Gaming: An Ever-Increasing Epidemic - Research Paper Example

1Danielle Galasso Ellen Fallon April 19, 2007 WRT 205 Gaming: An Ever-Increasing Epidemic There are people known as hard-core gamers, ones who play, live, and breathe the video games. They may seclude themselves from the outside world. These individuals may only play one specific genre of games or multiple games. Hard-core gamers have been around as long as gaming itself and often times are blamed for such tragedies as the Columbine shooting. Outsiders look at games as violent and negatively influential. Since they do not understand it, they see the gamer's behavior as a threat. The violent content of games, as well as a gamer's seemingly secluded nature; give this group of people a negative reputation. The focus of this paper will be to investigate if, in fact, there is any scientific validity in the allegations raised by mainstream America that the violent content in many of these games combined with extensive game play is fostering an addiction to gaming which may increase violence or other negative behavior within society. Prior to investigating whether addiction in gaming occurs and how it may negatively impact the hard core gamer's personality and behavior, a brief history of the video game industry and development is presented in order to better understand the gaming culture and development. Video games have a relatively recent, yet intense, history. It started, believe it or not, in the early 1960s. A game called Spacewar was created in 1961 (Kohler, 2005). After this, the newly coined term "video games" started its path toward the entity we know today. Simple video games then found their way to the then newly created computers. Pixels, or small boxes of color, were used to create basic two-dimensional pictures on the screen. The creation of player versus player games came soon after, followed by coin operated arcade machines. In time, people were able to take the games home with them. Companies such as Atari and Coleco Vision brought arcade quality gaming to the home by plugging into the TV. Handheld controllers that hooked up to the systems themselves allowed early generation gamers to play the games they loved without the bulk of the entire arcade. As time passed gaming became even more intense. The quality of the graphics, game-play, and the power of the systems themselves grew tremendously. This allowed hundreds of colors instead of tens, thousands of pixels instead of a handful. Even as it reached its peak with systems such as the Super Nintendo, the flat pixel was soon outdated. Created in the late 1980s, a polygon allows for 3D graphics, something revolutionary for its time and still in use to this day. Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs) are the current gaming technology having far reaching popularity with the gamers of today. Therefore, they are an important topic when researching video game addictions as a large portion of video game purported addiction can be attributed to MMOs such as World of Warcraft (WoW) and Final Fantasy XI. In these types of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games the game play is tedious. It takes hours to become stronger and train your skills. One must be willing able to expend vast amounts of time to progress even a little in this online world. Also, a competitive atmosphere is created as you can check other people's items and, subsequently, compare them to your own. People can spend hours upon hours trying to defeat a monster to obtain a special game token or power within the game. Often enough the item does not appear or someone else might get it. This leads to frustration; however the player may feel that they must try until they have achieved the desired goal losing sight of the amount of time they devout to game. The next logical area to investigate is to determine why people play video games. Many people find a game's ability to bring them into another world very appealing. They can sit and play a game for hours just getting absorbed with the character they are playing as. The world that is being presented to them is much different than their own, giving them a pleasurable escape from things they may not enjoy in the real world. John Flynn (2007), an active participant in the world of gaming says, "I play them for multiple reasons...mainly because I find the real world to be boring...and videogames give me an outlet that lets me assume the role of a fictional character in a fantastic adventure, in a world I'd never get to see normally. I almost feel as if I maybe these worlds may exist somewhere else and that I'm somehow getting a glimpse into them". This type of response was common when a number of people were asked the same thing. They found an escape in the game, relief from the stress of every day life, or perhaps even some form of company. So where does this lead us As with any pastime or activity, some people take it too far. "Taking it too far" can mean many things. For example, gamers may become overly competitive about their skills. I have encountered many people on Xbox live, a service that provides Xbox players the opportunity for playing multiplayer games with others across the world, who make frequent complaints about other people making racist or other inappropriate comments during game play. These comments often stem