Video Game Addiction Effects

Technology is one of the major assets in today’s world. Some human being living in this world surely uses technology in their everyday living. However, there are some disadvantages that lead to Video game addiction. First, excessive use of computer there are some instances that they don’t want themselves to be involve in other social activities. Second is the demand for violence that it may arise because of an innate boy desire to witness violence, males are looking for strong role models, whom they find in these shows and games”. They may isolate themselves in the way that they don’t want to focus almost entirely in-game achievements rather than broader life events. The first possible cause is that in the hypothetical world created by such games, gamers become confident and gain satisfaction which they cannot get in the real world. Second, many video games satisfy the basic psychological needs like rewards, freedom and connection with other players and lastly, video games are becoming increasingly complex, detailed and compelling to a growing international audience of players. There are lots of effects of video gaming upon children, the physical, emotional and in behavior. Some gamer don’t care if they don’t eat just to play, some are being aggressive due to the violent game and Compulsive behaviors are rooted in need to reduce tensions caused by inner feelings a person wants to avoid or control.

Video Game Addiction

Technology is one of the major assets in today’s world. Some human being living in this world surely uses technology in their everyday living. Nowadays, technology does have many uses and advantages yet one cannot deny, it also has some disadvantages and one of this is video game addiction. Cause and effects of the video game addiction recommends some solutions” Video Game Addiction is excessive or compulsive use of computer or video games that interferes with our daily life. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from other forms of social contacts and focusing almost entirely in-game achievements rather than broader life events. (Retrieved June 25, 2007,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/video_game_addiction), and “Studies have indicated that males play video games more frequently than females. Television program producers and video game manufacturers may produce violent shows and games for this audience. This demand for violence may not arise because of an innate male desire to witness violence, but because males are looking for strong role models, which they find in these shows and games” (Clark, 1993).The video game industry has existed for decades and it has begun with William Higginbotham’s “tennis for two” oscilloscope, which has been debuted in 1958. Video gaming is worldwide phenomenon that has been developed into a multi-billion dollar industry. The three largest markets for video games are the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom. Other significant markets are Australia, Canada, Spain, Germany, South Korea, Mexico, France and Italy. India and China are considered as emerging markets in the Video Game industry. 

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There are some possible causes that are related to this addiction. The first possible cause is that in the hypothetical world created by such games, gamers become confident and gain satisfaction which they cannot get in the real world. Second, many video games satisfy the basic psychological needs like rewards, freedom and connection with other players and lastly, video games are becoming increasingly complex, detailed and compelling to a growing international audience of players. And since the problem is a relatively new phenomenon, the exact cause of game addiction is unknown. However, this addiction appears to be most common among younger male players. It may also have a cultural component. “In South Korea, video games were recently blamed for the deaths of four young men. One died after playing Star craft for 50 hours with few breaks. A four-month old baby also died after her parents left her unattended to play World of War craft”. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm)

