REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

E-sports connect large numbers of players via internet. There they get in virtual

worlds that can supports thousands of players who are simultaneously logged in. In the

Philippines, game titles such as Ragnarok and Counter-Strike are often heard during

kid's discussions on gaming. Salvador Rodriguez Jr., co-owner of RFD Internet Café in

Muntinlupa City, said their customers also play other RPG such as Special Forces, Cabal,

RAN, and War Rock. He explained that users can already play these games by playing

only the Internet fees. However, additional expenses come when a gamer starts

upgrading his character's weapons and powers. He said the cards are usually in P50

and P100 denominations. (Good Housekeeping, August. 2010)

When one is engaged in video game, all that comes to mind is addiction. Video

game addiction is an excessive or compulsive use of computer games or video games,

which interferes with a person's everyday life. However, this area of research is growing

in the area of using games for older population realm of cognitive deterioration and

memory impairment, rehabilitation, social isolation, mental distress and emotional

changes. (Alexander and Vladislav, 2015)

Like any other compulsive disorder, video game addiction can have severe

negative consequences. Though most of the symptoms listed above have short-term

effects, they can lead to more severe long-term repercussions if not addressed

properly. For example, someone addicted to video games will often avoid sleeping or

eating proper meals in order to continue gaming. While the short-term effects of this
may include hunger and fatigue, it could eventually lead to a sleep disorder or diet-

related health issues. Similarly, those who isolate themselves from others in order to

play video games may miss out on family events, outings with friends, or other events

in the short-term. If this continues to be a pattern for a long period of time, however,

addicts might find themselves without any friends at all.

Cognitive function is an intellectual process by which one becomes aware of,

perceives, or comprehends ideas. It involves all aspects of perception, thinking,

reasoning, and remembering. Although several risk factors for cognitive decline have

been identified, much less is known about factors that predict maintenance of cognitive

function in advanced age. Elders who maintain cognitive function have a unique profile

that differentiates them from those with minor decline (K Yaffe 2009). The first

technique involves the activation of automatic processes through the formation of

implementation intentions that enhance the probability that a desired action will be

completed, such as remembering to take medications. The second involves

experimentally studying the role of active social and cognitive engagement in improving

cognition.

Because of too much time given by learners in playing video games, it manifest in

behaviors such as play, exploration and challenge seeking that people often do for

external rewards. In a recent study of Hannok (2011), the relationships between

internet addiction and motivation beliefs-self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, self-

esteem and test anxiety and academic performance were explored to see the

"significant predictors of playing electronic sports".

 E-sports addiction is regarded as a "behavioral problem that can be harmful both to

the psychological, physical and financial well-being and to other people that count on

him/her. Video games are not completely evil, however. Many skills can be learned by

playing them. Some such skills include problem-solving abilities, perseverance, pattern

recognition, hypothesis testing, estimating skills, inductive skills, resource management;

logistics, mapping, memory, quick thinking, and reasoned judgments. They have also

been seen to help build confidence in the ordinary child. Another potential positive is

that video games allow for the development of hand-eye coordination. However,

baseball and other such social activities also develop this ability. Video games may

require a higher degree of hand-eye coordination than many other activities, but the

question us how much hand eye coordination does the average child need.

(http://www.ocf.berkeley.esu/~jenchan/OnlineGamingAddiction.html, November 18,

2009)

Interactive involvement of the players is demanded in playing video games. As a

player, with a character in the game, one starts identifying himself and act for it. This

excited state of mind of the player has a positive effect. A number of these were given

by Article Base as follows: problem solving, planning, estimation and analysis, quick

decision making, resource management, building self-confidence, lonely child acquire

social presence, and stress relief. It is also said that it is surely better playing video

games than watching television as video games are interactive. Hence, children need to

be reminded of limitations from time to time.

 Some theorists focus on presumed built-in reward systems of the games to explain

their potentially addictive nature. Many video games, particularly massively multiplayer

online role-playing games and social network and mobile games, rely on a "compulsion

loop" or "core loop", a cycle of activities that involve rewarding the player and driving

them to continue through another cycle, retaining them in the game. The anticipation of

such rewards can create a neurological reaction that releases dopamine into the body,

so that once the reward is obtained, the person will remember it as a pleasurable

feeling. This has been found similar to the same neurological reaction believed to be

associated with gambling addiction. In reference to gamers such as one suicide in

China, the head of one software association was quoted, "In the hypothetical world

created by such games, they become confident and gain satisfaction, which they cannot

get in the real world."

Griffiths has also proposed that another reason why online video games are

potentially addictive is because they "can be played all day every day". The fact that

there is no end to the game can feel rewarding for some, and hence players are further

engaged in the game.

A high prenatal testosterone load may be a risk factor for the development of video

game addiction in adulthood.

Ferguson, Coulson and Barnett in a meta-analytic review of the research, concluded

that the evidence suggests that video game addiction arises out of other mental health
problems, rather than causing them. Thus it is unclear whether video game addiction

should be considered a unique diagnosis.

