Youth stuck on video games
Young Singaporeans spend 27 hours a week playing games, which raises fears over impact. -ST
Wed, Oct 07, 2009
The Straits Times
By Chua Hian Hou
SINGAPORE students spend 27 hours a week playing video games like Maple Story and World of Warcraft.
The statistic, uncovered by an ongoing National Institute of Education (NIE) study, is raising concern over the impact of such games, and the extent of gaming addiction here.
The three-year study, the biggest of its kind in Singapore, is looking at more than 3,000 primary and secondary school students' gaming habits, and will be finished at the end of the year.
NIE declined to reveal more about it pending an analysis of the results.
One thing is clear though: Singapore youth really like video games.
Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew, who revealed the 27-hour statistic at a Singapore Press Club event last month, said he was 'quite surprised and a little bit shocked' that the figure was so high.
He may have grounds for concern: American youths spend just 13 hours a week dragon-slaying, but a significant number are feeling the harmful effects of playing too much.
In a study of 1,200 American children and teens, aged eight to 18, published in the prestigious Psychological Science journal, 8.5per cent of those who played games were found to show signs of 'pathological gaming', which means that gamers play so much that the hobby hurts their academic performances and relationships.
For years now, experts have been warning of the problem, which has seen severe cases needing treatment at mental institutions to wean them off their fix. Statistics, though, are only now beginning to emerge.
Figures from other countries are not readily available, although concern about the impact of video games has risen alongside their popularity.
The American study noted that it was also possible that poor students, or those with social problems, play a lot to get away from their real life issues.
Confirming some stereotypes, pathological gamers also tend to be male and suffer from health problems like back and wrist injuries.
The study's author, Iowa State University professor Douglas Gentile, is also involved with the NIE project.
'Kids play so much because they find games fun and rewarding,' he said.
The statistics resonate with counsellors and gamers.
According to Touch Cyber Wellness and Sports manager Poh Yeang Cherng, 27 hours a week or more is not uncommon among the pathological gamers he counsels. Some heavily addicted gamers spend far more time than that. Many refuse to acknowledge that they have a problem.
For World of Warcraft fan Lawrence Lee, 16, playing for four hours a day 'is nothing'.
During a six-month period last year, Lawrence played for six hours on weekdays and 'the whole weekend, from Friday until Sunday night'.
'I slept and studied only when my parents forced me to,' he said. 'I even skipped brushing my teeth in the morning occasionally...It is the novelty, like getting to know a new girlfriend. You want to spend every minute with her.'
The Government is concerned about cyber-wellness issues and has formed an inter-ministry committee to look into ways to deal with them.
Trying to regulate how young people use the Internet will not work, said Rear-Admiral (NS) Lui, but some possible fixes include educating gamers on how to manage their time, and parental supervision.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
Reference
Retrieved from: http://www.asiaone.com/print/News/Education/Story/A1Story20091005-171912.html, 12 January 2010.
Discussion Questions for video and article:
1) What are some reasons why youths turn to video gaming
2) What are some problems excessive gaming may lead to?
3) What are some other dangers the use of the Internet and media tools may present for youths?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1) What are some reasons why youths turn to video gaming?
ReplyDelete- They might feel stressed since youths have project/school work most of the time and they might not be able to cope with it, giving them a headache. Hence, the most possible alternative youths have in their mind would definitely be: video gaming. What is the secret technique of video games that draw almost all the youths to gaming? One of the techniques is that administrators of the games create their applications consisting of interesting, creative and attractive graphical images that draw public attention. Thus, youths would release all their stress and just forget about things that are pestering in their minds, resulting in turning to video games.
- Next, peer pressure is also one of the factors. In a globalised world, which youths have not even played a single bit of video games? Most of them do, hence, for some of them who doesn’t, peer pressure comes in. People who have experienced gaming might think that they are cool, “professionals” at it and hence non-gamers would tend to follow what they do – to be cool and “professional” at video games. In other cases, people are forced to play these games even if they don’t want, as friends would insist on the non-gamer playing games with them. Hence, peer pressure is one of the important key factors.
- Introverts, loners, anti-socials might be another factor. Being a person with “no life” at all, they drift aimlessly at school, etc. with no goals whatsoever and thus, making them feel dejected. They might not want to mix with people, being public-shy, or just don’t bother to make an effort forming harmonious relations with one another. With great sadness, they might tend to hide their true identities and form friendship on the net. With this, they would not feel “lonely” and can be able to make online friends without witnessing who they are, or vice versa.
Continued~
2) What are some problems excessive gaming may lead to?
ReplyDelete- Family Relationships.
Which parents want their children to be addicted to the computer? This question is often in deep thinking as the sentence does not support what it says. A fully, hard-core addicted teen focuses 100% on his video game all the time, and he does not bother about other things happening around him. When a youth is addicted, parents might not be able to do much. Results have shown that parents have no control over their teenaged children, as they are in their own imagination, casting reality aside. Hence, it affect family relationship when the youths do not communicate with their family members or get flared up easily when family members advise them to stop playing the computer.
