At first I thought that online gamming addictions were ridiculous but after reading about toxic immersion in Castronova's Synthetic Worlds and discussing the issue in class I became more interested in this unusual phenomena. The thing that I found most intriguing was the man who played an online game for 80 hours with even eating or going to the bathroom. I came to understand that these synthetic worlds are very important to people because it is an easier way to communicate with and to meet people and it gives you the opportunity to become something bigger than yourself like a wizard or warrior.
A game becomes addictive when the game becomes your life, "The game almost ruined my life. It was my life. I ceased being me; I became Madrid, the Great Shaman of the North. Thinking of it now, I almost cringe; it's so sad." This came from an article about Dennis Bennett whose “Everquest” addiction interfered with his education, marriage, and being a father. In this case the game because much more important to the player than his own well-being. He preferred being his charecter rather then himself. People have even been divorced because of excessive game playing (www.news.com/2100-1040-881673.html).
How do you know if you are an online game addict? I found a list of common warning signs of addiction which include:
Inability to stop the activity
Neglect of family and friends
Lying to employers and family about activities
Problems with school or job
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Dry Eyes
Failure to attend to personal hygiene
Sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns
Feeling empty, depressed, irritable when not at the computer
Craving more and more time at the computer
All of the above symptoms are very unpleasant but often do not help an individual notice their condition. It is thought that there are underlying psychological issues that players have that facilitate their addictions to online games. These issues are often socialization problems. Addicted players sometimes do not even realize that they have a problem because they are so immersed in the games.
(http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~jenchan/OnlineGamingAddiction.html)
While doing research on this topic a word came up, “heroinware”. This is a name given to game like “Everquest” and “WOW” which show just how addictive these games can be. Games become addictive because the chat functions offered by the games and the games competitive nature. These online chats become just as fulfilling as a real life conversation and once you have completed one mission you are eager to accomplish the next one (http://www.news.com/2100-1040-881673.html).
There have been four cases where online game addiction has ended in death. Two of which have happened in China, South Korean and India. All of the deaths were caused by exhaustion due to playing the game for extended periods of time. In the case from India, a 21 year old college student played the game daily for three months and died of exhaustion and starvation. Online gaming is such a problem in China that they have passed legislation called the anti online gaming addiction system in 2005 that limited rewards in the game after three hours which is supposed to make the game less rewarding. A video is included at the end of this blog, it shows how they are trying to remedy this widespread problem (Wikipedia).
Along with these cases of internet abuse there was the man that we talked about in class who may have committed suicide because of the game he was involved with. Or that player who committed murder because another player sold his sword (Synthetic Worlds). These occurrences just show the level of dedication and addiction that some of these players have. To these people games become more important than real life and they become sucked into a fantasy world.
Websites Used:
http://www.news.com/2100-1040-881673.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_addiction
http://www.igda.org/articles/austin_addiction.php
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN6vr91wQ21&feature-=related (really bizarre) A video showing just how seriously online gaming is affecting China and they ways that the attempt to solve addiction.
No comments:
Post a Comment