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A STUDY ABOUT COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION CHAPTER 1: THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND Introduction It is known that we are living in technological era. The computers becameirreplaceable tool in everyday life of almost each person. The adult users generally useit for business purposes while youngsters for computer games. Computers became thepart of our life and very important component in many spheres of modern life. So it issomehow influences on people. One of the spheres of the life is leisure. Technology hasdeveloped so much that it is almost crucial to have electronic devices at home.Our life has gotten so used to having technology around us that we can¶t imagineour lives without them. However, while having electronic devices at home could becomfortable and handy at times, it could also have negative effect on children,especially on teenagers. Parents usually buy computers for their children¶s educationalresource. But teenagers, who always seek fun activities around them, use computer toplay games, chat with friends and to catch up with the latest gossip on celebrities. Andbefore they know it, they are addicted to computer. Computer can cause teenagers tobe physically, and mentally ill, and the more the child spends more time on computer,the more he/she loses time to focus on academics, and to talk to their family. Background of the Study In modern society, it is very common playing computer games. Even thoughcomputer games are common in our life, they have not only good effects, but also badeffects, especially to teenagers. Moreover, even though parents know that teenagersplay computer games too much, they do not know that why teenagers are widelyexcited at computer games, and what the bad effects of computer games are. Addictions are an imbalance in a persons¶ life. They have severe negativeconsequences for the addict and those close to them. One of these addictions iscomputer gaming. In modern society, it is very common playing computer games. Eventhough computer games are
common in our life, they have not only good effects, butalso bad effects, especially to teenagers. Moreover, even though parents know thatteenagers play computer games too much, they do not know that why teenagers are
. VILLANUEVA Page 2 widely excited at computer games, and what the bad effects of computer games are.There are two main causes that teenagers play computer games too much. One of which is the reason that teenagers play computer games too much is very simple,because computer games are very fun. Computer games¶ aims focus on to relievestress. Therefore, computer games are very splendid violent content. There has longbeen the brief that violent content may teach violent behavior´ Statement of the Problem Game Addiction is a serious problem because it somehow adversely affects theperson in their maturity, character development, dealing with life problems and it affectsthose around them. Nowadays majority of young people spend their leisure playingcomputer games, surfing through the internet. Computer games have become one of the favorite time-spending of young people all ages, and even some adults. Withpermanent development of computer technology the quantity of people using computer either for working purposes or entertainment purposes is in creasing speedily. Thefocus of the study is to determine why students in De La Salle University Dasmarinasare hooked up with computer gaming and to determine its causes and effects to thestudents. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study is sought to answer the following questions:1. Why do majority of young people are hooked up with
computer games?2. What are the causes and effects of computer gaming addiction?
A STUDY ABOUT COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION . What are the solutions for computer gaming addiction? 4. Is Game Addiction a problem?
Significance of the Study The significance of the study is to determine what are the causes of computer gaming addiction and its effect to the people especially to the students. In order toestablish a threshold for what is considered excessive gaming, the students in the studywere evaluated to determine if they thought they were becoming preoccupied with videogames and whether or not did they lied about the amount of time spent they actuallyspent playing games. Other indicators for pathological gaming were ignoring schoolworkto play games and if playing games allowed them to escape from problems or badfeelings in their lives. Scope and Delimitation of the Study The study is concentrated mainly on Computer Game Addiction as theresearcher would determine some causes and effects of computer gaming particularlyon the students of De La Salle University Dasmarinas. The researcher would also thenrecommend some ways to avoid computer game addiction for the benefit of the peopleespecially to the students.
