EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME

ADDICTION TO THE STUDENTS OF

1. Introduction

Video game addiction is defined as impulse control disorder, which does not
involve use of an intoxicating drug and is similar to pathological gambling. Also, it is
also referred to video game overuse, pathological or compulsive use of computer games
and videogames (Greenfield & Young, 2009). Due to excessive use of computer games
there is effect in their personal traits like anxiety, sensation seeking, neuroticism, and
aggression which are the symptoms that a person is under the development of gaming
addiction (Mehroof, M et al. 2010). Brain is also affected in computer addiction; regions
of the brain associated with cravings in substance abuse also appear to be activated in
gaming addicts when they view images of video games (Ko, C et al. 2010). There are two
types of gaming, “excessive gaming” and “addictive gaming” these two types of gaming is
different from each other; the difference between “excessive gaming and “addictive
gaming” is that two gamers may play for an identical number of hours each day, but
their psychological motivation and the meaning that gaming has within their lives can
be very different. Gaming addiction should be defined by how much the negatively
impacts other areas of life, not by how much time is spent playing (Griffiths, M et al.
2010). In a volunteer sample, 41% of online gamers acknowledged that they use gaming
as an escape. In the same sample, 7% were viewed as “dependent”. These gamers
possessed several behavioural attributes that are related to more well established forms
of addiction (e.g., mood modification, tolerance, & relapse) (Hussain et al. 2009). Most
online gamers are male. Among male gamers, more severe online gaming addiction is
correlated with older age, lower self-esteem, and lower dissatisfaction with daily life.
This relationship did not hold true for female gamers(Ko et al. 2005). Excessive use of
technology is relatively rare. Compared to females, males are more likely to develop a
gaming addiction. Boys are more likely to play aggressive or violent games while girls
are more likely to play platform and puzzle games (Griffiths, 2008). In Germany, 1.5 –
3.5% of teenage internet users show signs of gaming addiction. Gaming addiction is
associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression, and poorer academic
performance (Peukert et al. 2010). Computer gaming addiction is positively correlated
with achievement motivation, sensation-seeking, a positive evaluation of one’s
intelligence, and a negative evaluation of one’s skills in interpersonal relationship
(Zheng et al. 2006). In a sample of German teens, 6.3% of subjects fulfilled the authors’
diagnostic criteria for gaming addiction. These adolescents were mostly male and had
low educational backgrounds (Klaus et al. 2008). Gaming addiction is negatively
associated with academic achievement (Chiu et al. 2004). So far there are no studies
conducted as to the percentage of senior high school students who are hooked to online
games, thus, this study would like to find out factors why senior high school students are
addicted to online games.
 Statement of the problem

This study will determine the number of students in Southern Christian College
that are addicted to online games:

Specifically, the following questions will be answered:

1. What are the effects of online game addiction in their

2. Academic performance
3. Physical Health

Objectives of the study

The general objective of this study is to determine the effects of the online game
addiction of the student to their academics and the effects of online games to their
health.

Significance of the study

The result of this study is significant to the following group

Students. This study may give information to the students about how online gaming
affects the life of a students.

Teachers. This study may serve as the way to the teachers to determine the students who
are addicted to online games so they can help the students to avoid being addicted to
online games.
Family. This study is significant to the family because it may help them to know if their
children are addicted to online games.

Future researchers. It would help the future researchers that are interested in this study.
It will serve as their basis and their background about their research.

Date and Place

This will be conducted in the Southern Christian College during the 2nd semester
of school year 2016-2017. This will conducted in the month of January to February 2017.

