Online Gaming in South Korea - Case Study Example

Topic: Online gaming addiction in South Korean teenagers Student’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Introduction Addiction is a dedication to a habit to a level in that if that habit is withdrawn, the individual suffers trauma (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). Video games and gaming addiction is an addiction to online video games or any gaming environment that is interactive in nature available through the internet. Online game addiction can also be described as the one being unable to puppeteer online game play, which renders the individual incapable of maintaining a regular normal life cycle as well as occupational, academic and social functioning (Kim et al., 2012). In South Korea e-sports constitutes a national past time. Roughly for every 10 South Korean children between the age of 10 and 19, 1 is addicted to the internet where the teenagers spend up to 88 hours a week glued to their computers playing video games (Robinson, 2015). The internet is beneficial in many ways, such as online learning, information search and internet shopping but overuse of the internet can result to problems such as dismal academic performance, family strife, and physical weakness among others (Park, Kang and Kim, 2014). This essay will discuss this menace in South Korea looking at what is behind the increased online gaming in South Korea and the effects of the same and probable solutions of the menace. Online Gaming addiction in South KoreaTeenagers Research has shown that these teens engage in online gaming as a way of compensating for other things that haven’t been met in their social life yet. These games promise the teenagers a form of social contact at the same time shielding their identities. This is most important to those youths who feel shy and anxious in real social situations (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). According to the same researchers, it has been determined that an individual’s level of self-esteem is a determinant as far as internet addiction is concerned (Park, Kang and Kim, 2014). These teenagers are faced with a self-esteem crisis in that they possess low levels of self-esteem and thus real life social relationships for them becomes difficult and this propels them to forming virtual relationships on the internet to compensate for their damaged self-esteem in real life (Park, Kang and Kim, 2014). Adolescents who also have problems with self-esteem, exhibit internet addiction signs during their search for identity (Israelashvili, Kim and Bukobza, 2012). Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) afford these youths an opportunity to express themselves in ways which seem impossible for them in real life. The satisfaction they derive from this form of relationships keeps them coming back to the internet compulsively. These kind of games have no end and are equipped with never ending tasks hence the user in succeeding obtain feelings of power and status (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). MMORPGs has been separated as the high rating of video game addiction (Seok and DaCosta, 2012). The ease of access of internet in South Korea has also contributed to online gaming addiction among the teenagers of the country. The internet is more readily available in South Korea. Over 90% of South Korean homes have access to broadband internet. The country also has internet cafes commonly referred to as “PC rooms”. These cafes are open 24 hours (Yoon, 2010). South Korea is the world leader in internet connectivity. It boasts of having the world’s fastest average internet connection speed. It has held this position worldwide consistently. The internet is a very important aspect for the people of South Korea and the government supports this and the country’s internet is the most developed in the world. The internet in this region is the cheapest and the fastest in the world. In addition to this 96.8% of South Korean mobile phones had internet access to internet by the year 2005 (Yoon, 2005). In this country children start online gaming in fourth of fifth grade and as they grow, they become more attached to these games. Gamers who become hooked to online gaming show clear signs of addiction both emotional and physical. The emotional signs include one being restless and or one being irritated when unable to play, preoccupation with thoughts of the previous internet activity, lying to friends and family and isolation from friends in order to spend most of the time online gaming. The physical symptoms include fatigue, migraines as a result of intense concentration, carpal tunnel syndrome where the median nerve is affected by the continued use of the controller or computer mouse and poor personal hygiene (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). Psychological implications linked to online gaming has been recognised as a global menace. In 2013 internet gaming disorder included in the list of conditions requiring further study and hence an indication that it is being recognised as a mental health problem (King and Delfabbro, 2014). Apart from this disorder the adolescents in South Korea have suffered associated effects resulting from their addiction of online gaming. These include poor grades posted by these teenagers in their academic work. This is evident in the way an affected parent in South Korea narrates the addiction of her son by stating that her son stays on his computer enjoying killing dragons in his fantasy online world while his homework and dinner remain untouched (Yoon, 2010). Depression is also an effect on these teenagers. This condition has been established to be the rifest psychiatric disorder in South Korean teenagers who are addicts of online gaming (Park, Kang and Kim, 2014). Another notable effect of this habit by the Korean teenagers