Computer Games Addiction Effects on Selected Students of DCLC

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Computer games are the most popular entertainments in modern societies and
they target a variety of people in different ages. The addiction to the rivalry and
excitements of the games make them the most common recreational programs for
today's teenagers, so that they do anything to reach a higher level of the game, they
immerse in the game so much that they completely separate from their surroundings.
Challenging with the obstacles and reaching a higher level in the game, make the
players excited and losing the game make them anxious.

Computer game addiction generally refers to an excessive, unhealthy amount of

playing computer games. Rather than engaging in the real world, an addicted user
devotes the majority of his or her time to gaming. The addicted gamer often isolates
him/herself from others, ignores more important responsibilities, and is
often obsessed with obtaining higher status, rankings, achievements in his/her
favorite computer game.

Background of the study

The rise in the use of the internet has led to many changes in our daily life. In
particular, this rise has also led to the rise of online gaming. Online gaming can refer
to any type of game that someone can play through the internet or over a computer
network. Most of the time, online gaming refers to the video games played over the
internet, where multiple players are in different locations around the world. In most
cases, online games are freeware programs that can be used for an unlimited time
and are available for free. Most percentage of web games available nowadays is
written in Flash, Shockwave and Java languages. Because of that, they feature more
primitive game play than downloadable games.

Computer games started in 1972 with Pang, a computer tennis game, and then
developed in hardware and software systems. Improvement of quality and variety of
games increasingly spread it in the society especially adolescences. It is believed that
computer games like watching TV provides opportunities for visual learning. Since
these games are known as the second entertainment after TV, opponents of these
games emphasize on their negative effects such as stimulating anger and violence,
costing a lot of money and having negative effects of physical and mental health,
which are much higher than the positive effects of the games such as increasing the
coordination of eyes and hands. As Klein and Keepers mentioned in their research
reports in 1990, students who prefer computer games to other entertainments have
more behavioral problems that other students (cited from Patton).

Development of electronic and computer games are a great threat for youth and
adolescents and can lead to psychological disorders and depression in these groups.
In previous times, kids were involved playing with other children, but children of today
spend most of their time on computer games as soon as they understand and
acquainted with them, while these games cannot create any emotional and human
relationship.

Children's and adolescents attractions to the computer games cause many

mental, physical and social problems for them. These effects are stimulating anger
and violence, obesity, epilepsy due to games, social isolation, and other physical and
mental damages. Many psychologists and mental health professionals have paid
attention to the effects of these games.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aimed to know the impacts of computer gaming among the students
of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College.

Specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of:

1.1. Age

1.2. Gender
 1.3. Educational Status

1.4. Online games commonly played

1.5. Length of time the respondents play online games (in terms of months)

1.6. Length of time the respondents play online games in a week (in terms of hour)

1.7. Amount of money the respondents spend for online gaming (per day)

2. What are the advantages of online gaming among students?

2.1. Promotes Association

2.2. Boost Self Reliance

2.3. Improves Social Interaction Capacity

2.4. Can help release beneficial neurotransmitter surges that can build the brain

2.5. It improves problem-solving ability

3. What are the disadvantages of online gaming among students?

3.1. Waste of time

3.2. Addiction

3.3. Lack of social interaction

3.4. Violence
 3.5. Constant use of thumbs, wrist and eyes can lead to problems such as eye
strain and other physical problems

Objectives of the Study

This study is intended to know the impacts of online gaming among the students
of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College. It also aims to help the parents to be informed about
the impacts their children obtain from online gaming.

Significance of the Study

This study will be valuable and significant to students, parents, readers and
future researchers.

Students. This study is primarily important to students, for it will give them
information about the impacts they may get from online gaming.

Parents. This study will help the parents to have enough knowledge about
the impacts of online gaming among their children.

Readers. This study will help the readers to have the understanding about
the impact of online gaming.

Future Researchers. This may serve as a basis for future research that they
will conduct.

