Video Gaming Addicition - Term Paper Example

Running Head: VIDEO GAME ADDICTION Video Game Addiction [The of the will appear here] [The of the will appear here] [The name of the Professor] [Course] Introduction In this era of technology and entertainment, many are concerned with the impact of video game addiction. What begins with an interest towards the game soon develops into an addiction whereby the gamer is unable to participate normally in other activities of his life. Video game addiction is known to impact both the social and the academic life of a gamer as he secludes himself to the gaming environment. While many argue that video game addiction is not a serious issue at this time, it begins from the time when the gamer starts to dedicate more than 30 hours of his week to video games. Video game addiction usually begins with the child wanting to relax and enjoy in his life but as the game moves forward, the child becomes addicted to a point that games take over the majority of the time of the individual. Aim of the Research In this paper, we attempt to evaluate the term “video game addiction” and the issues related to this type of addiction. This will be done by going through the existing literature on video game addiction and coming up with a suitable means to deal with the issue in the light of the knowledge gained. Review of Literature For the review of literature, the following experts have been consulted. Griffith, in his book Gambling and gaming addictions in adolescence defines addiction as a condition whereby a person becomes so involved in an activity that it negatively impacts other arenas of his life including social, personal and academic life. In this light, video game addiction has been defined by Griffith as an addiction whereby an individual is a) compulsively involved; b) develops connections with other addicts; c) develops a lack of interest in other spheres of his life; and d) exhibits mental and physical symptoms when taken out of the gaming environment. According to Griffith, Video game addiction is a growing phenomenon around the world as gaming companies bring in more innovation and technology in their games. Also with the advent of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs), there has been a substantial increase in video game addiction. The most pressing complaint of the parents of addicted children as found out by Griffith is that video games tend to seclude the children from their real life which includes their academic life and their social life. Griffith also believes that the cause of video game addiction is the personality of the gamer. Research has shown that certain individuals are more likely to become addicts as compared to the rest of the population. A control study developed by Griffith and managed on a group of video game addicts revealed that these gamers are highly intelligent and achievement-oriented; and this could be linked as a source for their addiction towards games. Games, both online and otherwise, fulfill the basic psychological needs of these gamers, such as their need for achievement, their room for relaxation and their freedom for daily anxieties and tensions. Griffith also goes on to state that there are certain individuals that become addicts because of the environment around them. We know that people take on drugs when they wish to run away from the anxieties of their lives and in a similar way, video game addiction provides the same escape to such individuals. Griffith believes that when these individuals find it difficult to cope up with their problems, they seek solace in the virtual world of games where they can confront their enemies head on without any repercussions and without being afraid. Marko Skoric, from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Linda Ching Teo from Shriro Singapore Pte Ltd, Singapore and Rachel Lijie Neo from Wee Kim Wee School of Communication & Information are of the view that children within their academic lives, are unable to manage their home work and even their class work due to video game addiction. With most time spent on playing video games, children are unable to complete their home work. Even their class work suffers as children play video games all night and thus cannot remain fresh during the day. They often feel too tired to put any effort in school or may even doze off during lectures. Their research has proven that when children play video games for more than two hours a day, they have trouble sleeping. This is because video games tend to excite the child and thus the child finds it difficult to calm down properly during sleep. Along with the academic impact of video game addiction, the research also discusses certain social impacts of video game addiction. The research discusses that when children spend more than 20 hours a week on video games, they tend to ignore their social lives. This includes both the family and friends of video game addicts. Their family and friends’ life is affected and these addicts only wish to spend time with other addicts and that, too, is through the gaming environment. The gaming environment allows gamers to connect with other gamers online that may even be total strangers. With the interest of the gamers clash, they form strong friendships that take the place of real life friends and family. Mikleil Weinstein of Hadassah Hospital, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel and Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel discusses the fact that video game addicts have difficulty in completing their daily activities. They become so obsessed with the game that it impacts their normal activities such as taking