EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION AND ITS BACKGROUND
Nowadays, students are more addicted with online games rather than focusing on their
studies. An online game refers to a game wherein it uses internet that contains creative visual
graphics and interesting sound effects that make the students more engage to this kind of game.
Online games have attracted players from a variety of ages, nationalities, and occupation but
most of them are millennials who are still studying. Online games have criticism that might
promote cyberbullying and violence. There are many types of online games; some of them are
first-person shooter and strategy games.
The researchers wanted to educate the students that online gaming may affect student’s
everyday life. It is important to be aware in this phenomenal issue because most of the students
are exposed to this kind of game without knowing its disadvantages. Researchers believed that
this type of topic is appropriate because it is one of the reasons why some students fail to pass
most of their subjects. Online gaming plays a big part in one’s life just as how the player likes to
play it destructively. This study can help the students to have realization before it totally damage
their health.
The researchers chose this topic to emphasized different factors which can help the students
to know their limitations on playing online games. The researchers want to conduct this topic
because they are concerned with the negative results of over playing online games that may lead
to a serious problem in health status, studies and even with their relationships with others may
affect. The researchers want the students to be aware of the effects of this topic. It takes too
much of time and attention lose sight of studying because of being addicted to online games.
The researchers chose this study to raise awareness specifically for students who were
involved with the said kind of game. This study is used to spread evidence or proofs about
reasons and results of using online games. It is for the special purpose to develop better
comprehension among the users. The researchers selected this topic to enlighten the students that
1
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
the excessive use of online gaming affects their studies. The purpose of this study is to know
why many students are addicted in online games and to find out if there are implications of
online gaming to the academic performance and social behavior of the students.
Conceptual Framework
The illustration shows the target result of the research. This study evaluated different factors
that cause selected grade 10 male students be addicted to online games. The researchers made
this to show the process in conducting the research.
Statement of the Problem
The general problem that rises in this research is that the students lost their interest in
studying. The researchers made some questions for students who are addicted on online games.
1. How often do students play online games?
2
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
2. What grade level is the start of playing online games?
3. Why students are too much engage on playing online games?
4. Why do students intend to play online games rather than studying?
Assumption of the Study
The researchers assume the following:
1. The readers will know the negative effects of online gaming in studying;
2. The readers will know that too much online game can affect social status and communicating
skills towards other people;
3. The readers will know that playing too much online game may lead to serious health
problems.
Scope and Delimitations
This study will help the readers to perceive the effects of online games whether playing of
this might results failure concerning student's studies. This study was conducted during the
academic year 2018-2019 regarding the factors that affect the student's studies because of
addiction in online gaming. The respondents of the study are the selected grade 10 male students
who are studying in Fiat Lux Academe. The researchers will use an interview as data gathering
method to determine the perspective based on their experience in playing online games.
Significance of the Study
The result of this study will be valuable and beneficial to parents, teachers, readers, future
researchers and especially students who are the major cover of this research.
Parents – They will know how to deal with their child to have better personal communication.
Teachers – The teachers will be able to make their interaction with their students more reliable
and interesting, for them to love studying than gaming.
Future researchers – The future researchers will have additional knowledge about this study for
them to spread out this important information to make some realization.
3
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
Students – The students will be aware about the disadvantages of the game that they were
addicted to, which can lead to big changes.
Operational Definition
Visual graphics – An open-source application framework licensed under the MIT License
Millennials – A person reaching young adulthood in the early 21st century
First-person shooter – Is a video game genre centered around gun and other weapon-based
combat in a first-person perspective
Strategy games – Is a game in which the player often autonomous decision-making skills have a
high significance in determining the outcome
4
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
This chapter contains all the related literature that will support the research and will serve as
the foundation of the study.
Foreign Literature
According to Griffiths (2010), since the early 2000s, there has been a significant increase in
the number of empirical studies examining various aspects of problematic online gaming and
online gaming addiction. There is a lack of consensus as to whether video game addiction exists
and/or whether the term “addiction” is the most appropriate to use. Some researchers use
terminology such as “excessive” or “problematic” to denote the harmful use of video games.
