All the articles analyze, probe and discuss Online gaming addictions through different perspectives and examine different factors responsible and/or affected by the addiction. Though all the articles ‘cum’ studies have been critical of online gaming addiction, they talk about different and disparate effects on the phenomenon on human personality, psychology and social behavior.
Most of the studies were done on real game addicts from countries like South Korea and Netherlands and the results were shockingly uniform. The worry over the increased video game addiction has increased in recent past with more and more adolescent and young people falling prey to the problem. Though there are various kinds of online games available, but Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) have contributed immensely to the problem of excessive addiction. This addiction is often categorized as a pathological computing-related addiction and can have lethal effects for
the person involved and his/her family.
There is a relationship between online gaming addiction and various personality traits like Sensation seeking, self-control, aggression, anxiety etc. There are many traits which are important over the other traits for acquisition, development and maintenance of online gaming addiction.
The addiction results in negative self-esteem, depressive mood and excessive loneliness. The addicts have been found to enjoy the social aspects of gaming world more than their social relationships in real world and hence adding to their loneliness and depression. The addiction leads to issues like Salience, Euphoria, tolerance, withdrawal, relapse and conflict. The addiction even leads to psychological effects since the gamer desires to be in his/her virtual world than the real world and to be like his/her gaming characters. This leads to increased aloofness and problems. The problem has become so severe that Hospitals and clinics have come up with outpatient treatment services for Internet addiction and special rehabilitation services.
The studies clearly demonstrate that ‘Online Gaming Addiction’ is becoming a bigger problem than what the experts had apprehended around a decade back. It is leading to psychological, social and health issues in youth. A proper and designated approach is needed to fight the problem and the possible steps could include educating youth and making them more aware.
