Internet and Online Games Addiction free essay sample

Introduction Playing games is a natural part of growing up. It’s one way that kids learn to socialize and compete. Computer and online games, in most instances, are no more dangerous than other games that kids play. But sometimes, computer and online games become more than just play. They become an addiction. And when they become an addiction, your child’s psychological and physical well-being may be in jeopardy. Escaping into games When your kids play games online, is it play? Or is it something darker? Addiction to computer and online games is a real and growing problem.It affects both kids and adults. Often the most addictive games are the online multi-player games. They include role-playing, endless levels of achievement, and an IM or chat function. Groups of players play and chat online, creating a fantasy world that provides an escape from real life. Kids can get caught up in this fantasy world to the exclusion of their real life responsibilities. We will write a custom essay sample on Internet and Online Games Addiction or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What gaming addiction looks like? Playing online or computer games is an innocent hobby that can become a pathological behavioral problem, in which playing games becomes more important than other aspects of life.Addicted kids spend hours on the computer to the exclusion of other activities. They lose interest in their school, fail to turn in homework assignments, and their grades suffer. They turn their backs on their friends, preferring to stay at home on the computer with their â€Å"online friends†. Much of their conversation may revolve around the games they’re playing. They may be inordinately proud of their gaming successes. If you challenge them about the time they spend at the computer, they try to hide their gaming activity. Physical warning signs include sleeplessness, dry eyes, and carpal tunnel injury.A recent study by Harris Interactive reports that nearly one in 10 kids between 8 and 18 are addicted to online gaming. †  There are many reported cases of addiction to online gaming: teens who become reclusive; students whose grades drop precipitously; kids who drop out of high school to play games; kids who play games 60 or more hours each week; and more. This isn’t, by the way, a problem that’s exclusive to kids. Adults get caught up in it, too; turning their backs on their families, losing jobs, threatening their financial well-being, and losing spouses. Other gaming dangers Online gaming addiction opens kids up to other dangers, too. Chatting online with other game players may expose them to online predators. Predators go where kids go online, and where better than a fantasy world that includes children? Also, gaming addiction can take a toll on your pocketbook. Many popular online games require that players buy the game, and then pay monthly subscription fees. Tools, accessories, and additional characters cost even more. It is possible to spend hundreds of dollars a month on monthly fees and add-ons.According to an article in Bay Area Parent,† Ã¢â‚¬   a 14 year old boy used his mothers credit card to buy online a set of gaming accessories, including â€Å"magical dragon armor and 100 pieces of virtual gold. † His mother noticed unusual activity (amounting to $600) on her statement and quickly figured out what had happened. One can buy additional characters and accessories from the gaming Web site and there are cyber shopping malls where one can pick up accessories like virtual Elvin bows, mystical armor or a sword of fire.One site listed a complete World of Warcraft character for sale at the extravagant beginning bid of $1,600. Finally, maintaining an open connection between your computer and a gaming Website/chat room, may lead to intrusion and possible theft of your identity and financial records on your home computer or network. It’s always a good idea to have good Internet security software installed on your computer. It’s even more important when your computer is used for online gaming. Parenting is the best prevention Good parenting goes a long way toward preventing addiction to online gaming. Make sure you know what games are installed on the computer your child uses. Check browser history logs to see where they’ve been on the Internet. Engage your children in regular conversations about their lives. Have dinner together every day. If they spend more than an hour a day in front of the computer, ask them what’s going on. If their grades suffer or their friends stop calling, ask why. If you detect a problem or a behavioral change, address it immediately; don’t let it slide. If you detect addiction, address it. Limit computer time.Put the computer in a public area of the home. If the problem persists, perhaps you should seek professional psychological help. A gaming addiction is very similar to other addictions, such as drugs, alcohol, or gambling. Helping a child beat the addiction may require expertise that a parent can’t provide. According to Dr. Douglas Gentile, Director of the Media Research Lab at Iowa State University and the director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family, states, It is important that people realize that playing a lot is not the same thing as pathological