Counter Strike was a huge success with millions of players worldwide

Call of Duty, Battlefield, and League of Legends – chances are that you have probably heard of them. Indeed, many teenagers know about them and probably spend many hours a day playing them. It is also a fact that these video games have ruined lives.

Some argue that playing video games improve reaction times, decision-making skill, and communication skills. However, the truth is that spending more than a hour a day on them is excessive. Many teenagers nowadays often play video games for hours on end. This puts a huge burden on the eyes and joints and they are usually exhausted by the time they put down the controller. In addition, video games often lead to anger problems; everyone gets mad when they’re lagging.

Once an avid gamer, I know the temptations of video games just as well as anyone else. With its community of like-minded gamers, strategic challenges, and fictional superheroes, video games can captivate teenagers by making their fantasies come to life on a computer screen. Yet, as much as I loved video games, I learned to control my desire of wanting to step into a computer-generated world and shooting people. Others who kept biting the bait, however, ended up regretting it.

My cousin’s life was almost ruined by video games. When he was about 15 he became addicted to first person shooter games. Back then, there were few games to choose from and many people who played the same games knew each other. Also, a new, revolutionary game called Counter Strike had just been published. No other game before then had such flawless gameplay and this game eventually became the benchmark for many of today’s massive multiplayer online and first person shooter games. The temptations of playing with his friends combined with the release of an attractive new game spelt doom for my cousin.

He began to skip school in order to play the game. His grades dropped and he became out- of-control. All he thought about was the game. He really suffered the next three years, and in the end he couldn’t even go to university. Instead, he went to a community college. Then, realizing that his life would be wasted, he finally ended his addiction and quit. Today, thanks to years of hard work, he is becoming quite successful as a small business owner. But this would never have happened if he hadn’t worked hard to fight the urge to play video games.

All in all, video games can be great activities for relaxing after a hard week of school, but getting addicted to them can ruin your life.