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Online gaming addiction is one of the most prevalent problems in the Philippine society today. This problem is very serious that this issue is often hear in television and newspaper because it affects one of the most crucial sector in the country, which is the youth. A lot of Filipino youth are very addicted to online gaming that education in the country is very much negatively affected because of this kind of addiction. Because of this kind of threat that would not only affect the current education of the young Filipinos but also the future of the country, it is the important to understand this kind of addiction especially its causes. A lot of factors can be attributed to this problem of online addiction but the most probable reason for this addiction is (1) current trend of online internet connectivity and communication (2) the students’ psychological needs and motivations; (3) online games as the everyday focus of the addicts; and (4) the interplay of real self and virtual self. The communication media virtually dominate every major activity of children and youth today – – from play to leisure, family relations to schooling, socialization to education. Indeed, media have become so powerful that they can shape and influence the individual’s attitudes, attitudes , beliefs, values and lifestyles. The communication media landscape for today’s children and youth includes print, radio, television, video games, computers and the on-line technology of e-mail and various Internet applications. The findings of the 2006 McCann-Erickson Intergenerational Youth Study corroborate the increased popularity among the youth of activities relating to virtual connectivity. The study found that top leisure activities for teens after school remain to
be traditional media that is, watching TV and listening to the radio. However, there is an emerging prominence of technology-related activities like use of cell phones and Internet, indicating greater interest and participation in the so-called techno centric life. New priorities among children and youth, therefore, are hinged on the popularity of technology and connectivity. The coming of the Cyber Age in the Philippines has also brought a “digital divide.” Only 7 percent of households owned personal computers, as of 2003 (FLEMMS). The 4As Media Factbook (2004) cited that computer ownership among households in Metro Manila was 17 percent and only 7 percent in Urban Philippines. Personal computer penetration is estimated at 1.9 for every 100 persons.
As of 2006, there were 408 Internet Service Providers and an estimated 2 million Internet subscribers (NTC 2006). In 2004, the International Data Corp. estimated that there were 11.8 million Internet users in the Philippines but this is expected to increase to 21.5 million users by this year. However, in April2007, Yahoo estimated that there were 14 million Internet users in the Philippines (16% of population). Ronald James Panis (2007) quoted Joey Alaralla, founding president of the Asian Gaming Journalists Association, who observed th at “teens and twenty something tend to patronize online games more.” The same report noted that online gaming makes up 80 percent of the total Internet use in the country.
Online gaming subscribers in the Philippines increased from 60,000 in 1994 to 350,000 in 2003. The International Data Corporation predicted that by 2009, there would be 6.9 million Filipino gamers. Online gaming is another favorite with almost 8 of 10 elementary and highschool students who connect to the Net playing online games (Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication). This can be attributed to visual and interactive characteristics of online games. There are more grade school pupils than high school students who play online. This is probably because high school respondents have other social activities besides playing online games. Surprisingly, there are more girls than boys in elementary grade playing online games as the latter may have other social activities outside the house while girls may opt to play online at home. But as schoolchildren grow old, there are more boys than girls playing online. Incidence of online gaming is highest for Luzon and lowest for Mindanao. In Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao, more males play online games than females. According to Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication a little over onethird (35%) online gamers play 2 -3 times a week. Four of 10 online gamers spend at least an hour. The top five favorite online games are Audition, Cabal Online, Ran/Ran Online, DOTA and Counter Strike. Audition is the top choice for Metro Manila where there are more girl children players. DOTA and Counter Strike are in the top three in two survey areas. The youth of today no longer seem to spend their leisure activities like in the olden days; outdoor games or playing with toys, instead, they spend their free time in their homes, internet cafés or computer shops simply to satisfy their hunger; and that hunger is online gaming. Online gaming has such a profound impact on not only the
young, but dynamically every age group as well. So far, virtually anyone is able to go on a computer and punch through the keys and mouse in order to get a high score, chat with players, get the rarest items, and level up as fast as possible. Yes, there seems to be no restriction as to whom, how or what online gaming can extend to. As in any situation where new technology is introduced, the social impact of the Internet is being looked at. One social problem that has been observed is that the Internet café has become mainly game centers. About one-half to two-thirds of the computers in a typical Internet café, according to one study, are devoted to games (violent and gory games). The use of the remaining computers was roughly split between browsing, email, online chat, word processing and research. The Internet cafés have become not just game centers. They are becoming centers off addiction among the youth, mostly boys, including elementary school pupils. According to one concerned Internet café entrepreneur, “Internet cafés are seducing youths to a new form of addiction, one which may not destroy their bodies as drugs do, but which is certainly twisting their minds. To the young play is reality and reality is play ” (Maslog, 1998). Accordingly, there are more public school students who play online games than those enrolled in private schools. Possible explanations are that they have more leisure time as private school students mostly stay whole day in schools unlike in many public schools. In some areas, public schools are in three shifts. Students enrolled in private schools come from relatively economically well-off families. They can afford to provide their children other digital toys for their entertainment such as iPods, MP3/MP4, PlayStation, Internet-capable cellphones, etc.