Review of Related Literature

These researches we study about the psychological factor, whether that is factor to the
online game addiction among students. Unlike with substance abuse, the biological
aspect of videogame addiction is uncertain. Research suggests gambling elevates
dopamine, but there’s more to addiction than brain chemistry (Rooij, Online video game
addiction: identification of addicted,2010). The addict suffers from a psychological
component to the addiction. Online gaming allows a person to escape the real world and
change the perception of self-worth (Rooij, Online video game addiction: identification
of addicted, 2010). An online gaming addiction is not that far from drug addiction. Both
are searching for a way to make they feel better. The lure of a fantasy world is especially
pertinent to online role-playing games. These are games in which a player assumes the
role of a fictional character and interacts with other players in a virtual world. An
intelligent child who is unpopular at school can feel dominant in the game. The virtual
life becomes more appealing than real life. Too much gaming may seem relatively
harmless compared with the dangers of a drug overdose, but experts say video game
addiction can ruin lives. Children who play four to five hours per day have no time for
socializing, doing homework, or playing sports leaving little time for normal social
development. According to Lan Ying Huang (2003), by playing the online game features
online gamer participants may view the games as source of providing diversion and
filling time. “The biggest risk factor for pathological video game useseems to be playing
games to escape from daily life,” said Joe Hilgard, lead author of the study and a
doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychological Sciences at
Missouri. “Individuals who play games to get away from their lives or to pretend to be
other people seem to be those most at-risk for becoming part of a vicious cycle. These
gamers avoid their problems by playing games, which in turn interferes with their lives
because they’re so busy playing games (Peters 7 et al, 2007). Internet addiction gives the
gamer to the unique psychological properties which is the users increase their use of
these internet services, the utility they gain from each usage does not diminish, leading
not only to self-destructive addiction but also to social ills. When a problem, playing
video games can interfere with real-life obligations such as work, and players can end up
lying about playing video games. The study found that “problematic” video game use can
have similar effects as other addictive activities, such as abusing alcohol (Inwon
Kang,2011).

Games addiction shows the bad effect among the people nowadays. Addiction to the
internet shares some of negative aspects of substance addiction and has been shown to
lead to consequences such as failing school, family and relationship problem (Brian. D.
NG, M.S & Peter. W. H, 2005). It can make the people who has addicted will feel that
the games can provide opportunities for achievement, freedom and even a connection to
the players. Those benefits trumped a shallow sense of fun, which doesn’t keep gamers
as interested (online gamers anonymous, 2008). The role of media in advertising the
games also make more cause why the games addicted will be more interested with those
games. In 2005, advertiser spent $80 million to reach game players, this spending is
expected to top $400 by 2009 (Park Associate 2006).

Internet addiction is a relatively new phenomenon in which social workers and

psychologists are unaware of and are thus unprepared to treat at present. Mu (2006)
points out that some of the main symptoms of Internet and online game addictions,
including the decrease in friend and face-to-face interactions with others, become
infrequent while the member of friends in the virtual world exponentially increases.
Ultimately, the psychokinesis becomes weaker and weaker over time. This means that
after a long time of playing online games, the players begin to realize the dangers of
online gaming. At this point players generally try to play less as they try to orient
themselves back to the demands of society. However this is mostly unsuccessful as it
almost always ends up failing. Zhang (2007) and Zhou (2007), who also researched on
the same topic, reported different results on the online game addiction and the finding
supported the same symptoms. With regards to undergraduate students who were
addicted to the Internet or online games, Zhang (2007) indicated that most of these
students had bad grades in their universities. Moreover, Zhou (2007) stated that the
physical symptoms of Internet and online game addiction were cervical spondylitis,
neurasthenia and insomnia. Cervical spondylitis, a fairly common symptom of many
MMOG players, is essentially a spinal injury which results from keeping the same sitting
position for hours while playing games. This situation is more often than not leads to
injuries to the cervical vertebra on the spinal cord. Neurasthenia on the other hand is a
neurological disorder that results from when players engage in hours and hours of game
playing with no virtually sleep intervals in between. Even though players may end up
playing games for a long time before going to sleep, their brains still keep running and
experiencing phantom excitement from playing games even when they are asleep. This
causes sleep sensitivity and disorders which induce addicted players to wake up several
times during the night and as such this leads them suffering from insomnia which can
cause mental anxiety and eventually result in nervous breakdowns and general
tiredness. Once the nature of physical and mental symptoms that manifest in MMOG
addicts had been determined, we perused in various literatures on this topic to discover
the ways through these addiction could be evaluated. One of the useful information
sources was obtained from Young (1999), who conducted a study aimed at enabling
social workers to better understand, detect and treat Internet addiction. The research by
Young focused on the complications that precede an Internet addiction diagnosis. With
regards to this research it is relevant in determining the criterion through which to
evaluate our interviewees. It would help us to determine whether the individuals were
addicted to online games or not. To create a more holistic point of view this thesis also
aims to identify the negative consequences associated with using the Internet and the
ways to assess and identify the reasons causing the onset of pathological Internet use.