Terminology for what appears to be the same disorder and/or its consequences includes problem
video game playing, problematic online game use, video game addiction, online gaming
addiction, internet gaming addiction, and compulsive internet use. This entry uses the term
“gaming addiction” to describe the phenomenon of excessive problematic gaming since there is
demonstrable empirical evidence that such behavior can include all the core components of
addiction including salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse.
As stated by Lepper & Gurtner (2000), prolonged and excessive use of these games can
cause,mainly upon children, a number of physical and psychological problems which may
include obsessive, addictive behavior, dehumanization of the player, desensitizing of feelings,
personality changes, hyperactivity learning disorders, premature maturing of children,
psychomotor disorders, health problems (due to lack of exercise & tendonitis), Development of
anti-social behavior and loss of free thinking and will.
Similarly, Anderson and Bushman (2001), found that across 54 independent tests of the
relation between video game violence and aggression, involving 4262 participants, there appear
5
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
to be five consistent results of playing games with violent contents. Playing violent games
increase aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions,
increases physiological arousal, and decreases pro-social behaviors. Since most electronic games
are violent, children below legal ages are emotionally disturbed and caused several changes on
their behavior.
In "Live Strong" (2018), long hours of playing video games can negatively affect your child's
performance in school if he's preoccupied with video games. He can fail to work at his optimum
level because he's exhausted from a late night of video game playing. If your child devotes more
than one or two hours a day to television or video games, he may have trouble falling asleep,
have problems paying attention and have lower test scores than other children who don’t spend
as much time in front of a television or video game console.
Local Literature
The youth of today no longer seem to spend their leisure activities like in the olden days;
outdoor games or playing with toys, instead, they spend their free time in their homes, internet
cafés or computer shops simply to satisfy their hunger; and that hunger is online gaming. Online
gaming has such a profound impact on not only the young, but dynamically every age group as
well. So far, virtually anyone is able to go on a computer and punch through the keys and mouse
in order to get a high score, chat with players, get the rarest items, and level up as fast as
possible. Yes, there seems to be no restriction as to whom, how or what online gaming can
extend to (Anonymous, 2011).
The progress of technology is a blessing to human wherein it makes life faster and easier
primarily the invention of computers. Computer technology has various uses like in
transportation, communication, commerce, construction, medicine, studies in universe even the
content of books are already in the internet. We also have social networking, social media and
computer games which serve as leisure and entertainment to humans but whatever excessive use
of a thing may result into a bad effect to people. One of the basic common problems that
teachers, parents and even experts in science of psychology encounter is the online gaming
6
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
addiction of learners. What is it all about? How can we say that a person is addicted? Who are
the victims? What are the effects to learners and to people around them? (Sun Star, 2017)
In addition, addiction is a very strong habit. It is a condition to be a slave to a habit,
compulsive dependence. There are two kinds of addiction which are physical addiction referring
to addiction a particular substance or medicine or cigarette smoking and psychological addiction
referring to reliance to a thing which gives satisfaction to his mind and feeling which is seen to
his behavior. Online gaming addiction is a kind of psychological addiction in which the medium
is playing online games on the internet. Online games motivate players to escape from reality,
characterizing characters on online games, praises and recognitions received from co-players,
uplifting self-esteem during the games, gives challenges to every player, bursting out their
emotions, anger and frustrations.
Foreign Studies
Hussain (2009), forty-one percent of people who play online video games admitted that they
played computer games as an escape from the real world. The researchers classified seven
percent of these gamers as “dependent”. The authors claim that the addicted gamers used video
games to modify their moods, demonstrated tolerance, and showed signs of relapse. Griffiths
(2008), males are more prone to video game addiction than females. Boys tend to enjoy violent
or aggressive games and girls generally prefer puzzle games and plat formers.