- Academic results.
With every minute and second focusing on their video games, when can they spend time doing their homework, assignments, or even projects? Without studying and practicing academic skills, they have no knowledge on studies and what happens when tests or exams come? Most of the addicted teens would definitely flunk their exams and get lousy grades, or some geniuses might pass the test. In an ordinary human brain, no knowledge, which is IQ, would develop when a person doesn’t absorb useful information that his brain can take in. Hence, in virtual reality, it is the same – no studying PROPERLY = poor academic achievements.
- Health problems
Excessive video gaming everyday would most probably cause health problems. Those types of hard-cored players who do not eat and just play would definitely suffer from problems concerning their physical bodies.
- Death
Finally, the worst case scenario is DEATH. Don’t be amazed by this word, as similar cases have happened all around the world. Yes, accept the fact that people can even die from playing too much video games. Why do they die? For those who play continuously a day, everyday, and their bodies would just detioriate and die off as it is not even a bit nourished. Without sufficient intake of food to provide their bodies with energy, they would feel very weak and dizzy after a couple of days and when their mind can’t think any further, the cells in their bodies would not be able to function, leading to death.
Continued~
3) What are some other dangers the use of the Internet and media tools may present for youths?
ReplyDeleteInternet can be described in various ways; fun, dangerous, etc. if a person judges it. But now as we are focusing on danger, here is the list of them:
1. Hacking tools
These tools are used to hack into computer software, or even in online games.
2. Bots
These are automatic engines that work under your command and are illegal to use in most of the online games.
3. Pornography
This is the most dangerous tool on the net. It displays naked pictures of both men and women, showing off their bodies.
4. Malware
It is software created to infiltrate a computer system without the original user’s informed consent. It comprises of computer viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, crime ware, cookies and other dangerous software.
5. Key logging
This action is the movement of tracking the keys struck on a keyboard, occasionally in a concealed manner so that the person using the keyboard is unaware that their actions are being monitored.
(846 words) *excluding questions.
Name: Calvin Wong
Class: 2/4
Reg. No.: 38
1) Youth turn to video gaming because of many reasons.One of them is because they are angry, and to express their anger,they turn to video gaming.When they play the video games while they are angry,they will kill all the villains in the game which is violence.This helps the youth to be calm when they have defeated their enemies.The other reason why youth turns to video gaming is because of peer pressure.When most of their friends play the video game,they will feel like they do not fit in the group.So,they must play the game.From there they will be addicted.
ReplyDelete2) Excessive gaming may lead to change of personality.For example,if they was killed by their enemies,they will be angry which means that they will turn violent.They will punch the wall,they will smash the table and they will raise their voice at some little comments and throw tantrums.Exessive gaming may also lead to undesirable effect like becoming short-sighted and becoming thin because they never eat anything.It may also lead to death.This happens because they says that they want to be with their heroes in the games so that they could help kill the villains which is absolutely wrong.
3) Some dangerous tools are pornography and hacking softwares and a lot of others things which is supposed to be fun or helpful, can turn into a dangerous tool.
Name: Muhd Izyan(26)
Class: 2/4
1.Actually i see no reason why youths get hooked on to video gaming, it's totally bullshit and the graphics are totally crap. makes guys so tempted to those skimpily dressed female characters with big bosoms and pretty legs which are so fake and seriously so lame.
ReplyDeleteThey should instead quieten down and take out their assessment books and text books to revise while they still can before it is too late for them to kick the habit away and start behaving well like a proper student and do well for their studies.
2.Excessive playing of video gaming will just lead people to bear dire consequences and the outcome the seriousness of it will eventually cause one to break down emotionally and commit suicide. speaking of which, all this can avoided if one won't be so stupid to get himself or herself addicted to all these crap and stuffs which are not even beneficial in anyway whether it's studies or personal life.
3.People who are serious psycho puffs and rejected by the entire society will start to cyber bully kids and make them do unimaginable things which lead to tragic endings, which is the abuse of the usage of media and internet tools. Seriously, why would someone so free and idiotic to land himself in such trouble and once caught by the police, that moron is either going to jail or land up in the local mental health institute. Stupid as it sounds, 'pornography' is no big deal and it is one of the top few searches on search engines. It's free for everyone to see and nobody even bother to care about their age when entering these sites and start browsing photos and videos of those pornstars who don't give even a damn about revealing their bodies and showing off to the world. The internet is free for everyone and it stands FREEDOM but once abused is really so troublesome. Just a big shout out to all the online netizens, "PLEASE TRY NOT ABUSE THE FREEDOM GIVEN TO YOU WHEN YOU ARE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO SURF THE NET, ABUSE IT AND YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER REALLY TERRIBLY AND LAND YOURSELF UP IN JAIL, SO JUST PLAY SAVE AND KEEP A LOW PROFILE:)"
Yee "jUNWEi" No.39
2-FOUR('09)
"What comes around goes around." This phrase means that what you've have done is followed by dire consequences.
