Story highlights Earlier this month a man was found dead in a Taiwan cafe after a three-day gaming binge

Any activity taken to excess can become addictive for a minority, writes Mark Griffiths

He says instead of demonizing games, more education should be given on excessive use

(CNN) Earlier this month, a 32-year old male gamer was found dead at a Taiwanese Internet cafe following a non-stop three-day gaming session. This followed the death of another male gamer who died in Taipei at the start of the year following a five-day gaming binge.

While these cases are extremely rare, it does beg the question of why gaming can lead to such excessive behavior. I have spent nearly three decades studying videogame addiction and there are many studies published in both the medical and psychological literature showing that very excessive gaming can lead to a variety of health problems that range from repetitive strain injuries and obesity, through to auditory and visual hallucinations and addiction.

I have to stress that there is lots of scientific research showing the many educational and therapeutic benefits of playing but there is definitely a small minority of gamers that develop problems as a result of gaming overuse.

Mark Griffiths

But what is it that makes gaming so compulsive and addictive for the small minority?

For me, addiction boils down to constant reinforcement, or put more simply, being constantly rewarded while playing the game. Gaming rewards can be physiological (such as feeling "high" or getting a "buzz" while playing or beating your personal high score), psychological (such as feeling you have complete control in a specific situation or knowing that your strategic play helped you win), social (such as being congratulated by fellow gamers when doing something well in the game) and, in some cases, financial (such as winning a gaming tournament).

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