THE EFFECTS OF COPUTER GAME ADDICTION TO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

A RESEARCH PRESENTED TO THE ENGLISH DEPARTMEN OF PARADA NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL PARADA VALENZUELA CITY

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE FOURTH YEAR ENGLISH SUBJECT

BY

AHRA L. DELA CRUZ IV - AMPERE

2013

Acknowledgement

The completition of the research paper will not be possible without the support of Regine C. Quiambao by giving the researches ideas for this research paper The researcher would like to extend his deepes gratitudde for the assistance and support of the following , Vincent John Enong for some ideas, Eugene Resos for the book bind and John Alister Q. Talanas for helping me to finished my research paper. Finally, the researcher recognizes the power of the almighty in giving him knowledge in completing this research paper.

History of Computer Games

The history of the computer game is, in parts, a history of technology. The computer game requires technology capable of handling large amounts of data and of representing this data. The relationship between a technological phenomenon such as the computer and the less formally based culture is not a simple one: some theories will claim that technology determines culture, some will claim that culture determines technology. It may be most reasonable to see this as a history of mutual influences, where technology can inspire (or enable) cultural developments, and cultural developments can inspire new technology. To quote an obvious example, the computer game was originally developed on equipment designed for military and academic purposes. But today the computer game is the driving force in the development of much hardware such as 3d graphics accelerators. The first computer game is generally assumed to be the game Spacewar!, developed in 1962 at MIT (Stephen Russell a.o.). Spacewar originally ran on a PDP-1 computer the size of a large car. By todays standards, the graphics are rather primitive, although less primitive than many games form the 1980s. The game as such is not bad: Two players each control a spaceship circling a planet. The players can shoot each other, turn their ships, and accelerate. The goal is - naturally - to hit the other player before being hit yourself. The first commercially available video game, Pong (Atari 1973), was introduced 11 years after Spacewar! Pong is a simple concept that has turned out to be surprisingly durable even though the graphics are simply white rectangles on a black background. In the beginning, Pong was placed at entertainment venues, markets, and fun fairs, next to mechanical pastimes and as a supplement to these. This is the same kind of place where the game Space Invaders (Taito 1977) was also introduced. Space Invaders defines most of the basic parameters of what I call the classical action game: A player controls an object/an actor against some enemies; a score is kept; the game is real-time and requires fast reflexes; the player has a fixed amount of lives (typically three); the game is based on successive levels of increasing difficulty; the game (or just the title) places the players action as part of a minimal narrative.

As should become clear, there are many types of computer games. In the classical action game you can almost never win, the game just gradually becomes harder, and the highest honour achievable is to enter the high score list. The most general thing to say of the evolution of the computer game is probably that it has become gradually more based on genres. Almost all of the early computer games introduced new gameplay elements; later games tend to be examples of specific genres, borrowing traits from earlier games. (The computer game has become more intertextual, if one so desires.) About the term computer game: This term is in sharp competition with video games, console games, and arcade games. Video games and console games usually means games connected to a TV, whereas arcade games means games placed in public spaces (and individual cabinets). Computer games are occasionally taken to mean games played on a PC. Since all of these areas have been developed in close parallel (and because all of these games are played on computers), I am using the term computer game to denominate all of these areas as a whole. But it is an important development in this context, that the computer game has changed from being primarily played at an arcade to be primarily played in the home. This has made it possible to develop games of longer duration, to have games not focused on the simple goal of having as many players insert coins as quickly as possible. Many developments in the history of the computer game are not technological but purely conceptual. Whereas Spacewar! and Pong are games for more than one player, the time from approximately 1977 to 1993 is completely dominated by games for single players. The multi player game becomes widely popular when Doom (ID Software 1993) allows for connecting several PCs, for being several people present in the same game world. Doom is on the whole an incredibly influential game. It has been criticised for being violent, but its one of the most popular computer games ever and it has led to a whole genre of games, the 3dshooter or first-person-shootemup. In retrospect, there was no technological reason why the multiplayer game didnt become popular in the mid-1980s. It would have been perfectly possible to network home computers like the Commodore 64, only nobody did. And this must be explained culturally: The first computers (like

the aforementioned PDP-1) were giant machines priced at millions of dollars, and were thus shared by many users. In the mid-seventies, the idea of the personal computer emerges; a computer becomes something one person places on a desk. In the beginning of the 1990s the Internet takes off outside academic circles, and the computer starts to be seen as connected to other computers, part of a network. The single-player computer game is dominant during the reigning years of the isolated, personal computer.

