Hp's Article on MMORPG Addiction
here's an article i wrote for the Rafflesian Times at the start of 2006, about MMORPG addiction. If you didn't read it then, catch it now...
MMORPG Addiction
By: Neo Hui Peng 3L
Kim-Kyung-Jae, a 24-year-old South Korean devotee of online game MU, died of an illness similar to deep vein thrombosis after playing the game virtually non-stop for 86 hours last year. Although his case is indeed an extreme one, the numbers of these cases are not as uncommon as we think they are. Another South Korean 28-year-old man identified only by his surname Lee, collapsed after playing the game Starcraft for over 50 hours non-stop at an internet cafe in the city of Taegu last year as well. He had recently been fired from his job because he kept missing work to play computer games.
MMORPGs are meant to be time-consuming and the success of a MMORPG can be measured by how much people go back and play it. Many youngsters these days believe that they are impervious to such addiction and will never get themselves addicted to online games. As indicated in the previous two cases, this proved fatally untrue. Some of the side effects of this addiction are decreased health, poor work performance, lowered grades at school, and a non-existent social life.
Online computer games are some of the most popular and largest growth areas in interactive entertainment. Players can easily get immersed and feel compelled to play for hours at a stretch, reports of gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of video games, such as the highly popular World of Warcraft and EverQuest, are becoming more frequent.
Psychologist Professor Mark Griffiths, author of several in-depth studies into online gaming and gambling addiction, told the BBC News website that, according to his research, in one detailed survey of 540 gamers, Professor Griffith and his team found that there were four playing more than 80 hours a week, or for 11to 12 hours a day, which is considered "excessive". The main bulk of addicted people were procrastinators or depressed and lonely people.
He explained many people liked to play MMORPGs for long periods of time because of the social aspect of the games. Unlike help for traditional addictions, such as gambling, there is very little help for computer game addiction, as internet addiction is not treated as seriously as other addictions like drug addiction.
Many players report feeling symptoms of withdrawal when they can't play, and loss of time with friends and family when they do. Sleeping less and constantly thinking about the games they play are other symptoms. While fostering relationships in the game, MMORPG addicts let their real life relationships languish, as well as their jobs, their schoolwork, and their other obligations.
There are several reasons why people are so addicted to MMORPGs. The first and most serious reason being that their online fantasy world is so better to them than the real world. If the online world is so much friendlier and people actually enjoy being with you and playing with you, there is no reason why anyone would want to leave this fantasy world to a real world where he would be neglected. If someone was bullied everyday and school life was so terrible for him, he would surely want to spend as much time as possible in a fantasy world where he could beat up other characters for that feeling of “power”. They spend as much time as possible in their online world to escape from their less-than-enjoyable real world.
The second reason people spend so much time online is due to peer pressure. When you look at your friend’s Ragnarok Online or Maple Story account and notice that he is so much more powerful than you with much better equipment and an with incredibly high attack, you would surely want to spend the rest of the day or week training like mad to match their level.
To me, game addiction should not be based on how many hours a person spends on a particular game but instead on how strongly is a person affected while not playing the game. A gamer playing 2 hours a week could be more addicted than someone who spends more than 18 hours a week. The gamer that spends 20 hours a week on online games but has an active social life and participates actively in co-curricular activities cannot be considered an addict if he is able to remove himself from his online world without suffering withdrawal symptoms when not playing. But a gamer who only gets to play 2 hours a week is considered an addict if he spends the entire day obsessing about his online character and training it. If his obsession causes his relationships to break up and his work to suffer, then that person who plays such a small amount a week is indeed a serious gaming addict.
So I feel the main way to counter-act this serious problem is to change the mindset of gamers. We should make these gamers realise that after all, it IS just a game. And there is no need at all to be so involved and obsessed by training and raising your character’s level. We must be able to make the clear distinction between our online and offline lives and make sure they do not interfere or impede each other.
Take the following test to see if you are addicted to online gaming. If you answer yes to any of the questions, you show signs of addiction and neglect of other aspects of your daily life.
-Do you try to find ways of playing your online game when you're not at home?
-Do you skip appointments, miss classes, or miss days of work because you're at a critical point in your online character's advancement or adventures?
-Do you deny addiction to an MMORPG, but somehow still feel the need to play, or just keep your character and possessions updated (you may be masking it by pretending you're having fun)?
-Do you feel your heart racing as you control your character in fleeing from danger? ...to save his or her virtual life? ...when stumbling upon some serious loot?
-Do you need to play online games with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve the desired excitement?
Are you preoccupied with gaming (thinking about it when offline, anticipating your next online session)?
Have you lied to friends and family members to conceal extent of your online gaming?
-Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop online gaming?
Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop online gaming?
-Do you use gaming as a way of escaping from problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression?
