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Final Essay for Lit 220
Virtual Reality-Virtual Addiction: the hottest newest craze going on in today’s World
I am going to look at casual games like “Bubble Breaker” and their addictive effects. As well as the comparison between what is known as Video Games vs. Causal Games. . As well as showing some of the Positive as well as Negative side affects as well as some of the elements that makes Video games and other forms of electronic gadgets addicting. In today’s world Video games are fast becoming the next addiction of the future, the newest drug per say.
Final Essay for Lit 220
Virtual Reality-Virtual Addiction: the hottest newest craze going on in today’s World
I am going to look at casual games like “Bubble Breaker” and their addictive effects. As well as the comparison between what is known as Video Games vs. Causal Games. . As well as showing some of the Positive as well as Negative side affects as well as some of the elements that makes Video games and other forms of electronic gadgets addicting. In today’s world Video games are fast becoming the next addiction of the future, the newest drug per say.
People will stay awake for hours at a time, giving up food and drink, not moving from one spot for minutes, hours, days at a time, even giving up sleep, sometimes not even remembering to get up and use the bathroom, just to beat their friend’s latest scores, or even their own just to prove that they could. They become so intense, so involved in the game itself, that they are playing it literally to the death, their own or others.
And I will be sharing some stories that I located in regards to this problem of gaming addictions, as well as my results from a study that I ran involving the game; “Bubble Breaker”, and some friends of mine. I will also be sharing a secret that I personally discovered about this game, which you will see a little further into my paper. It will involve me, and my time with this video game. Where I personally learned how addicting a silly little causal fun kind of video game can pull you into its web. I will also touch bases on about what age most player began, you would be surprised how early children actually start with video games on systems; such as Play stations (1, 2 and 3), X-box, to name a couple, and games such as Donkey Kong, Pac man, Ms. Pac man, Tomb Raiders and on and on. And another topic that I will touch upon is; “Is this happening only in America, or is it effect of this addiction spreading worldwide on our youths as well as adults”?
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Now, let me let you in that little secret , I tried a silly little causal game on my boyfriend’s cell phone one night after class ended which was around 9 pm, just to see what all the whoop and holler was about in regards towards video games and such. And let me tell you something, it was so much fun and I couldn’t put it down. I played for over three over on this silly little game, and he had to keep asking me for it back and I of course kept on saying; “Yeah, yeah just a minute. Just one more try okay”. Luckily, I didn’t have class the next day, because I played like six more games after he started to ask for it back, before I finally let go of the game. And I was so sorry the next day, because I was so tired, from sitting in one area and holding the phone in one hand while pushing the color dots with the other.
And you know what? I can’t wait to try it again and I am not a teen, but an adult woman. So, if I can get that hooked in on a game, imagine our teens. And something else about this game, I am ready to play it again; in fact I have asked my boyfriend when he got home, could I use his phone to play the game. Just for a little bit, I promise. I remember him telling me; “Yeah, just a little while, like last time?” I then decided that this was what I wanted to do as my essay paper. I wanted to really know more about the history of video games, what made them so hot, what was the power that they had over all of us, young and old.
What I discovered in my research is that they video games themselves per say had only been around a short while. And that a few hundred years ago, if you had asked a thirteen year old boy what they did in their spare time, they’d probable talk about helping their parents on the farm. You ask the same question to a teen in today’s world, and you’ll get an earful about baseball, double-dutch, and pick-up sticks.
But, now we are in a new century and a brand new world of electronic gadgets and such. Where there are so many new things for us to play with, spend our hard earned money on, and need to have no matter what it is. This on top of the factor; “Well if they have one, of course we have to have one and bigger of course”, and interesting thing about this factor is that it’s not predisposed to children only, but adults as well.
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And then there is the information that was provided in our readings we have had in class; off the article; Introduction: The Digital Revolution, the Informed Citizen, and the Culture of Democracy written by Henry Jenkins and David Thorburn they had stated; “Many political commentators predicted that networked computing might be the decisive factor in the election of 2000. By November 2000, 64% of all voters were Internet users and 90% of Americans on the Internet were registered voters. The Web would offer, these commentators claimed, the least costly and most effective means of reaching likely voters”.
