Gaming and gambling addiction - Research Paper Example

?Tomica Mims English 102 Ms, Ortiz April, 26 Addiction Gaming and gambling addiction is not new to our generation, but the introduction of online Internet based games has probably increased the size and range of the problem. Online gaming and gambling addiction can be harmful to adolescents and adults and the issue is required to be addressed at appropriate levels to evade the spread of the addiction. Addicts should be provided with adequate help and treatment to get rid of the disease. However, we first need to define the gaming and gambling addiction? Secondly, roles of public and private organizations as well as individuals to stop and discourage online gaming and gambling should be well defined. Antonius has pointed out the same in his article when he say, “ Studies have consistently demonstrated the existence of a small subgroup of video gamers that is seemingly ‘addicted’ to games. (Antonius et al. 205). Though initially the problem begun to erupt at a manageable scale but later on it expanded to a scale that attracted attentions of policy makers, developers and psychiatrists and there were all out efforts to address the issue. “This online component in gaming led to the initiation of (private and public) treatment programmers targeting gaming addiction. Consequently, there is increasing focus upon online games when studying video game addiction.” (Antonius et al. 205). Number of research experts from all around the globe began to explore various aspects of the problem and theories are now established in game addiction. Antonius, while elaborating this talk about Korean and western researchers, “Researcher report specifically that Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) are the main culprits in cases of online video game addiction (Antonius et. al.). Online gaming and gambling addiction is a fast growing problem and we need to organize our response to this curse more responsibly. This requires a better understanding of the issue along with expertise in technologies used by the addicts. Kimberly Young has pointed out these needs, “To understand online gaming addiction, it is important to understand how the addiction stems from the creation of virtual worlds.” (Young, 356.). The games against machines where the initial form of this addiction and now multiplayer online games have emerged as the most recent form that need more attention, involvement and time. “In the 1980s, games such as Centipede, Space Invaders, Pac Man, and Donkey Kong were popularized. These were single-player games against the machine and getting good at the game only meant a high score and improvement of the gamers’ eye-hand coordination. By the 1990s, gaming evolved from single-player games to gaming experiences. Gamers could become immersed in a virtual world that they helped to create. Games such as Doom and Quake were introduced that allowed players to create new rooms, customize their characters, and specify the kinds of weapons used.” (Young, 356). The advancement in the online and offline gaming were very fast and the new richer gaming features attracted the attention of most Internet users. Last two decades have seen an outburst of these games with ever advancing lucid graphics and interactive features. Obviously the grown attention of our adolescents to these trends resulted in decreased attention around their surroundings and academic activities. They may even not watch where they going because their face is buried in a game. They might also lose grip with reality because in the games they can be or do anything they want. “There are also studies that have claimed that online gaming addiction may be addictive because of self-report accounts of very excessive use of up to 80h a week” (Griffiths et al., 205-216). However, Griffiths has argued that excessive activity and addictive activity are two very different things (although admittedly they do overlap) (Griffiths, 191-197). But according to Antonius, “the present study contributes to the debate on video game addiction by applying a different approach. It seeks to provide empirical, data-driven evidence for the assumed subgroup of addicted online video gamers, using two large-scale samples from the Dutch ‘Monitor Study Internet and Youth’. Results provide a basis for data-based scale validation and cut-off scores. Identification of this group will be conducted through a combination of two indirect measures: game addiction severity and time spent on online gaming. In the present study, internet addiction is thought to be an appropriate measure of online game addiction severity for several reasons. First, previous work by our group (utilizing an earlier Monitor Study sample) established cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between online gaming and internet addiction, referred to as Compulsive Internet Use (CIU) [10]. Secondly, the latter study found low correlations between various internet activities and online video gaming among adolescents [28], in line with its immersive nature [29], thus confirming that online gaming is a monolithic activity for adolescents (these findings were replicated for the samples utilized in the present study). In combination with the inclusion of a measure of time spent on online gaming, this reduces the risk of misidentification (i.e. erroneously measuring addiction to various other applications). Consequently, the combination of a high score on CIU with many hours of online gaming per week is hypothesized to identify addicted online gamers. Note that we choose to utilize the term ‘addiction’ for the sake of consistency with other studies: the group is defined more precisely as heavy online gamers who score highly on criteria for non-substance addiction. These criteria are theorized to be applicable to online behavior [1,3], also, see Measures [Compulsive Internet Use Scale (CIUS)].” (Antonius et al., 206). Bill Maier writes, “Video games can provide an escape- a place to live out fantasies, to be someone else for just a little while video games go a step further because, players feel involved and in control.” (Maier, 17). Why should you watch a football game when