It is widely believed that game players who spend playing too many hours (above 10
hours a day) are at high risk of being addicted to video games (Anand, 2007). Previous
studies have shown that video game addiction among adolescents gamers is highly
correlated with psychosocial problems such as time spent on games (i.e., usage), life
satisfaction, loneliness, social competence , and aggression (Lemmens et al., 2009). For
example, Peters and Malesky (2008) further support the relationship between addiction
of World of Warcraft players to the game and the time they spend playing online, the
relationship that is also supported among adolescents who are addicted to online games
in general (Gentile, 2009; Xu et al., 2012). However, due to the lack of research on the
causal relationship among game addiction and these psychosocial variables, the authors
avoid making conclusions regarding the direction of the relationships. Gentile (2009),
compare pathological gamers versus non-pathological gamers among 1,178 American
adolescents (aged between 8 and 18) regarding their psychosocial behaviour. The results
show that pathological gamers are twice as likely as non-pathological gamers to have
attention problems such as attention deficit disorder. However, the author avoids
making conclusion regarding the direction of causality between pathological gameplay
and attention problems. In a study on a large sample of adolescents (13-16 years olds) in
the Netherlands, van Rooij et al. (2011) show that compared to non-addicts, video game
addicts have significantly higher levels of depressive moods, loneliness and significantly
lower levels of self-esteem. In this study, the results of this comparison for social anxiety
level is not significant

