There are a wide variety of computer games prevalent today. Tetris, Mario, Solitaire are some of the ever-popular games indulged in by millions. From the simple Tennis For Two played on the analog computer to Final Fantasy on the PSP with its dazzling graphics, computer games have come a long way.
Games are interesting, exciting which provide a very good entertainment and a means of escaping boredom. There are professional gaming leagues which provide a platform for enthusiastic gamers. There are a lot of positive aspects to gaming. For example, there are organizations, like Gamers Outreach Foundation, which collects charity out of gaming events, Research proves that action games are good brain exercises and help sharpen the brain. Also they encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others, increase children's self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games, develop skills in reading, math, and problem-solving, improve eye-hand coordination and fine motor skills. For example Nintendo’s Wii2 is used for improving health by exercising (though not as good as the real thing,it doesn’t make you a couch potato). Infact in some countries ,doctor’s recommend patients to play on the wii console so as to ward off the alziehmer’s disease. However, unfortunately, playing computer games can be addictive and become an obsession for some. Children missing out on their meals, not studying, avoiding outdoor activities, misbehaving are some of the common outcomes of addicted gaming. A 1998 study by Simon Fraser University, Video Game Culture, showed that one out of every four teens who plays video games feels addicted to them. Just like a drug addict experiences withdrawal symptoms when he does not get the drugs so do the gaming addicts experience withdrawal symptoms when they do not get their “fix’ of time with their computer game. According to one addict “Whenever I go through periods of Counter-Strike withdrawal, I cannot make myself focus on the serious tasks at hand even without the distraction of gaming. Instead, I often elect to find alternative ways to waste my time, such as surfing videos on YouTube, watching B-minus movies on TV or even playing mind-numbing, sophomoric free games online. That's how I came to the realization that Counter-Strike is but an excuse for me to procrastinate - a deliciously entertaining excuse, yes, but an excuse nevertheless.”
For Gamers spending greater part of the day shooting down aliens or rash driving on city roads the gap between the virtual world and the real world begins to diminish. Recently in Thailand, a teenager inspired by the popular game Grand Theft Auto IV robbed a taxi driver and stabbed him to death. He was just checking out whether this could be done as easily in real life as in the game!! As horrible as this incident may be we should not completely write off the scenario as unredeemable and adopt harsh measures like banning games altogether, or censoring their content.
A discipline needs to be maintained to ensure that the games remain a pleasant healthy entertainment and do not turn into a disease. Some common solutions for gaming addicts include setting time limits, parents rewarding their children with computer time for doing something like completing an assignment (this will make them feel like you're not trying to 'stop' them from using the computer as such), developing interest in other activities like reading, imposing stringent rules on the sale of adult rated games.
While surfing the net, I came across a blog of an ex-game addict who has provides the following perspective on the addiction:
“. . . the ultimate problem, as well as the solution, lies not within the games but the addicts themselves. In other words, many gamers are not addicted to the games - they are addicted to burning their time on gaming. The problem for me, as well as many others, is the lack of motivation coupled with slack self-control. Identifying life's priorities and regaining self-control are the corresponding measures to the problem, though this is often easier said than done. Taking one step at a time and staying persistent are the keys to a successful recovery.For the most part, I am now in control of my gaming addiction. Sparing gaming is now just another form of recreation, and that's the way it should be.”
In other words, to avoid the pitfall of addiction to gaming, it is important to have alternative recreational activities, setting one’s priorities right, be motivated to do other activities and exercise self-control.
I myself enjoy playing a variety of computer and video games ranging from adventure to word games and I’ll be utterly disappointed if in the coming years I see electronic stores void of game CDs because they are considered as “undesirable”. True, the M rated games do excite you to dare but the same is valid for movies, which have an amazingly large audiences across the globe.
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