Computer Games
A computer game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but it now implies any type of dispay device that can produce two or three dimensional images. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game console. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handled devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry. The input device primarily used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, and varies across platforms. For example, a controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, while another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer games often needed a keyboard for gameplay, or more commonly, required the user to buy a separate joystick with at least one button. Many modern computer games allow or require the player to use a keyboard and a mouse simultaneously. A few of the most common game controllers are gamepads, mouses, keyboards, and joysticks. Video games typically use additional means of providing interactivity and information to the player. Audio is almost universal, using sound reproduction devices, such as speakers and headphones. Other feedback may come via haptic peripherals, such as vibration or force feedback, with vibration sometimes used to simulate force feedback.

Computer Games Addiction

For most young people, playing games on a computer, video game console, or handheld device is just a regular part of the day. Most are able to juggle the multiple demands of school, sports, work or chores, and family life. Gaming becomes an addiction when it starts to interfere with a person's relationships or their pursuit of other goals, such as good grades or being a contributing member of a sports team. Computer and video games, especially the massive multi-online roleplaying games (or MMORPGs) such as "World of Warcraft," allow players to behave very differently from their normal persona. A shy child can suddenly became gregarious; a passive child can become aggressive. Young people, who often feel powerless in their daily lives, suddenly have the ability to command armies, drive (and crash) cars, and wreak havoc on a virtual world with no real-life consequences. This is seductive! And when that boy or girl is already finding it a challenge in the "real world" to make friends, computer and video games offer a way to interact with others in their "virtual world," without the distress of face-to-face interactions.

Public Concern and Formal Study

One meta-analytic review of pathological gaming studies concluded that about 3.0% of gamers may experience some symptoms of pathological gaming. The report noted problems in the field with defining and measuring pathological gaming and concluded that pathological gaming behaviors were more likely the product of underlying mental health problems rather than the inverse. A report by the Council On Science And Public Health to the AMA cited a 2005 Entertainment Software Association survey of computer game players and noted that players of MMORPG's were more likely to play for more than two hours per day than other gamers. In its report, the Council used this two-hour-per-day limit to define "gaming overuse", citing

the American Academy of Pediatrics guideline of no more than one to two hours per day of "screen time".However, the ESA document cited in the Council report does not contain the two-hour-per-day data. In a 2005 Tom's Games interview, Dr. Maressa Orzack estimated that 40% of the players of World of Warcraft (an MMORPG) were addicted, but she did not indicate a source for the estimate. She may have derived the estimate from the informal survey managed by Nick Yee at The Daedalus Project, who notes that caution should be exercised when interpreting that data. Other critics have satirized the idea of MMORPG addiction, illustrating that the genre has built-in mechanisms for burning-out players, which is contrary to the concept of addiction. (check ref) A 2006 lecture reported by the BBC indicated that 12% of polled online gamers reported at least some addictive behaviours. The lecturer, Professor Mark Griffiths of Nottingham Trent University, stated in another BBC interview that addicts are "few and far between." In 2007, Michael Cai, director of broadband and gaming for Parks Associates (a media/technology research and analysis company), said that "Video game addiction is a particularly severe problem in Asian countries such as China and Korea." Results of a 2006 survey suggested that 2.4% of South Koreans aged 9 to 39 suffer from game addiction, with another 10.2% at risk of addiction. A 2007 Harris Interactive online poll of 1,187 United States youths aged 818 gathered detailed data on youth opinions about video game play. About 81% of youths stated that they played video games at least once per month. Further, the average play time varied by age and gender, from eight hours per week (responses from teen girls) to 14 hours per week (responses by teen boys). "Tweens" (812-year-olds) fell in the middle, with boys averaging 13 hours per week of reported game play and girls averaging 10. Harris concluded that 8.5% "can be classified as pathological or clinically 'addicted' to playing video games", but did not explain how this conclusion was reached. Since the American Psychiatric Association decision in 2007, studies have been conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine related to video game play. Researchers found evidence that video games do have addictive characteristics. An MRI study found that the part of the brain that generates rewarding feelings is more activated in men than women during video game play.

The 2009 OSDUHS Mental Health and Well-Being Report, by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario, showed almost 10% of 9,000 surveyed students from Grades 7 to 12 get at least 7 hours a day of "screen time".A little over 10% also reported having video gaming problems in the previous year. A recent article Pediatrics (journal) found a mild association between watching television or playing a video game and attention issues in more than 1,300 children ages eight to 11 years old. Children who played video games or watched television for more than the normal two hours a day maximum, which is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics were 1.5 2 times more likely to show signs of attention issues, the researchers found. However, the study was further criticized in eLetters to the same journal for failing to use wellvalidated measures of attention problems or control for other important variables. A more recent study using the Child Behavior Checklist and controlling for family and mental health variables, found no link between video game use and attention problems. Also, a study in Pediatrics found problematic gaming behaviors to be far less common, about 4%, and concluded that such problems were the result of underlying mental health problems rather than anything unique to gaming. Writing in the American Psychological Association journal Review of General Psychology's special issue on video games, Barnett and Coulson expressed concern that much of the debate on the issue of addiction may be a knee jerk response stimulated by poor understanding of games and game players. Such issues may lead both society and scholars to exaggerate the prevalence and nature of problematic gaming, and overfocus on games specifically while ignoring underlying mental health issues.

