Social pressure opens the doors to game addiction, say State of Survival players

gamedeveloper.com:

- A State of Survival player tells Motherboard how social pressure contributes to game addiction

Individual lawsuits for both State of Survival and Game of Thrones: Conquest allege that the games cultivate "addictive behaviors" via false prices. But Motherboard's piece also goes into how the community of players can help fuel these addictions through the belief that players have to "earn their keep."

Just like in real life, game players can form rules or pressures that spread across a particular community. Play Fortnite, for example, and you may be told by another player to thank the in-game bus driver before the match starts. 

Because both State and Conquest have social elements and require players to work together to achieve collective success, it can be easy to form relationships with other players. And since the early days of the pandemic had most people in their homes, these games were some of the safest forms of connection with other people. 

Conquest player Charissa Keebaugh told Motherboard how she began to form friendships with other players when she was a teenager. As she continued to play over several months, she was urged by those players to carry her weight and spend real money on the game, which she previously wasn't doing. 

“Being able to feel a part of something kind of depended on being able to spend,” said Keebaugh. “I started spending and then felt more a part of the team.” When she got her first job, under the urging of other players, she admitted to spending most of her paychecks on the game. 

Angela Prado, one of the plaintiffs in the State of Survival lawsuit, affirmed this, saying that player communities "will boot you, even if you've been with them for years."

“It was very difficult to leave," said