bath on time and changing clothes. Addicts, in the extreme, do not wish to spend time outside the realm of their games. Weinstein goes on to discuss the numerous health hazards associated with video game addiction that include psychological problems. His research shows that video game addicts complain about physical unease when they spend too much time hitting the joystick, console or mouse buttons. Such addicts complain to suffer from numbness in fingers, blisters, sore tendons, calluses, back pain, neck pain, wrist pain, etc. In the extreme cases, gamers have also reported seizures as a result of spending too much time playing video games. Auditory hallucinations, eye sight problems, obesity and constant headaches are other symptoms associated with excessive video game playing. Weinstein also discusses the violence and aggression in video games. As the gamers become too involved in violent games, they have difficulty in separating their real life from the virtual life. As a result, the violence transcends from the virtual reality to the real life. Too much violence in certain games desensitizes the children towards violence and thus they accept violence as a normal way of life which, in turn, results in increased violence and crime in the society. Weinstein also presents another perspective of this situation. Video game addiction is more likely to develop in individuals that rank high on the aggression scale. Thus, we can say that there is definitely a relationship between video game addiction and aggression, but it is difficult to evaluate which impacts the other. The research conducted by Antonius Van Rooij of IVO Addiction Research Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Tim Schoenmakers, of Addiction Research Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Ad Vermulst of University of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, Regina Van Eijnden of Utrecht University, the Netherlands and Dike Van De Mheen of Erasmus Medical Center, the Netherlands has shown that there are certain individuals that are more prone to developing video game addiction when compared with others. These individuals are different from other non-gamers as a result of their environment, their personality and even their brain functioning. According to these researchers, video games are designed in such a manner so as to generate interest of the gamers in the game. Once a gamer begins a game, he feels compelled to finish it off. Among people, there are certain individuals who are more prone to becoming addicts. Among such people, there is a wish to complete the game and succeed. This element within the personality prevents gamers from putting down the game after a suitable period of time and the game takes over their life. Such a situation is more common for Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) such as World of Warcraft. In such games, there is no end to the game as new content is continuously uploaded and the gamer moves on from one level to the next without any break. “This places a considerable burden on the player’s time, as they are required to continue playing to ‘keep up’ with the game. Research among a sample of World of Warcraft players identified a group of 10% who played an average of 63 hours per week and showed considerable negative symptoms” (Rooij et al., 2010, p. 206). Kimberly Young of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, Bradford, Pennsylvania, USA argues though it is difficult to actually define video game addiction and classify individuals as addicts, there are certain symptoms within the gamers that classify them as video game addicts. Parents and even educators should be able to observe these symptoms if they believe that a child is an addict or when he begins his path towards addiction. One symptom defined by Young include marked changes within the weight of an individual is an indication that a child is an addict. When children become addicts, they usually do not pay attention to what they are eating. They may even skip their meals when playing and this is apparent in the weight changes that parents and close friends would be able to observe. Another indication of an addict child according to Young is when his academic performance drops and he is unable to finish off his home work on time. This will be apparent to an educator if he pays attention. Though there are numerous causes of a drop in academic performance, educators need to put this up as a red flag for video game addicts. Other symptoms as defined by Young include seclusion, deteriorating social activities, moodiness and depression, sleeping between classes, poor personal hygiene and also fatigue. Griffith, from the Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK provides some help to parents and educators to tackle the issue of video game addiction. According to Griffith, Video game addiction is a growing cause of concern for not just the parents and the educators but the entire society. Addiction towards video games impacts the entire society and for this reason, this problem needs to be dealt with on both the individual scale and the collective scale. Griffith believes that lack of proper parental supervision is another cause of video game addiction. Parents do not show interest in the activities of their children and normally leave them on their own. In this era, when both parents are working and life has become increasingly stressful, parents often do not have the time or the inclination to keep a track of their children’s activities. In such cases, parents are under the illusion that their children are performing well in their normal activities, an illusion that