Video Game Addiction and its Effects on Children and Teens
“You know you 're a serious World of Warcraft player when the game starts interfering with your life. You know you 're an addict when your life starts interfering with the game” (qtd. In Van Cleave iv). This anonymous quote in Ryan G. Van Cleave’s memoir, Unplugged: My Journey Into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction, perfectly describes why game addiction has become an increasing problem in this technology-based world. While it is questioned by some people, whether video game addiction is an actual disorder, one study found dopamine levels increase in a person’s brain, while playing games. Consequently, video game addiction is an actual problem and it should be treated as such because it can correlate to depression, social isolation, violence, lack of success in the education system, and even spending less time taking care of one’s personal hygiene.
To be able to understand video game addiction, we need to get to the root of the problem. So, who is really accountable? The reading “What Makes a Video Game Addictive,” states games are designed to be addicting and creators are always looking for ways to make games more interesting and challenging, thus people will spend more time playing it. There are several factors that game creators take into consideration when designing a game. The most easily noticeable element drawing a player 's attention is the high score. Players often spend hours trying to beat the high
A great deal of research has focused on the identification of addicted adolescent gamers (Van Rooij, Schoenmakers, Vermulst, Van Den Eijnden, & Van de Mheen, 2011). Van Rooij et al. (2011) assumed to provide empirical data-driven to identify a group of addicted online gamers. The video game industry is among the fastest growing sectors of the US economy (ESA Entertainment Software Association, 2013). Both Korean and western researchers report specifically that Massive
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.
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’.
Effects of Video Games We see it everywhere we go, video games. Kids and adults are
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
Advances in technology have forever changed the way that children play, communicate, and view the world. Have you ever told your child that it was time to turn the video game off, or to put away the cell phone? Of course you have. Did they become upset, aggressive, or even depressed? These are warning signs indicating a potentially dangerous addiction. Addiction is characterized by the intense need for a substance and the experience of withdrawal symptoms when that substance is taken away (Rauh). Video games fill the player with strong feelings of pleasure and fulfillment. When considering the effects that video games have on your social, academic, and financial life; when do these fun technologies morph into a dangerous addiction?
Video gaming has explosively risen in popularity since their creation in the 70s. In Mark Griffiths’ 2010 essay, “Online Video Gaming: What Should Educational Psychologists Know,” the concept of addiction is explored in the relatively new context of video gaming. Griffiths, a well-known researcher in the area of the psychological effects of video gaming, attempts to establish his credentials by highlighting his “two decades of research… examining offline video games…[and] more recent research examining online video games,” which should reinforce his expertise in his field of study. With his research findings, Griffiths, wishes to address concerned parents of online gamers. He uses an ethical appeal to character to calm the hysteria around
CNN, Samantha Bresnahan and Will Worley in their article, “When Video Games Become an Addiction”, argue about how and why video games become an addiction. They support their claim by first talking about video game addiction in the US, then about who mostly get addicted and in what age it is more popular, and finally why video games are addictive. Bresnahan’s purpose is to explain video game addiction in order to find a solution for it. They establish a hopeful tone for the readers.
A study was conducted in order to assess and determine the detrimental effects of video game overload. “The purpose of the present study was to examine the long term trajectory of problem gaming symptoms among adult regular video gamers.” (King, Delfabbro, & Griffiths, 2013, p. 72) This was a long term study of adult participants. There have been few studies on the harmful effects of video game addiction in the past ten years, and almost all of them used different forms of methodology, sample sizes, and recruitment methods; there have been less than 60 professionally done empirical studies on this matter (King et al., 2013.) The movement has picked up a good deal of support recently, with the last five years consisting of several large studies on mostly adolescent gamers, but at the time of this study, gaming addiction had still yet to be included in major
Gaming has a special place in the hearts of many because the games use can vary from user to user, it could be a be a form entertainment, to stress relief or even becoming a professional gamer. Today the gaming world has hit an astronomical at 1.8 billion players worldwide and is continually growing. Many have argued that gaming has influenced negative behavior, however, through the abundant amount benefits gaming provides and the constant stream of fresh innovations gaming has proven to have a positive impact on society.
Although the addiction to video games is not fully recognized as a diagnosable disorder, I chose this topic because I know quite a few people that play video games on a regular basis. A few of them have had negative outcomes in either their work or personal relationships, in some cases both, as a result of playing video games daily. I personally have had a similar experience in my relationship with my significant other, although in this case he was the one playing video games and I was the one experiencing the results of it. Recently, I have read several news articles regarding parents ignoring their children and their needs as a result of playing video games. In addition, I have also recently heard of an interesting documentary produced
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.
Excessive video game playing has been a problem with today’s youth they have had more influences over the youth than ever before. That brings to my attention a question, how do video games affect the youth of our society? Excessive video game playing, especially violent video games, can lead to youth violence, a decrease in academic success and many other negative things. I realize that some parents believe that they can be good for children, I agree but I also disagree in some cases. Some parents allow their children to play video games to keep a social life and to learn how to use strategies. This is true in some cases but not in all cases. For instance, other children that play video games alone and are in their rooms constantly can
Controversy about video games continue to escalate between parents and gamers, regarding the psychological effect of simulated, realistic, and 3D violence on the minds of young children and growing teenagers. Yet, research shows that video games contribute very little to today’s everyday violence, despite complaints and concerns that games influence a child’s normal behavior. Technology is a way of life in today’s world, computers are used by toddlers, adolescents, and adults alike. No matter what career path a person chooses, the computer plays an essential role in the job. The more our technology progresses and as our industry grows stronger, computers and electronic entertainment will grow to be found everywhere around the world. This includes videogames.