Media coverage
The press has reported concerns over online gaming since at least 1994, when Wired Magazine mentioned a college student who was playing a MUD for 12 hours a day instead of attending class. Press reports have noted that some Finnish Defence Forces conscripts were not mature enough to meet the demands of military life and were required to interrupt or postpone military service for a year. One reported source of the lack of needed social skills is overuse of

computer games or the Internet. Forbes termed this overuse "Web fixations" and stated that they were responsible for 13 such interruptions or deferrals over the five years from 20002005. In a July 2007 article, Perth, Western Australia, parents stated that their 15-year-old son had abandoned all other activities to play RuneScape, a popular MMORPG. The boy's father compared the condition to heroin addiction. In an April 2008 article, Telegram.co.uk reported that surveys of 391 players of Asheron's Call showed that 3% of the respondents suffered from agitation when they were unable to play, or missed sleep or meals to play. The article reports that University of Bolton lead researcher Dr. John Charlton stated, "Our research supports the idea that people who are heavily involved in game playing may be nearer to autistic spectrum disorders than people who have no interest in gaming." On 6 March 2009, the CBC's national newsmagazine program the fifth estate aired an hour-long report on video game addiction and the Brandon Crisp story, titled "Top Gun", subtitled "When a video gaming obsession turns to addiction and tragedy". On August 2010, Wired reported that a man in Hawaii, Craig Smallwood, sued the gaming company NCsoft for negligence and for not specifying that their game, Lineage II was so addictive. He alleged that he would not have begun playing if he was aware that he would become addicted. Smallwood claims to have played Lineage for 20,000 hours between 2004 and 2009. In January 2012 a video on YouTube was released entitled, "IRL In Real Life". The film attracted widespread coverage on television, radio and in newspapers around the world. The film was made by graduate student film maker, Anthony Rosner. In the film he documents his experience with gaming addiction and how he was able to overcome it.

Governmental concern
The first video game to attract political controversy was the 1978 arcade game Space Invaders . In 1981, a political bill called the "Control of Space Invaders (and other Electronic Games) Bill" was drafted by British Labour Party MP George Foulkes in an attempt to ban the game

for its "addictive properties" and for causing "deviancy". The bill was debated and only narrowly defeated in parliament by 114 votes to 94 votes. In August 2005, the government of the People's Republic of China, where more than 20 million people play online games, introduced an online gaming restriction limiting playing time to three hours, after which the player would be expelled from whichever game they were playing. In 2006, it relaxed the rule so only citizens under the age of 18 would face the limitations. Reports indicate underage gamers found ways to circumvent the measure. In July, 2007, the rule was relaxed yet again. Internet games operating in China must require that users identify themselves by resident identity numbers. After three hours, players under 18 are prompted to stop and "do suitable physical exercise." If they continue, their in-game points are "slashed in half". After five hours, all their points are automatically erased. In 2008, one of the five FCC Commissioners, Deborah Taylor Tate, stated that online gaming addiction was "one of the top reasons for college drop-outs". However, she did not mention a source for the statement nor identify its position in relation to other top reasons.

Symptoms of Computer Game Addiction

Although it hasn't been given an "official" diagnosis, addiction-like behaviors with computer, video, and Internet gaming have noticeably increased among both teenagers and adults. Like any addictive behavior, there are signs to look for if you suspect your teen might have a gaming addiction. Your teen need only exhibit two or three of these symptoms for his behavior to be considered "addictive." 1.Preoccupation Someone who is addicted to computer, video, or Internet gaming often exhibits an unusual preoccupation with the game or computer when he is away from it. The teen could seem distracted, irritable, or disinterested and may talk about the game almost constantly. 2.Downplaying Computer Use

It's common for someone with addictive, computer-related behaviors to downplay the amount of time she spends in front of the TV or computer. The person may make excuses, saying she "needs" to be online, or may outright lie. 3.Lack of Control A person who is addicted, or at risk of becoming addicted to gaming, is unable to control the amount of time she spends on the computer. She may go online with the intent to spend 15 or 20 minutes, but will keep extending the time until several hours have passed. 4.Loss of Time Along the same lines, a person may sit down at his computer, again with the intent to spend only a few minutes, but completely lose track of time and suddenly find that several hours have passed. It is not unusual for someone with a gaming addiction to play through the night and only realize how much time has passed when the sun begins to rise. 5.Negative Impact on Other Areas of Life Because the person spends so much time on the computer or video game console, other areas of life are neglected. He may grow distant from friends and family who had previously been close. Homework may go unfinished, causing grades to slip. In more extreme cases, the teen may even neglect personal hygiene, choosing to play video games rather than taking a shower. 6.Hiding From Negative or Uncomfortable Feelings or Situations Some people become addicted to gaming because they use it to selfmedicate. When confronted with situations or feelings that are uncomfortable (feeling sad, arguing with a friend, or getting a bad grade), the person may "hide" in the game as a method of avoidance.