is the family problems. This is depicted in some of the reports in the Seoul police where one report states that a boy bludgeoned his mother to death for “nagging” him about his habit of online gaming after which he played online games for hours using the mother’s credit card to pay for the games (Yoon, 2010). Addicts isolate themselves from others in order to play the games and finally end up without friends thus the Korean youths exhibit minimal face to face interaction something that precipitates into depression. Online gaming is expensive and has a financial toll on the addicts (Yoon, 2014). Recommendations The Government of South Korea has put in place numerous measures to curb online gaming addiction among the teenagers which include late night shut down of internet games coupled with the fact that gamers are required to log in with their IDs. In the light of the effects that the South Korean teenagers suffer as a result of being addicted to online gaming the following is recommended; i. The government and all the stakeholders to put in place diagnostic systems that will help diagnose those teenagers suffering from addiction on time and institute treatment early in order to curb the addiction. ii. Creating alternative activities that foster more of face to face interactions. The participation in more educational and sportive explorations by the teenagers can compel them to divert their attention from online gaming. iii. The family as a unit should also come together under the guidance of the parents and come up with specific rules and regulations concerning online gaming and device mechanisms on how these guidelines should be implemented. Gaming timetables to be set up. This will go a long way in ensuring that gaming is not addictive. iv. Educating the public about the dangers of online gaming addiction by exposing the ills associated with the addiction. Incorporating programmes in the school curriculum that deals with educating the teenagers the dangers of becoming an addict of online gaming. v. The government to invest even more in setting up treatment clinics for the online gaming addicts. The government can achieve this by expanding the already existing clinics and at the same time opening up others. The government also needs to invest in training more counsellors who will help in counselling the addicts and reforming their lives. vi. Parents should also take centre stage in helping their children develop a self-control attitude by indicating to their children the playing time and the type of games they should play. In so doing the more addictive games are left out and hence chances of the child becoming an addict are minimised. The parents also need to spend time with their children and help select beneficial games for them at the same time monitoring these games and their children as they play. vii. The developers of these games should also play a role in coming up with games that are less addictive. Games that can be stopped and be continued at a later time. Conclusion In conclusion, online gaming has gained popularity among the teenagers in South Korea. And this popularity has to do with the ease of accessing internet in the country. The country has 82.5% of its citizens using internet. This high internet access has also come with a fair share of problems; poor performance in academics and at work, cardio-pulmonary related deaths, and game related murders, family disintegration among many more. By the year 2012 the country had adolescents posting an addiction rate ranging from 10.7-12.3% which is a more serious rate compared to those of other age groups. The government of South Korea by instituting measures aimed at dealing with online gaming addiction is an indication that it is devoted to dealing with this habit that is driving the teenagers of the country down the wrong path. Spending time with their children will boost the self-esteem of the children and thus minimise the chances of the same children looking for self-esteem boosters online. The wide spread of the internet the time spent on the internet takes a larger share of total time spent by an individual on the computer. The irony of it all is that what was invented to make the lives of better has turned out to make worse the lives of some. References Israelashvili, M., Kim, T. & Bukobza, G. (2012). Adolescents’ overuse of the cyber world- internet addiction or identity exploration? Journal of Adolescence, 35 (2), 417-424. Kim et al. (2012). Combined cognitive behavioural therapy and bupropion for the treatment of problematic on-line game play in adolescents with major depressive disorder. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 1954-1959.S King, D.L. & Delfabbro, P.H. (2014). The cognitive psychology of internet gaming disorder. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 298-308. Padwa, H. and Cunningham, J. (2010). Addiction: A Reference Encyclopedia. California: Greenwood Publishing Group. Park, S., Kang, M. and Kim, E. (2014). Social relationship on problematic internet use (PIU) among adolescents in South Korea: A moderated mediation model of self-esteem and self-control. Computers in Human Behavior, 38, 349-357. Robinson, M. (2015). Korea’s internet addiction crisis is getting worse as teens spend up to 88 hours a week gaming. Retrieved from the business insider website: http://www.businessinsider.com/south-korea-online-gaming-addiction-rehab-centers- 2015-3 Seok, S. and DaCosta, B. (2012). The world’s most intense online gaming culture: Addiction and high-engagement prevalence rates among South Korean adolescents and young adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 2143-2151. Yoon, S. (2010). Internet addiction Targeted in South Korea. Retrieved from huffing post website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/22/internet-addiction- target_n_547747.html Read More

