Online games sometimes include gambling mechanisms like loot boxes. Such features can keep children and young people engaged in games for longer and potentially lead to problematic gaming behavior.
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00:00Gambling mechanisms are common in the world of gaming.
00:03That includes virtual boxes, which you often have to buy with real money.
00:11If you're lucky, they unlock special upgrades or new features.
00:14Loot boxes are used on the gaming platform Roblox
00:17and in games like Brawl Stars or Final Fantasy.
00:22The problem is, loot boxes can be addictive,
00:25even when the prizes aren't anything special.
00:30Cognitive cyber psychologist Aaron Drummond studies the risks involved.
00:35A person feels like the next time that they engage in that behavior
00:39they might be just that little bit closer to that big win.
00:41And that can result in really fast behavioral acquisition.
00:45A prize in a game means dopamine in the brain.
00:48Dopamine is a neurotransmitter, released as a kind of happiness hormone.
00:53Simply put, it makes us feel good.
00:55And a dopamine release can be triggered by many things,
00:58from smelling a flower to petting a cute dog.
01:04What is sort of problematic is when you start to mix that dopamine hit
01:08that people get from kind of getting the reward that they want
01:11with a mechanism which means that they don't get to choose what they're paying for.
01:15A dopamine boost combined with a random thrill of the reward
01:19has the potential to be addictive.
01:21And that doesn't just apply to loot boxes.
01:24Think of your last social media post and eagerly watching the likes roll in.
01:29Or the Duolingo streak you just can't bear to lose.
01:33Or the endless swipes on dating apps.
01:36Ultimately, the more time you spend on a platform, the more money its creators make.
01:41It is estimated that by this year around 20 billion US dollars,
01:45that's around 18 billion euros, will be spent worldwide on loot boxes.
01:50In fact, some countries have taken legal action in an attempt to regulate them.
01:55Loot boxes pose a particular risk for children,
01:58since they often find it difficult to understand how much they're spending.
02:02We know, for instance, that impulse control is still developing
02:06right up until about age 25 now.
02:08And so we know that when you're young, being exposed to gambling,
02:12being exposed to gambling-like products,
02:14can really change the way you interact with risk and reward
02:18and can leave you quite vulnerable to overspending.
02:21In his studies, Aaron Drummond found that over 70% of gamers
02:25don't even like loot boxes, even though they might buy them.
02:29Using them is also associated with a higher level of stress.
02:36The real consequences of that are we know that people that tend to buy loot boxes
02:40in higher rates tend to express great regret of their purchases.
02:44We know also that they tend to be a little bit less happy.
02:49And yet, according to Drummond,
02:51loot boxes are found in around half of mobile games and a third of computer games.