This coincides with all of the additional research that I found; it also reflected that over nearly 90% of children between the ages of 12-17 would reply “Videogames” to that question. And according to article in the Science Daily News (April 2009); data analyzed was performed on the national Harris Poll survey that was done in January 2007 on 1,178 American youths (ages 8-18) by Douglass Gentile one of the Assistant Professor of Psychology at Iowa State University (I.S.U). It showed that it was found that nearly 1 of 10 gamers (8.5%) to be pathological players, based off the standards that were established for pathological gambling-causing family, social, school or psychological damage because of their video habits.
And according to Professor Gentile; “Gamers were classified as pathological if they exhibited at least 6 of the 11 systems. The pathological gamers in the study played 24 hours per week, about twice as much as non-pathological gamers.
They also were more likely to have video game systems in their bedrooms, reported having more trouble paying attention in school, received poorer grades in school, had more health problems, were more likely to feel "addicted," and even stole to support their habit. The study also found that pathological gamers were twice as likely to have been diagnosed with attention problems such as Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Gentile was surprised to find that so many youth exhibit pathological patterns of video game play.
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To me, this massive percentage is horrifying (girls as well as boys), yet some will sense nothing wrong with it. These people frequently argue, “But videogames aren’t that bad,” it’s just a game, they’re not actually harmful to the body, “or some games improve hand-eye coordination and analytical thinking skills.” Granted, video games often seem to appear harmless, but they can be very damaging to children and teens and especially those that are lacking self-control and this will include some adults as well.
One of the greatest dangers about video gaming can be summarized into one word: addiction. Guilty pleasures like video games, television, and candy are tolerable when done in moderation. The problem with video gaming is that unless controlled or limited by a third party, it’s both chemically and mentally addictive. Studies have scientifically shown that excitement from playing video games causes the human brain to release an addictive chemical. Psychologically, video game addiction is explained through what is called “the God effect.”
This simply means that players receive the ability to control and manipulate everything in the game, something very attractive for teens without substantial influence in the real world. Unlike other addictions which include such things as tobacco, marijuana, or alcohol, video game addiction has yet to attain a lot of publicity. The reason is probably due to the how smoking and drinking accumulates direct physical injury, while video games conjure minimal damage to physical health.
However, I believe Video Games addiction endangers victims equally as much as substance addiction. Compared to tobacco and heroin, video games require much more time to actually perform the addictive act. Smokers often engage in other activities with a cigarette between their lips, but video gamers do not have the same privilege when gaming. Studies show that the average male gamer plays for around six to eleven hours a day on the weekends and about an hour or so on weekdays. This excessive time consumed on video games is time that could have been spent doing homework, playing sports, being with friends, or even eating or imagine it sleeping.
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Furthermore, wasting hours a week playing video games endangers an individual’s chances of achieving their full potential. A teen that possesses the intelligence and talent to become a future Noble Prize recipient may have to settle as an ordinary science teacher because he wasted too much time gaming as a youth. This waste of talents hurts not only the individual, but also society as a whole. Let alone they are playing those regular video games; the ones with all the violence, stereotyping, prejudice and such in them.
Comparisons of Video Games vs. Casual games; regular Video Games tend to cause more stress to our children than anything else, well accept school. They can cause children to become withdrawn, and to forget all that we learn as children: Good Ethics; such as not cheating, or lying, and playing fair, following the rules of the game, around the same time as we learn all about the rules in the game of life. Now I have notice that while gaming; video playing, sports etc they can be both good and bad for children as well as adults to be involved in.
On the other hand; Causal Games, while it can be slightly competitive per say, and it does teach such things as eye and hand coordination, makes you think, i.e. plan where to pop the stick on the bubbles, to gain the most points, it doesn’t tend to cause you to get all depressed, suicidal or send you in a violent rage. And especially doesn’t teach things like violence, stereotyping, or simple prejudices.
And while regular Video Games do have some good being such things as well; i.e. building up your hand and eye coordination, makes you use your mind, making strategies moves as well as it is helps you to learn how to be a team player. But there is also that down side- bad side effects such as; where it also opens up another different area; fighting, being competitive, making you get so crazy and needing to win, no matter what the cost is. And these can’t always be noticed right away, sometimes not even until it’s too late. I had noticed something interesting as I watched people playing Video Games. And that was it wasn’t just the older ones pulling unfair tactics on the younger ones. As I mention previously it seemed like the older ones were playing unfair; i.e. using knowledge/skills levels more advanced (from age etc).
