CONFESSION OF ONLINE GAMERS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

As the world grows into technologically sophisticated, there

is a great demand for the hottest electronic gadgets. These are

cell phone, laptop or computers, camera, MP3 player, and several

cool electronic gadgets. Cell phones support a wide variety of

other services such as, text messaging, multimedia messaging,

email, internet access, bluetooth, business applications, games,

photography and calendaring among other services.

Internet as a source of information plays an important role

in developing one's mind and life experiences by creating

productive works in schools, offices, and even at home. Nowadays,

this can be a person's most efficient strategic tool for enabling

himself to take charge and cope with the fast growing technology.

The fact that people live in on informative lifestyle where

everything is updated, internet became one of the necessities of

human beings in today's society. As to what Rock [1] said, all

these technologies are very good at distracting people. In line

with this development, online gaming was created to give

entertainment to people.

Nowadays, more and more people are starting to use the

Internet. At the same time, online games have become extremely

popular among the young generation thus leading to the

proliferation of online game addiction on a global platform (Iowa

State University, 2011). According to recent researches, online

gaming has become one of the most addictive Internet activities

to date (Wan ＆ Chiou, 2006). Based on established researches,

the thesis is interested in discovering the reasons behind why

young people start to play online games as well as how playing

such games affects the daily lives and activities of them.

The rise in the use of the internet has led to many changes

in our daily life. In particular, this rise has also led to the

rise of online gaming. Online gaming can refer to any type of

game that someone can play through the internet or over a

computer network. Most of the time, online gaming refers to the

video games played over the internet, where multiple players are

in different locations around the world. In most cases, online

games are freeware programs that can be used for an unlimited

time and are available for free. Most percentage of web games

available nowadays is written in Flash, Shockwave and Java

languages. Because of that, they feature more primitive game play

than downloadable games.

 Having an online gaming experience typically requires a

high-speed internet connection. Proper hardware will also be

required whether it’s a computer or a gaming console, such as

Xbox or Play station that’s connected to the internet. Some

online games require a specific piece of controlling hardware

such as a joystick or a game controller, but these days, gaming

technology has progressed to an amazing extent. Things like

streaming 3-D animation graphics with superb surround sound

stereo now have the ability to make all addicted to gaming. In

terms of video games, online gaming is growing in popularity for

variety of reasons. Gamers can easily find opponents of a similar

skill level when playing a head-to-head game over the internet.

Players also can compete in massively multiplayer games, where

dozens of players play an ongoing game in a virtual world. Some

online games change a monthly fee for access to the video game

software.

For most people, on-line gaming is one of the best past time

that they acquire specially for teenagers, youngsters and

students. According to Kuss & Griffiths [2], teens who play

online games are just having fun. They do not just actually play

because of some sort of seriousness, but also because they just

want to feel relief. During school hours, students tend to feel

stressed due to loads of school works and through playing it will

relive their stress.

 Based on information gathered from the Sweden’s Official

Gaming Website (2009) the market for computer and video games has

grown and continues to grow at an accelerating pace within the

Scandinavian regions, including Sweden. Gaming has become a

massive industry. Over the past three years, this growth has been

seen to reach and surpass 3 billion SEK (which roughly

approximate 375 million USD). Even in light of the recent

recession the gaming industry has held on strong with an

increasing volume of game sales in 2009.

Although the Internet could be very productive, it can have

a drastically opposing effect. For some people who play online

games, the Internet acts as an enabler. It is4used to feed an

addiction, which by its very definition interferes with daily

life, work and personal relationships. According to a report of

Syracuse University on the Science Daily website (2007), online

games may have significantly negative consequences, especially in

the lives of students, through causing distraction and

interfering with important reaction of out-game life actions,

such as academic performance, health and social life.

Everyone who plays video games has a different reason for

playing, and the usage of the game leads to different effects for

each individual. Childhood upbringings, peer influences,

pressures at school and family issues are all factors that have a

strong connection with the effects of gaming on individuals.

Video games maybe therapeutic for some people, but the small

amount of people who are negatively affected by gaming impact are

many.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is conducted to determine the causes and the

effects of online games to the students and the impacts of online

games to the students.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1. What causes the students to be addicted to online games?

2. What are positive and negative effects of online games in the

student's academic performance?

3. What are the impacts of online games in student’s life?

4. What are the struggles or challenges do the online gamers

experienced?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

 The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand

the causes, effects and impacts of online games addiction to the

grade 10 students of Sapian National High School.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

The researchers made a multiple study about the addiction of

online games of grade 10 students of Sapian National High School.

(1) The student's can further explain about the causes of their

addiction to the online games, (2) They can site examples about

the positive and negative effects of online games, (3) The

student's can share their experiences about the impacts of online

games in their life, (4) The student's can further explain the

struggles of challenges they faced when they get addicted to

online games, (5) The student's can share what they learn from

the online games they played.