Scope and Delimitation

The study aims to identify the factors that affect the involvement to computer
game addiction of the DCLC students and to determine how it would affect their study
habits. Respondents of the study are limited to the college students from the different
departments.
 CHAPTER II
Review of Related Literature and studies

This chapter presents the literature and studies relevant to presentation

investigation.

Related Literature

Carey (2012) found out that the history of online gaming included
contributions by many different companies and entities. Online gaming began as
multiplayer gaming, but has evolved to include online gaming servers and
massively-multiplayer online game settings.

Stated by Hassan (2011), online gaming is good and bad. Good for those who
know their limits and bad for those who fix themselves in the seats for long hours and
cut off the interaction with rest of the world.

According to the study of Chang (2009), online gaming was referred to as

Internet Gaming or Electronic Gaming. It was a gathering of players with a common
game using a local area network (LAN) where they could be on the same settings.
The players seem to be in a real situation that they use their mouse or keypads to
move in the monitor, their virtual world.

Hall (2005) said that online gaming has become increasing popular over the
past few years.

Both Orzack (2004) and French (2002) found out that in internet search
for“gaming addiction” yields lists of physical and psychological symptoms from
dry-eyes and carpal tunnel syndrome to “problems with school or work,” offered as
indicative of problem usage behavior.

Griffiths, et al. (2003) stated that online gaming has been separated by some
researchers into three main types: stand-alone games, local and wide network
(LAWN) games and massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORP) games.
 French & Dwyer (2002) claimed that online game players “don’t have normal
social relationships anymore”and play online games in order to cover feelings of
anger, depression and low self-esteem.

Nie & Erbring (2000) and Kraut, et al. (1998) stated that some fear that virtual
communities was detracted from social activity and involvement in the real world,
replaced real social relationships with less robust online substituted and caused users
to turn away from more traditional media.

Turkle (1995) found out that online games enabled self-exploration and
discovery that users extended and idealized their existing personalities or try out new
ways of relating to one another that can positively affect real life relationships.
Rheingold (1993) stated that the one reason for the popularity of online games was
that they meld the fun and challenge of video games with the rewarding social aspects
of online community. Participation in online communities allows us to stay in touch
with old friends, meet new people, learn, and share information.

Theoretical Framework of the Study

Computer game addiction generally refers to an excessive, unhealthy

amount of playing computer games. Rather than engaging in the real world, an
addicted user devotes the majority of his or her time to gaming ( Conrad, 2011). The
issue of game addiction is getting spread widely and uncontrollable. Gaming addiction
became a mysterious problem which is still difficult to treated, more terrifying than
alcohol or drugs addiction.

According to Molcho (1988) gaming has provided evidence that instructional

games can promote retention and the ability to transfer knowledge to new domains.
Instructional games are attractive to learners because they offer a simple and creative
means of providing high-level motivation, clear and consistent goals, and sustained
interactivity. Gaming as an instructional variable may be analyzed as methods of
rehearsal by facilitating the organization and retention of content (Dwyer & Dwyer,
1985). The theory of intrinsic motivation is by far the dominant source of support for
instructional gaming. Research has provided evidence that instructional gaming has
the intrinsic ability to develop the learners' confidence in determining their own destiny.
This theory suggests that intrinsic motivation in an instructional gaming context is
comprised of an optimal relationship between fantasy, challenge, curiosity, and
control. (Malone, 1981).
Conceptual Framework of the Study

Research indicates that there are many impacts of online gaming among the
students of Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College.. Studies have been conducted assessing
the impacts of online gaming. As an input, the researchers will gather all the
information about the impacts of online gaming among the students.

Foreign Literature

According to Helsingin Salomat, a cross-national World Health Organization

study carried out in 2002 and published in june shows that around 20% of Finnish
boys between the ages of a 13 and 15 spend more than three hours a day at the
computer playing online games. The figures for “heavy user” girls in the same age
group are only between 2% and 3%. In terms of the large gender difference, Finland
was among the most striking example in the entire study. According to the empirical
evidence, researchers found out a sense of presence, commonly defined, as “sense
of being there” is an important factor for the onlige game users. Both studies stated
that online games are really addictive to anyone who are hooked here.