7.Defensiveness When confronted or asked about his time spent gaming, a person may become defensive. Denial is often an indication that something is wrong, especially if the person seems unconcerned that friends and family feel neglected or left out of his life. 8.Misuse of Money Someone who is addicted to video, computer, or Internet gaming will spend a disproportionate amount of money on computer-related items. The person will seem to be continually upgrading hardware, software packages, and accessories. This becomes an even greater problem if the person spends money that should be used for bills, groceries, and other necessities. 9.Mixed Feelings As with any addiction, use of the "substance" in this case, the video game initially causes euphoric feelings, but that euphoria is quickly followed by guilt. Guilt may be felt either over what the person is doing while online or simply the amount of time he is spending at the computer.

The Effects of Computer Game Addiction

Positive Effects Solving problems through logic and intuition is cited as one major benefit of computer games, which put a premium on abstract reasoning, improved hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial ability for success. The fast pace of many games also sharpens adaptive thinking and quick decision-making skills. Players must also decide how to maximize scarce resources, a key feature of strategic games such as SimCity, Age of Empires and Railroad Tycoon.

Negative Effects Critics suggest that long-term exposure to violent game imagery desensitizes players, who must earn rewards by repeating successful behaviors such as killing enemy soldiers. Definitive answers haven't emerged on this point, but social critics maintain that it's wrong to reward revenge or aggression. Other consequences included reduced academic performance, greater risk of social isolation and lack of outlets for natural creativity.

How to Fight Computer Game Addiction

It's important to have fun in life. However, things you do for fun can b ecome something that takes over your life, and become an addiction. It can interfere with work or school, things you need to do to make money and su rvive. Spending all night leveling up on that game might seem fun, but is a l evel 50 Paladin something you can put on a job or college application? If yo u're at the point where your gaming habits become an addiction, it's import ant to take a step back and look at what you're doing to yourself. 1.Examine all of the negative effects that have come of your game addiction. 2.Make an honest list of what your priorities are right now. Namely, this is to put your addiction into focus. Don't make a list of w hat your priorities should be, but what they actually are. If you have proble ms deciding how high of a priority something is, look at what you've done in the past. When you had a chore to do, did you get up and do it or did you wait until you got one last level? When your friends wanted to hang out, did you want to go with them or did you want to stay home and play? When you brought your homework home, did you do it right away or d id you get on the computer and play until the last minute?

3.Make a new priority list, and this time, write what your priorities should be Remember that computer games should be played on your free time, so consider where free time be on your list. 4. Think about how you feel when you try to do something else for fun. You may find yourself doing it for a few minutes, then returning to your game. 5.Commit yourself to making a change for the better. Realizing that you have a problem, along with seeing the effects of the problem, gives you an advantage. It gives you a reason to change and motivates you to stick with it. 6.Decide whether you want to go cold turkey or progressively quit. Some people can't get over an addiction unless they stop completely, while cold turkey actually makes it worse for someone else. 7.Set a day in the near future when you'll start and commit to it. If you set it at a point in the future, such as "next Monday", you can prepare yourself and motivate yourself. 8.Make a plan for how many hours a day you're allowed to play at the most, if you choose not to go cold turkey. You can cut down in increments like hours or half hours, and by day or week. 9.Move the computer to a room you're not frequently in. It's easy to feel the urge to get up and play if your computer is in the living room or your bedroom, so if you have another room to put it in, move it there. 10.Sometimes it helps to use your addiction to help you quit. If you prefer a game where the objectives end totally or result in an extremely lacking 'free' mode, think about how dull the game will be then. Make an estimate as to how much time it'll take you to reach this stage.

11.Complete your other responsibilities before going on the computer. When you come home from school, do your homework. Do your chor es and take care of the top priorities before settling down for the day. 12.Go to bed earlier and earlier. Often, someone addicted to computer games will stay up late. Try going to bed earlier each day, but not so early that you'll just lay in bed staring at the ceiling. If you go to bed at 10, try 9 the next night, then 8 the next, and 7 the night after that. 13. Replace the time you're cutting from the computer on more productive activities. You can exercise, read, or do something else that stimulates your brain. 14.Go out with your friends more. Friends are important in life: they're there to support you, they're a source of advice, and later in life, those connections can even help you get a job. Plus, walking around the mall or the park can help your health. 15.Do this until you get to a point where you don't need to play or feel that it's your only outlet for fun. When you get to a place where you realize that computer games are something you do in your free time, as opposed to something you push oth er things aside for, you've made an important accomplishment.