There are also some negative effects. First is that it displaces physical activity and the time spent upon studies, with friends and even with family. Psychiatrists are concerned about the wellbeing of children who spend much of their time with video games that they may not develop friendships, get some outdoor exercise or suffer in their schoolwork. For sure that a child who spends most of his time playing video games may be prone to violence and may be at risk for behavioral and other health problems. Second is an increase in physical, emotional and behavioral disorder. Among mental health professionals, there are those who maintain that in playing video games, certain children can develop a sense of proficiency which they might not otherwise achieve. However, other authorities speculate that performing violent actions in video games may be more conducive to children’s aggression than passively watching violent acts on television. According to this view, the more children practice violence acts, the more likely they are to perform violent acts (Clark, 1993). Some educational professionals, while allowing that video games permit children to engage in a somewhat creative dialogue, maintain that this engagement is highly constrained compared to other activities, such as creative writing (Provenzo, 1992) “A problem shared by those who rate violence in television and video games is that the definition of violence is necessarily subjective. Given this subjectivity, raters have attempted to assess antisocial violence more accurately by ranking violent acts according to severity, noting the context in which violent acts occur, and considering the overall message as pro- or anti- violence. However, the factor of context is typically missing in video games. There are no grey areas in the behavior of game characters, and players are rarely required to reflect or make contextual judgments” (Provenzo, 1992).”Among mental health professionals, there are those who maintain that in playing video games, certain children can develop a sense of proficiency which they might not otherwise achieve. Ratings of video game violence have developed as an extension of ratings of television violence. Among those organizations that have attempted to rate television violence, the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) has also developed a system to rate the violent content of video games. The NCTV system contains ratings that range from XUnfit and XV (highly violent) to PG and G ratings. Between summer and Christmas of 1989, NCTV surveyed 176 Nintendo video games. Among the games surveyed, 11.4% received the XUnfit rating. Another 44.3% and 15.3% received the other violent ratings of XV and RV, respectively. A total of 20% of games received a PG or G rating” (NCTV, 1990).Some educational professionals, while allowing that video games permit children to engage in a somewhat creative dialogue, maintain that this engagement is highly constrained compared to other activities, such as creative writing (Provenzo, 1992) “Excessive use of video games may have some or all of the symptoms of drug addiction or other proposed psychological addictions. Some players become more concerned with their interactions in the game than in their broader lives. Players may play many hours per day, gain or lose significant weight due to playing, disrupt sleep patterns to play and suffer sleep deprivation as an effect, play at work, avoid phone calls from friends and/or lie about play time. Relationships with family and friends and performance at work or school may suffer “(Tanner, 2007).

In the world of video game addiction there’s an increasing evidence that people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are facing very real, sometimes severe consequences associated with the excessive use of video games .Most adolescents like to spend their free time playing video games. But for some who starts out as innocent recreation can lead to addiction. Soon, friends, family, schools, and eve personal hygiene are neglected as nearly every spare moment is spent playing the game. When I first saw the game of my best friends I asked them curiously “How to play that kind of game?” because I don’t really know how to play Depends of the Ancients commonly called DOTA… I was a third year student when I had been influence by my best friends to play such game, since the day I’ve watched them play, I was tempted to play too, it just looks like interesting and fun…At first it’s really hard for me to learn that game, first of all we don’t have computer at home. But, I learned from my companion because, in every time they play, I play too, even I’m not as good as them. Since then I always play without realizing that I’m playing too much, wasting time just playing. But I’m not that kind of addict that can neglect their friends, family school and especially personal hygiene. I just play when I have nothing to do and I can even manage my time regularly. Even now, I just play whenever I have nothing to do such as schoolwork’s. It just happen before because when you are playing, you just can forget the things that you need to do first before playing and the feeling, its really different when you’re playing the excitement, eagerness to win etc…According to Webster’s Dictionary, an addictive behavior allows a person to become dependent or compulsively obsessed with anything. Compulsive behaviors are rooted in need to reduce tensions caused by inner feelings a person wants to avoid or control.” This fantasy world allows endless opportunities to the gamer to keep feeding their addiction,” said Schaperow. “It is not the game that is the problem; it is other problems in their lives that they cannot control. The game allows the person to escape from reality and take control of the fantasy world.” Treatment for the disorder varies, however most therapists and professionals agree that the root of the problem is to “find the progressive reasoning in the mind and create a solution.” It involves recognizing unhelpful or destructive patterns of thinking and reacting,” said Schaperow, “then modifying or replacing these with more realistic or helpful.”Scahperow said the video game addict should first recognize their problem, then they can replace the negative feelings that steer them toward the video games and progressively escape into a more positive reality. Schaperow gave the example of a person who has a negative outlook on their job and feels that they cannot ever perform at a high level. If that person instead, thinks it is possible, their confidence will be restored to a higher level, allowing that person to see life different, and ultimately not need to escape to a reality world. (http://www.theparentreport.com/resources/ages/preteen/kids_culture/130.html)

There are certain solutions regarding video game addiction. First, limit the time spent online. With unlimited access to the internet 24 hours a day, stopping an addiction is nearly impossible. Take the computer out of their rooms. Move the computer shared room so that you can see how much time they are spending online and much better to monitor their habits.