Rational Addiction and Video Games

As video games become more popular the extent to which they can and should be considered addictive has become controversial. I adapt the classic Becker-Murphy model of rational addiction for video games and apply it to a micro-data panel collected from the online video game Team Fortress 2. I find evidence of significant rational addiction; past and future consumption are important in determining the amount an individual plays today. These data also allow for the identification of individual potential addicts in a way consistent with the rational addiction model. Finally, including learning-by-doing provides evidence of a feedback loop: playing improves the skill of an individual which reinforces his decision to play in the future