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES AND LITERATURE The fast growing trend and innovation in technologies today prompts researchers toconduct studies about the computer gaming addiction of people particularly studentswhich affects both them physically and mentally. This Chapter presents a brief review of literature and studies, both local and foreign that is related to these studies. Foreign Literature Lepper, M. R. &Gurtner, J (2000), states that prolonged and excessive use of thesegames can cause, mainly upon children, a number of physical and psychologicalproblems which may include obsessive, addictive behaviour, dehumanization of theplayer, desensitizing of feelings, personality changes, hyperactivity learning disorders,premature maturing of children, psychomotor disorders, health problems (due to lack of exercise & tendonitis), Development of anti-social behaviour and loss of free thinkingand will. Anderson and Bushman (2001), found that across 54 independent tests of the relationbetween video game violence and aggression, involving 4262 participants, there appear to be five consistent results of playing games with violent contents. Playing violentgames increase aggressive behaviours, increases aggressive cognitions, increasesaggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases pro-socialbehaviours. Since most electronic games are violent, children below legal ages areemotionally disturbed and caused several changes on their behaviour. Austin, Pinkleton& Fujioka (2000), quoted that ³parental meditation is correlated withbetter academic performance. And has been shown to increase beliefs in social norms,and to decrease fear.´Which refers to the parental consent of the player as they play a violent-oriented game.Gentile & Walsh (2002), wherein 55% of parents said that ³always´ or ³often´ shouldparents put limits on the amount of the time their children may play computer and videogames, and 40% said they ³always´ or ³often´ check the video game rating beforeallowing their children to buy or rent computer or video games. Even through thesenumbers are not particularly high, they
may overestimate the amount of parentalmonitoring of children¶s video game play. Foreign Literature Computer game addiction has become a major problem in our society. Manychildren and teenagers play an excessive amount of hours of computer games a daythat they develop countless problems such as violent behavior, hostility and socialisolation. These are but few of many examples of problems young teenagers face whenthey have gotten to the point of addiction. However, computer game addiction is provento be associated with academic achievements and social skills as well. (Chui et al.,2004). Gaming addicts experience huge fluctuations in behavior as stated by Chin &Wen-Bin (2007). These so called fluctuations in behaviors do not manifest on their ownhowever. Many addicts have actually become hooked on gaming simply because itprovides them of a method to escape reality. The notion of escaping reality thenbecomes a habit, which leads to addiction (Lee &LaRose, 2007). Accordingly, the addict finds himself torn between two worlds: reality and thevirtual world. This split is identified to cause behavioral differences such as the fluctuations previously mentioned and certain states of aggressiveness (Chin & Wen-Bin 2007). Computer game addiction has in fact become a troublesome concept for many individuals. Though, in order to fully understand this concept, one must define itfirst: Online games can create a separate and unique world that helps identify the user of his preferences, goals, dislikes, settings, team goals and organizations (Chin & Wen-Bin 2007). As described by Young (1996), the internet itself is not addictive, but the specific applications used to achieve certain goals that benefit the user in some ways. At a social science perspective, computer game addiction can lead to troubles incommunication and self representation. This could also deeply effect the gamer psychologically. Computer games are in fact applications that people can identifythemselves with, and therefore can incite levels of addiction.
Local Studies Based on the previous research, the computer has also disadvantages aside from thefact that it provides the students information¶s and other features.In that research they conclude many students spent more time playing rather thanresearching and doing other academic works. This is result to computer addiction. Fromthese students, huge percentage of them is male. This shows that male students aremore prone to be affected by computer disadvantages.The research goal is to inform the students about what computer can really do to them,how can it affects them and what it is that affects them. The researchers proved that theresearch made is really true and precise because they are also once addicted in usingthese so called computers (Justin Vista, Hienson Tan and Bryan Yaranon, 2009). Foreign Studies It is said in this article that computer nowadays has become an important householditem. There are tools like spelling and grammar checker, thesaurus and dictionaryinstalled in the computer that will be helpful for students in doing their assignments andresearches. Thus, it will takes less time to make written documents and there is no needto open up the dictionary book to look for the meaning of words. Typing is much faster than writing on paper. If there is a need of reorganizing the sentence and paragraphs,one can cut and paste and make necessary changes. Thus, overall a computer allowsthe user to create documents, edit, and print and store them so that they can beretrieved later. Using computer, a user remain connected to the world through internet. The internetallows people from around the world to share knowledge, ideas, and experience in anyfield. Another application you can find in the internet is the email. This is a method of communication used
globally and is provided with a system of creating, storing, andforwarding mails.