is developed by the child himself. At times, parents even encourage their children to play games without fully realizing the implications of long hours behind the screen. Griffith then goes on to provide solution to video game addiction. According to Griffith, parental supervision is perhaps the most important element in preventing video game addiction. Parents need to supervise and monitor activities of their children to a great extent. They should be able to place limits on the number of hours that their child plays a video game. Also, parents need to review the games that their children are playing. They should encourage their child to play educational games rather than violent games. They should also be on the lookout for symptoms that their child is developing video game addiction. When they are unable to control the addiction on their own, they need to make contact with the relevant parties who would help them and their children escape the hazards of addiction. If the problem is dealt with in a timely manner, video game addiction may be curbed in the bud. Antonius Van Rooij of IVO Addiction Research Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Gert-Jan Meerkerk of IVO Addiction Research Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Tim Schoenmakers of IVO Addiction Research Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, Mark Griffith of Nottingham Trent University and Dike Van De Mheen of Erasmus University Medical Center found out that MMORPGs have become a greater cause of concern as compared to other types of video game. This may be because of the compulsive unending nature of the games. In order to curb this type of addiction, the Chinese government has placed a limit on gamers who wish to play online games. The US government is still to take such actions despite reports being published on this topic. With governmental restriction on the hourly use of online games, video game addictions could be prevented to a great extent. Another intervention that has been initiated by the government as discussed in the paper is the development of centers that specifically deal with children suffering from video game addiction. These centers have been developed in quite a few countries including United States, China, Korea, Netherlands and Canada. Another research titled, Methylphenidate potential treatment for Internet addiction, published by The Brown University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update discusses the treatment of video game addiction through the use of drugs. In order to deal with this issue, the researchers are also developing and experimenting with certain drugs that would help deal with addiction. “According to (the) study, methylphenidate (MPH) may be a potential treatment for this popular addiction.” The research further goes on to elaborate that MPH is more effective for children suffering from ADHD and who have developed video game addiction. Even though the results of the study are positive, this study is still in its experimental stage as researchers are exploring other drugs such as Zolpidem to deal with this kind of addiction. Conclusion In conclusion, we can say that video game addiction is a pressing problem in our society. With the increasing number of games, both online and otherwise, being released in the market, it provides a source of problem for the parents and the children. Even though video game usage has been associated with certain positive outcomes, but when gamers become addicts, they lose out on the real life. All spheres of their life are impacted, including academic and social life. While certain individuals are more prone to developing video game addiction due to their personality and their environment, video game addiction can be dealt with the help of the community, the parents and also the government. References Anon. (2009). Methylphenidate potential treatment for Internet addiction. The Brown University Child & Adolescent Psychopharmacology Update. Vol. 11 Issue 6, p7-7, 1/3p http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Griffiths, M. (2010). Online video gaming: What should educational psychologists know? Educational Psychology in Practice, 26(1), 35-40. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Griffith, M. (2002). Gambling and gaming addictions in adolescence. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Rooij, A. J., Schoenmakers, T., Vermulst, A. Eijnden, R., & Mheen, D. (2010). Online video game addiction: Identification of addicted adolescent gamers. Addiction, 106, 205-212. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=13&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Rooji, A., Meekerk, G., Schoenmakers, T., Griffiths, M., & Mheen, D. (2010). Video game addiction and social responsibility. Addiction Research and Theory, 18(5), 489-493. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=17&hid=112&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Skoric, M. M., Teo, L., & Neo, R. (2009). Children and video games: Addiction, engagement and scholastic achievement. Cyber Psychology and Behavior, 12(5), 567-572. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Weinstein, A. (2010). Computer and video game addiction – a comparison between game users and non-game users. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 36(5), 268-276. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Young, K. (2009). Understanding online gaming addiction and treatment issues for adolescents. American Journal of Family Therapy, 37(5), 355-372. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=14&hid=14&sid=9ea60420-8ae6-4185-9d94-dc68b008960d%40sessionmgr13 Read More