Psychological Effects Of Video Game Addiction Essay

The videogame addiction may seem funny or ridiculous, but in reality it is a dangerous obsession that truly exposes several needs that have yet to be addressed within the afflicted. Addiction is a damaging problem, and the impact of varying sorts of addictions, such as illegal and

In today’s culture, people who regularly play video games have been stereotypically viewed as overweight, lazy, slobs, who can’t keep a job and never leave their homes. However, a majority of the population plays video games or owns a console. These stereotypes mostly apply to PC gamers, and MMO players in particular. While most people don’t develop such severe addictions to the game, there is a group of people who suffer. These people are usually imagined as overweight men in their parent’s basements, sporting acne and greasy hair. There are most definitely people that fit this profile, however, video game addiction can claim many different people from many different walks of life. It is most definitely a serious issue, but some people don’t see the degree to which it affects everyday life. Personally, I feel that I can elaborate on the matter with a different perspective, as I have been closeup and personal to video game addiction.

In recent decades, attention has been placed on the influence of violent videogames on the aggressive behaviour of individuals. While some scholars believe that videogames increase aggression amongst children in particular, others claim evidence on the catharsis hypothesis where videogames are argued to be a safe outlet to express aggression (Berger 2002). Although many theories have emerged regarding the influence of violent videogames, the debate continues to be divided between those who claim its destructive nature and others who claim that videogames cannot be solely blamed for the aggressive behaviour expressed by young people. This essay therefore aims to examine different arguments raised in the literature regarding

International studies have shown that between seven and eleven per cent of gamers show some symptoms associated with addiction. Some teens are heavy users of online role-playing games (RPGs) such as World of Warcraft and multiplayer games such as Call of Duty in which they interact with other players in real time. These teens will often neglect schoolwork and other aspects of their daily lives when they become immersed in these games. The American Medical Association has identified “video game overuse” as ‘behaviour’.

From the past till now, video game never loses its popularity, from Gameboy to Wii, and from NDS to LOL, millions and billions of people are obsessed with this imaginary world. Some of the video games are created for educational purpose, however, most are created for the people who wants to escape from reality. “In a national Harris Poll survey of 1,178 American youths (ages 8-18), ISU Assistant Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile found nearly one in 10 of the gamers (8.5 percent) to be pathological players.” ("Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) ") Not only the statistic shows the high rate of addiction towards video games, terrible consequences of the addictions are more than enough to be served. For example, an extreme case of an Chinese kid called Xioyi suicide because he lose in one of his game on December 27, 2004; where he left a note that said he wanted “to join the heroes of the game he worshiped.” Video game has the potential to ruin a person’s life, as well as their family, or even the

According to Document C, “5 percent to 10 percent of...teens are gaming addicts.” This addiction has become a serious problem in recent years. With more games online, creators want to keep players online. “The games are designed to keep you at your computer as long as possible because you can’t win,” according to Liz Woolley from Online Gamers Anonymous. The games are diminishing the players motivation to do anything but play (Document C). This can also be said about internet addiction the constant flood of information and artificial communication to some people can be intoxicating. With the added risks of serious mental and social health problems gaming and extensive internet use may bring with it a new generation of antisocial

Video Games cause social isolation, for example a 15 year old boy in Sweden pass out after playing World of Warcraft for 24 hours straight, he passed out because he started experiencing social withdrawal, the kid was lacking contact with other humans, and his body’s response to the problem was to pass out. On an extreme level, Ruya Cunningham, a college student spent twenty hours a week playing video games, she eventually “dropped out of school, stopped exercising, and even stopped bathing” (Marcovitz 70). Later on, Ruya Cunningham developed depression, but she kept playing video games because she was addicted to the game. When people are addicted to a game, there is a spiraling vortex sucking the gamer away from society and from sanity. As a consequence of playing violent video games, many teen gamers struggle with real world relationships, this is because they form close virtual relationships with people they meet online. A man in Wisconsin has formed a tremendously close relationship with a group of guys he plays online with, he discusses politics with them and they send each other Christmas gifts even though they do not know each other (Marcovitz 70-72). Video games can also affect the players mental and their physiological state.