MMORPG Addiction
By: Neo Hui Peng 3L
Kim-Kyung-Jae, a 24-year-old South Korean devotee of online game MU, died of an illness similar to deep vein thrombosis after playing the game virtually non-stop for 86 hours last year. Although his case is indeed an extreme one, the numbers of these cases are not as uncommon as we think they are. Another South Korean 28-year-old man identified only by his surname Lee, collapsed after playing the game Starcraft for over 50 hours non-stop at an internet cafe in the city of Taegu last year as well. He had recently been fired from his job because he kept missing work to play computer games.
MMORPGs are meant to be time-consuming and the success of a MMORPG can be measured by how much people go back and play it. Many youngsters these days believe that they are impervious to such addiction and will never get themselves addicted to online games. As indicated in the previous two cases, this proved fatally untrue. Some of the side effects of this addiction are decreased health, poor work performance, lowered grades at school, and a non-existent social life.
Online computer games are some of the most popular and largest growth areas in interactive entertainment. Players can easily get immersed and feel compelled to play for hours at a stretch, reports of gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of video games, such as the highly popular World of Warcraft and EverQuest, are becoming more frequent.
Psychologist Professor Mark Griffiths, author of several in-depth studies into online gaming and gambling addiction, told the BBC News website that, according to his research, in one detailed survey of 540 gamers, Professor Griffith and his team found that there were four playing more than 80 hours a week, or for 11to 12 hours a day, which is considered "excessive". The main bulk of addicted people were procrastinators or depressed and lonely people.
He explained many people liked to play MMORPGs for long periods of time because of the social aspect of the games. Unlike help for traditional addictions, such as gambling, there is very little help for computer game addiction, as internet addiction is not treated as seriously as other addictions like drug addiction.
Many players report feeling symptoms of withdrawal when they can't play, and loss of time with friends and family when they do. Sleeping less and constantly thinking about the games they play are other symptoms. While fostering relationships in the game, MMORPG addicts let their real life relationships languish, as well as their jobs, their schoolwork, and their other obligations.
There are several reasons why people are so addicted to MMORPGs. The first and most serious reason being that their online fantasy world is so better to them than the real world. If the online world is so much friendlier and people actually enjoy being with you and playing with you, there is no reason why anyone would want to leave this fantasy world to a real world where he would be neglected. If someone was bullied everyday and school life was so terrible for him, he would surely want to spend as much time as possible in a fantasy world where he could beat up other characters for that feeling of “power”. They spend as much time as possible in their online world to escape from their less-than-enjoyable real world.
The second reason people spend so much time online is due to peer pressure. When you look at your friend’s Ragnarok Online or Maple Story account and notice that he is so much more powerful than you with much better equipment and an with incredibly high attack, you would surely want to spend the rest of the day or week training like mad to match their level.
To me, game addiction should not be based on how many hours a person spends on a particular game but instead on how strongly is a person affected while not playing the game. A gamer playing 2 hours a week could be more addicted than someone who spends more than 18 hours a week. The gamer that spends 20 hours a week on online games but has an active social life and participates actively in co-curricular activities cannot be considered an addict if he is able to remove himself from his online world without suffering withdrawal symptoms when not playing. But a gamer who only gets to play 2 hours a week is considered an addict if he spends the entire day obsessing about his online character and training it. If his obsession causes his relationships to break up and his work to suffer, then that person who plays such a small amount a week is indeed a serious gaming addict.
So I feel the main way to counter-act this serious problem is to change the mindset of gamers. We should make these gamers realise that after all, it IS just a game. And there is no need at all to be so involved and obsessed by training and raising your character’s level. We must be able to make the clear distinction between our online and offline lives and make sure they do not interfere or impede each other.
Take the following test to see if you are addicted to online gaming. If you answer yes to any of the questions, you show signs of addiction and neglect of other aspects of your daily life.
-Do you try to find ways of playing your online game when you're not at home?
-Do you skip appointments, miss classes, or miss days of work because you're at a critical point in your online character's advancement or adventures?
-Do you deny addiction to an MMORPG, but somehow still feel the need to play, or just keep your character and possessions updated (you may be masking it by pretending you're having fun)?
-Do you feel your heart racing as you control your character in fleeing from danger? ...to save his or her virtual life? ...when stumbling upon some serious loot?
-Do you need to play online games with increasing amounts of time in order to achieve the desired excitement?
Are you preoccupied with gaming (thinking about it when offline, anticipating your next online session)?
Have you lied to friends and family members to conceal extent of your online gaming?
-Do you feel restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop online gaming?
Have you made repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop online gaming?
-Do you use gaming as a way of escaping from problems or relieve feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression?
posted by Neo Hui Peng at 11:58 PM
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