet changes and lifestyle changes that need to be followed regularly. Sprinkling power on food and not changing lifestyle cannot make you lose weight, it’s simply ridiculous. In the end the unfounded and straight up deceitful claims made by SENSA were revealed and they were ordered to pay 26.5 Million back to consumers.Pseudoscience is everywhere, and everyone at one point in their lives has fallen for it, its been around since the 18th century and has a long history.

Pseudoscience was used a lot in advertising, dating back to the 80s and 90s, An example being how chesterfield cigarettes were said to have “no unpleasant after taste” The ad is filled with deceiving tactics in order to really convince the reader. They have an image of a scientist on a microscope while smoking a chesterfield cigarette. Additionally it states that the proof comes from a “Report of a well known organization”, who is this organization? How are they well known but their name isn’t mentioned? This ad is full of pseudoscience aimed towards fooling the reader into believing it’s backed by science. This is done in multiple ads of Chesterfield, where they mention studies or tests that have no backing or proof to them. An example being how another ad states a medical specialist made an examination of a group of individuals that include some chesterfield smokers. The claim made was that after a 10 month observation period there were no adverse effects on the individuals from smoking on the nose,throat or sinuses. These tests simply aren’t proven to be factually correct and often misleading uses to believing false narratives which is what these brands want to do. They wish to convince their audience something which isn’t true by using pseudoscience.

An additional area where pseudoscience thrives is in the health and wellness industry, with alternative medicines and so called miracle cures. Many companies and influencers like to promote products like essential oils or detox teas, that often advertise a flush of the body’s “toxins” or even cures serious illnesses. These claims often include scientific sounding language like immune boosting, cellular detox or even to purify, balance and revitalize the body. However while they attempt to fool the reader into falling for these ads, these products lack scientific backing or evidence. An example is the detox tea which is marketed often as being a cleanser of the body’s toxins and harmful substances, however in our bodies we already have our own real working organs like the liver and kidneys that naturally detoxify our body. The authors of these products prey on people who simply don’t know any better and are looking for a solution to their problem. These products offer a false sense of hope to their issue which often leads them to attempt the product. However with no peer-reviewed studies or evidence from reputable sources, these products and their claims remain pseudoscientific. The real danger that can come from these products is when people instead of using proper medical treatment for their problems they choose these cheaper alternative methods that are unproven, which can lead to serious health consequences. An example is a 51 year old woman who was suffering from a multitude of symptoms for a week including, malaise (Unconformity,illness feeling), myalgia (Muscle pain), unsteadiness, and an intermittent mild headache. After tests she was shown to have acute severe hyponatremia (dangerously low sodium levels). While the previous symptoms seemed not extreme, acute severe hyponatremia if left unchecked can lead to the brain. The woman was found to be taking detoxification teas that made her urinate more than normal, leading to her Hyponatremia. There are many other cases like this where people can develop hyponatremia due to drinking detox teas, which simply reinforces the issue with these teas and other products, when they supposedly have good effects but can land you a trip to the ER.

In conclusion, pseudoscience is such a powerful tool that still to this day continues to manipulate people through its misleading claims disguised as scientific truth. Whether it’s about a weight loss supplement,detox teas or even cigarette ads from the past, pseudoscience tactics aim to exploit people’s hopes and fears using their claims that sound convincing and evidence backed. However in reality these claims often use scientific sounding language, or refer to vague studies or experts for their support in their inconsistency with real science. The dangers simply don’t come from people being misled; however, the real dangers arise when people instead of receiving professional and proper medical care, go for the alternative and start using a pseudoscientific product as a cure or treatment. We as consumers of products which vary greatly need to be more aware of the products presented to us and the claims they supposedly uphold. Only through critical thinking and fact checking can we protect ourselves from pseudoscientific products and prevent others from being misled as well by false promises and claims.