One of today’s most debated topics is whether violent video games cause bad behavior. This topic has been researched for almost 30 years and there are still major opinion differences. Many psychologists say violent video games do cause bad behavior, and claim that games such as Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto, and Modern Warfare, desensitize people to violence, making it a norm in society. Others disagree, claiming that these games, although they can be very violent, can help people develop critical thinking skills. (Nonviolent video games are preferred for this though). The truth is, violent video games do both; studies indicated that some games increase aggressive thought, feelings and behaviors in both the long and short term. But, studies

The controversial topic of video game addiction is what I have decided to focus my multi-genre research project on. Although a multitude of people do not even know of the existence of such a problem in today's society, I can assure you that this is becoming an increasingly greater problem effecting people around the world of all ages. Through my multi-genre project, I intend on proving the uselessness and detrimental qualities of playing video games, and I am going to explore some healthy alternatives to such a problematic habit.

Many young children and teenagers have heard their mother’s incessant plead to get away from the screen and to go outside or pick up a book for once instead. The urge to play “just one more level” before starting that homework or doing those chores can be quite distracting. But are video games really as awful as Mom exclaims or as brutal as those TV ads depict? It turns out that video games can have a strong impact on participants’ lives in both positive as well as negative ways.

Beside the mental effects of gaming, lay the physical effects. Another belief of gaming is that it is physically threatening, and if not taken in moderation, that may be true, but at face value, some video games can be a very useful tool for physical fitness. “Serious” games, as mentioned previously, are games that are designed for personal improvement, but as stated by Mark Baxter, “serious” games are just a subgenre of a more encompassing genre known as lifestyle games. According to Baxter, these games lack the more academic focus typically associated with “serious” games, yet still focus primarily on improvement through tier one gaming experiences. An example he gives of a successful lifestyle game is Wii Fit, which is a game that consists of exercise activities. He also claims that games like these have been adopted in several physiotherapy rehabilitation centers (Brain Health and Online Gaming). Baxter is right on this claim. These lifestyle games, also known as fitness games, contain a variety of physical benefits, including rehabilitation, and thankfully, several console designers are attempting to embrace these positives. In 2006, Nintendo released the Wii console, which is the console Baxter’s example was played on. It saw large commercial success due to its ability to provide gamers with an entertaining and physically stimulating experience, selling over one-hundred million units worldwide. This console allowed players to exercise in a unique way that entertaining,

Playing video games for hours at a time in one day, every day of the week can lead to another major problem, gaming addiction. Youth may become obsessed with the game and think they have to beat it before they do anything else and never want to leave their rooms because they want to consistently play the game. Dr. Russell A. Sabella states in his article on Education.com that: “for most people, computer use and video game play is integrated into their lives as a balanced manner. For others, time spent on the computer or video games is out of balance and has displaced work, school, friends, even family”(Sabella). Becoming addicted to video games can cause a lot of problems in the family because some parents like to have family dinners and they have to literally fight with their kid to get

For the past decades, video games have been accessible to varied kinds of groups all over the world, which are from children to adults. Meanwhile, problems of online games addiction are arising particularly rapid and evident, especially in Asia. According to the news “Gaming Addiction On the Rise in Asia” by Paul Gaita, nearly 1.2 billion out of 84 million of world wide online gamers are Asians, which has led Asia to be the chief of video game addiction. (Gaita) Also, Andrei Dinu, an author at Lerablog, points out that even though Asia is at the technological cutting-edge, it unluckily becomes the boss of video game addiction. (Dinu) With this fast growth of video gaming popularity, the public has voiced their concerns. For example, Mary Schlimme, in her research paper, she declared, “All addictions can be dangerous and harmful to the addicted person and others around him; however, video game addiction can be particularly detrimental to children.” (Schlimme) In other words, computer games indulgence hurts people with no boundary, but especially to children. Even though a lot of researchers put forward their argument that violent video games could release one’s desire for acting violently, there is an increasing number of evidence proving that excessively playing video games can lead to a higher level of poor physical health and aggressive behavior on teens and pre-teens.

Since the 19th Century, video games had been perceived as an exciting aspect of the media landscape and has experienced a lot of expansion in recent years. It had also changed the way people communicate to each other. Various studies have shown that violent content in video games desensitizes players, especially children and teenagers, to a real-world violence. Most teenagers who play violent videogames find it to be exciting because it shows empowerment. It is kind of ironic to tell how gaming can get children and teenagers to play videogames. A lot of people say that gaming has a negative effect. However, gaming has a positive effect. Our definition of gaming is when a person plays a videogame by him or herself, with another player, or a group of people. Despite the fact that gaming can lead to violence, in reality, most games are not violent and can be enjoyable when played with other players or

the surface as they did a decade or two ago, but the games have become