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What I found out was that a lot of times it was the younger ones who actually had more knowledge or higher skill levels per say. Age did not always come into play, but mostly the things that were was; time to play/practice (time to play/amount of time etc), to who had access to the games themselves to even play on them. This is what really is what builds up your levels of skills/knowledge on the games. I also notice that not all of the kids tried anything slick, or those cute little cheating tricks. While they wanted to win of course, they seem to recognize that the wins seem to feel more real and that they had really earned it.
And realistically most people will feel this way. Because deep down you are a good person or at least most of us are. In the end when playing those games and the competition part of it comes out roaring its head like a lion remember these little words; you cheat and that win is not really yours to enjoy. Now for some of the websites that I located during this research; one of them was called “Berkeley Parents Network: Computer Game Addiction”, which was founded in 1993 as “UCB Parents” and is run by volunteer parents from the San Francisco bay area, who are working together in this as well as many other issues that we as parents run into with children. This site has a lot of good solid information as well as advice on the problem of Video Game addictions.
It has question and answer section, where you can see questions from people from all over, asking advice and explaining their problems on this topic as well as others. The stories cover all genders, age groups and locations. My research also ended up leading me to one website called; “Media Wise.org”, it really helped to explain to me the definition on what was “Video Game Addictions”, as well as it talks in more detail on what signs you should watch for in your children as well as the adults in your life. It also provides me as well as will for you, some other places to go for more information on this topic. And from here it lead me to; “Computer Addictions.com”, where it provides some great information and services from Maressa Hecht Orzack, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist who has for over fifteen years, has treated people with addictive behaviors at McLean Hospital.
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At which she is a founder and coordinator of a program called: the Computer Addictions Service. She has done many studies on this topic, as well as recreational drug use and as a result of both the studies has come to the conclusion that recreational drug use and inappropriate computer use are similar. And according to the article Dr. Orzack says; “Her sense is that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg.
Our society is becoming more and more computer dependent not only information, but for fun and entertainment. This trend is a potential problem affecting all ages, starting with computer games for children to chats for the unwary or vulnerable adult.” She also provides you with examples of the condition called: Computer Addiction, Internet Addictive Disorder or Cyber addiction. She associates these with being similar to Pathological Gambling or Compulsive Shopping.
These addictions whether it’s Computer, Gambling or even Shopping, hurt not just the person with the addiction problem, but their love ones, and co-workers or classmates. Like Gamblers or Shoppers who spend their money and time with such compulsion, because they can’t stop and are always thinking, dreaming, fantasizing, about that next moment that they make the connection that of course will solve everything that is wrong in their lives.
In addition to this Dr. Orzack feels that this addiction can be treated, like any other addiction, by using Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Teaching the patient to identity the problem, learn coping skills to help prevent relapse, sometimes treatment will need medication, and she highly recommends support groups. Which I hope is true, and you will also after reading some of the stories that I was able to locate off of an episode of Dr. Phil that was taped back in October of 2008. On this particular show; there was a variety of people on it that came from all walks of life, different age groups, gender categories, you could almost say a little bit of everything was on this show. And besides the people who are addictive to video games, there were also the people closest to them that very effected by this problem and some of them more than others.
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The guests on the show included; a husband who ignores his whole family and a guy that was in debt for $24,000 due to his addiction. “Fred”, one of the guest spent so much time that he came to the brink of losing his whole family. And it was a tough battle and a very close call. He told the audience that before coming to the show, and becoming aware of his problem he might have chosen the game over his family. Because the video game are like drugs and they kept calling his name.
The 2nd guest was “Brad”, told the audience that he started playing when he was just 13 years old, and everyweek end he would binge out on playing computerized games, day and night. And as a grown man, Brad tells us that his addiction continued. It was so bad that he was up the night before his wedding, playing games. According to Brad; he remembers his father coming to his bedroom door and asking him; “why are you still up at 4:30 am, you have to get up in less than 3 hours,” well he was playing games of course. Even after getting married and starting a family, he continued on gaming, he got so bad that he dug himself a hole.