from anger generated from failure in the game. The anger is then inappropriately targeted towards other players in an attempt to alleviate stress. Other examples are of the more traditional variety. Gamers are often depicted as secluding themselves in their rooms. A gamer may isolate him or herself from social activities whether he or she realizes it or not. Why The illusion of power was one of the reasons. There was always another goal to be achieved, another level to be gained and another skill to be earned. Games are often very goal oriented and create situations where it makes the player feel that they need to achieve the set goals. Dr Timothy Miller, a psychologist, started playing the game Diablo II in order to be able to experience what his patients may be going through. Before long he found himself playing the game for hours at a time, often staying up late in order to do so. Despite knowing what he was getting into, he too was lured into the video game culture (Becker, 2002). The world of game-related immersion does not just restrict itself to play. Many people write in forums known as blogs, reporting on gaming news, opinions, and trends. Readers from all around the world access these blogs and are influenced by the opinions that are expressed there. These sorts of publications are often enough not created by the people who work in the industry. They may be very enthusiastic gamers or they may be aspiring journalists. But why write about the topics rather than just playing Basically, they derive pleasure out of getting their views across to the rest of the gaming culture. I sat down with Bradley Rice (2007), an active member of the Destructiod blogging community to get a more in-depth answer. He replied, "I started blogging because I thought it would be a chance to rant mindlessly about videogames. When it first started, I had no idea that I'd be reaching 80,000+ people every day. I have a great passion about video games, and I was part of a community that I really enjoyed being with, so I wanted to do as much as I possibly could for the site, and writing was one of the opportunities I was presented with. As for what I get out of it, one of the biggest things is respect. I've proven myself to have a legitimate opinion on things, and thanks to some of the opportunities provided to me, I've gotten a lot more knowledge about the industry and can make claims and predictions that may seem unpopular but are true, and will just take some time to come out of the woodwork". Having examined the history of the video game up to current technology and trends and examining in general what attracts and keeps gamers playing, it becomes necessary to examine how innocent game play can to additive, compulsive behavior. We will also examine how this addiction can, and in some cases, does lead to changes in the gamer's personality and behavior. Before looking at gaming specifically, addiction in general will be defined and examined. Many people think of alcohol or drug abuse when the word addiction is mentioned. However, psychologist and psychiatrists among other professionals have long recognized that addiction is much more than a dependence of substances. According to Rauh (2006) gaming addiction is real. Experts in the field equate it to other impulse control disorders such as compulsive gambling. Michael Brody, a medical doctor defines the following criteria in identifying addiction and compulsive disorders: 1. "The person needs more and more of a substance or behavior to keep him going. 2. If the person does not get more of the substance or behavior, he becomes irritable and miserable" (as cited in Rauh, 2006, 1) These behaviors have been documented in cases of video game playing. However, there is more than just irritability associated with withdrawal. In substance abuse, extensive studies have determined the biological ramifications of the addiction; however, with gaming addiction the biological aspects are just beginning to be explored. Rauh (2006) reported that with compulsive disorders such as compulsive gambling the dopamine levels in the brain become elevated. Studies of this nature with respect to gaming are just beginning to be undertaken by the scientific community. Addiction contains more than physical elements. As alluded to earlier when presenting information on gamers' motivations for playing, it becomes obvious that there are psychological factors involved in game play and to a greater extent addiction. Sometimes this takes the form of escape or fantasy, but generally the psychological benefits the gamer receives is feeling better about themselves or their world. According to Rauh (2006), "the person is trying to change the way they feel by taking something outside of themselves. The [cocaine] addict learns, 'I don't like the way I feel, I take a line of cocaine.' For gamers, it's the fantasy world that makes them feel better" (2). The psychological benefit one gains from video games can become even stronger with the MMO games. According to Rauh (2006): " The lure of a fantasy world is especially pertinent to online role-playing games. These are games in which a player assumes the role of a fictional character and interacts with other players in a virtual world. As Young puts it, an intelligent child who is unpopular at school can "become dominant in the game." The virtual