Foreign StudiesOne in 10 gaming youths addicted The researchers report that the percentage of pathological youth gamers in Singaporeis similar to other recent video game addiction studies in other countries, including theUnited States (8.percent), China (10percent), Australia (8.0 percent), Germany(11.9 percent) and Taiwan (7.5 percent)."We're starting to see a number of studies from different cultures -- in Europe, the U.S.and Asia -- and they're all showing that somewhere around 7 to 11 percent of gamersseem to be having real problems to the point that they're considered pathologicalgamers," said Gentile, who published the first national American study on pathologicalvideo game addiction in youths in the May 2009 issue of the journal PsychologicalScience. "And we define that as damage to actual functioning -- their school, social,family, occupational, psychological functioning, etc. To be considered pathological,gamers must be damaging multiple areas of their lives." "This study is important because we didn't know until this research whether some typesof children are at greater risk, how long the problem lasts, or whether pathologicalgaming was a separate problem or simply a symptom of some other problem -- such asdepression," said Angeline Khoo, associate professor of psychological studies at theNational Institute of Education in Singapore and principal investigator of the overallproject.The researchers gathered data from students attending 12 Singapore schools, includingfive boys' schools. The subjects were surveyed annually on their video game play andbehavior between 2007 and 2009. Surveys were conducted in classrooms by teacherswho had been trained by the research team. The study had a 99 percent response rate.Using the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" as a guide to define the addictive condition, the researchers foundbetween 7.6 and 9.9 percent of the student sample could be defined as pathologicalgamers over the two-year period. Eighty-four percent of those subjects who were
firstclassified as pathological gamers were found to still be classified that way two yearslater. Yet in that same two-year window, only one percent of the sample became newpathological gamers. A serious behavioral problem Through their analyses, the researchers conclude that video game addiction is a seriousbehavioral problem that is separate from other afflictions."Once they become addicted, pathological gamers were more likely to becomedepressed, have increased social phobias, and increased anxiety. And they received poorer grades in school," Gentile said. "Therefore, it looks like pathological gaming isnot simply a symptom of depression, social phobia or anxiety. In fact, those problemsseem to increase as children become more addicted. In addition, when children stoppedbeing addicted, depression, anxiety and social phobias decreased as well." Among this sample, pathological gamers started with an average of 1 hours of play per week, compared with 19 hours per week for those who never became pathologicalgamers. But Gentile says those thresholds don't necessarily translate across allcultures, particularly in American children."In general, Singaporean children spend more time playing video games than Americanchildren," he said. "In the U.S., we didn't follow the kids across time, so we don't knowwhere that threshold is across each culture or if there is a certain amount that is toomuch. We do know, however, that playing a lot is not the same as being a pathologicalgamer -- the gaming must be causing problems for it to be considered pathological."Gentile is visiting Singapore to meet with his research colleagues and present their findings during the final two weeks of January. ( D. A. Gentile, H. Choo, A. Liau, T. Sim, D.Li, D. Fung, A. Khoo. Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A TwoYear Longitudinal Study . Foreign Studies
Studies show that the excitement of computer games makes playing them addictive.Parents of preteens and teens hardly find the realities of computer game addictionsurprising. Ask any preteen or teen how they love to spend their spare time, and chances are you'llget an earful about computer games. But why do they love them so? Is computer gameaddiction real? According to some studies it would appear that the excitement of computer games causes the brain to release a chemical that is, in essence, addictive.For any parent who has seen the fervor by which some kids play computer games, thisnews is no surprise.What makes computer games so addictive? Media literacy specialist, Dr. CharlesUngerleider explains that "they're very compelling with increasing complexity, so a childbecomes more facile, yet wants to know more and apply new skills." While wanting toimprove their game isn't a problem in itself, it becomes one if computer games are"taking a youngster away too much from other activities," says Ungerleider. "Then the parent has to intervene and limit the amount of time the youngster spends with thecomputer game."Professor of Computer Science, Maria Klavee feels computer video games, if not tooviolent, can "offer some real opportunities for puzzle solving, strategic and criticalthinking". But she adds that it's important that computer games are played inmoderation. Klavee says parents should "provide a selection of activities, not just theones that have the most action or are addictive. Choose some that involve problemsolving or good story lines. Also aim for a balance in your child's life. Sports areimportant, reading's important. Just think of computer games as one more component ina child's exploration of what's out there in society." As for computer game addiction?Ungerleider believes that "a parent can preventyoungsters from becoming addicted to too much TV or too many computer games byestablishing a pattern of selective viewing or by using computer game material early in achild's life so that by the time a youngster gets to be an adolescent and there's very littlesurveillance or control, it's less likely to occur."Finally, Ungerleider remind parents that "if a youngster becomes addicted to computer games it can be a problem and the parent does
