left for DEAD?
March 14, 2009
Probably one of the most amazing invention of the 20th century would have to be the Internet. According to the latest survey by Internetworldstats.com, 2,421,800 Internet users as of September/2005, 66.3% of the population in Singapore have access to the Internet! Hence, it’s to say one third of Singapore is wired with the world. The convience which the Internet brings is boundless – Emails, Stock Exchange, Word Processing, Movies, Games, just to name a few.
Sadly, with improving technology it also brings forth new dangers. For example, Gaming Addiction. Video game addiction, is excessive or compulsive use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life. Instances have been reported in which users play compulsively, isolating themselves from, or from other forms of, social contact and focusing almost entirely on in-game achievements rather than broader life events. Hence, these people who are addicted to online gaming, spend most of their time at home and the community to them is no longer a physical structure of people, buidlings or anything which is physical.
A report cited a 2005 Entertainment Software Association survey of computer gaming players, and noted that players of MMORPGs were more likely to play for more than 2 hours per day than other gamers. In its report, this 2 hour per day limit to define “gaming overuse”, citing the general guideline of no more than 1 to 2 hours per day of “screen time”. More and more people are addicted to online gaming and the addiction is not only exclusive to children, but grown up adults alike!
This form of addiction has seriously consequences. From developing abnormal social etiquette to even health deterioration. There are many instances where children and adults died while playing online computer games. The reason of death is commonly cited as similiar as to the Economy Class Syndrome – where the lack of movement prohibits the flow of blood from normal circulation. This is as addicted online gamers usually will be glued to the screen for tens of hours to even days. Only recently, a man from china dies from online gaming.The man, who was only identified by his gaming alias “Zhang,” is what China has come to classify 2.6 million of its 20 million under-18 youth: gaming addicts. Though Zhang’s death was attributed to his 330 pound obesity, I think the cause of death might also be linked towards his perpetual online gaming addiction.
What are your thoughts for online communications?
Are online gaming addictions common in your friends too?
Online communications can never fully replace the real deal. Seeing another person face to face reduces all the misunderstandings due to communications with lack of body language and tone of voice.
It is indeed easy to lose track of time when engaging in an online game, or even just surfing the Internet for more information.
Perhaps there is a need for some form of reminder alerts at regular intervals, to prompt the users to stretch or take a breather.
Wonderful writing..Clear and precise…Can’t agree any better!
Good warning. But then I figure my propensity to develop a dependency is so great that if I am not addicted to internet, I’ll be addicted to TV, peanuts, expresso, … and another human being!
We can become fat through gaming. YEA! join eagles!. lets play more wow
Well i think online gaming is quite common nowadays. but i think people are still equipped to handle the addiction. my friend sold his maple account for 1k! which i think is pretty cool but also how much time he wasted playing the game la.
i think online communications allows us to keep in touch with more people, like skyping people overseas etc. however, some might argue that personal touch is lost. but like all things, we need to balance. i think technological advancement will always be a good thing!
Online comms may never triumph real-life conversations, but it is still one of the most convenient, easiest and cheapest ways to remain in contact with anyone.
I used to play a lot of games as well, be it online or on tv consoles. Truthfully, I feel that as long as one does not go overboard, like playing for literally the whole day & skipping meals, and is able to still function and perform in a normal society and at work/school, there isn’t anything wrong with playing more than the 2-hour limit.
its true internet is one of the most amazing invention since lightbulbs or even flight, it forms a bridge across all borders from a kid in africa, to a city guard in mainland china
communication is almost seamless now, but a wall is also build around each individual, we see people replacing physical social activities with virtual ones.
the issue here is not so much the invention but the abuse of it. addiction in all form is bad. moderation is key.
In the first place, as we have more applications that encourage us to go online, like facebook, wifi, and mobile applications, I think just checking and replying to e-mail could take 2 hours! These days, I have e-mail from the work intranet, the work organisation email, facebk email, livejournal e-mail, hotmail e-mail, yahoo e-mail and gmail e-mail. If we use the 2 hours as a gauge, I think most of SG is addicted.
I believe that online communication is merely a tool that we human use. The existence of programs like Skype, Ventrilo and webcams allow people to speak over long distances easily. It is alright as long as people do not rely too much on these tools.
Definition of gaming addict is subjective. Some people may find that 2 hours of gaming is too short, some can barely stare into their monitor for 20 minutes. Certain games(esp MMORPGs) require players to communicate with other players, so, gaming may not be that much of a bad addiction.
After all, i get to know u through gaming. ^^
Usage of the internet has become sort of a norm for people in Singapore. By virtue of the fact that Singapore herself is the most wired country in the world speaks volumes about the amount of time people actually spend online yea? Why bother to wire up the place if Singaporeans actually don’t spend that much time online? Personally I feel that online gaming has given so much more depth to the traditional console games, for one the interaction is unprecedented even in the 20+ years of console gaming. As fun as final fantasy might sound it’d probably account for nothing in the long run as compared to a MMORPG like WOW? I have a friend who died from a deep-vein thrombosis relapse, caused by 2-days straight gaming? It actually does set alarm bells ringing inside the head huh? Morale of the story don’t play too much WOW =D