SUMMARY

Video game addictions are similar to other addictions in

terms of the amount of time spent playing, the strong emotional

attachment to the activity, and the patterns of social

difficulties experienced by gaming addicts. Online gaming

addiction is usually happened on vulnerable young people. They

tend to be socially isolated and unsure of themselves when

interacting with others. Online gaming gives them a chance to

reinvent themselves into the kind of person they wish they could

be in real life. They forget to eat or sleep when they are

playing games. It is not only happening on kids, some parents are

hooked those things too. The online role-playing games aim is

that encourage interaction amongst other people and development,

but it may ruin a “successful social life”.

CHAPTER 2
 Review of Related literature

This chapter presents the related literature and studies in

relation to the variable involved in the study.

Computer Game Addiction

There are five aspects of internet addiction noted by Shaw

and Black (2008): Cyber sexual addiction, cyber-relational

addiction, net compulsions, information overload, and computer

addiction. The main subtype we will be looking at is computer

addiction, as it is described as “Many computers come equipped

with pre-programmed games and people become addicted to playing

them at the cost of work performance or family obligations. There

is a lot of controversy over the overlap of devices in gaming,

which has resulted in an ambiguous definition for computer games

and computer game addiction.

For instance, a game that was made for a video game console

now has an internet version, a computer game has moved onto the

tablet, gambling has also moved to the internet, etc. We will

extend their definition to include all computer games playable on

a web-enabled device that is not a video-game console, as

computer games are recreational activities that are meant to be

enjoyed, and outside of educational games have little productive

value. The following are in depth examinations of computer-game

addiction symptoms as studied by researchers as well as real

life-examples.

Addiction has only recently gained volume due to the rise of

computer gaming in the past two decades as well as the

availability of computers to the general public. Assessments for

Problematic Gambling are often used to create tests for

Computer/Internet Addiction due to similarities between the

two; both are behavioral based addiction. For instance, Thomas

and Martin (2010) note that their assessment for computer game

and Internet addiction were adapted from pathological gambling as

“no empirically tested measure for behavior addiction was

available in 2004 at the time of data collection.

Bonald 2010 The addicted gamer often isolates him/herself

from others, ignores more important responsibilities, and is

often obsessed with obtaining higher status / rankings /

achievements in his/her favorite computer game. According to the

DSM-IV (the current manual for classifying emotional,

psychological, and mental disorders) no. Although there have been

calls from some mental health professionals (and parents) to

recognize computer game addiction as a "real" disorder, it has

not been granted official diagnostic status. As more research on

the effects of excessive gaming is conducted, many believe that

it is only a matter of time before computer game addiction is

classified as a compulsive behavior similar to gambling

addiction.

Diao (2003) everyone needs to express their feelings and

though. As such, when a person cannot express himself or herself

adequately he or she may get depress. Therefore one way to

release this depression or pressure would be though playing

online game, which enables gamers to chat or play with other

friends and players on the internet.

Another explanation of why young people become addicted to

the internet was proposed in that they were trying to avoid

societal pressure. Some young people are naturally too shy to

talk to strangers face to face in reality, but when surfing the

internet or playing online games, they can be whoever they want

to be. As, such they can chat with the people, online without

feeling of the regular social pressure that come with physical

meeting.

Rutger (2014) The Benefits of playing video games, video

games are controlled training regimens delivered highly

motivating behavioral contexts because behavioral changes arise

from brain changes and the performance improvements are

paralleled by enduring physical and functional neurological

remodeling.

Teenagers react towards frustration and stresses for

example problematic gamers will indeed show off emotions like

anger, depression and frustration. But it’s not all bad,

problematic gamers can show positive emotions depending on the

outcome of the game. This seems particularly problematic because

those teenagers who play online games excessively are likely to

develop a healthy lifestyle because they are constantly playing

online games instead of occupying themselves with school, friends

and family.

Therefore, their psychosocial development may be

significantly impaired. The consistent blocking out of and

passive coping with stressful experiences is a strategy that may

be successful in the short-term. However, from a long-term

perspective, it may not work quite as well and could have deadly

consequences. In this case, it appears more likely that once new

stressors appear, teenagers continue to use escapist and media-

focused coping mechanism.

Ivy Shiue (2010) in herself and environment exposure to

drinking, smoking, gambling or video games addiction are

associated with adult hypertension, heart and cerebrovascular

diseases, allergy, self-rated health and happiness.

In the Psychological effects of videogames on young people:

A review by Lavinia McLean and Mark Griffiths (2013), the study

sought to determine (a) the role and impact of video games in the

lives of young people within a technological society, and how

this impact can occur (b) The exposure of young people to violent
video games may viewed within the context of risk factors for the

development of aggression and as such an understanding of the

research within this area.

