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EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ONLINE GAMING ON THE PHYSICAL

WELLNESS AND AGGRESSION OF FILIPINO HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

A Research Topic Outline

Presented to the Faculty of

Humanities and Social Sciences of

Far Eastern University High School

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for

Practical Research 1

by

Arambulo, Aliah L.

Blancaflor, Rich Roland R.

Chavez, Phia Regilyn F.

De Villa, Jillian Raven G.

Genoveza, Morris Jacob C.

Sanchez, Micah Barbie Anne P.

Torres, Cholo P.

March 2023
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Background of the Study:

Online Gaming is defined as any video game that offers online interactions with other players. In

the Philippines, esports, or competitive video games, is one of the new crops of sports in this decade. A

recent statistics showed that 95.8% of internet users between the ages of 16 to 64 played video games.

These numbers make the Philippines the number one country in the world when it comes to the sheer

number of gamers (Bashir, 2023). With this, the rise of excessive online gaming is emerging in the

Philippines, with 29.9 million gamers recorded in the country (Hadijisaid, et al., 2020). Games, with their

engaging and exciting nature, make people want to play them for prolonged periods of time, especially if

they want to release some stress and negative emotions. As a result, this unharmful behavior gradually

turns into an addiction when not properly disciplined that may cause adverse health effects eventually.

According to World Health Organization (2020), online gaming addiction is recognized as a

mental health condition. This addictive behavior may also influence a student's physical wellness and

attitude. Students may forget to bathe or brush their teeth because of their addiction to online games.

Additionally, there is a tendency that they forget to eat, drink, and keep themselves healthy when they are

playing games for several hours straight. Based on Adair's (2020) study, these could lead to poor eating

and sleeping habits, dehydration, poor concentration, and mental health issues. Not getting enough sleep

every day will cause individuals to not stay focused in other aspects of their life like school, work, or even

their everyday life which can inevitably lead to affect their behavior and performance in those sides of

life.

Online gaming has proven to pull out the competitiveness of its players. The most popular genres

of online gaming in the Philippines are role-playing and real-time strategy games (Statista, 2020). These

kinds of games involve multiplayer and cooperative actions between each other. With this, it is inevitable
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that there will be some social exchanges that will happen within the players through voice chatting or

simply typing. Interactions like these could cause friction that will then lead to aggression especially if a

person says something that could anger the other. This case is called trash-talking which is prominent in

the gaming industry. Players do this to cause psychological imbalance to their opponents which then

motivates the said player to do well in the game (Yip, 2017). This kind of aggressive behavior can be

brought out to the real world not only in games but if they are used regularly . Using such degrading

words and threats in games should not be cultivated as a habit. Thus, this study will investigate the

physical and behavioral effects of online gaming to Filipino high school students and determine practical

solutions to any possible negative effects that it may bring.

Statement of the Problem:

This study aims to identify and raise awareness of the possible impacts of online gaming on the physical

wellness and aggression of Filipino high school students. Distinctively, the study intends to answer the

following specific research questions:

1. What are the physical and psychological consequences of online gaming for high school

students?

2. How can online gaming influence high school students’ physical health and daily behavior?

3. What solutions can be recommended to lessen the negative effects of online gaming to high

school students?
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Proposed Methodology:

Research Design

This qualitative research will make use of a phenomenological research approach to gather

relevant data and information as it sought to identify the possible impacts that students may adopt on

playing online games. Phenomenological research, also known as the study of phenomena, is intended to

be used to gain a better understanding of people’s beliefs, behaviors, attitudes, and experiences (Proofed,

2022). Furthermore, the phenomenological approach enables the gathering of comprehensive information

that forms the basis for an introspective analysis, that eventually reveals the essence of the individual’s

experience (Bliss,2016). This study necessitates a better understanding of how people's experiences

influence their perceptions, behaviors, and attitudes toward society. Given that our study is centered on

studying the influence of online games on students' physical and psychological well-being, it is

appropriate that we use an approach that is leaning towards their own experience. Pure phenomenological

research aims to narrate rather than explain, and to begin without any assumptions or preconceived

notions.

Bibliography:

Adair, C. (2022, September 18). Video Game Addiction – Treatment, Symptoms, and Causes. Game

Quitters. https://gamequitters.com/video-game-addiction/

Bashir, D. (2023, February 7). Report: Over 95% of Internet Users in the Philippines Are Gamers. IGN

Southeast Asia. https://sea.ign.com/mobile-1/195067/news/report-over-95-of-internet-users-in-

the-philippines-are-gamers
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Bliss, L. A. (2016). Phenomenological Research. International Journal of Adult Vocational Education

and Technology, 7(3), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijavet.2016070102

Labana, R. V., Hadjisaid, J. L., Imperial, A. R., Jumawid, K. E., Lupague, M. J. M., & Malicdem, D. J. L.

(2020b). Online Game Addiction and the Level of Depression Among Adolescents in Manila,

Philippines. Central Asian Journal of Global Health, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/cajgh.2020.369

P., & P. (2022c, October 3). What Is Phenomenological Research? Proofed.

https://getproofed.com.au/writing-tips/what-is-phenomenological-research/#:~:text=Qualitative

%20research%20involves%20gathering%20and,behaviors%2C%20attitudes%2C%20and

%20experiences.

Statista. (2022, January 18). Popular genres for online gaming Philippines 2020, by age group.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117978/philippines-popular-genres-for-online-gaming-by-

age/

World Health Organization (2020, October 22). Addictive behaviours: Gaming disorder.

https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/addictive-behaviours-gaming-

disorder

Yip, J. A., Schweitzer, M. E., & Nurmohamed, S. (2018). Trash-talking: Competitive incivility motivates

rivalry, performance, and unethical behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision

Processes, 144, 125–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.06.002

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