Posts Tagged: addiction

In my first question this week, I asked how we can use virtual environments to teach, especially kids, valuable life lessons.  I think that the best way that we can use virtual environments for children is to teach them positive and healthy Internet and technology use.  Over the past few weeks, we have talked a lot about Internet addiction.  In the video we watched in class on Wednesday of the boy in England who was addicted to video games, the class consensus was, “Why isn’t the mother doing anything about this?”  I believe that using technology responsibly is an essential part of education today.  So, if that means your five year old daughter is allowed to play on Webkinz for 30 minutes a day, that could be a positive use of the virtual environment.  If children are taught from an early age to use virtual environments effectively and responsibly, perhaps the rate of technology addictions would decrease.

In my second question, I asked why companies sometimes put a lot of emphasis on metaverses instead of products in the real world.  I think that a company’s presence in a metaverse is first and foremost important advertising.  But, I also believe that the hype of real-world companies having a presence in virtual environment has not become as crucial as it was once thought.  For example, when Second Life came out, many thought that this was the future of advertising, commerce, the world, etc.  So, Coca-Cola, American Apparel, and many other businesses literally took up shop in Second Life.  However, many of them no longer inhabit Second Life, because the virtual environment did not rise to the popularity that was expected.

The third article talked about user security on Second Life.  It is very scary what can happen to people in virtual environments when they do not know what they are doing– and even sometimes when they are experienced users.  The story that I found most scary was about the avatars that lurk around places that people who only log on for business purposes, and lure them into other parts of the game.  Earlier, I spoke about technology education for children, but it is not enough to only teach children.  Everyone needs to know the tools and dangers of popular technological features so that they can remain safe.  Some people are scared of these technologies– this is not necessary if they are told how to use them.

Online Gaming Addiction: Is online gaming the drug of the future?

Proposal by John Hartley

This research paper will discuss and dissect one of the most prevalent Internet problems of the day. That problem is addiction to online gaming. Since the Internet was introduced, even before online gaming, signs of addiction were prevalent throughout the United States with some studies dating back into the 1990s. The following research will show how, over time, this addiction has consumed massive amounts of users, from Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games such as World of Warcraft, to smaller browser-based games like FarmVille. This research is important to the future of the Internet and society as identifying the problem before it becomes too serious means a cure can be found. Many researchers have looked at past statistics of addiction and past technology surrounding online gaming, but few have hypothesized about the future and direction these online games are going.

The researcher will show how online gaming is and has become an addiction to many through past research on the topic and will make comparisons to drug addiction statistics (most closely marijuana). A definition of “addiction” will be set, followed by an outline of how each stage of addiction can be found in gamers and how addiction effects gamers’ lives. One article of study will show “The Effect of Computer Gaming on Subsequent Time Perception” (Luthman, Bliesener, Staude-Muller), which will solidify a major effect of online gaming addiction.

Through statistics, comparisons will be drawn and will then be applied to the main statement: Online gaming is becoming the next major addiction of the future. By looking at studies dealing with endorphin release and general brain function while playing video games, the research will again show a deep comparison to drug addiction. Along with the study of endorphin release, the researcher will also call on information from the psychological and medical communities for studies on the adverse effects this condition can have on addicts. In the second half of the paper, the study will point to why online gaming has the potential to be the “drug” of choice in the future. By analyzing virtual reality platforms and accessibility with widely popular games like “FarmVille” the researcher will build his case.

Through this study, new information is expected to be found showing that there is a pattern in the online gaming culture that is leading to more addicts every year. A correlation will most likely be found between online gaming usage and drug abuse. Statistical analysis may be gathered with simple ANOVA tables, which will prove or disprove any correlation between the two. If a correlation cannot be disproved the researcher will hypothesize on the future of online gaming addiction using the studies and research already used for the backing of the study. A survey may also lend to this research, contrasting drug use and online gaming use and reasons for each.

With this research, online gaming addiction could be better understood, leading to a possible “cure” for gamers worldwide. The research also has potential to have an interactive format, which would help it spread across many mediums.

This week I enjoyed reading about media dependency and the uses and gratifications theory and applying such theories to mass communication. Mass media is such an imperative part of society which makes it even more detrimental to understand it.

1. The author states that “persuasion lies at the heart of mass media” and though this may be true for most, my question is: are there any media outlets that strive to broadcast or project their content/information in a manner of helping an audience without persuasion or will there always be persuasion in any type of media driven message?

2. Without the media in a time of crisis, would the delivery of messages be compromised in a way that a lot of false information would flare from lack of media consistency? Is this dependency on the media in a way an addiction or just because mass media is so large people have no choice but to depend on the media?

3. In today’s society, would you agree that television is the medium of choice or has our current society shifted to the Internet and website use? In addition to this, is social media an effective tool to gather credible information or is it just another medium that contributes to the media dependency theory?