Ep 41: What makes some games more addictive than others?

from Outside the Screen Podcast · host Outside the Screen

This episode is a bit of a sad one, because it’s Kim’s last as co-host. We’re hoping he will come back and share his wit and wisdom from time to time, but mostly he’ll be off devoting the necessary time to his practice, family … you know, all that other stuff.Meanwhile, listen out for a paper he describes as ‘really cool’, where some researchers are trying to find a way to measure the addictive elements of games, just like we measure calories in food. How does this sound to you, can you imagine a measure like that helping parents?The movie reviewed is the 2019 animated adventure UglyDolls; and Liz Zooms Out to look at the European Parliament’s recent resolution on addictive design of digital services and social media. It includes some very useful practical suggestions for how regulation can help us get the best out of those services while avoiding the negative effects on consumers (especially children). It also sparks Liz’s reflection on how users might get the benefit of a consumer law approach … just as long as we can call social media users ‘consumers’.Liz will be taking a short break now to adjust to her new circumstances - why not subscribe to make sure you get an email when the pod cranks up again?It won’t be long, but suggestions of course are always welcome about what you’d like to see change, and what you’d like to stay the same.Show notes19-author paper: Nirav Saini, Cam Adair, Daniel L King, Daria J Kuss, Douglas A Gentile, Hyoun S Kim, Jeremy Edge, Joël Billieux, John Ng, Juliana PS Yun, Lisa Henkel, Linda Faulcon, Michelle Nogueira, Rune KL Nielsen, Shannon Husk, Shawn Rumbl, Trey R Becker, Zsolt Demetrovics and David C Hodgins, ‘Development of the Saini-Hodgins Addiction Risk Potential of Games (SHARP-G) Scale: An International Delphi study’ (2024) Journal of Behavioral Addictions DOI: 10.1556/2006.2024.00026UglyDolls review: https://childrenandmedia.org.au/movie-reviews/movies/uglydollsUglyDolls availability in Australia: https://www.flicks.com.au/movie/ugly-dolls/Zooming Out details:Committee report, including Explanatory Memorandum https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2023-0340_EN.html#_section1;Parliament Resolution https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2023-0459_EN.html;Joint Select Committee on Social Media and Australian Society https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Social_Media/SocialMediaFind us on:FacebookInstagramSubstackApple PodcastsSpotifyOR search your favourite listening platform (let us know if we’re not there! – outsidethescreenpod[at]gmail.com)Children and Media Australia (CMA)You can find the Children and Media Australia Know Before You Go service via this link.Then, depending what you’re looking for, you can sort the list or search by title alphabetically, by age suitability, by classification or by date added. All of the reviews are prepared by people with training in child development, and they cover every G and PG title released in Australian cinemas since 2002, as well as selected M-rated movies and some pre-2002 ones that are available on streaming services.Or at this link, you can access Know Before You Load – reviews of game style apps and apps that may appeal to young children. These cover some extra things that are relevant to games, like data collection and gambling-like content.You might also like to sign up for our KBYG Weekly newsletter about the latest reviews, and join the CMA facebook community.Kim’s clinic Get full access to Outside the Screen Podcast at outsidethescreen.substack.com/subscribe