need to intervene and provide attractivealternatives." (http://www.theparentreport.com/articles/) Foreign Studies Like related forms of media, computer and video games have been the subject of frequent controversy and censorship, due to the depiction of graphic violence, sexualthemes, Advergaming (a form of advertising in games), consumption of illegal drugs,consumption of alcohol or tobacco, propaganda, or profanity in some games. Amongothers, critics of video games sometimes include parents' groups, politicians, organizedreligion groups, and other special interest groups, even though all of these can be foundin all forms of entertainment and media. Various games have been accused of causingaddiction to such and even violent behavior. Moreover, it appears to be a question of age. Since these art forms have beenaround longer, the backlash against them occurred farther in the past, beyond theremembrance of today's youth.Wehave lots of violence in multiple media, including TV,movies, video games and music, and that violence does affect kids. There¶s a tendencyto discount that as significant. For example, there¶s some evidence that some of thesevideo games actually teach kids weapon-related skills.Dr. Anderson and colleagues have shown that playing a lot of violent videogames is related to having more aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors(Anderson & Bushman, 2001). Furthermore, playing violent games is also related tochildren being less willing to be caring and helpful towards their peers. Importantly,research has shown that these effects happen just as much for non-aggressive childrenas they do for children who already have aggressive tendenciesOne study found that kids who spend more time playing violent video games aremore hostile and more likely to argue than other teens. Another study showed that kidswho play violent games for less than 10 minutes tended to act aggressively shortly after playing.The research also showed that playing violent video games may be more harmfulfor kids than watching violence on TV, the APA said. Because video games involve kidsin practicing repeated acts of violence, and often reward them for it, the games makethe violence more realistic and intensify the kids'
learning of violentbehavior.Moreover,Middle school students who spend their after-school hours watchingcable TV programs and playing video games could see their school performance suffer. Researchers say they've found another reason why video games are so hard to give up:They may help fulfill basic psychological needs.In a study,about the issue of Motivation and Emotion, investigators from the Universityof Rochester and Immersyve Inc. looked at what motivated 1,000 gamers to keepplaying video games."We think there's a deeper theory than the fun of playing," lead investigator RichardRyan, a motivational psychologist at Rochester, said in a prepared statement.The gamers were divided into four groups, each asked to play different games. Theyanswered questionnaires both before and after playing the games. The researchersused the questionnaires to look at the underlying motives and satisfactions that canspark players' interests and sustain them during play.The researchers found that the games can provide opportunities for achievement, freedom and even a connection to other players. Those benefits trumpeda shallow sense of fun, which doesn't keep gamers as interested. Players reportedfeeling the best when the games produced positive experiences and challenges thatconnected to what they knew in the real world."It's our contention that the psychological 'pull' of games is largely due to their capacity to engender feelings of autonomy, competence and relatedness," said Ryan.He believes that video games not only motivate further play but "also can beexperienced as enhancing psychological wellness, at least short-term."For the participants who played massively multiplayer online, or MMO, games --which are capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of players simultaneously -- theneed for relatedness emerged "as an important satisfaction that promotes a sense of presence, game enjoyment and an intention for future play," the researchers found.Ryan pointed out that while not all video games are able to satisfy basic psychologicalneeds, "those that do may be the best at keeping players coming back." Video games do have ratings to indicate when they have violence, stronglanguage, mature sexual themes, and other content that may be inappropriate for your child. The ratings, established for the
Entertainment Software Review Board, range fromEC (meaning Early Childhood) - which indicates that the game is appropriate for kidsages 3 and older - to AO (for Adults Only) - which indicates that violent or graphicsexual content makes it appropriate only for adults.Monitor how the games are affecting your child. If your child seems moreaggressive after spending time playing a certain game, it's a good idea to discuss thegame and help your child understand how the violence that's portrayed is different fromwhat occurs in the real world. By doing that, you can help your child identify less withthe aggressive characters and reduce the negative effects that the violent video gamescan have, according to the AAP(The American Academy of Pediatrics) . AAP recommends that kids older than 2 years spend no more than 2 hourswatching TV or movies or playing video games daily. The authors further suggestlimiting media use to no more than 1 hour on school nights, and restricting access toadult media ² including cable movie channels and R-rated movies and videos ² tosupport better school performance.One of the easiest ways to get the family moving is to encourage playing outsideduring the day. ³Limiting the amount of TV children watch, video games they play or theamount of computer time they have is really an important part of the parents'responsibility to get their kids moving,´ CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY To comprehensively achieve the objectives which are beneficial to broadenobjectives of the agency and organizations in the study of Computer Game Addictionand to efficiently or successfully obtain the desired outcome of this architectural thesis;results such as recommendations for its cause and effects which will incorporateinterpretative, quantitative and qualitative methods of research techniques. P resented systematically, are the different processes or steps in conducting this study. A. Gathering of Data