Researchers at the University of Rochester and Immersyve, Inc. (a Celebration,

Florida, computer gaming Think-tank) investigated what motivates gamers to continue

playing video games. According to lead investigator Richard Ryan, they believe that

players play for more reasons than fun alone. Ryan, a motivational psychologist at

Rochester, says that many video games satisfy basic psychological needs, and players

often continue to play because of rewards, freedom, and a connection to other players.

Some people, in my opinion, only choose to be an addict because of their social life,

maybe because they don’t feel accepted in the real world and therefore choose to hide

in the online, virtual world where they attain a sense of freedom and acceptance. From

one’s point of view, many of us, at some point of our lives get the feeling of being

tossed off or unaccepted by people around us. Some people maybe have had critical

experiences like such, and they choose to live in their online world, giving temporary

(band-aid) solutions to boost their self-confidence and individual integrity.

Another factor that’s already been exploited by video game developers is the

psychological impact on a person. For example, having energy bars on games which

drops every time you play a level and when all the energy is used up, you’ll have to

wait for a few hours to fill up that energy bar. Basically, this is what keeps you looking

for more, and this is what keeps you hooked up. Knowing that you’ll get to play soon

when you wait which keeps you asking for more. As the addiction worsens, video game
addicts tend to spend less quality time with friends and family or significant others.

Although, they may claim that they have a lot of “online friends” but still experience

loneliness, depression and social anxiety due to lack of in-person contact or interaction.

Entertainment video games are usually analyzed for their anniversary possible

negative effects, and educational games are touted as the provider of more positive

effects. Research suggested that both types of games can provide a wide array of

positive effects to players. They also help improve spatial skill development, cognitive

ability development, and academic performance and learning. Although studies on

violent video games have found negative correlations with academic, a positive

association with other types of games has also been found. Educational computer

games are becoming more prevalent in primary and secondary schools as teaching tools

for youth. The interactive nature allows for high levels of entertainment, but has not yet

been shown to subtract from the educational lessons being taught.

Anderson and Dill (2007) in “The Benefits of Playing Video Games” studied video

games and aggression and suggested that not only does gaming have an impact on

performance directly, but it also triggers a higher level of aggression, which is often

linked to problems in school and decreased academic performance.

Some of the negative consequences indirectly related to school performance, in that

participants reported often missing lectures, skipping homework, etc.

A 2009 paper entitled “Video Games and the Future of Learning” suggests that

video games are changing education and that games are more than a simple form of
entertainment (Shaffer, Squire, Halverson, & Gee, 2005). It explains that student

learning can be enhanced by experiences in vast virtual worlds. These worlds can allow

students to interact as a community. This means that students can learn things all on

their own rather than things that are taught to them.

A personal computer game (also known as a computer game or PC game) is a

game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade

machine. Computer games have evolved from the simple graphics and game play of

early titles like Space war to a wide range of more visually advanced titles. Despite the

rise of later models that reduced the significance of the role of the media in determining

people’s actions, the early effects model still exerts much influence over how people

feel about new media technologies today. It especially features in the discourse of

moral panics. Spring Hall states that a moral panic occurs when the official or press

reaction to a deviant social or cultural phenomenon is out of all proportion to the actual

threat offered. This can be very much aligned to the issue of violence in videogames. A

large number of studies have strived to identify a causal link between violent content in

video games and subsequent violent behavior in game players. While many of these

studies claim to have identified a link, skeptics suggest that the approaches used were

flawed and biased (Miclopedia).

As Kirriemuir & McFarlane (2004) reminded that it is hard to compare an early

text-based adventure game with next generation high-definition first-person shooters.

Some constitutive rules of games and their ability to catch our attention completely,

called “immersion” (MacMahan, 2003), can remain comparable over the ages. But the
games that people play today have diversified and evolved in numerous directions. The

change from penny arcade video games to networked personal consoles and home

computers modified our relation to virtual play. Advances in game design and

ergonomics also made game designers adapt their products. The market evolved from a

limited and specialised phenomenon to mass market strategies. The way people play

has changed, and is still changing, an example is the interest for mobile and casual

gaming, or alternate-reality gaming (McGonigal, 2007). Therefore, if past research

determined the potential effects and use of video games we still need to understand

what in a game can have an influence, and what can be done to use a game in a given

way. If games can change the players this change could be targeted on serious

purposes, like educational ones.

The studies and literatures concerning the effects of playing video games on a

child’s academic performance are contradictory because some of them suggested that

video games led to negative effects while others said that it gives positive benefits.

When a child is playing video games, they have the tendency to forget the amount of

time that they have already spent making them vulnerable to the different effects that

video games can give to their academic performance whether it may be positive or

negative. Furthermore, playing video games should not be done during weekdays

because it can affect their studies. It should be done during the weekends so that it

may not affect their studies.