Yap 1 Justin Yap English 96 Janet Goldberg 10/23/08 Compulsive Gaming Ruins Lives Games have been around for a long time. When we were all little kids, we played games: baseball, soccer, football, etc. What makes them so interesting? Is it the competitiveness that we strive for, or is it something in our body wanting to continually play and get better? First, we should define the word game. Game is an activity that is competitive that requires rules and limitations. In the 20th century, the first Nintendo was release in Japan, which then spread throughout the world. Nintendo is a game console, which was capable to play on T.V. Later, gaming came into a handheld system that required four AA batteries known as Gameboy. These were convenient to people, as you were able to bring and store the system anywhere you like. As technology improved, games later started to adapt into computers: Solitaire, FreeCell, Minesweeper, etc. In the past decade, computers have the capability of running different types of games online and offline. People have the capability of playing these games since they are advertise on T.V. and on magazines. People get so addicted to the games that it disrupts their life. It is painful and disturbing as you see someone playing long hours in front of the computer, T.V., and in their handheld system. I, too, was even influence and had problems with gaming addiction. Game addicts are lost in their virtual world and deny their addiction. It is just the same as drug addicts who consistently say they are not addicted to drugs, but they really are when they constantly putting them into their body. When addicts are lost in their virtual world, all they
Yap 2 think about is about the game. Addicts prefer not to say why they are addicted. One of the reasons they hide their shame is that the friends that they make online are like family to them. They help each other out whether in guilds or by other means: trading, discounts, sharing, etc. “Video games are becoming increasingly popular with children of young ages, which in turn may raise the likelihood that these children will develop addictions to video games” (Schlimme). On their free time, they plan what to do for the next time they log on. When they are really hooked on the game, they take notes of what to do and what not to do. I my-self have done that when I was a freshman in high school. I was figuring out what skill level to train and what things I should buy. I had a piece of paper with me at all times, which was to document my progress throughout the game. Besides, from documenting progress to doing virtual life movement gestures out in public can be extremely funny. Addicts tend to do that on their free time if they ever get to the point beyond addict (obsessed). “According to Dr. Orzack, the Director of Computer Addiction Services at McLean Hospital, social pressure or lack of social skills can also lead to video game addiction” (Schlimme). They isolate themselves from the outside environment, which reduces the opportunity for learning new things or interacting with other people. Game addicts do not realize they are addicted to games until the first person points it out to them. At first, they deny their addiction and does not realize later until the next time they play their game. Addicts try to hide their shame by saying that they are not addicted and by secretly playing when no one is looking around. Addicts spend a significant amount of money on their game to fulfill their hunger. Gaming is a big business in the world, just like Apple selling iPods. Jobs are open to game programmers and graphic designers, while companies are looking for the next big game hit so they can make their money. Game consoles and game products are selling all over the world.
Yap 3 WebMD says, “It’s a clinical impulse disorder,” an addiction in the same sense as compulsive gambling. Even though it may seem like it is the same compared to other hobbies, it is different since it is not a one-time payment. These excessive amounts of money can hurt the financial need for people who are living on a limited amount of money. Some games are like contracts, you spend a specific amount of money on a based time and in return, you get what you want, but you end up losing your life. The game producers make the games challenging so people can spend more money to increase their game-playing excitement like buying virtual items online that cannot be in possession within the game, only through a payment. When the game producers advertise such acts, it gives the game addict an impression saying, “Oh that’s cheap. I’ll buy it.” They do not realize that once they buy a virtual item, they will have the tendency to buy another one. After numerous amounts of payments, the numbers add up on each other. Game addicts will feel compelled to continue working on that behavior and does not want to feel like the investment was wasted. Game addicts develop their own social network language and goes far as using that language to non-gamers. You’ll notice that if the person is a gamer or an ex-gamer when they start having an increase vocabulary with abbreviations, for example, “I’ll pwn j00 sucka” means “I will own you sucker.” People start replacing O’s with 0’s, using capital letters for short sayings: “TTYL” meaning “talk to you later,” and “BRB” meaning “be right back.” They will use these abbreviations in front of their teachers, family members, and friends. The reason why these addicts make their own vocabulary is because it is short and is another way of faster typing. The virtual game reality tends to build its own vocabulary. When someone questions another person in another game or does something stupid, the other player will call the player a “noob” meaning someone who knows little and will have no will to learn anymore. It is different from
Yap 4 the word “newbie” and it is commonly mistaken with the other word noob. I my-self have done this in the past, but now find disturbing as I see it very unprofessional. If I were to use this in my daily vocabulary, non-gamers would not have a clue of what I am saying. Addicts go through withdrawal when they can no longer access the game from its natural source (computer/game-console). Game addicts lose focus on their life, eating/sleeping habits, family, work, school, and their social life. In addition, they also have a “decreased attention to personal hygiene” and “withdrawal…can even include behaviors as severe as shaking” (Schlimme). When the parents take away the source for the games, the children is more likely to be irritable, and depressed. The kids start doing stuff they have not done before. Like when they are playing a game with a controller, they tend to smash buttons. When it comes to real life, they start smashing buttons on the microwave. Not only the kids, but the adults too have problems when something does not go their way when they are playing games. A study from Calvert and Tan says, “College students who played a violent video game reported more aggressive thoughts after playing the game than college students who played a nonviolent game” (Schlimme). In my years of gaming, I was experiencing lost in sleep and got irritable during school. During the weekends, I was only having about 15 hours of sleep while the rest of the time I was playing games. My only means of social life was in my virtual world where I was constantly finding the adrenaline of playing. To conclude this, people are adapting to new vocabulary and to new skills. These addictive gamers start to lose focus on their life when they spend endless amount of hours on these games. They will be using 2-3 hours a day or more just to find their joy of playing games. I am not saying that gaming is a bad thing; there are a few good things about gaming: people increasing their reflex by playing games, improvement in spatial abilities, “the ability to create
Yap 5 and apply multiple strategies, and may help develop critical analyzing techniques� (Schlimme). This extensive playing results into an increase body aches from the back, neck, fingers, hands, and reduce eye sight (more likely to wear glasses). I my-self have experienced this. I have experienced these pains and cramps from these compulsive gaming, which I no longer experience ever since I left high school. Depending on the game, it can increase the likeliness of violence and in knowledge: Grand Theft Auto and SAT prep games. When will people learn that these games can become a bad habit? We may never know since this is still just the beginning of the technology boom.
Yap 6 Works Cited Rauh, Sherry. DeTox for Video Game Addiction? Reviewed by Chang, Louis M.D. Š 2006. WebMD Inc. 22 Oct. 2008. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml> Schlimme, Mary. Video Game Addiction: Do We Need Video Gamers Anonymous? 4 January 2008. Serendip.brynmawr.edu. 22 Oct. 2008. <http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1719>