This feels similar to how you'll see rows and rows of elderly people mindlessly pushing the slot machine buttons in casinos. It makes me wonder if impulse control starts breaking down for that crowd.
Of course, I also wonder if non-digital natives also just have less of a thick skin for this sort of thing.
I believe this to be true, and I even think you need to be old.
On several occasions during college I ran into kids that weren’t allowed to play video games as kids. The first time they got their hands on a game, it was all over. They were hooked and it was a problem. They’d skip classes, meals… and just play. If someone tried to intervene, they would throw a tantrum. It was the weirdest thing, but I saw it enough that it seemed like a pattern.
Others of the same age who had games as a kid seemed more able to put it down and not get so emotionally reactive if something came between them and the game.
Of course, I also wonder if non-digital natives also just have less of a thick skin for this sort of thing.