ReplyDeleteIt is for the very reason that technology is advancing in leaps in the 21st century. Humans are more and more capable and i think game creators are actually university graduates. Modern graduates are equipped with more devices and they seem to be more creative nowadays. This led to the rise of addictive games.
Stress
The reason for creating games is to relieve stress, feel relaxed and refreshed after playing a game. However, games can lead to procrastination for homework, projects etc, and then again a person become addicted.
Fun!!
In this world, everybody loves fun. It is just how one creates fun. Well some people create fun by playing online games.
This results in.....
Extreme change in personality.
On the video, the boy who played war craft kept scolding vulgarities. Problaby he is pissed off by losing some things(money and vice versa). Before the addiction, he was a well-behaved boy. But war craft as led him to walk on the wrong path.
Lesser family bonding.
Since video-gaming has took a lot of time for family, communication is drastically affected. This led to misunderstadings between to family members etc.
Health.
Obesity? Short-sightedness? Video gaming can lead to many major health problems. It is for the reason that our body isn't moving, except for the hands. But that is not sufficient. So this may lead to common health problems in a long-run. Probably, one main factor is diet. Either they don't eat or they binge(maybe after a day or so.)
Dangers OF MEDIA TOOLS...
Meeting up with strangers?
There are some online strangers whom you online chat with can be very dangerous. They may be paedophiles for all you know. So try to be careful, or you'll have to pay the price.
Cyber bullying
Teenagers may start to play a prank and gossip about someone whom they hate. The victim may face psychological problems and this may affect someone's life.
Wangweice(37)
2/4
1) Youths turn to video games because:
ReplyDelete-They have nothing better to do. They browse the internet to search or games, and as soon they play a very interesting game, they get hooked on it. This will lead to another problem which is peer pressure, when a friend recommends a game and the friend gets hooked to it, and the cycle continues. People who has not heard of the game and don't want to feel left out, will also start playing the game and they too will get addicted.
Stress
When people are stressed, they start to vent out their anger on the game by killing the bad guys and they will be addicted to it as it becomes a constant stress reliever, and they person gets addicted to it.
2)Some problems are that gamers will have tantrums as the start getting killed by the evil characters in the game. This will lead to swearing, and then every little thing will start to tick them off, making them angry easily and become violent.
3)Dangers that will happen are people will start using hacking tools, bots, malware, abd other devices which can get you arrested and JAILED.
Muhammad Zaki (27) 2/4
ReplyDelete1)Youths usually turn to video gaming sometimes to seek freedom and also stress-relievers.There are many other reasons why they love video gaming,but i think i'll just talk about these two for now.So they seek freedom because they sometimes they feel constrained by their parents biddings and continuous piling of homework.By using the computer and playing the games,it is interesting to wonder that we feel as if we can do whatever we want,no borders,no bounderies...just free.The internet is an interesting application that is accessible in almost every computer in Singapore.It shows everything that we need like pictures to paste in our powerpoint slides or finding out about a particular person's personality or catch the latest free online movies with a packet of chips in hand.So with entire world on our monitor,we can explore the whole place without leaving home.Therefore,i am not surprised that they feel free.
ReplyDeleteAlot of us nowadays face a major problem that has very deadly side effects if too much of it.Yes that's right-STRESS!Stress is when people have trouble focusing on something when some other problem keeps interjecting and trying to firmly plant itself into their brain to permenantly have full control of their bodies.Often the problems are because of the fear of people's reaction to certain things that you have done and the thought of the consequences of not doing the specified task and we let this fear infest our minds like for example,John has to do a presentation about Bob Marley in three days and he has not started.Slowly Kohn starts to lose focus in class and has trouble sleeping because he is afraid of the consequences of not doing the presentation.This is what made him fail the presentation and had counselling on that same day.So back to the main point,video gaming helps people to de-stress.The games are fun and we can chat with people.This helps the people to distract themselves from their work.The chatting would help people to to confide in their friends about their problems.Therefore video gaming helps!
2)Some of the many problems are that sometimes we would be so caught up with meeting friends online that we are deprived from our own families who are right across the hall from our room.This can cause less bond between family members and i personally feel that it is very rude to eat in the room, where our beloved internet is beckoning to us,instead of eating with our family.This can result in you ending up being banned from the computer or less bondage between family.
Another problem faced is studies.This is probably the most obvious and spontaneous problem conjured when video gaming.Obviously,alot of people would be addicted to the games and it would affect their way of thinking.Their mind set would be fixed on "how to defeat that giant dragon in World Of Warcraft?" instead of "what is E equals MC squared?".This will dangerously affect your results in future and O levels.So the only way is to stay away from the computer and only use it if necessary.
3)Although the internet is vry helpful,it can be dangerous to innocent people.It has applications like pornography which features unsafe sex and is not encouraged among the young who come across such websites.And not to forget,the infamous viruses,worms and trojans.These are seriously the kings of the dark under belly of internet.They can instantly cause a computer breakdown.They come in the form of files especially trojans.So we should set safe search to high security and install a viral protection application.
So overall,just try to stay from the computer!
Muhammad bin Abdul Rashid(25)
2/4