These kind of games have no end and are equipped with never ending tasks hence the user in succeeding obtain feelings of power and status (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). MMORPGs has been separated as the high rating of video game addiction (Seok and DaCosta, 2012). The ease of access of internet in South Korea has also contributed to online gaming addiction among the teenagers of the country. The internet is more readily available in South Korea. Over 90% of South Korean homes have access to broadband internet.

The country also has internet cafes commonly referred to as “PC rooms”. These cafes are open 24 hours (Yoon, 2010). South Korea is the world leader in internet connectivity. It boasts of having the world’s fastest average internet connection speed. It has held this position worldwide consistently. The internet is a very important aspect for the people of South Korea and the government supports this and the country’s internet is the most developed in the world. The internet in this region is the cheapest and the fastest in the world.

In addition to this 96.8% of South Korean mobile phones had internet access to internet by the year 2005 (Yoon, 2005). In this country children start online gaming in fourth of fifth grade and as they grow, they become more attached to these games. Gamers who become hooked to online gaming show clear signs of addiction both emotional and physical. The emotional signs include one being restless and or one being irritated when unable to play, preoccupation with thoughts of the previous internet activity, lying to friends and family and isolation from friends in order to spend most of the time online gaming.

The physical symptoms include fatigue, migraines as a result of intense concentration, carpal tunnel syndrome where the median nerve is affected by the continued use of the controller or computer mouse and poor personal hygiene (Padwa and Cunningham, 2010). Psychological implications linked to online gaming has been recognised as a global menace. In 2013 internet gaming disorder included in the list of conditions requiring further study and hence an indication that it is being recognised as a mental health problem (King and Delfabbro, 2014).

Apart from this disorder the adolescents in South Korea have suffered associated effects resulting from their addiction of online gaming. These include poor grades posted by these teenagers in their academic work. This is evident in the way an affected parent in South Korea narrates the addiction of her son by stating that her son stays on his computer enjoying killing dragons in his fantasy online world while his homework and dinner remain untouched (Yoon, 2010). Depression is also an effect on these teenagers.

This condition has been established to be the rifest psychiatric disorder in South Korean teenagers who are addicts of online gaming (Park, Kang and Kim, 2014). Another notable effect of this habit by the Korean teenagers is the family problems. This is depicted in some of the reports in the Seoul police where one report states that a boy bludgeoned his mother to death for “nagging” him about his habit of online gaming after which he played online games for hours using the mother’s credit card to pay for the games (Yoon, 2010).

Addicts isolate themselves from others in order to play the games and finally end up without friends thus the Korean youths exhibit minimal face to face interaction something that precipitates into depression. Online gaming is expensive and has a financial toll on the addicts (Yoon, 2014). Recommendations The Government of South Korea has put in place numerous measures to curb online gaming addiction among the teenagers which include late night shut down of internet games coupled with the fact that gamers are required to log in with their IDs.

In the light of the effects that the South Korean teenagers suffer as a result of being addicted to online gaming the following is recommended; i. The government and all the stakeholders to put in place diagnostic systems that will help diagnose those teenagers suffering from addiction on time and institute treatment early in order to curb the addiction. ii.

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