Although playing video games is one of the most popular leisure activities in the world,
research into its effects on players, both positive and negative, is often trivialised. Some
of this research deserves to be taken seriously, not least because video game playing has
implications for health. One innovative application of video games in health care is their
use in pain management. The degree of attention needed to play such a game can
distract the player from the sensation of pain, a strategy that has been reported and
evaluated among paediatric patients. One case study reported the use of a handheld
video game to stop an 8 year old boy picking at his face. The child had neuro dermatitis
and scarring due to continual picking at his upper lip. Previous treatments had failed so
the boy was given a hand held video game to keep his hands occupied. After two weeks
the affected area had healed. Controlled studies using both randomised controlled trials
and comparison with patient’s own baseline measures show that video games can
provide cognitive distraction for children during chemotherapy for cancer and
treatment for sickle cell disease. All these studies reported that distracted patients had
less nausea and lower systolic blood pressure than controls (who were simply asked to
rest) after treatment and needed fewer analgesics. Video games have been used as a
form of physiotherapy or occupational therapy in many different groups of people. Such
games focus attention away from potential discomfort and, unlike more traditional
therapeutic activities; they do not rely on passive movements and sometimes painful
manipulation of the limbs. Video games have been used as a form of physiotherapy for
arm injuries, in training the movements of a 13 year old child with Erb’s palsy, and as a
form of occupational therapy to increase hand strength. Therapeutic benefits have also
been reported for a variety of adult populations including wheelchair users with spinal
cord injuries, people with severe burns, and people with muscular dystrophy. Video
games have also been used in comprehensive programmes to help develop social and
spatial ability skills in children and adolescents with severe learning disability or other
developmental problems, including autism; children with multiple handicaps (for
example severely limited acquisition of speech) and children with impulsive and
attention deficit disorders. However, there has been no long term follow-up and no
robust randomised controlled trials of such interventions. Whether patients eventually
tire of such games is also unclear. Furthermore, it is not known whether any distracting
effect depends simply on concentrating on an interactive task or whether the content of
games is also an important factor as there have been no controlled trials comparing
video games with other distractors. Further research should examine factors within
games such as novelty, users’ preferences, and relative levels of challenge and should
compare video games with other potentially distracting activities. While playing video
games have some benefits in certain clinical settings, a growing body of evidence
highlighting the more negative aspects of play—particularly on children and
adolescents. These include the risk of video game addiction, (although the prevalence of
true addiction, rather than excessive use, is very low) and increased
aggressiveness. There have been numerous case reports of other adverse medical and
psychosocial effects. For instance, the risk of epileptic seizures while playing video
games in photosensitive individuals with epilepsy is well established. (Graf et al 1994)
report that seizures are most likely to occur during rapid scene changes and when games
include patterns of highly intense repetition and flickering. Seizures and excessive or
addictive play do not seem to be linked directly, however, as occasional players seem to
be just as susceptible. Other case studies have reported adverse effects of playing video
games, including auditory hallucinations, enuresis, encopresis, wrist pain, neck
pain, elbow pain, tenosynovitis, hand-arm vibration syndrome, repetitive strain
injuries, peripheral neuropathy, and obesity. Some of these adverse effects seem to be
rare and many resolve when the patients no longer play the games. Furthermore, case
 reports and case series cannot provide firm evidence of cause and effect or rule out other
confounding factors. On balance, given that video game playing is highly prevalent
among children and adolescents in industrialised countries, there is little evidence that
moderate frequency of play has serious acute adverse effects from moderate play.
Adverse effects, when they occur, tend to be relatively minor and temporary, resolving
spontaneously with decreased frequency of play. More evidence is needed on excessive
play and on defining what constitutes excess in the first place. There should also be long
term studies of the course of video game addiction.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Game theory is the study of human conflict and cooperation within a competitive
situation. In some respects, game theory is the science of strategy, or at least the optimal
decision-making of independent and competing actors in a strategic setting. The key
pioneers of game theory were mathematicians John von Neumann and John Nash, as
well as economist Oskar Morgenstern.

1.
Methodology

Locale Of The Study

This study will be conducted in Southern Christian College, Quezon Avenue,

Poblacion 5, Midsayap, Cotabato. It will be done during the second semester of the
school year 2016-2017.

Respondents

The participants of this study are bonafide students of Southern Christian College
particularly the Senior High School Students enrolled in semester 2016-2017.

Sampling Procedure

This study will use stratified sampling procedure

Data Collection Strategy

 This study will use stratified survey method because it will only determine the
respondents that who are addicted to online games.

Data Analysis

The data will be analyze using Frequency Distribution.

Work Schedule

December January February March

Title Defense 14

Chapter 1 20

RRL and Methods 21

Survey 18

Final Defense 02

Compilation 08

Budgetary Requirements

Amount

Internet 60

Print 60

TOTAL 300
LITERATURE CITED

Anand V. CyberPsychology & Behavior. August 2007, 10(4): 552-559.

Block, J.,(2008). Issues for DSM-V: Internet Addiction. The American Journal of
Psychiatry [e-journal] 165(3), pp. 306- 307 Available through: Psychiatry Online
[Accessed 7 September 2012]

Brian D. Ng and Peter Wiemer-Hastings. CyberPsychology & Behavior. June 2005, 8(2):
110-113. doi:10.1089/cpb.2005.8.110.

Chiu et al. (2004). Video game addiction in children and teenagers in Taiwan. Cyber
Psychology & Behaviour, 7, 571 – 581.