Also, many of the favorite online games identified involve “violence” This is an area of concern. While playing online games contributes to visual-spatial skills, some psychosocial researches confirm that violent games can increase children’s aggression. A little over three-fourth (77%) play online games, with Luzon respondents reporting the highest (91%) incidence and Mindanao the lowest (66%) incidence. The low incidence of online gaming in this area could be due to the fact that children are already sick and tired of “real wars” as most of the male online games are war games (Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication). One of the causes of online game addiction is the current trend of internet usage both for connectivity and communication because online games can be a portal towards connecting to other people. Having a connection is very important among individuals since this would fulfill the needs of being able to communicate and share ideas to others and in return, this connectivity will be instrument in learning and growth among individuals. Since Filipino society uses internet connection as a method of connectivity compared with other mediums, internet connection is then one of the mode of connectivity that would shape communication in the past decade and the current decade. Online gaming which uses the internet for communication will be greatly affected by this popular trend on communication. Analysis of the findings of the about online game addiction indicated that psychological needs and motivations could be categorized into the following seven themes: (1) entertainment and leisure, (2) emotional coping (diversions from loneliness, isolation and boredom, releasing stress, relaxation, discharging anger and frustration),
(3) escaping from reality, (4) satisfying interpersonal and social needs (making friends, strengthening friendships, and generating a sense of belonging and recognition), (5) the need for achievement, (6) the need for excitement and challenge, and (7) the need for power (the sense of superiority, the desire for control, and facilitation of self-confidence) (Chin and Wen, 2006). Regarding self-reflections of online game engagement, the online gaming addicts answered the survey of Chin and Wen, 2006 for questions such as “to put it bluntly, playing online games is simply ” and “what do you think of yourself as being so addicted to online games?” are quite consistent to their motivations for playing online games, which include “entertainment and leisure,” “emotional coping: whiling away time and diverting oneself from loneliness and boredom, releasing stresses, relaxing and letting off emotions,” “interpersonal interactivity,” “excitement and challenge seeking,” and “escaping from the reality.” However, “the need for power: the sense of superiority and control” was not mentioned, which might indicate that this need is only a secondary superficial motivation, rather than a primary need and motivation for addicted online game players. Moreover, from the perspective of psychodynamics (Freud, 1946) the answers regarding the motivations suggest that the needs for achievement and power in addicted players might be absent in the unconscious level. Even though some of the addicted online game players consciously believe that online games could meet the needs for achievement and power, this might be opposite to their unconsciousness. This means that the needs for power and achievement in these addicted players might actually be quite little; however, because of the censorship from the superego, the ego consciously shows the needs for power and achievement through online games via the
defense mechanism of reaction formation. Therefore, the presence of needs for power and achievement in the conscious level merely reflects their weak or absent existence in the unconscious level. In the study of Smahel et al. (2012), the more that young people engage in friendship seeking or peer communication online, the more time they spend online, and the more opportunity they could have to develop behavior patterns consistent with Internet addiction. But the simple proportion of friends online is not the only factor likely to be correlated with Internet addiction. A second possibility is age. Emerging adults may be more susceptible to Internet addiction than early or middle adolescents because, as young people grow older, adult oversight of their Internet use diminishes (as do the restrictions placed on their Internet activity). With the transition from adolescence to emerging adulthood (typically at the end of secondary school or university), young people’s face -to-face interactions with peers diminish and time alone increases, leaving them vulnerable to using the Internet to compensate for lost or weakened relationships with peers. Without supervision, a young person can become excessively involved in online activity (Douglas et al., 2008; Yen, Yen, Chen, Chen, & Ko, 2007). An example of a heavily time consuming social online activity is gaming in persistent virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft or Second Life, which are immensely popular among adolescents and emerging adults. Average intensity of play per week is approximately 25 hours (Griffiths et al., 2004; Smahel, et al., 2008), which corresponds to average full-time high school attendance. In one of the surveys of Chin and Wen (2006) regarding online addiction most of the online games addicts stated that their life would be “dark” and “boring” if there were