life becomes more appealing than real life". (2). Although gaming addictions may seem less important and almost frivolous when one compares them to a drug addiction or alcoholism and on the surface such an addiction may seem harmless. However, there are potentially long term dangers associated with gaming addiction. A child who devotes too much time to video game playing and the fantasy world it entails may not develop needed social skills to function in the world. Prolonged years of self-induced alienation from normal interactions may produce young adults with limited interpersonal relationship skills and poor social interaction skills, not to mention young adults who are physically inactive. In effect, you will have a 10 year old mind in the body of an adult. Gaming addiction is not restricted only to children and teens. It can and does manifest itself in adults as well. With this type of addiction, extensive playing time can result in job loss. It can also negatively impact interpersonal relationships. Like other addictions, not all people who partake in or use substances or perform certain actions, in this case gaming, develop an addiction. The length of time a person has played and the duration of play when gaming is not an indicator of addiction. According to the Center for On-Line Addiction (COLA), a Web site designed to inform the public of the possible consequences of on-line and gaming addictions, rather than the amount of time devoted to gaming, the question that should be asked is can the person control their gaming activities at all times. Do they have to play or are they able to walk away from it (2006) COLA offers several typical warning signs of potential gaming addiction. They are as follows: "Playing for increasing amounts of time Thinking about gaming during other activities Gaming to escape from real-life problems, anxiety, or depressiondepression Lying to friends and family to conceal gaming Feeling irritable when trying to cut down on gaming" (2006, 1) In addition to the above symptoms, the gamer addict tends to isolate himself more and more and often as state above gives up other activities which once he participated, such as sports and school activities. According to COLA, the majority of gaming addicts are males under the age of 30. Additionally, prior to their addiction they most frequently possessed low self-esteem and other social ailments. The addiction further lures them into its fantasy world which further alienates them. Having examined a brief history of gaming and examined the phenomenon of gaming addiction, it becomes necessary to explore in more detail some of the research that has been conducted in this area. Chui, Lee and Huang in 2004 conducted a study of the gaming activities of children in Taiwan. In preparation for their study, they collected numerous data on gaming activities of children in the United States. This research revealed that in 1999 215 million gaming units were sold in the United States alone. This equates to approximately two game systems for every household. Additionally they noted that on average teen-aged child in the United States spend 140 hours per month engaging in video game play which equates to between three and four hours each day. Their research also found that 77% of all teen-aged children in the United States play video games on a regular basis. Lastly of those teen-agers 75% play video games at home, 24% play daily, and 60% spend time prior to gaming in anticipation of playing (571). Chui, Lee and Huang in another study noted that of the 357 participants, all of which were in the seventh and eighth grade, 32% preferred violent fantasy games, 29% played sports related games, 20% played general recreational type games, 17% played graphic object violence games while less than 2% reported that they played educational games. Additionally, 36% of the boys spent between one to two hours per day playing, while 29% spent between three and six hours a day, while only 12% reported not playing any video games. Of the girls in this study, 42% played between one and two hours per day, 15% played between three and six hours a day, and 37% reported that they played no video games (2004, 572). These findings confirm earlier findings that in general males play more video games than do females. Chui, Lee and Huang (2004) conducted their study as no prior research had been done in Taiwan to assess the gaming habits of children there. The study included 1,228 children from grades five to eight from 20 different elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan. They did a pre-study survey prior to their actual study. Results of this study revealed that the average age for children to start gaming was 8.82 years. On average children played for just three times a week with a total of slightly higher than two hours a week. The most popular genre of games fell within the action/adventure games (55%) with the game Age of Empires being the most popular. Additionally, online gaming was popular with just over 50% of the participants. To determine if there was a relationship between gaming activity and addiction Chui, Lee and Huang (2004) divided the subjects into three groups based on pre-study results measures for family function, sensation seeking and boredom inclination. Results of their findings are displayed