Gentile D., Pathological Video-Game Use Among Youth Ages 8 to 18 A National Study,
May 1, 2009, http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02340.x

Greenfield & Young (2010) , Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, American
Psychiatric Association, Online Gamers Anonymous ( http://www.olganon.org),
Gentile, D.A. (2009). Pathological video game use among youth 8 to 18: a national
study. Psychological Science, 20, 594-602.

Graft et al, Video Game-Related Seizures: A Report on 10 Patients and a Review of the
Literature, April 1994, VOLUME 93 / ISSUE 4

Griffiths, M et al. (2010). The role of context in online gaming excess and addiction:
Some case study evidence. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8,
119-125.

Griffiths (2008). In Children’s Learning in a Digital World. Malden: Blackwell

Publishing, 85 – 103

Griffiths, M. (1995). Technological addictions. Clinical Psychology Forum.

Griffiths, M. (1996). Behavioural addiction: An issue for everybody? Journal of

Workplace Learning
Hussain et al. (2009). Excessive use of massively multi-player online role-playing
games: A pilot study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 7, 563-571

Inwon Kang, Investigation of online community voluntary behavior using cognitive

map Computers in Human Behaviour Volume 23, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 111–126

Ko, C. et al. (2009). Brain activities associated with gaming urge of online gaming
addiction. Journal or Psychiatric Research, 43, 739-747

Ko, C. et al. (2009). Brain activities associated with gaming urge of online gaming
addiction. Journal or Psychiatric Research, 43, 739-747

Klaus et al. (2008). Computer game addiction: A psychopathological symptom complex

in adolescence. Psychiatrische Praxis, 35, 226 – 232

Lemmens et al., Development and Validation of a Game Addiction Scale for Adolescents
Pages 77-95 | Received 07 Nov 2007, Published online: 05 Mar 2009

Lan-ying huang, Ying‐Jiun Hsieh, (2011) “Predicting online game loyalty based on need
gratification and experiential motives”, Internet Research, Vol. 21 Iss: 5, pp.581 – 598

Mehroof, M et al. (2010). Online gaming addiction: The role of sensation seeking, self-
control, neuroticism, aggression, state anxiety, and trait anxiety. Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking, 13, 313-316.

Park Associate, Serious Games: Incorporating Video Games in the Classroom, January
1, 2006, http://er.educause.edu/articles/2006/1/serious-games-incorporating-video-
games-in-the-classroom

Peukert et al. (2010). Phenomenology, comorbidity, etiology, diagnostics and

therapeutic implications for the addictive and their relatives. Psychiatrische Praxix, 37,
219 – 224.

Peter et al. The effects of interactive brand placements in online games on children’s
cognitive, affective, and conative brand responses Computers in Human
BehaviourVolume 26, Issue 6, November 2010, Pages 1787–1794
Rooji et al. Online video game addiction: identification of addicted adolescent gamers
15 September 2010 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1360-
0443.2010.03104.x/abstract

Young, K, CyberPsychology & Behavior. January 2009, 2(5): 475-479.

doi:10.1089/cpb.1999.2.475.

Young, K.S. (1998b), “Internet addiction: the emergence of a new clinical disorder”,

Cyber Psychology & Behavior, Vol. 1 No. 3, pp. 237-44.

Zaheer Hussain, M. D. (2011). Online gaming addiction: Classification, prediction and

associated. Informal Healthcare

Zhang, Impact of Online Consumer Reviews on Sales: The Moderating Role of Product
and Consumer Characteristics. Journal of Marketing: March 2010, Vol. 74, No. 2, pp.
133-148.

Zheng et al. (2006). Correlated factors comparison: The trends of computer game
addiction and internet relationship addiction. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology,
14, 244 – 247

Zhou, (2011) “Understanding online community user participation: a social influence

perspective”, Internet Research, Vol. 21 Iss: 1, pp.67 – 81