no online games. Conversely, one interviewee suggested that life would be “not much different,” whilst another suggested that life would be “better!” without online games. Furthermore, concerning “how do you think” about being so addicted to online games, the interviewees suggested that playing online games was only for “feeling relaxed,” “leisure activity,” “whiling away the time,” “escaping from reality, being slack, and not feeling like studying,” and “the need for interpersonal relations.” The texts of self reflection, on the one hand, illustrate that playing online games is the focus of the addicts’ life. Also, the psychological texts study by provided by Chin and Wen, 2006 the subjects suggest that their major needs for playing online games were for the four areas of “entertainment and leisure,” “emotional coping,” “excitement and challenge seeking,” and “escaping from reality.”Similarly, the subjects’ texts also suggested that online games either provide them with a compensatory channel for unsatisfying needs or motivations in their real life, or for the same things they are seeking in real life. Most of the subjects reported that playing online games had become the focus of their life. The experiences provided by the subjects suggest that, without online games, life would become “dark” and “bored.” Why do people easily become addicted to online games? The relationship between sense of control and self-efficacy (Bandura, 1986) might provide insight into this pathological use of online games. Addicted players felt that they could obtain the “sense of control” through playing online games. However, based upon the perspective of the ambivalent motivations in individuals’ compulsive behaviors, playing games compulsively might only serve as a coping mechanism, similar to the incessant purification behavior of obsessive-compulsive patients such as hand washing.
Thus, they might become more likely to engage in online gaming for the purpose of a temporary distraction. Follow the rationale, there should be the desire of “not -wantingto-control and not-willing-to- determine” in the unconscious level of addicted players. However, this motivation is not accepted by the censorship of the superego (Freud, 1966). In order to reduce the neurotic anxiety resulting from conflict between the id and the superego, addicts would have to constantly seek the virtual sense of control through online gaming. The answers indicated that a consistent or compensatory relationship existed between the virtual self in online games and the real self, and this finding suggests that the virtual self in the online games not only could extend the real self (self extension: consistency), but also could serve as a compensatory function that might satisfy the unfulfilled roles in real life. The consistent or compensatory relationship of virtual self and real self was mainly reflected in the areas of “need for interpersonal relations” and “escaping from reality,” and revealed that online games could provide the function of role-playing. Griffiths et al. (2003) analyzed two sites of information on online game players, and the results indicated that nearly three quarters of players engage in roleplayat some point. The present study showed that at least eight subjects would use identities different from that in real life, and some even played the role of the opposite sex. Also, their are five themes of need consisted of the following: (1) “entertainment and leisure,” (2) “emotional coping: whiling away times and diverting oneself from loneliness and boredom, releas ing stresses, relaxing and letting off emotions,” (3) “need for interpersonal relations,”(4) “excitement and challenge seeking,” and (5) “escaping
from the reality.” The subjects’ motivations for playing online games in the survey of Chin and Wen, 2006 wer e compared with the answers for the following items: (1) “how is your interpersonal relationships in real life?” (2) “the relationship with peers in real life,” and (3) “in real life, I like to seek . . .” It was found that in the area of “interpersonal relationship needs,” the interpersonal relationships in online games might serve as a type of compensation and replacing satisfaction, or a type of extension for the quality and needs of interpersonal relationship in reality. In other words, online games provide the addicted players another channel for meeting their needs for interpersonal relationships. Accordingly, most of online addicts shows strong interests in role-playing of online games, in which they often do things that they dare not to do in real life. In an anonymous environment, online game players always appear with nicknames instead of real names. Thus, many people who are addicted to the Internet might attempt to escape from the limitations brought by real life in order to obtain the space for survival and security (Suler, 2001). This indicates that online gaming brings an anonymous environment with lower public self-awareness, and allows players to stop concentrating on the self-consciousness in order to prevent becoming overly worried about what other people would evaluate and judge the way they act in front of others (Shaffer, 1991). From the perspective of psychodynamics (Freud, 1946) at the conscious level addicted players might seek self presentation in an anonymous, relaxing, and secure space, but unconsciously, they might actually have an unsatisfied need for self-presentation due to their poor self-image in real life.
