Issues In Addiction And Eating Disorders

Introduction to Video Games

Descriobe about the Issues in Addiction and Eating Disorders?

The gaming or video gaming in the recent vocabulary, are the games played on computers with the help of joy stick or key board and the way to win over the world of fantasy.  The definition as per wiki – a video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The definition is very simple but don’t depict the vast involvement of mankind irrespective of age or sex. The inherent dream of human being may be pampered by this media with the existence of no result. People were doped with electronic gaming and just forget the world around them. The children lose their interest in studies or games with the involvement of physical attachment, the grownups are not aware of the world around them. The only goal is to achieve the score to the highest level with the self complacency that Yes, I can achieve it (Bayne, R. 2000).

The word video in video game traditionally refers to a raster display device, but it implies any type of display device that can produce two or three dimensional images. The electronic system used for video games are known as platforms viz. Personal computer or game console. Theses platforms include varied range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. The earliest mode of video game is from 1947-a cathode ray tube amusement device was file for patent on 25^th January, 1947 by Thomas T. Goldsmith Jr. and Estle Ray Mann and issued on 14^th December, 1948 as US patent no 2455992. The other early examples are- Nimrod Computer at 1951, Oxo- a tic tac toe computer game in 1952, an electronic interactive game in 1958 named Tennis for Two, etc (Creeber and Martin, 2009).

The topic itself is self explanatory. The role of video game in the modern society makes a lot of implication so far the behaviour of mankind is concerned. Who plays the video games most? Is there any age limit, or sex limit or it is universal. The answer is that it is universal. The people around the world are fan of it. The main reason is to get relief from the practical tough world, to feel the credit of accomplishment, to rule the world with the video games are the key reason for playing video game. Moreover the group formed for the same game interact with each other to know the latest score. When the game is been played, the player loses its thirst, hunger, even the connection to the material world is get lost. What is there in the video game? There are some games which encourage the inner brutal instinct of the human being-mainly by those game where the destructive instinct is encouraged by way shooting, sword fighting etc. Normal people can’t get the taste of these, but their instinct wants to do that for the sake of heroism and the virtual achievement related to that. There are other games which really encourages the intellect of the individual like sports game. Now let us discuss the different issues with video games (Hercheui, 2012).

Identification of Ethical, Social, and Legal Issues

What is the definition of Ethics? Which is normally endorsed by the human being by using their general instinct is called ethics. When any act is described as unethical? The act which was performed without the consent of general conscience of individual is called unethical act. In case of video games the ethical issues doesn’t arise directly, as an individual has got the liberty to spare his time as per his wish, be it in the soccer field or be it at home with the video games. The ethical part arises when the individual tries to do something unethically in video games operation to achieve something which is not achievable by him. That may be earning money from video games or earning some other advantages from playing video games. The unethical act arises when someone does some act which is not as per trend and that too to achieve something which is not he deserves. The trend of unethical issues gained from video games may be transmitted other parts of life, and if so happen, that is the worst part of video game. If the individual tries to forget his values of life only for the sale of video games and act accordingly which may harm others’ interest is the most unfortunate result derived from video games (Angle, 2004). There are 10 ethical issues as per Gamer Gate are:

When you buy a game, you are not necessarily own them, and may not play them in future- the games purchased from the seller can’t be your own property, even if the game is being kept in the closet. Moreover the games purchased and installed in the own pc may be get out of use if the hard disk crashes and there will be no option for the buyer to get the service from the seller after the hard disk gets crashed (Holiday, 2012).

The troubling relationship between video game developer and the real arms manufacturer- the development of the arms in the video games are the 3D version of the real arms. The manufacturer of Arms, Barrett insisted that the game developer should buy for development of the arms to be used in video games. The benefit of this transaction is the license fee got by the gun maker as well as the game maker is equipped with the licensed gun model.

Ethical Issues in Video Games

Hiring practises that treat developers as disposable- As per Anthony Farmer, the renowned game developer, he is open for new assignment but was not at all hired by anybody. Instead they want the new grads with a unity 3D side project or two under their belt (Sommers, 2000).

Publications that brazenly accept payment for advertorial sponsored review- The different media does the sponsored review which is mostly by force of advertisement and they use to take money shamelessly for this purpose.

The use of conflict minerals and other ethical violations in the supply chain- the 10% of the companies have done next to nothing to shift their practises towards conflict –free from Congo. They are not members of the industry, and never take adequate steps to ensure the authenticity of the supply chain (Mandiberg, 2012).

Crunch time and other exploitative labour practises- It is the normal practise of the game developing companies not to look into mind the welfare of the employees. They work relentlessly for the company, and at the end they found themselves exhausted and frustrated.

Publications hungry for content, eager to pass off promotional materials as news, presenting touched up renders as in-game screenshots- The publications are eager for the news and they use the promo material as news with the still shots as promotional bull shots.

There is no legal support for the small developer if the big studios make a thousand clones of it (Brighouse and Swift, 2014).

The sex abuse of the female are prominent in the game developing with the essence of sexual instinct.

The flexibility towards development of own thoughts related to religion or sex is not allowed in the game developing.

The basic social issues of video game are that it changes the behaviour of the gamer. He always prioritizes his video games than his social life. A man refused to pick up phone calls at the sweet Saturday morning to avoid the outing with his friend, instead like to confine himself within the four wall of the room to play games and to reach the Everest of points or scores he can earn. The gamer forgets about the real world outside and try to concentrate more and more in the fantasy world of video games. The result will be so disturbing that the social balance will get affected. Even in the same family there were different islands of dwellers without interacting among themselves. They eat when they are served but it is doubtful how far they taste the food, instead they love to grab it fast. They always have the hurry to enter the world of games bypassing the real world with its social values. The families get affected, the friendship gets affected, and the eternal relationship also gets affected. It is the gamer who has to decide which one is his priority. The video game is one type of addiction which just covers human being like cobweb. It’s tough to get out of it, the more you try to get rid of it, the more it covers you without any scope to find yourself out of the trap. The old games are replaced by new games, the arms of fight change from sword to rifle, and rifle to machine gun, but the addiction continues.  It is the gamer who has to decide how he will get rid of this. The result will be isolation of the gamer, with the psychological problem and the remedy to get rid of the situation is really difficult (Jensen, 2011).

