Block Blast is Becoming Just as Addictive as Social Media

OPINION- Block Blast is a popular game that's caught the attention of a lot of people in the past year. In the game, you match colorful blocks and try to clear the blocks in the eight-by-eight grid. 

The argument to this is drawing similarities to social media: many people think it is a great way to relieve stress, while others think it is addictive and a waste of time. 

I personally spend quite a lot of time on Block Blast, I find it helpful to unwind during the day and clear my mind before bed. Sometimes I find myself on the app for quite a while, always trying to beat my friends' high scores. Because of that, I started blocking the app with a screen time app called Opal. Now I can only spend 20 minutes a day on Block Blast.

I honestly didn't think I was on Block Blast very much until I downloaded Opal. Block Blast can be very addictive; it’s easy to learn, but the game is harder to master. 

It keeps the players wanting to come back for more challenges. And every time you lose a round of Block Blast, you can easily just hit replay, watch a 30-second ad, and start again. The new arrangement of blocks makes it feel like a fresh new start again and again. 

With this, I find myself saying “Oh, just one more try,” and it soon becomes an endless cycle of trying to get a higher score than the last time. 

Social competitions also play a big role here. My friends and I constantly compared scores to see who had the highest, then attempted to beat each other's scores, which made the “just one more try” factor a lot worse. 

You can play this game anywhere and everywhere, and fit the short games into your day easily. Now don't get me wrong, Block Blast is not an evil game; it can really help kids clear their minds and relax at the end of the day. Puzzle games in general have been proven to reduce anxiety by providing a cognitive distraction.

A study in 2020 in the journal Frontiers of Psychology examined all the effects of easy puzzle games and how they can help reduce anxiety. Mindless puzzle games on your phone can create a cognitive distraction, which allows players to put their focus on the game and temporarily disconnect from any daily stressors. 

Block Blast has also attracted Gen-Z and others alike. “My mom can't stop playing, she plays every night- it's an addiction,” said Nia Samake, a DJDS freshman. “I like to play Block Blast after school to relieve stress.”

Ultimately, Block Blast can be very beneficial to kids' mental health if the player is smart about how long they play it for, but if abused, it can be addictive, just as social media, and become a complete waste of time.