Peukert (2010), in a German sample, 1.5 – 3.5% of teens who use the internet were found to
demonstrate symptoms of video game addiction. Video game addiction was also found to be
correlated with a higher probability of depression, anxiety, and poorer school grades. In another
German study (using a different definition of video game addiction), it was concluded that 3% of
teenage males and 0.3% of teenage females were addicted to video games. (Rehbein, 2009)
Local Studies
7
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
According to the GMA News Online (2010) In Cebu, online game addiction is also becoming
an issue. In one of the episode of I-Witness, Kara David was able to interview youngsters namely
Doc, Mark and Ice who resort to illegal activities just to fund their addiction to online gaming.
Doc, Mark and Ice are part of a young generation spending a lot of their time on computer
games. Some of them undergo illegal activities to fund their vices and they can go on gaming for
24-hours without any sleep. 22-year-old Doc is a scavenger and vagrant, but once he gets his
money out of collecting garbage, he goes to his favourite Internet shop to play. Mark, 20, is an
out of school youth. He lost his investment money and stole from his mother to pay for his
Internet rentals. Fourteen-year-old Ice says he gets his money from homosexuals in exchange for
sexual favours.
In the research conducted by Ahn and Randall (2008), they were able to discover that
Massively-Multiplayer-Online Games or MMOG affects both the social and academic lifestyles
of students. Based on their surveyed data, students who are addicted in online games registered
more F grades as compared to non-addicted students. This statistics corresponds with the amount
of playing time of addicted students on the MMOGs. Their surveyed data also shows that
approximately 50% of MMOG addicted students were also reported as actively engaged in a
physical altercation. Addicted students are mostly involved in arguments with their teachers and
as well as their friends.
8
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
Chapter III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter deals with the research design, research locale, research participants, research
instruments and data gathering techniques.
Research Design
Designing a study helps the researcher to plan and implement the study in a way that will help
the researchers to obtain intended results thus increasing the chances of obtaining information
that could be associated with the real situation. To investigate the problems stated in the study
such as the effects of online game addiction to academic performance, the researchers used a
quantitative research to gather factual information from the respondents.
Research Locale
The survey was conducted in selected students of Fiat Lux Academe Dasmariñas Campus
which is located in Don Placido Campos Avenue, Dasmariñas, Cavite. The location was chosen
by the researchers themselves because based on the researchers’ observation; most of the
students in the said school were exposed in playing online games.
Research Participants
One of the most important tasks in conducting a study is to look for appropriate participants.
Those human subjects will help the research more productive by answering the given
questionnaires. The researchers have chosen 35 grade 10 male students to be the respondents of
the survey related to the study by which it is proven that they are engaged in online games
addiction. The respondents were enrolled during the academic year 2018-2019 in the said school
in the research locale.
9
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
Research Instruments
Research instrument is considered as one of the most important components of a research
design because they gather and collect data or information. The researchers made a series of
questions for a survey which were designed and conducted by the researchers. The survey was
used as the researchers' data gathering instrument with focus on the effect of online game
addiction in the respondents' academic performance.
Data Gathering Techniques
The researchers conducted a paper based survey to gather information and used quantitative
research design as the data gathering technique. All data that are relevant to the topic of this
study were gathered personally by the researchers. The data was gathered from the administered
questionnaire to the respondents.
10
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA
This chapter deals with the presentation, analysis and interpretation of the data gathered
in answering the problems.
Presentation
This chapter contains the tallied data that was gathered through survey conducted by the
researchers themselves to the selected grade 10 male students of Fiat Lux Academe. The total
respondents of the survey are 35 people. In this chapter, the students' perception regarding the
effects of online game addiction to the academic performance was tackled.
Analysis
The researchers conducted a survey that tackles the effects of online game addiction to
the academic performance of grade 10 male students in Fiat Lux Academe. The ten questions-
survey will serves as the key in opening the respondents' thought and analyze their different
opinions through answering those online gaming-related questions. The purpose of this research
is to know why the students were engaged in this kind of games and to know if playing online
games can affect their studies.