Gupta (2004), online gaming can be addictive. The research has

tended to concentrate on negative aspects, such as excessive play and

addiction. Instead of spending their hours on studying and doing their

homework, children spend their time on playing computer games. Online

games can be addictive and that some online games have been associated

with aggressive behavior. However these studies have been relatively

controversial as they examine these factors using self-report methods

and artificial scenarios.

This type of research is fraught with problems and criticism.

Stated the computers have become a part of man’s life. Almost all the

things around us were made by computers with the aid of modern machines.

Associated with the computers is the internet where we can find online

games. Online game has a big impact to children especially to teenagers.

They tend to be hook by the computer. On the other hand, online gamers

can also benefit on playing online games. A great variety of forms have

been developed and put into practice to enhance learning, offer solace,

to drive away boredom, and/or to persuade players to adopt certain

actions and opinions.

The game play improve various thinking skills but that it can

also boost cognitive speed for those who play action games and can also
improve cognitive accuracy for players who solve puzzle and strategy

games.

Bushman (2013) The more you play, the more aggressive you

become: a long-term experimental study of cumulative violent

video game effects on hostile expectations and aggressive

behavior, violent video games increase aggression.

Violent video games cause aggression in young females that

young female adults with the mean age 22, with no prior

experience of playing video games, were asked to fill in the Buss

Perry Aggression Questionnaire before and after playing violent

video game, last stand and non-violent video game tetris.

Tracy Miller (2013) add because computer game addiction is a

new development in the world of mental health, treatments are not

as well established as those for depression, anxiety, anger, etc.

Most interventions take a cognitive-behavioral approach which

involve changing how the addict thinks about the addiction

Lojo (2008) conducted a study on the effects of

playing computer games on the academic performance and

behavior of high school students. The results of her study

disclosed that to maintain the good academic performance of

students, parents should set limits on how often and how long

their child is allowed to play video games. T h e effects of

electronic games and other factors in the grade

five pupils’ academic performance at A. Quezon elementary

school, DEPED, Manila was looked into by Dorol (2009).

Dorol concluded that electronic games were related

significantly to pupils’ academic performance with correlation of

.194 significant .o21 levels. This means that the computer games

played by the pupils before going to sleep, after taking lunch or

supper, and during recess significantly related to their

performance in school.

APPENDIX F. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Interview Introduction
 Hello grade 10 students. Thank you so much for agreeing to

speak with me. I know you have a busy schedule and really

appreciate your willingness to participate in this project.

As stated in a previous letter, we are the senior high

student at Sapian National High School conducting a study about

the addiction to online games of students and their experiences.

Today I hope to glean insight into your opinion of how online

games change your life and what are the struggles or challenges

you have experienced.

Any information you share will not be attributed to you or

used to identify you or anyone else. You will remain anonymous in

any ensuing presentations or publications that may stem from this

study. As a result of your participation, there should be no

risks for you personally or for your school. Your participation

is strictly voluntary and may be discontinued at any time during

the interview. You may also decline to answer any question during

this interview.

For ease of note taking, getting all of your input, and not

slowing down the interview, I would like to record our

conversation. The recording made today will be kept confidential

and in a safe place. The only people that will hear the audio

recording will be me and the person who transcribes our

conversation. It will be kept in a secure location and destroy

when the study is complete. If at any time you would prefer

that I turn the recorder off, please let me know, and I will do

so immediately.

Any questions before we begin?

Did you sign the Informed Consent to participate in this study?

Do I have your permission to begin recording our discussion?

Interview Questions

Research Questions #1: What causes the students to get addicted

to online games?

General Questions

1. How did you discover online games?

2. How does playing games help you in real life?

Research Questions #2: What are positive and negative effects of

online games in student's life?

Cognitive Strategies

1. Do you think playing online games enhances your thinking

ability?

2. Were you able to develop your decision-making ability by

playing online games?

3. What is the difference between making decisions in real life

and in online games?

Research Questions #3: What are the impacts of online games in

students life?

Research Questions # 4: What are the struggles or challenges do

the online gamers experienced?

Self-Management

1. Did you completely isolate yourself to others just to play

online games?

2. What is your relationship with your parents because of playing

online games?

Research Questions # 5: What do online gamers learned from online

games?

Conclusion:
1. Is there anything that I did not ask you that you would like

to share?

Thank you so much for participating in this interview. I

appreciate your time and thoughts.

After I have reviewed the transcript of our conversation

today, may I contact you if I have further questions?

If you have any further questions for me, please do not

hesitate to contact me at any time. A written transcript of this

interview will be made available to you to verify accuracy of

your views and experiences. You will hear back from me in 1-two

weeks. As a reminder this information will remain confidential

and will be destroyed at the end of the project. Let me confirm

your email one more time. Do you have any final comments or

questions?

Thanks and have a great rest of the day/evening.