Why Kim Kardashian's Video Game Is So Addictive
Photo courtesy of Glu Mobile
It costs nothing to download Kim Kardashian: Hollywood to your smartphone, yet the game has reportedly raked in $200 million in revenue.
How is this possible? Though there is no initial cost, players must use actual cash to move through the game's ridiculous plot line. Apparently, lots of people are obsessed enough to spend it.
There is no skill involved in the game, no puzzles to figure out, and really no strategy. A player simply chooses an avatar and tries to become famous for no other reason than being famous (sound familiar?). Kim serves as a coach and mentor, suggesting ways to make it from poor and unknown to A-list celebrity by doing various activities such as sitting for a photo shoot, dating certain guys, or sending out messages via social media, all of which cost energy that can be replenished using in-game currency (K stars). You can earn K stars by completing tasks, but it's painfully slow. To really make it big quickly, you have to buy them with your real, hard-earned money.
As pointless and simple as that all sounds, the game has swept across the globe, wreaking havoc on productivity and forcing ashamed confessions via social media.
To figure out how people become addicted to this video game and countless others, we talked to Kimberly Young, PhD, psychologist and founder of the Center for Online and Internet Addiction. She said Kardashian wannabes' obsession stems from two things: escapism and anonymity.
"People can get a taste of the celebrity life and live this fantasy," says Young. "They can go into these games where no one is really watching and act in ways they normally wouldn't."
As it turns out, the reasons people become obsessed with gaming is not that different from why people become addicted to anything else. "People also use drugs so they can escape," says Young. "They can be someone different for a while. They can be bolder, more important, and more popular than they are normally, even if it's in their head. And that really creates a need to use."
We are also drawn to these simple games to gain a sense of accomplishment or instant gratification. Kill a monster, earn points. Finish a puzzle, and "Great Job" flashes on the screen. Wear the right dress; Kim Kardashian gives you a compliment.
All of these trigger pleasure centers in the brain. The same parts of the brain triggered by smoking or eating sugar. And when it comes to addicts, no matter what the vice, their brains behave similarly.
"When you look at brain scans, the frontal cortex gets really stimulated in addicted gamers vs. people are who aren't addicted," says Young. "And people who get addicted to these games are having the same kind of brain activity as other addicts. So if we look at it in the big picture, any addiction – whether it's gaming, smoking, or sex – triggers the same area of the brain."
So with developers machine-gunning us with one addictive game after another – Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, Candy Crush, and more – are we all doomed to a life as unproductive zombies? Young seems to be glass-half-full on this question.
"There's no need to vilify technology here, but to what extent it controls your life is the key issue," she says. "If we can find positive elements of the game and what your character in the game has accomplished and apply those to real life, then it can be productive."
As for finding positive elements of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, we're still looking …
