How Video Game Addiction is Going to Affect People - Research Paper Example

How video game addition is going to affect people? Since video gaming has become a very popular form ofentertaining, engaging in a process many different people all over the world, it also has become a matter of concerns for scholars. Certain benefits were found from video gaming (for example, a memory training, multitasking and etc.), but at the same time, gamers were also experiencing a negative impact the process was making on their physical and mental health, and on their socialization, requiring from professionals to give a definition of observed effect. Nowadays, a video game overuse hasn’t been recognized as a disorder yet, no diagnosis was officially made, but with more data coming from studies, and as a result from a general social discussion, video game overuse shows outcomes similar to other types of addiction. Due to its specific learning nature, a video game addiction targets a prone audience, affecting body, mind and specifically, social relations of gamers. The power of the design Firstly, it’s in the nature of games to involve participants in a virtual reality, and keep them gaming. Designers of video games are consciously trying to create better strategies, more interesting plots and more advanced gaming conditions to bring a greater audience in a game, generally by making game more realistic (“What Makes a Video Game”). The goal is to simulate a real reaction from virtual stimuli. Flanagan reports that despite video games may differ very much one from another, designers always hire a reward system principle for a video game (Flanagan). In real life, a reward system controls behavior by satisfaction felt from particular actions. “Its a very simple and primitive part of who we are, and we react the same way to everything, from food and sex, to education and even our relationships with our parents” (Flanagan). Feeling satisfaction from a certain action is reasoned on a biochemical level, coming with a dopamine (hormone and neurotransmitter) release, making brain evaluate action as a worth of trying (normal examples are a reproduction for saving specie, eating and sleeping for living and etc.) (Paturel). Similarly to a reward system in real life, a video game consists of a number of small tasks (it may be killing monsters, or finding treasures and etc.) for each gamer to complete and to receive a reward when accomplishing. The form of a reward varies from game to game, and most commonly they are score systems and levels, empowering gamers with greater abilities. Yet the outcome is always a release of dopamine, and satisfaction. “Researchers at Hammersmith Hospital in London conducted a study in 2005 which found that dopamine levels in players brains doubled while they were playing” (“What Makes a Video Game”). In this way, desire of dopamine makes gamer to keep playing. Another reason is that when gaming too constantly, the brain learns to receive a reward this way. Paturel says that any repetitive activity (including gaming) changes the brain by making specific neural connections more and more common, “That’s the structural basis of learning” (Paturel). Additionally, a gaming process itself has a learning nature. “It is believed that computer games like watching TV provides opportunities for visual learning” (Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati). What makes gaming even more learning, is that comparing to TV watching when learning goes by observing, a gamer learns by being actually participating in a process, and earlier described reward system motivates gamers for a more successful training (Paturel). More reason for addiction came with a general technological development, when video gaming became online, and designed for a number of participants. To play, a virtual character should be created, and this character presents gamer in a virtual society. Therefore, gamers become emotionally attached to a character, caring about one as of a real person (“What Makes a Video Game”). Playing side by side with other participants, gamer is forced to make social relationships with other gamers through their virtual characters. Additionally, often greater tasks (missions) require a group activity where each gamer has a unique role to play in completing mission, in this way making gamer feel socially obligated (“What Makes a Video Game”). “If you don’t play there are people (granted, somewhere else in the world) who will think badly of you” (Flanagan). Who’s targeted? Despite above described general nature of gaming, different gamers demonstrate a different level of involving in virtual life. “Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization’s criteria for addiction” (“Video Game Addiction”). Commonly, they are persons escaping reality for different reasons, including problems of sociological and psychological origin (Flanagan). While adults are escaping family and work responsibilities, some personal and social obligations, younger gamers tend to escape a confusion they feel in their everyday life due to the age. However, for both types of gamers, a video game provides abilities over their real skills, making feel less powerless than gamers are in real life (“What Makes a Video Game”). Speaking on stereotypic image of a video game addictive, there’s no one specific prone group among demographic groups, but Flanagan reports on many studies confirming the stereotyping image of a gamer as primary male and white (Flanagan) (“Video Game Addition”). Paturel reports that youngers are most likely to become addictive explaining, that the brain areas most actively when playing (specifically, the prefrontal cortex responsible for decision-making), don’t “reach maximum capacity until age 25 or 30”, making children and teens more capable for long term gaming and for better learning (Paturel). Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati say youngers are more addictive to gaming as they are more “excited and easily accessible while authorities and families do not have any proper plan” and willing to control youngers’ leisure time, “and there is not many options for their entertainments”, except gaming (Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati). Video game addition outcomes Weather targeting a prone audience due to its demographic characteristics or/ and mental conditions, video gaming overuse brings outcomes very similar to ones from alcohol, drugs and other additions (“Video Game Addiction”). Addictive thinks obsessively on a game, and tend to stay in front of a screen all the free time, neglecting other entertaining possibilities, and time usually spend on working or schooling are sacrificed for gaming too. Due to spending such a long time doing a single activity gamers’ physical health is affected. Among most common outcomes are ache in body parts mostly explored when gaming (like neck, back and head, ache in wrists) and increased heart beat accompanied with high blood pressure (Paturel). Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati report on other studies confirming relation among getting fat and video gaming addiction as gamers are staying at home with a lack of physical activity (Zamani, Chashmi & Hedayati). A poor level of hygiene along with forgetting eating and sleeping and etc. are other physical outcomes of gaming overuse, and Paturel refers them to a dopamine release. Receiving a needed reward from gaming, other activities usually responsible for dopamine release may be neglected (Paturel). Poor eating and sleeping may also be reasoned by anxiety and depression, experienced from counterpoising real and virtual life. While game world becomes more real and valuable, connections with a real world decrease, making gamer demonstrate behavioral disorders (“How video games kill”). Among most common are poor control on time, often lying on time spend in front of a screen to others, downgrading the role of a video game in gamers’ life, or oppositely, demonstrating general demotivation in any other activity, except gaming. Wolley says, the turn point for addiction is when a gamer puts visual world duties over real ones, neglecting family, social and other responsibilities. “He’s no longer playing because he wants to but because he has to” (“How video games kill”). Flanagan refers it to new social obligations made to a virtual character, and to other gamers, and adds, that common social disapproval only tides those new virtual relations because other gamers experience the same mixture of euphoria and guilt as every gamer does (Flanagan). In the light of the above said it can be concluded that a video game addition goes similar to other types of addiction, making gamers demonstrate certain problems of a physical and mental origin. Due to a learning nature of gaming, those addictive to gaming most specifically demonstrate behavioral disorders. Values and social responsibilities learned from a video game but through a reward system similar to one in real life, may overtake ones previously learned from real life. The affect is that players most mentally and demographically prone to a video game addiction, leave a real life for a virtual reality step by step. Works Cited Flanagan, J. “The psychology of video game addition”. The Week. 6 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. “How video games kill the soul & body”. TFP Student Action. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Paturel, A. “Game Theory: How do video games affects the developing brains of children and teens”. Neurology Now. June/ July 2004. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. “Video Game Addiction”. Video Game Addiction. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. “What Makes a Video Game Addictive?”. Video Game Addiction. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Zamani, E., Chashmi, M. & Hedayati, N. “Effect of Addiction to Computer Games on Physical and Mental Health of Female and Male Students of Guidance School in City of Isfahan”. Addict Health. Fall 2009. Web. 26 Apr. 2015. Read More