Does Online Gaming Addiction Affect the Social Lives of People/Teenagers?
Rooji, A.V., et al. (2010). Online Video Game Addiction: Identification of Addicted Adolescent Gamers. Society for the Study of Addiction, Vol. 106, pp. 205-212.
This article reports on a study that was done in Netherlands on a two large groups of Dutch school going children aged 13-16 years. It was a cross-sectional survey which aimed at looking at the addiction related problems of the children in Netherlands. It was discovered that there was a group of addicted online gamers, who included adolescents and young adults. The study indicated that although they showed signs of addiction, they did not have much psychological health issues (Rooji et al, 2010). It also indicated that the relationship between online gaming and social life is quite complex, since eth addicts found consolation in the video games. In as much as this could affect their active social life in the real world, it did not imply that they have a major problem.
This article informs my research in that it helps in disapproving the highly held notion that online gaming addiction automatically leads to social related problems. In as much as the adolescents and young adults might have some constraints in relation to their social lives, it does not mean that they feel so isolated from the social arena. This helps to answer my research question by proving that even though the online addiction can inhibit an individual’s participation in the real social life, it equally gives an avenue where the individual can still find the social consolation needed. In other words, the online gaming serves as another social arena. As such, the article helps me in arguing that the interaction between online gaming and the social life is quite a complicated aspect.
Seok, S. & DaCosta, B. (2012). The World’s Most Intense Online Gaming Culture: Addiction and High-Engagement Prevalence Rates among South Korean Adolescents and Young Adults. Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 28, pp. 2143-2151.
This article is a report on a study that was carried out in South Korea. It sought to determine the magnitude of the pathological online video gaming. It used the parameters of peripheral as well as the core criteria for behavioral addiction, while also looking at the preference of the video game so as to assess the habits of the players. The study tool was questionnaire administration which was done on a sample of 1332 South Korean students in 11 high schools and 1 middle school. The findings indicated that the online gaming addiction was not as high as previously thought (Seok and Da Costa, 2012). It was suggested that the findings would be of great importance to all the key people in the education sector as it can help in informing them on the reality associated with the video games rather than the hearsay that is commonly used.
This article is very relevant to my research question as it answers the core question I am interested in. It also touches on my target subjects as it talks of the adolescents and young adults. The researchers conclude that online gaming addiction might not have such a great impact on the social lives of the individuals as previously believed. Just like the previous study, it agrees that at times the individuals can have some slight social malfunctions. However, this does not imply that their social lives are completely thrown to the dogs due to the prevalence of the online gaming. Given that the study was done in an area thought to be highly affected by this habit, the findings can help to inform on the condition in the other areas of the world. It helps to distinguish between facts and myths when it comes to the issue of online gaming and its interaction with individuals’ social lives.