play.For something to be an addiction, it has to mean more than you do it a lot. It has to mean that you do it in such a way that it damages your life. †Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬   In other words, many, if not most, kids who play online games are just playing games. It’s a healthy part of their life. If you see that game playing is becoming damaging to some aspect of their life, it’s time to act. Addicted to games: Internet game addiction One form of internet addiction is gaming addiction. Internet gaming addiction and getting lost in playing video games has been recognized a long time.Recently I saw a interview with a person claiming to have been hooked on pac -man probably 20-30 years ago. We probably had a little growth in this problem when people (kids) started hooking up lots of computers together and playing games on few computers at the same time (on a LAN). These tournaments were often at first related to games like Counterstrike. But the rise of the problem came with the internet and high speed internet connections. Now it is so easy to play with lots of people all over the world 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Therefore has the problem we can name Internet game addiction grown to a big problem. Media attention has been growing past 3 years at the same time interest in playing online games like World of Warcraft has grown, so has the problem. Some people will say this games can never been a obsession or addiction, but the truth is Kids and adolescence are stop showing up in school and in worst cases we have seen people have been committing suicides. Recently we have seen case of child neglect in relation to the parent’s internet game addiction. These cases of problems with gaming addiction will grow and we will see more stories on the news on this problem.Types of Online games that is addictive Massive multiplayer Online Role Playing Game Addiction (MMORPG-A) Those games that seems to most addictive are multiplayer games when the player playes a role of fictous character in virtual world and other characters are played by other real people somewere in the world. What makes these games addictive is probably that you are not just able to save and come to the game again after a week. When you stop playing this virtual world is still there and you are missing the action. The action is happening 24 hours a day 7 days a week.Most popular games MMORPG (massive multiplayer online games), these are games like World of Warcraft. World of Warcraft started in 2004 and there are 7,6 million playing the game in the biggest world of WOW Azeroth. If Azeroth was a real country it would be the 96 biggest in the world. We also have what can be named MMOFPS (massive multiplayer online first person shooters) like e. g counterstrike. Manage video Game addiction If someone at your home has a problem with internet games, you have a child that does not show up in school, getting bad grades and falling asleep in class and not doing anything else than playing the game. There are not just kids hooked on those games, there are also adults getting fired after not being able to show up for work or on the verge of getting fired. First you have to realize if the problem has become huge: 1. It is not going away by itself, something needs to be done. My experience is that too many often I meet parents 1-3 years after the problem became big 2. If the problem is really big the person almost never can try to control it him/her and most likely you need to stop playing the games and only use the computer for something else.Maybe you can rethink game playing (with strict rules) after 1-2 years Still it is important to try to change the addictive behavior and try to work with the person on this problem and not against. They need to feel they have something to say on how you are going to change it. Tools to manage Internet Game Addiction 1. Monitoring the time spent online. You can either both you and the person with the problem uses a spreadsheet to monitor it separately for a week to see how much time is used online and on the game. You can also use the monitoring tool in responsible Surfing to calculate the time accurately on the computer.Read more about: How to monitor games and applications! 2. Decide what can be done and what not to be done. a. Use the game addict profile in Responsible Surfing to both set amount of time that is allowed online, this can be done by setting hours per each day and when in the day, amount per week and month. This is good so you do not need to argue about the time. Read more about: How to control time spent online b. Block addictive role playing games in the database of Responsible Surfing, if you have decided no role playing game.Read more about: How to block online game with Responsible Surfing software c. Set what application is allowed and what application is not allowed. Read more about: How to block applications d. Have a weekly meeting about the result and try to find something new to do e. Consider therapy, most people who are addictive to games have some other problem, social phobia, low self-esteem, have been victim of bullying and etc. It is better to first manage the internet addiction and settle the anger. f. Try to use the time to heal the family and spend time together.