To attain the desired objectives for the study of Computer Game Addiction, datafrom the following sources shall be gathered to be able to support the framework as well as the processes of this study. 1. Review of Published and Unpublished Material The review of published and unpublished materials shall be done to collectinformation on philosophical, theoretical, descriptive and procedural aspect of thestudyon Computer Game Addiction. The review shall also be performed to be able toexamine the effects of computer games in the process of conducting the questionnaires,guide questions and surveys for the students. The following possible sources of unpublished and published materials shall be visited:a. World Wide Web Considering that the internet or worldwide web (www) is the most accessible andthe most widely known as the fastest form of researching because information are allmade available in a click, this shall be considered as an alternative source of information. In particular, the related local and foreign studies and literature shall besourced out.b. Libraries Libraries of various universities, including national libraries shall be visited tocomprehensively gather the needed information for the study. Unpublished studies such A STUDY ABOUT COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION 2011 K. M . EUSEBIO; R . GUSI; V . X . LUBUGUIN; Z . A . NARANJO; C . D
. VILLANUEVA Page 16 CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA This part of the study aims is focused on how the researchers presented, analysed andinterpreted the data gathered to answer the specificquestions posed in this study.Three types of instruments in gathering sets of information are used in this researchstudy. The primary instrument used is the interview to relevant resource persons. Twoother types are survey and immersion/observation. Thus, in this chapter data shall bepresented according to the instrumentation used.I. Interview A. GamersSeveral college students are interviewed by the researchers 2 sets of guide questionsare prepared to obtain more results. Those college students whom the researchershave interviewed are students who can actually play computer games for more than 8hours.The first set of guide question targets the life story of a computer game player/addict.The researchers got to interview 5 students one of which is a female. Thoserespondents were chosen by the researchers for they were affected by computer gaming in different ways but commonly, they got hooked up and almost forgoteverything about their studies.Table No.1 Interview Responses from 5 students Gamer 1 Gamer 2 Gamer 3 Gamer 4 Gamer 5Firstpart y Started playing atan early age andwas influenced byhis friends. y Played severalonline games andhad spent a wholeday playing acertain game. y Currenlty playingDragona and HON y Learned toplay onlinegames by hisown duringhis first yearsin college. y Have playednumerousonlinegames y Currenltyplaying HON y Startedplayingduring hishigh schoolyears asinfluenced bya friend. y Plays 3 hours a day y Plays dota,counterstrike, and y Startedplaying duringher earlyyears y She is fondof playinggames onfacebook andspends almost10 hours of playing on acomputer y Influenced by afriend. y Fond of playingonlineand LANgames y Canspendhalf aday
A STUDY ABOUT COMPUTER GAME ADDICTION 2011 K. M
. EUSEBIO; R . GUSI; V . X . LUBUGUIN; Z . A . NARANJO; C . D . VILLANUEVA Page 17 y Can actuallyplay for onewhole dayragnarok shop. y She alsoplays onlinegamesplayingcomputer gamesSecondPart y There were timesthat he misses hisclasses and mealsfor online gaming. y He thinks that(from hisexperience) beingaddicted to acomputer gamemay ruin astudentsconcentration instudies y He was hooked tocomputer gamingbecause he likedthe fact that he gotto talk to personswhom he doesn¶teven knowpersonally y Similar tothe firstgamer buthe doesn¶tlike theinteractionand thesocial lifethat onlinegaming maygive. He is just fond of playing andhow it easeboredom. y Again similar to the firstgamer butthe thing thathe likes themost andhooked himup is the factthatcomputer gaming killsboredom. y Unlike theothers she donot miss her classes, justmeals. y Similar toothersinsights, shethought thatcomputer gaming hasthe tendencyto ruin one¶sfuture. y Answer ssimilar to thefourthgamer.ThirdPart y After severalyears, he seeshimself still playinggames but with hisfamile (children) y Advice: Managetime properly andprioritize studies
y After severalyears he donot seehimself stillplayingcomputer games y Advice:Manage timeproperly y In the futurehe will nolonger beaddicted tocomputer gaming for he will bebusy findinga stable job y Advice:Manage timeProperly y She do notsee herself asan adult gamer for she thinkthat she wouldbe too oldenough to playcomputer games. y Advice:Control oneself and refrainfrom beingaddicted to acomputer game y Similar to gamer no. 4 . The questions were divided into parts, as seen on Table no. 1. The first of which seeksan answer describing their backgrounds in computer gaming. The Second part relaysthe positive and negative effects of computer gaming. It also delivers their perceptionregarding computer gaming addiction. And finally, the third part contains their vision on
