GAMING DISORDER FENOMENO SOCIALE, Guide, Progetti e Ricerche di Sociologia

Scarica GAMING DISORDER FENOMENO SOCIALE e più Guide, Progetti e Ricerche in PDF di Sociologia solo su Docsity! GAMING DISORDER There is no doubt that the Internet has deeply modified our daily life, becoming an integral part of young people’s life and activities. On one hand It is a source for information, a new channel of communication and it is used for various leisure activities. On the other hand, it also carries a potential threat to people’s mental health, when people spend excessive amount of time on its use and when time spent gaming online tends to prevail when compared to other activities. Over 90% of children and teenagers in the United States now play video games, and some of them spend substantial amounts of time playing video games and on electronic devices, with near to 10 hours per day The increasing value that children place on video games, has led to growing public concerns about potential detrimental effects, including the possibility that video game play might be addictive. What is gaming disorder? In the latest edition of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), the World Health Organization (WHO) added a new form of addiction called “gaming disorder.” Gaming disorder is defined in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) as a pattern of gaming behavior (“digital-gaming” or “video- gaming”) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. For gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behaviour pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months. Gaming triggers the brain’s reward center, which releases dopamine, sometimes referred to as one of the “feel good hormones.” Dopamine is associated with feelings of euphoria, bliss, concentration, and motivation. When a video game gives a child a thrill by allowing them to reach a new high score or take down an opponent, dopamine can surge. This results in a temporary feeling of bliss. For kids who struggle with self-confidence, success in gaming can boost feelings of self-worth. After a difficult day at school or struggling to connect with peers, playing a game well can trigger positive emotions. Gaming can also serve as an escape from reality. For a child who is socially isolated or living in a difficult family situation (divorce, separation, marital conflict), stepping into a virtual world can provide a feeling of relief from the stress of daily life. Gaming can cause "significant impairment or distress" in several aspects of a person's life. The proposed symptoms of internet gaming disorder include: • Preoccupation with gaming • Withdrawal symptoms when gaming is taken away or not possible (sadness, anxiety, irritability) • The need to spend more time gaming to satisfy the urge • Inability to reduce playing, unsuccessful attempts to quit gaming • Giving up other activities, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities due to gaming • Continuing to game despite problems • Deceiving family members or others about the amount of time spent on gaming • The use of gaming to relieve negative moods, such as guilt or hopelessness ARE VIDEO GAMES AS ADDICTING AS DRUGS? First experiment The National Center for Biotechnology Information took 19 healthy males, ages 18-23. All of which were pre-screened, had medical examinations, and underwent MRI scans in case anything happened to them. They were asked to play an online computer game for 60 minutes a day for 10 days for a total of 600 minutes. Six of the men played the game for over 900 minutes. The results from the MRI scan show that of the six men who played the game for 900 minutes or more, all of them had increased brain activity significantly in six clusters of the brain compared to the general population. Of those six clusters, three of them are directly related to craving or desire. These areas of the brain are also active in a person who addicted to drugs. Second experiment A group of men was asked not to play video games and another group was asked to play a violent video game. The graph below shows a group that played violent video games extensively for two weeks and another group who didn’t play any video games. You can see that there is little to no brain activity going on while trying to control behavior compared to those that played no video games. by the magical interactions of the many. With chat built into every stream, you don’t just watch on Twitch, you’re part of the show”. They give you the illusion to be part of a group to which you can enter in contact and even become famous by sharing your activity of playing and make money. In fact, streamers may be reliant on the financial support of their audience through subscriptions, TwitchBits (virtual coins that you buy with real money) and donations because, as the site says, if you do it “you2re helping your favorite streamers get rewards, recognitions and even love”. MMO An MMO game is a “massive multiplayer online game” which a large number of people can play simultaneously, even millions at the same time. It can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. Players can create and customize their characters, represented by a digital avatar. They can control pretty much anything, from their appearance, race, and sex to their profession and skills. As the game progresses, players have a chance to improve and evolve their adventurer, making them more and more unique and powerful. Players’ actions have a direct impact on how the story progresses, and how the world changes around them. These types of games require constant connection online in order to be competitive and to be successful, as people gradually identify with their avatars. Another aspect linked to gaming disorder is the fact that within a majority of the MMOGs created, there is virtual currency where the player can earn and accumulate money. The virtual economies created within MMOGs often blur the lines between real and virtual worlds. The result is often seen as an unwanted interaction between the real and virtual economies by the players and the provider of the virtual world. They created a business that is very profitable, in fact the virtual goods revenue from online games and social networking exceeded US$7 billion in 2010. TRADITIONAL GAMES VS ELECTRONIC GAMES Traditional childhood games that children played in the era that preceded video games where mainly outdoor activities such as running, cycling and playing with balls, but also board games or playing with dolls. These were activities that favored the interaction and contact among people, they encouraged to spend time with family and friends and consequently to reinforce social relationships with others, but were also entertaining and funny. Now there has been a radical change in the way kids play, these traditional games are considered boring by the majority of children as they prefer to use technological devices in order to entertain themselves, and there are several who spend a lot of hours every day playing games on the computer, laptop, tablet or gaming consoles. So they usually end up sitting for many hours instead of engaging in outdoor activities, and although electronic games can be funny and even educational children usually spend too much time glued to the screen starting from the age of 3. BLUE WHALE Blue Whale is a social network phenomenon dating from 2016 that firstly started in Russia among the members of the group “F57”. It is a "game" reportedly consisting of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, initially innocuous before introducing elements of self-harm and the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. Players, which are usually aged between 12 and 14, are threatened that if they don’t do the tasks and quit the game they or their family will be harmed. Philipp Budeikin has been arrested in 2016 because supposed to be the inventor of the game, as he said that his plan was to cleanse society by pushing people to suicide whom he deemed as having no value. But which are the main reasons why a vulnerable teen would be trapped in this game? 1. The relationship with the administrator could provide a sense of connection and belonging for teens that feel isolated. 2. They are attracted by the sense of challenge and accomplishment for moving forward in the game and completing tasks for the online curator, and this could be particularly reinforcing for people struggling with problems of self-esteem. 3. A teenager’s ability to use judgment, have insight, control impulsive urges, and connect actions with consequences is not fully developed. 4. Teens are already in a category that experiences a higher suicide rate than other groups of the population. Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-24. Rates of suicide among 10-14-year-olds doubled from 2007 to 2014. Examples of the rules: Get up at 4:20 and go to the roof. Carve a whale on the person’s own hand. Watch scary videos all day. Listen to music the “curator” sends. Cut your lip. Poke the person’s own arm/hand with a needle. Make yourself hurt or sick. Go to a roof and stand on the edge. Stand on a bridge. At this step, the “curator” somehow checks to see if the participant is trustworthy. Talk with a “whale” on Skype. Sit down on a roof with legs dangling over the edge. A secret mission Meet with a “whale.” The “curator” assigns a date that the person will die. Visit a railroad. Do not talk with anyone all day. Give an oath/vow about being a whale