Saturday, September 11, 2010

This is Your Brain on Video Games

This is Your Brain on Video Games, article.
"A number of studies have revealed that game playing triggers dopamine release in the brain, a finding that makes sense, given the instrumental role that dopamine plays in how the brain handles both reward and exploration."

Related:
Why Technology Is So Addictive, and How You Can Avoid Tech Burnout, article. (Don't miss the video.)
"Like video games, we can develop a dopamine release from many kinds of addictive behavior. Checking email is one in particular. You may not like spending long amounts of time in your inbox, but you probably think about checking it pretty often. When you hear that ding (or vibrate), you know there's something waiting for you."

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2 comments:

TC [Girl] said...

"You may not like spending long amounts of time in your inbox, but you probably think about checking it pretty often. When you hear that ding (or vibrate), you know there's something waiting for you."

Some of us don't have fancy equipment to "ding (or vibrate)" when an e-mail has arrived but...it's always a nice surprise (well...usually!) to discover one there! It's as nice as receiving a nice letter/card, in the snail mail box; so...I guess I don't mind being a "dopamine addict." It beats "coke" any day! :-D

Joe said...

"In reality, we're allowing information overload to happen to us"

We can still be in control if we remember where the *OFF* switch is.

All things are good in moderation.
Joe