The Impact Of Multiplayer Online Games On The Teens' Social Life - Term Paper Example

The Impact Of Multiplayer Online Games On The Teens' Social Life Introduction: With the advent of technology, interests of youth have encountered a dramatic change. In the old times, youngsters used to spend most of their time in physical activities. Major part of the day was spent outdoor with friends or at work. However, with the evolution of virtual world, youngsters have been magically drawn towards computers. This is due to the fact that nearly all what the virtual world in contemporary age has to offer pertains to the interests of the youth of the society. Online games have conventionally been the most favorite among people of all ages in general and youngsters in particular. Previously, games were associated with children and adolescents only. However, today the graphics in online games are so fabulous and their themes are so realistic that young people do not feel shy playing them. In particular, the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) have been appreciated by young people all over the world. As the name implies, MMORPGs are actually role based games which provide room for multiple players to play simultaneously. Different players assume different roles and play their part in the story. The characters of games can be customized as per the will of the player. This way, players reflect their own personalities in the characters they play. The players can interact with one another during the game through their respective computers. Individuals control the actions of their respective characters. MMORPGs are particularly different from other Role Playing Games (RPGs) in that the game world continuously evolves and develops even while the players are offline. Youth’s uncontrolled drive towards MMORPG is affecting the social life of their own and others associated with them. History of online games: Online games were introduced into the society first in 1969 with a two player game that was developed for educational purposes (Gupta). As the game was appreciated a lot, this caused developers to incorporate more features, effects and themes in order to make the following games more vibrant and pertinent to the interests of a vast majority of audience. Until 1995, the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNET) had imposed certain restrictions upon children’s access to online games (Gupta). The online games industry blossomed after that as NSFNET retreated its restrictions. Use of internet exceeded manifolds and accordingly, the industry of online games made a lot of money with the customers spread all over the world. With the passage of time, such games were made that accommodated more and more players at the same time. Such games were appreciated the most among the players because they could enjoy social interaction while playing games. In fact, multiple player games played a big role in reducing the physical activities among the youth. the process of evolution continued and finally Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPG) surfaced. MMORPGs are increasingly making their way into the entertainment sector. Their growing popularity and massive acceptance and appreciation can be estimated from the fact that they have collectively generated $ 4 billion in 2008 alone (Online games, 2004 cited in Steinkuehle 40). Number of subscribers recorded by Woodcock (2005 cited in Steinkuehle 40) sums up to 8.5 million spread all across the world. In fact, MMORPGs have progressed so deep into the roots of contemporary society that they have started to assume the role of determinants of cultural and social norms for the society. Implications on modern society: A considerably large number of young people have fallen prey to MMORPGs in the contemporary world. Indeed, their obsession with MMORPGs makes them addicted to the games. This affects their social life, academic profile and professional career in a number of ways. Many do not even realize and subconsciously start to merge their virtual world into real world. The unusual words and abbreviations they so frequently use in their online interaction gradually find their way in the players’ everyday real world communication. In order to communicate with co-players online minimum inconvenience and time, MMORPG players make use of abbreviations and coded language like “g2g” that means “got to go” and “btw” that means “by the way”. All MMORPG players are educated on the meanings of such coded words and phrases. Such online language was initially unknown to a vast majority of people who are non-players. However, with due course of time, nearly all internet users began to understand the significance of such coded words. It so happened because the MMORPG players began to use these words in their chatting and emails online and with their friends in real world offline. Today, almost every body uses their words. Their influence on the society can be estimated from this. There is no doubt in the fact that playing online games is very useful for the brain. It inculcates innovation and creativity in an individual. However, their too much indulgence in MMORPGs has affected the players’ own living standard in a number of ways. Their energies are wasted in playing these games that have little to no positive role in the society. Players play MMORPGs for hours and hours, days upon days until they entrap themselves in the web of these games. Players evaluate things in terms of gold primarily because gold is commonly employed as the currency in many MMORPGs. Players get too demanding when they accomplish a goal in real life. This can be attributed to the feature of MMORPGs that they always reward the player upon completion of a task. However, real world is far less rewarding for a potential player of MMORPGs. This way, when the players do not get the desired appreciation in the real world, they feel depressed and find escape into yet another trial in the MMORPGs. It can be said that their addiction to MMORPGs is both a cause and effect of their long term association with them. The most fundamental way in which MMORPGs have influenced the contemporary society is through language. Most MMORPGs are themed upon medieval ages in which the characters speak English in the ancient way, leave apart the code words and abbreviations that have been discussed before. There is frequent use of thou, hath and thee in all interactions that characters have with one another. Having assumed the roles of characters in the games, it is little wonder that the players continue the theme of language in their everyday interaction. This is, however, affecting the contemporary English language in a negative manner. Today, there is a lot of variety within the English language and much of this can be attributed to the language used in MMORPGs. “So hear 'ye, hear 'ye, hear 'ye, if thou hath been speaking the tongue of ages yore, thou hath been possessed by the soul of thy machinated character” (“Ten Signs Of MMORPG”). MMROPG addiction not only influences the linguistics of the player, but also affect his/her academics and work. Many players unnecessarily take leave from work or school just to play the game. Upon release of a new game, many employers have to suffer as a result of massive absence of employees. This affects the progress of work and ruins the business if the players happen to be part of it. Even if the player did not take a leave from work, his/her productivity declines significantly because of an overnight mental labor and exertion in search of adequate character building strategies or ways to achieve the unachieved thus far. No doubt the exercise is very beneficial for mind but the decline in general productivity and lost energy in real life counters the effect. Future trends in virtual world: Increasing trend towards playing MMORPGs is destroying the social life of players and the effects will be even more exaggerated in the future as newer forms of such games will be developed. Relationships between individual characters within the games have caused many players to depend upon one another in real world. Many have conventionally spared genuine real life relations and instead adopted an unrealistic virtual way of life. Young people are addicted to MMORPGs to dangerous levels and coming years are expected to bring more of it. The Director of Europe’s first video-game addiction clinic, Keith Bakker said: “We have kids who don't know how to communicate with people face to face because they've spent the last three years talking to somebody in Korea through a computer. Their social network has completely disappeared” (Altizer, 2006 cited in Tyrer 26). It has not been very long since computers have become common in the society. Within only two decades, such effects have been noticed. Coming years will have more of directors like Keith Bakker reporting more cases of distorted social networks among children. Conclusion: MMORPGs have influenced the contemporary society in a very silent yet effective way. The most significant addicts are young people. Youth is the pioneer of future trends. MMORPGs have sapped the time and energy of youth. If the present trends prevail for few more decades, we are likely to have a very brainy yet equally socially distorted and disconnected future generation. Works cited: Gupta, Aradhana. “History of Online Games.” 2010. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. . Steinkuehle, Constance A. “Massively Multiplayer Online Video Gaming as Participation in A Discourse.” Mind, Culture, and Activity. vol. 13. no. 1. p. 38-52. . “Ten Signs Of MMORPG Addiction.” n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. . Tyrer, Richard J. “Addiction and Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORGPs): An in-depth study of key aspects.” p. 1-38. March 2008. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. . Read More