Local Literature

According to Philippine Communications Today by Maslog C. of 1998, one

social problem that has been obeserved is that the Internet cafe has become mainly
game centers. About one-half to two-thirds of the computer in a typical internet cafe,
according to one study, are devoted to games. The use of the remaining computers
was roughly split between browsing, email, online chat, word processing and research.
The Internet cafes have become not just game centres. They are becoming centres of
addiction among the youth, mostly boys, including grade school pupils. According to
one concerned Internet cafe entrepreneur, “Internet cafes are seducing youths to a
new form of addiction, one whichb may not destroy their bodies as drugs do, but
which is certainly twisting their minds. To then young, “play is reality and reality is
play.

Definition of the Terms

For clearer understanding of the work, the following terms were defined:

Advantage. A benefit or gain.

Disadvantage. Something that makes a situation worse or that makes somebody or

something less effective or desirable.

Impact. The powerful or dramatic effect that something or somebody has.

Internet. An electronic communication network that connects computer network and

organizational computer facilities around the world.

Online game. Game that can be run from an internet browser and requires the internet
connection.

Technology. The practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area.

 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter introduces the details of research design, respondents of the study,
sampling, data gathering procedures, data gathering instruments, and statistical
treatment of data.

RESEARCH DESIGN

The researchers used the descriptive research to conduct

this study entitled “Computer Games Addiction Effects on Selected Students of
DCLC”.

SAMPLING

The researchers made use of 40 students in Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College.

All students who play computer games will answer the test questionnaire given by the
researchers.

THE INSTRUMENTS

Questionnaire is used as the main instrument of the study to determine the

effects of computer games among the students. The designed questions focus on the
advantages and disadvantages of online gaming. The questionnaire is prepared by
the researchers themselves after doing a research and intensive reading from the
internet and asking opinions from the computer game players.
INTERVENTION

Percentage and ranking is used by the researchers to convert the numerical

data gather from the questionnaire. Only tallying, getting of percentage, and getting of
ranking are the methods needed to come up with a conclusion on this study. The
statistics used frequency, percentage, and ranking. These things would be explained
further in the following.

a. Frequency - pertains to the number of respondents that have the same answer in a
specific question.

b. Percentage - used to determine the ratio of respondents that have same answers
with general number of respondents.

c. Ranking- used to determine the order of the results according to their percentage

Where in:

% = percentage

Formula:
f = number of respondents that
%=f x 100
answered the question
N
“Am I computer games addict?” Only you can answer this question. We use the
term computer addict to describe the condition of having an obsession and
compulsion to game, which grows worse over time, and an inability to limit their
gaming, despite all the trouble and losses it causes. The following self test should give
you some thought and act as a guide to judge your own situation.

 Do you eat while gaming or forget to eat while gaming?

 Are most of your friends gamers?
 Do you lose hours of sleep to gaming?
 Do you fear a life without gaming?
 Do you feel irritable and restless when away from the games for some days?
 Have you stolen money for gaming?
 Do you think your life might be much better without games?
 Do you find yourself bored with most everything else in life?
 Have you put spending on games ahead of your financial responsibilities?
 Have you gained weight since becoming a gamer?
 Have you suffered any physical pains from intense gaming?
 Have you suffered more financial problems since obsessively gaming?
 Do you spend real money in-game?
 Are the people in your life worried by your gaming?
 Have you called late or skipped classes to game?
 Do you feel guilt and shame around your gaming?
 Does gaming contribute to arguments in your relationships?
 Do you forget responsibilities or deadlines in school works when gaming?
 Do you become irritated and defensive when people suggest you might be
gaming too much?
 Have your hours spent gaming increased over time?
 Have you lost contact with friends and family since gaming?
 Do you have intense feelings (highs, lows, anger, fear) while gaming?