Addressing the theoretical implication, some studies of online gaming addicts indicate that they had a reaction formation concerning the needs for power and achievement in the unconscious level, resulting in the compulsive use of online games. In other words, unconsciously, these addicted online game players should be motivated to avoid pursuing achievements, power, and sense of superiority. Although this avoidance could not be detected in the conscious level, the censorship of the superego triggers the defensive mechanism of reaction formation, which results in the pursuit of the virtual satisfaction of achievements and power in the online games. In online games, the players might be pursuing the satisfaction of achievement and power on the surface; however, in real life, they are not able to face these challenges, hence leading to contradictions between their surface motivations and source motivations. From the perspective of psychodynamics (Freud, 1946) when addicts would not be willing to cope with the source motivations in the unconscious level, they would incessantly engage in the heavy use of online games to reduce the neurotic anxiety coming from the conflict between their superego and ego. Through an analysis of the psychological texts provided by the addicted players, it was found that the pathological viewpoints of psychodynamics for compulsive behaviors could be use d to explain addicts’ source motivation in the unconscious level, and these source motivations might be the dynamic which motivates the players to engage in online games compulsively. As to the practical implications of this study, in regarding to the addicted players whose pathological use due to their reaction formation to unconscious motivations, the counseling intervention could be employed by a psychoanalysis approach. Counselors’ interpretation of the players’ neurotic anxiety would enable them to get insights into their
source motivations in the unconscious level, and thus break the chain of compulsive Internet use. Concerning addicted players without the contradiction between surface motivations and source motivations; online games only serve as a way for extending or replacing satisfactions in the virtual world. Therefore, providing them with extending or replacing alternatives with more benefits and less negative effects would result in a decrease in their addictive use of online games. Conversely, existing literature provides support for idea that one can use roleplaying techniques, in an MMORPG, to help explore ones identity, increase selfawareness and possibly provide positive therapeutic benefits to ones overall mental health. The research also supports the view that the anonymous setting of an MMORPG helps people role-play and carry out behaviors that would make them more uncomfortable, or impossible, in real life situations. Studies indicate that people connect to their characters online and often play them in ways that let them explore various aspects of their identity and to gain social acceptance from those they interact with online, leading to more confidence and acceptance of themselves in the real world. There is also evidence that that many social norms and behaviors in the real world also exist in the virtual world. Another important study, completed by (McKenna & Bargh, 1998), showed that people with concealable stigmatized identities found a place to belong in internet newsgroups and that membership in these groups became part of that person’s identity. Their results support the view that “internet groups obey general principles of social group function and have real life consequ ences for the individual” ( Ibid, 2004). In the second study of this paper, they showed that people in the newsgroups relating to
sexual identity not only came out to others in the newsgroup, but also came out to friends and family. As McKenna points out, “this is particularly remarkable because sexual preferences are often formed early in life …and the mean age of t hat sample was 37 years” (Ibid, 2004). This provides support to the view that people who are roleplaying in an online game could conceivably translate that behavior into real life results. In the study by (Hussain & Griffiths, 2008) they showed that 34% of the gamers surveyed indicated they used online gaming to change their mood and that the gamers may have been using their online gaming as a means of coping with problems in their everyday lives. This demonstrates a transfer of emotions between the virtual and real world and supports the idea that one’s virtual behavior could affect ones real behavior. Some of the respondents to this study indicated they gender swapped as an experiment. Participant 1 (Extract 21) said, “That gender swapping enabled him to play around with aspects of his character that would not be po ssible to explore in real life”. However, the study also indicated that gender swapping also occurred for a variety of other reasons, for example to get treatment that is more favorable from other male players here also exists research showing that nonverbal social norms carry over in online virtual environments. A study by Yee et al. (2007) showed support to their hypothesis that social interactions govern the same social norms as those in the real world. For example that the closer two people were the less likely they were to look at each other unless the two of them were talking and that people tended to respect each other’s personal space. Future research on online gaming addiction should include interviews with adolescents from other countries as well as conduct cross-cultural analyses. Future
studies could consider conducting in-depth interviews over the Internet, rather than our face-to-face interviews; participants might be more forthcoming and honest in the anonymous environment of the Internet. Moreover, on-line interviews can be conducted without the limitations of time and locati on, and each interviewee’s responses could easily be recorded in digital format (Chou, 2001).