He told them that his life was out of control, but, the worse to come; he built a debt of over $24,000, lost his career, lying and deceiving his wife. Till it came to a head and he tried to commit suicide, by overdosing on a bottle of sedatives. Luckily he survived the overdose, and with the help of counseling came clean with his wife about his problem. The last guest; was the mother of another Gaming addictive victim, who was not as luckily as either “Fred” or “Brad”. The guest who is named; “Liz Woolley, founder of Online Gamers Anonymous, and whose 21 year old son; “Shawn” killed himself while playing the game Everquest. Liz tells us about that tragic day, and the events that lead up to it. Shawn was living at home with his family, and had bought himself the video game “Everquest”. And after just three months of playing, he was playing it all the time, staying up all night, not taking care of himself: shaving, bathing etc., not expressing himself or really talking to anyone at all, and not going anywhere, not even to work, just staying home all the time and gaming.
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This kept going on until that fateful day of Thanksgiving in 2001, she had just gotten back home and had knocked on his door and got worried when he didn’t respond to her, not even to say; “Go away, I’m busy right now”. She started banging on the door, yelling out his name, and ended up having to break in the door to his room. And the sight that met her will be with her for a very long and might never go away. What she saw was her son “Shawn”, sitting in his chair in front of the computer, with his rifle in his hand, dead and the computer game still playing on the computer screen.
According to Liz, “That moment in her life, was so serious that it prompt her to start telling people what she knew about gaming addictions, and sharing her story with anyone who would listen”. And she started the Online Gamers Anonymous, in order to provide others with the help that she had needed, and in such to help prevent others from going through what her family had went through. And to become fully aware of the dangers of Video Games, vs. Causal Games, because in a heartbeat you can go from being an outgoing, friendly social able to someone that you don’t know.
We need to remember that with all the studies going on, it has been proven that it is possible to become addicted to video games, and that they have been liken to being similar to a drug and as such should be treated with precaution. Not to use them randomly, or allow them to be used as something to keep your children occupied; i.e. like a babysitter per say. Watch how long your children play video games, as well as monitor what they are playing; i.e. how violent is it really, or suggestive styles etc.
As many of them are prone to cause children to become anti-social, withdrawn, depressed and even can cause violent reactions in them. One such case was the one about the child who in Ohio; “Daniel Petric who shot his own parents, killed his own mother, just because they took away his copy of the game; “Halo 3”, and when he was arrested, it was said that the only thing he had taken from the house and was on him was the “Game”.
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There are reports that are similar if not worse than this, and over a “Video game”, would it had made a difference if it had been a causal game vs. a video one? And where does it end? Going into Chat rooms, where predators can reach our children, or mass murder or worse suicide?
In conclusion, this problem has become such a concern, and growing so large in numbers and so rapidly in incidents of ; suicidal, violent, murder, as well as has been shown to be linked to addictive Video game playing, that there are Video Games Anonymous popping up all over the country side, as well as across the nation. According to an article written by Erica Naone (2007) called; “AMA Considers a New Addiction: Video Games”, that I found out online, published on MIT Technology Review.
According to Ms. Naone; “this has come to a point, that the American Medical Association (AMA.) has become involved, setting into play a set of recommendations; such as monitoring how long they play, and what other signs to watch for parents to follow, if they feel that their child or children maybe addictive to Video Game playing. And the A.M.A. has gone as far as to suggest to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of Mental Disorders, that Video Game Addiction belongs in the next edition”. And Ms. Naone stated; “that these recommendations are part of a report by the Council on Science and Public Health with the subject Emotional and Behavioral effects including addictive potential, of Video Games.” Elsewhere there was an article reported on CBS news online written by Amy Clark where she said; “that it has gotten so bad that we need a Detox for this problem of Video Game addictions.”
Now after all of this information, as well as stories about some of the people affected by all of this, I will leave you with these thoughts; what are your kids doing this summer, or in fact anytime? Now, I know what I would like, them going to school and brushing up on their social skills in a project based social-learning environment. Almost anything but playing video games would be great. But, realistically we know that this not going to happen. So, talk with your kids and see what they are doing, keep on top of them and their internet actions. Don’t let them be the next news item, becoming the next statistic.
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References:
http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/teens/gameaddiction.html
http://www. raisesmartkid.com/raise-smart-preschool-kid-articles/the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video.html
Wow, you have so many references! That's great! I also find the ways of video games, or just any kind of game being addictive. It kind of makes me also think of how so many foods around that we know are bad for us are proven to be addictive! How crazy is that.
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