The quantitative data was summarize and organized using a tabular interpretation.
11
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
Times Spent in Playing
Everyday
Twice a week
Every free time
Interpretation
Graph 1: Times Spent in Playing
Graph 1 indicates that 5 out of 35 or 14% of the respondents play online games every day and
also 5 or 14% of the respondents said that they play online games twice a week and 25 or 72% of
the respondents said that they play when they have free time. It represents that majority of grade
10 male students spend their time in playing online games during their free time.
Reason on Playing
Stress
Bored
For fun
Graph 2: Reason on Playing
Graph 2 indicates the reasons why the students intend to play online games. As shown in
the graph, 28 out of 35 or 80% of the respondents said that they play for fun while 4 or 11% said
that the play because of boredom, the last 3 or 9% of the students said that they play because of
stress. Therefore, it means that majority of the students play online games for fun.
12
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
Times Started Playing
Grade 4-6
Grade 7-8
Grade 9-10
Graph 3: Times Started Playing
Graph 3 indicates where the students state the time of when they start to play online games. As
shown in the graph, it depicts that 26 out of 35 or 74% of the students said that they start playing
online games since grade 4 to grade 6, while 6 or 17% state that they start since grade 7 to grade
8, the other 3 or 9% reply that they only start playing since grade 9 to grade 10. Generally, the
graph describes that most of the students start playing online games since grade school.
Prioritize Online Games than Studying
Studies are still prioritize
More fun to play
Graph 4: Prioritize Online Games than Studying
Graph 4 indicates the students' responds whether they prioritize online game or studying.
As shown in the graph, 27 out of 35 or 77% of the respondents said that they prioritize online
gaming because it is more fun than studying while the 8 or 23% of the respondents said that
studies are still their priority.
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
13
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
This chapter presents the summary undertaken, the conclusions drawn and the
recommendations made as an outgrowth of this study.
Summary of Findings
The objective of the study is to know the reason why many students nowadays loved to
play online games. The researchers want to know why most of the students especially boys are
engaged in this kind of game. This study can be a help to many people especially to students who
were involved in this kind of thing to be aware that excessive use of computer or cell phone to
play online games may affect their performance in school and it can lead them to failing their
studies.
The researchers made hypotheses’ problems that the respondents may encounter if they are
involved in online gaming. The first question that the researchers composed is how often the
students play online games, in this question, the researchers wanted to know if how many hours a
student can spent their time playing online games, and if playing online games can consume their
time that student should be given with their studies. The next question was what grade level did
they started playing online games, the researchers concluded this question to probably know how
long did the students play until now and to identify that a student is totally addicted in online
gaming. The third question that the researchers made was why students are too much engaged in
playing online games, through this question; the researchers will know the causes on why
students were addicted in playing. The last question that the researchers made was why students
intend to play online games rather that studying, the researchers concluded this to easily identify
the causes on why students prioritize online gaming than studying.
The researchers carefully made decision upon choosing the participants who will be part of
the research study. The researchers had chosen particular male students per sections in grade 10
male students considering their personal connections about the research topic. The researchers
picked grade 10 students because of its dominant number of persons who are too much engaged
in online gaming. Moreover, the said grade level has the capacity to answer the questions
expressively.
In this study, the researchers used systematic sampling to identify the respondents.
Systematic sampling is best known as one of the probability samplings, it uses specific system to
select members such as only male students in the particular place. The researchers chose this
14
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
method because by using this, the researchers can pick the male students as the participants of
the study because most of the players of online games are boys.
