Computer Game Addiction & Emotional Dependence Essay Example

hours daily when he started college. However, once in college, they lack attendance monitors or parental oversight, making them more susceptible to binge gaming and potential traumatic consequences like what my son faced.

According to the 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement, over one-third of incoming male students and nearly one-fourth of female students reported spending more than 16 hours per week playing computer games. These students typically have lower SAT scores, high school grades, and fewer completed AP courses. Consequently, they enter college with less preparation for success and are at risk of falling further behind if their addiction worsens.A study conducted in 2003 by The Pew Internet and American Life Project supported the idea that gaming has a negative impact on academic activities. According to the study, 48% of college student gamers said that gaming hindered their studying efforts. In 2008, Deborah Taylor, a former Federal Communications Commissioner, created controversy when she suggested that online gaming addiction, particularly games like World of Warrant, played a significant role in college dropouts in the United States. Taylor believed that this issue would worsen as more online games were developed to exploit young players and profit from their addiction. This approach is similar to how tobacco companies benefited from addicting individuals to nicotine for life. Game-makers are currently targeting children during the Christmas season with Logo sets based on popular games such as "Halo" and "World of Warrant." At the 2010 Ata conference, an industry executive openly acknowledged the importance of engaging and retaining users in a perpetual state of addiction. Their goal is to attract and keep addicts so they continue playing. The computer game industry

successfully achieved this effect with my son while he was attending college, resulting in a significant transformation from being an accomplished high school senior actively involved in academics, sports, and music.An anonymous game designer has discussed the unsettling incorporation of addictive elements into their creations by fellow designers who profit from users' dependence. "League of Legends," a popular online game developed by Riot Games, serves as a prime example of how player engagement can become addictive. Released in 2009, the game adopted a free-to-play model that capitalized on player addiction rather than requiring upfront subscription fees. By the fall of 2012, Riot Games proudly announced an impressive achievement with 70 million registered player names and 12 million "daily active users" worldwide, showcasing the extensive addiction their game had fostered. This business success led to a significant $400 million acquisition when the company was sold in 2011 by its founders. The gaming industry's triumph in Bolivia has resulted in the emergence of more intense free-to-play games specifically targeting young individuals and college students. Consequently, deans of student services have been prompted to take action and caution students about the dangers of gaming addiction right from their first day at college. However, despite this urgent need for intervention, such warnings are scarce on campuses.Hillarie Cash, executive director of Restart Internet Addiction Recovery Center and author of Video Games and Your Kids, is astonished by the lackadaisical approach colleges have towards addressing computer addiction among students. She believes this is a significant issue considering college students play a role in America's addiction epidemic. One reason for this negligence is that addicted students often hide their gaming habits from

college officials. The son of the dean of student services withdrew from college citing depression as the reason but failed to mention his excessive gaming in isolation within his dorm room. Many addicts, including my own son, feel deep shame about their addiction and resort to self-deception and lies to protect it and their self-image. They believe they are the only ones facing this problem.

Tracy Marble, Founder of Collegiate Coaching Services, has observed an alarming increase in pathological computer gaming among young adult clients. During assessments, it was discovered that 75% of male clients have some form of computer gaming or Internet abuse issue which contributes to initial problems such as poor academic performance, difficulty concentrating, and social anxieties. Other potential signs of gaming addiction issues with college students include frequent class absences, roommate complaints, social isolation, and concerned parents reaching out via calls or emails.Both Cash and Marble stress the significance of offering in-service training to college and university staff members who directly interact with students, like resident assistants, teaching assistants, and student health clinicians. The purpose of this training is to educate them on identifying warning signs associated with computer gaming addiction. In addition, colleges can run awareness campaigns aimed at students to raise awareness about these issues and encourage affected individuals to seek help rather than isolating themselves in harmful ways. Additionally, it would have been advantageous if my son's college had provided training for resident advisers to recognize potential problems such as self-isolation in dorm rooms, class skipping, excessive reliance on food delivery services, and rejecting friends when they visit. This could have enabled him to receive assistance before reaching a

state of serious distress. Cash also proposes that campus officials should establish additional resources such as a support group for computer gaming addiction and create a network of local therapists specializing in treating this specific type of addiction.