you can pick any NFL football player on a video game? Maier further writes, “Video games are everywhere, in console or PC format. PC games are computer based, and many are available online. Computer games are as addictive as console-based video games, and both now offer online features, allowing for interaction with many players at any time of the day or night.” (Maier, 18) A lot of games are portable, so that frees the adolescents to play while walking in the park or riding on a train. (Maier, 18). “What is commonly referred to as video-game addiction generally stems from two primary factors: internal rewards and social status. As with other addictions, there is a promise of getting something desirable back from the time invested-be it pleasure, power, alleviation of pain, love, or acceptance Gamers are drawn to the games through the promise of return effort. A kid gets hooked on the fantasies because it fills a need to belong and be rewarded for his or her efforts.” (Young, 31). I looked up some researchers to help me understand what classifies as online gaming addiction? Mark D. Griffiths states, that he “has operationally defined addictive behavior as any behavior that features what he believes are the six core components of addiction (i.e., salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict and relapse). Griffiths argues that any behavior (e.g., online gaming) that fulfils these six criteria can be operationally defined as an addiction. In the case of online gaming addiction this would be:” (Griffiths, 120-). “Salience—This occurs when online gaming becomes the most important activity in the person’s life and dominates their thinking (preoccupations and cognitive distortions), feelings (cravings) and behavior (deterioration of socialized behavior). For instance, even if the person is not actually gaming online they will be thinking about the next time that they will be. Mood modification—This refers to the subjective experiences that people report as a consequence of engaging in online gaming and can be seen as a coping strategy (i.e. they experience an arousing “buzz” or a “high” or paradoxically tranquilizing feel of “escape” or “numbing”). Tolerance—This is the process whereby increasing amounts of online gaming are required to achieve the former mood modifying effects. This basically means that for someone engaged in online gaming, they gradually build up the amount of the time they spend online engaged in the behavior. Withdrawal symptoms—These are the unpleasant feeling states and/or physical effects that occur when online gaming is discontinued or suddenly reduced (e.g., the shakes, moodiness, irritability, etc.). Conflict—this refers to the conflicts between the online gamer and those around them (interpersonal conflict), conflicts with other activities (job, schoolwork, social life, hobbies and interests) or from within the individual themselves (intra psychic conflict and/or subjective feelings of loss of control) which are concerned with spending too much time engaged in online gaming. Relapse—This is the tendency for repeated reversions to earlier patterns of online gaming to recur and for even the most extreme patterns typical of the height of excessive online gaming be quickly restored after periods of abstinence or control. “(Griffiths, 120). In the test study that Mr. Lu conducted he discovered, “How high-risk Internet addiction (IA) abusers respond to different autonomic nervous activities compared with low-risk subjects may be a critical research goal with prevention and treatment implications. The aim of the present study was to address this issue by observing differences between high- and low-risk IA abusers in four physiological assessments when surfing the Internet: blood volume pulse (BVP), skin conductance (SC), peripheral temperature (PTEMP), and respiratory response (RESPR). Forty-two male and ten female participants aged 18-24 years were screened with the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS, 2003), and then separated into high- and low-risk IA groups. Using psychophysiology equipment, participants encountered a 3-minute adaptation period followed by a 6-minute testing period for surfing the Internet on baseline and testing phases. The present results indicate that: (a) the CIAS scores were positively and negatively correlated with the RESPR and the PTEMP; (b) the PTEMP and RESPR of high-risk IA abusers were respectively weaker and stronger than augmented and decreased relative to low-risk IA abusers. Thus we suggest that four autonomic responses may be differentially sensitive to abusers' potency in terms of the IA hypothesis of autonomic activity. The stronger BVP and RESPR responses and the weaker PTEMP reactions of the high-risk IA abusers indicate the sympathetic nervous system was heavily activated in these individuals.” (Lu et.al. 1) “Using these criteria, Lemmens, Valkenburg and Peter (2009) recently developed and validated a 21-item video game addiction scale that has robust psychometric properties (see Appendix 1 for the 21 items). This would seem to indicate that Griffiths’ (2005a) core components of addiction have good validity. However, even if players meet these criteria, the context of their behavior may still be overlooked” (Griffiths, 121). Online gambling addiction is just as bad as online gaming addiction it to can cause harm to our adolescents and adults too. “The most common forms of adolescent gambling include betting on sports events and horse and dog races; wagering on games of cards or dice, or games of personal skill, such as pool, bowling, or basketball; using slot machines or other gaming tables in casinos; playing video and arcade games for money; buying raffle or lottery tickets; and gambling over the Internet While some teens prefer to gamble alone, others do it as a social activity. If an adolescent becomes addicted to gambling, peers may be replaced by his or her new gambling acquaintances (Goliath, 1). What ages do adolescents start to gamble? “The median age for initiating gambling is 11 to 13. For the majority of children, this precedes the activities of smoking and drinking. “In general, the earliest gambling experiences