The researchers used a survey method to gather information. The researchers created
questionnaires composing of ten (10) questions which consist of yes or no questions and
opinionated ones were the statistical tool that was applied in gathering the data. That tool will
serves as the key in opening the statement of the problem. The questions cover the time which
players spent in playing online games, their reason on why do they engaged themselves with this
kind of game and it covers the respondents' different opinions about the effects of the addictive
online games in their academic performances as a student. The data was gathered through a
room-to-room processed to look for the respondents that are engaged in online gaming. The data
gathering was done because of the cooperation of the grade 10 male students who were the
participants in answering those online game addiction related-questions and its effect for each
one of them as gamers or players. The researchers gathered data to have enough proofs or
evidences in analyzing the truth upon the said phenomenal issue and the researchers conducted
the data gathering by having such communication for those students who were addicted in the
said kind of game.
The researchers used frequency and percentage distribution as the statistical treatment
because it is the exact treatment in the study especially that this study is a quantitative research.
Frequency is the actual response to a specific question in the questionnaire where the respondent
ticks his choice. Percentage is a particularly useful method of expressing the relative frequency
of survey responses; it can be displayed as tables, or as bar graphs or pie graphs.
As the researchers conducted a quantitative data gathering technique, it is about
summarizing the findings that was gathered. Based on the data presented, the researchers
summarized that the said addictive game influenced lot of students nowadays. In part of the
summary, it results to expressing that students spent lot of their time in online gaming
specifically twenty five (25) out of thirty five (35) students or 72% said that they play every free
time because of the happiness or fun that they were getting from it and others makes it as their
stress reliever or pass time whenever they get bored, to be more specific, twenty eight (28) out of
thirty five (35) students or 80% said that they play to have fun which had been find out that most
of the respondents started to engage themselves in online games since they were in grade 4 to
15
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
grade 6, specifically twenty six (26) out of thirty five (35) students or 74% said that.
Additionally, the effects of online game addiction for some of the students is the reason of
decreasing of their grades in school but most of them strongly believed that it has no effect and
they prioritize online gaming than studying because of their attachment to the addictive game.
Truthfully, twenty seven (27) out of thirty five (35) students or 77% said that playing online
games is more fun than studying which lead up to addiction.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn.
1. The researchers concluded that students play online games because they have lot of their
free time. Twenty five (25) or 72% of the respondents answered in the survey that they only play
when there is free time. It only means that the student does not use their time in school but they
just play every time they have nothing to do with.
2. The researchers concluded that the students intend to play online games rather than to
study because playing online games can give them more feeling of fun. It is the stress of
schoolwork in which online gaming has become an integral source for emotional pleasure and
excitement stimulation to the students. Boredom or nothing to do also makes the students to be
involved in online gaming.
3. The researchers concluded that some of the students still prioritize their studies over other
things. Students play online games without sacrificing their studies because they use online game
as a stress reliever since school works sometimes makes the students stress. It means that playing
online games does not affect the student's academic and over-all performance.
Recommendation
Based on the findings and conclusions presented, the following recommendations are
suggested:
16
EFFECTS OF ONLINE GAME ADDICTION
1. For the students must know how to manage their time in playing online games without
affecting their academic performance. Although playing online games can relieved stress
regarding school works, it also has the negative sides. Use its benefits so that the students can be
more productive in their daily lives. On the other hand, know how to balance playing online
games without affecting studies at school;
2. For the teachers to be more aware regarding playing online games. Teachers should
monitor school works and activities carefully and encourage students to practice more fulfilling
activities. Since youth nowadays were involved in online games and nothing can keep them
away to it, might as well utilized the technology to a more productive way;
3. For the parents, in general, must be aware that students need parental guidance in terms of
playing online games. As parents, they play an important role in their children's academic
performance. Therefore, when their children's study and learning habits diverted into excessive
playing of online games, this will have effect on their academic performance. However, playing
online games in moderate usage does not directly affect the students' learning process but
anything in excess is harmful, so parents must look after their children;
4. For the improvement of research, the researchers recommend to future researchers to
further elaborate the topic. Future researchers can use the findings of this research as future basis
of studying the effects of online game addiction to the academic performance. The future
researchers can learn more for what could be the other effects of playing online game in this
study.
17
