Video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment worldwide. Billions of sales have led to large growth in the amount of people playing and even watching games, with games like Hearthstone being popular on streaming site Twitch, and other games like Counter-strike: Global Offensive and DOTA 2 being popular competitively. But what drives people to play these games?
A lot of people say it relieves stress, and offers an escape from daily life. But perhaps for some there is a darker reason. Games like Grand Theft Auto allow people to partake in criminal activities they couldn't otherwise, similar to the potion Jekyll drinks to become Hyde. just as his potion lets him become as evil as he likes, video games let people do evil things they couldn't at their day job. This escapism, although not proven to be unhealthy, does show a certain amount of animosity in a person.
People can be sweet and kind in real life, but put a controller in their hands and their online personas can be murders, mercenaries, or just straight-up malevolent. There is no apparent reason for this, if you ask me, because there are plenty of games that are simply about managing small towns, or a person's life. These games are never covered by the media, of course, so most people are under the impression all games are violent. Regardless, it is only a small minority of gamers that become violent, similar to how Jekyll was in a minority of monster potion making scientists. I find it interesting that we often find them one and the same- digital monsters, and real monsters.
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