I just finished reading this article from www.cracked.com and wanted to bring it up for discussion.

5 Creepy Ways Video Games Are Trying to Get You Addicted
"Are some games intentionally designed to be addictive?
Absolutely. And the designers did a damn good job, also."

I'm familiar with the Skinner's Box experiments, but had never imagined that the principles for addiction were being applied to games (MMOs in particular) in the way they are now, at least not in a ways that would be an obvious means of exploiting people for their cash. Now it's just godamned obvious, and it's disgusting. I do however feel that there is something to be learned from this. These principles can probably be applied to something that would actually benefit us, perhaps as a learning aid of sorts in schools? Can one become a victim of a Skinner's Box if they are aware that they are in one?

The article is well worth the read, I'd recommend it to anyone.