among children occur under a set of circumstances where (a) opportunities to wager even small amounts of money are readily accessible; (b) where the social climate of the home and local environment is not only conducive to, but accepting of, such behavior; and (c) where the rules of the games to be played are within the child’s capacity to understand” (Goliath, 1). Gambling, amongst our adolescents and adults has reached an all time high. We as should start to take control of the situation and get these adolescents and adults some good adequate treatment, so this problem won’t get out of hand any longer. Mrs. Young had a good idea for trying to treat online gaming and game addiction: Rest Tired Eyes and Muscles Set Limits on Play Time- Parents need to establish clear time limits with a child. Push for Computer Games Instead- Encourage a son or daughter to switch over to playing educational-type games on the computer Look for the School Connection- Is a child turning to online games because they are not doing well at school? They may retreat more into the game to cope with negative feelings about themselves (365-366). Brief Strategic Family Therapy (BSFT) is a short-term, problem-focused therapeutic intervention, targeting children and adolescents 6 to 17 years old, that improves youth behavior by eliminating or reducing drug use and its associated behavior problems and that changes the family members’ behaviors that are linked to both risk and protective factors related to substance abuse. This model can also be applied to online gaming addiction among adolescents. “The therapeutic process uses techniques of: • Joining—forming a therapeutic alliance with all family members • Diagnosis—identifying interactional patterns that allow or encourage problematic youth behavior • Restructuring—the process of changing the family interactions that are directly related to problem” (Young, 356.). USA Today magazine says “Treatment for gambling addiction often includes group therapy and involvement in 12-step programs, offering a network of support. Gamblers Anonymous combines both elements into its support group sessions, which can be located in many areas through a telephone directory.” (Today, 1). These are just a few treatments to help our adolescents and adults to overcome gaming and gambling addictions as well as online gaming and gambling addictions. One-on-one consultation between patient and therapist also is a treatment option, and hospital care may be recommended for anyone who cannot stop gambling, has other addictions, or shows signs of severe depression, exhaustion, or potential for dangerous activity (USA Today magazine vol.122). consequently, there is increasing focus upon online games when studying video game addiction [8–11] (Van Rooij 205). These findings demonstrate the existence of a small subgroup of online gamers who can potentially be classified as ‘online video game addicts’. This group is likely to have various psychological and social problems, as game overuse can be severely disruptive to school, work and ‘real-life’ social contacts [2,12,16]. Drawing parallels with the internet addiction literature, we hypothesize that this ‘flight from reality’ may be associated with negative self-esteem, depressive mood, social anxiety and/or loneliness [17–20]. However, the relationship between psychosocial health and online games is potentially more complicated, as social and psychological benefits from playing online games have also been reported [15,21,22] (205-206). The Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly found that “Health food supplement may curb gambling addiction. A new study has found that the amino acide N-acetyl cysteine, sold as a health food supplement, may help treat gambling addiction. Published in the Sept. 15 issue of Biological Psychiatry, the study, by Jon Grant, J.D., M.D., and colleagues, found that 60 percent of the 27 participants had a reduced urge to gamble after eight weeks on progressively higher doses of the substance, which affects glutamate. The study, conducted at the University of Minnesota where Grant is associate professor of psychiatry, was based on similar studies using N-acetyl cysteine to curb drug addictions in animals. Another study by Grant is looking at the possibility of using the substance to treat methamphetamine addiction. Participants in the gambling study knew they were taking the substance; it was not double-blind”. As long as we got these studies that we can looked up we will continue to come up with alternative ways to treating gaming and gambling addiction as well as online gaming and gambling addictions. Works cited Griffiths, M. D. Chappell, D., Eatough, V. E., & Davies, M. N. O. “EverQuest—It’s just a computer game right? An interpretative phenomenological analysis of online gaming addiction.” International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 4 (2006): 205–216 Print. Griffiths, M. D. “A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework.” Journal of Substance Use, 10 (2005): 191–197 Print. Web Publications Antonius J. van Rooij, Tim M. Schoenmakers, Ad A. Vermulst, Regina J.J.M. van den Eijnden & Dike van de Mheen. Willey Online Liberary, Online video game addiction: identification of addicted adolescent gamers, 15 September 2010 Web, 10 May 2011 Goliath. Goliath Business Knowledge on Demand, Gambling: normal adolescent activity or pathologic addiction? Pediatric Nursing, 1 July, 2008. Web. 11 May, 2011 Lu, Dong Wei & Wang, Jenn Wu & Huang, Andrew Chih Wei. Differentiation of Internet addiction risk level based on autonomic nervous responses: the Internet-addiction hypothesis of autonomic activity. Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking. 2010. n.p. . Maier Bill. Help! My Child Is Hooked on Video Games, 2006 Web. 10 May 2011 Today, BNet, Controlling addiction to gambling, Gale Group, 2004. Web. 10 May 2011 Young, Kimberly. InformaWorld. Understanding Online Gaming Addiction and Treatment Issues for Adolescents. American Journal of Family Therapy, Vol. 37, Issue 5. 5 October 2009. Web. 10 May 2011. < http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a914783486&fulltext=713240928 > Read More