Written by Katie Zhang

A video game addiction may seem like a joke to some people but to others, it means more to them. Sophomore student, Samantha Lee, struggles with a mild video game addiction that affects her daily routines. “Having a video game and electronic addiction makes my life a bit more stressful sometimes,” Lee said. “I cannot really get it out of my head because I really want to play and watch Youtube during class when I’m not allowed to.”

Not only does Lee’s addiction affect her daily routine, but also her emotional health.

“When I’m not on electronics or playing video games, it’s hard to stop thinking about it,” Lee said. “Having the addiction makes me think I do it anytime I want so usually it affects my sleep arrangements, making me feel more emotional the next day.”

Even though Lee is still trying to overcome her mild addiction, she is not afraid to admit it and be open about it. “During times when people ask me about how I am feeling, I feel like I can be open about how I am doing,” Lee said. “I just want people to be aware of the things I go through so nothing makes them feel surprised.”

In the past, Lee’s addiction was even greater. Over the past few months, she controlled herself, which was really difficult for her. “I used to have an Instagram and I would constantly check the video game accounts to see what was going on,” Lee said. “Not checking it before made me feel like I was missing out on something. I don’t like the feeling of missing out on the things that I like, so I constantly check it.”

Having the mild addiction now makes Lee feel like she will eventually overcome it fully. “Now I feel like, since in the past, my issue was even greater, the addiction I still have currently will slowly be overcome if I keep trying to reduce my time on video games and electronics.”