in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Game Addiction Research Findings (Chui, Lee & Huang, 2004, 575) As seen in the above figure, some of the findings were significant. First, as supported by previous studies, males scored significantly higher than did females. The researches hypothesized that this may be due to the feeling of domination males feel while engaging in gaming. Also significant were the results on family functioning, as the level of family functioning decreased addiction tended to increase. This author hypothesizes that could be due to the child's attempt to entertain himself or escape boredom when in a family that does less as a family unit. According to the researchers: The better family functions, the more emphasis on children's education and leisure, with more parental planning and participation for life broadness and leisure arrangement. The better socially-adjusted students may enjoy more exciting and colorful lives, and they may not be as easily addicted to a single leisure activity, such as game playing. (Chui, Lee & Huang, 2004, 575) The study also found a significant correlation between sensation seeking behavior and gaming addiction. The researches found that the higher level of sensation seeking the stronger the gaming addiction that is manifested. Likewise gaming addiction by boredom was also significant, the greater the level of boredom the higher likelihood of gaming addiction. When comparing the findings of addiction with school performance Chui, Lee and Huang (2004) found that students with gaming addictions showed a lower level of academic achievement and performance than those students who did not play video games or those who played games but were not addicted to game play. Lastly one significant finding showed that although game addiction did not have a positive correlation with social skills (which is contrary to the majority of the studies conducted in the United States), feelings of animosity and general discontent were directly related to gaming addiction. In a United States based study Kronenberger, Matthews, Dunn, et.al studied the relationship of exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior in children. The research revealed that there is: "a significant positive relationship with aggression in samples of children and adolescents. There are good reasons, such as the participant nature of video-game playing as compared to the more passive nature of viewing television and video game violence exposure may be more strongly related to aggressive behavior than television violence exposure" (2005, 202). Most significantly, this study found that exposure to violent video games as well as other media was directly related to severe aggressive behavior in youth even when controls are in place for factors such as gender, intelligence and age. Through completion of this research it has been shown that gaming addiction if a very real and potentially dangerous condition facing our youth, in general. Research has show that gaming can be as addictive as drugs or alcohol. The long term implications are yet to be discovered, but it has become apparent that gaming contributes to lower social functioning, poorer school performance and in some cases violence. Extreme cases of violence acted out upon society have gained some pubic attention when gaming addiction was blamed in part for these violent episodes. The Columbine High School shootings are a good example, as well as the current Virginia Tech shootings. Although no studies were noted dealing specifically with this issue, it becomes obvious that further research into violence resulting from gaming addiction needs to be conducted. The findings of this research did indicate that perhaps one of the best methods for stemming gaming before it becomes problematic is to have parental involvement in the activities of children. Gaming time should be monitored and limited, game appropriateness should be evaluated by parents and parents should plan and participate in family based activities on a regular basis. Technology is a great and offers so many possibilities for our children and their futures; however, technology and video games, in particular, are no substitute for parents and family activities. Work Cited Becker, David. "When Games Stop Being Fun." April 12, 2002. CNET News. Retrieved 18 Apr 2007 from . Center for On-Line Addiction (COLA). (2006). "Online Gaming Addiction." Retrieved 20 April 2007 from . Chiu, Shao I, Lee, Jie-Zie, and Huang, Der-Hsiang. (2004). "Video Game Addiction in Children and Teenagers in Taiwan." CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7:5, 571-581. Flynn, John. Personal Interview, April 10, 2007. Kohler, Chris. "Power Up How Japanese Video Games Gave the World an Extra Life." Indianapolis, Indiana: BradyGAMES, 2005. Kronenberger, William G., Mathews, Vincent P., Dunn, David W., Wany, Yang, Wood, Elisabeth A., Larsen, Joelle J., Rembusch, Mary E., Lowe, Mark J. Giauque, Ann L., and Lurito, Joseph T. (2005). "Media Violence Exposure in Aggressive and Control Adolescents: Differences in Self-and Parent-Reported Exposure to Violence on Television and in Video Games." Aggressive Behavior, 31, 201-216. Rauh, Sherry. (26 June 2006). "Video Game Addiction No Fun." Webmd Web site. Retrieved 20 April 2007 from . Rice, Bradley. Personal interview, April 11, 2007. Read More