Social Issues with Video Games

The lack of social interaction that results from obsessive gaming can have long term social consequences. An addicted teen ager will not be able to develop effective social skills, which will hinder his ability to develop and maintain healthy relationship in his study place and beyond. Suddenly he will found himself at the age of 21 with 15 years old social maturity level. He is not conversant with making friends, mix with the girls or just hangout and enjoy people’s company. There is vicious cycle of isolation created by gamer to more and more isolation resulting only escape rout of more going deep into games. The gamer would prefer for the online relationship instead of real material world relationship.  Some physical consequences of video games addiction can lead to social consequences as well. The addicted gamer may lose his sleep due to continuous video games playing and will lose his patience and energy to invest in relationship (Kowert, 2015).

It’s not just neglect that costs addicted gamers their relationship. Some of them talks so much about the latest game they play, soon the people around will leave the place to keep him alone and isolated. They can’t or won’t engage them in real world conversation or be a source of support or encouragement to the circle of friends or family. Because of the discussion of the friends related to other subjects of the real world, the gamers soon lose interest and try to go away. If that discussion continues, the gamer may get irritated and react otherwise which is not the normal trend of society. A quick online search for information about the game addiction yields multiple stories about detrimental, and potentially harmful, social decisions people have made because gaming takes priority above all else.  One such story was about a man who installed an online gaming program onto his laptop so he could play at work, knowing well that if he gets caught he will be fired. Even another story of wife and husband recently got involved in video games for the simple reason that it took his mind off his problems (Acton, 2012).

There are top ten legal issues for game developers as furnished below:

The game developed should be in a fixed, tangible medium (code). Thoughts and ideas are not protected, but their expression is protected.

Design and development decisions will need to contemplate intellectual property rights, from copyright of the code, to work for hire and copyright transfers and waivers from independent developers, to trademark of logos of the games and their domain names (Boyd and Green, 2007).

Who the author is can sometimes be the point of legal contention- work for hire, employee vs. Independent contractor, commissioned works-each of these adds a new dimension of complexity if a contract that spells out the exact relationship is not explicit or does not even exist. Are you the author, are your employees the authors were you hired to develop for someone else?

Rights can be transferred through a sale of license agreement. Rights can also be split- for example, a right to reproduce but not distribute. Rights last a certain amount of time only and the length depends on which country the work was produced or registered (Borkwood, 2013).

Do you need to register? If you want to sue is what we have always been told. Easy but can be expensive when you begin to register in every country you want protection in.

The gaming industry faces unique business model decisions. You have a target audience that is conditioned to paying to be able to play the games so issues such as subscriptions or user fees, micro transactions for virtual goods, and advertising via sponsorship branded virtual goods and product placement, will all require legal guidance in terms of virtual currencies, transactions, interstate commerce, sales tax, etc (Sikora and Hattan, 2009).

Content production in association with the games may also lead to issues with publicity rights(if incorporation a well know soccer player or celebrity), music licensing issues, offensive content, and the Children’s online protection Act to name a few.

After design and development, the next big issue focuses on game access and distribution- from digital rights management to licensing agreements- this issue also brings in international standards for content and IP protection.

If you are developing a social game, privacy implications come into play. Most of the games use the social graph to enhance the social experience. These uses are outlined in the games “Terms of Use” and “Users Agreements” but many users do not bother to read them.

Contents also bring up the issue of first amendment rights (freedom of speech) vs. Censorship. In June 2011 Just Scalia and the US Supreme court based down a decision that “ video games are protected and that restrictions based on their content would be subject to strict scrutiny”.(Brown Vs. Entertainment Merchants Association, CA). SO California’s ban on violent video games for children was declared unconstitutional (Acton, 2012).

Apart from the above there are serious legal issues related to video game. The incident of Madison Square in 2013 for the alleged murder attempt on Joseph B. May weathers by Antonio D. Streets Washington by firing from a shot gun on his face for the reason of non-returning of the video game he had borrowed from Washington. The game called Grand Theft Auto had been borrowed by May weathers from Washington and had not been returned back while asked for. This incident shows the implication of video game and the passion behind it for the owner.

So far the professional issues are concerned about video games, the matter dawns upon the game developer and the gamer. The game developer with his technical knowledge and professional approach tries to make the game as superb as it can be. The job may attract no. Of sleepless nights, but the accomplishment is the last word to prove his professionalism. The professional in this field often exchange ideas and the concept thus grown can’t be the trade secret. Even after one game is developed the same may be copied or cloned to numbers to spread in the market with slight deviations. The terms and conditions mentioned in the game are not read properly by the buyer. But that should be attentively read to know the pros and cons of the game with the professional barrier tied with it. Today’s society embraces and uses many digital and online entertainment products in a multi trillion- pound industry (Rigby and Ryan, 2011).

The global software games industry alone was estimated to be 41.9 billion US $ in 2007 and expected to grow @ 9.1% annually to US$ 48.9 billion in 2011 and 68 billion US $ in 2012, making it fastest growing sector in media industry worldwide. The interactive entertainment industry is a highly skilled, growth industry of the future, and UK’s interactive entertainment industry is projected growth of 7.5% from 2009 to 2012. There is evidence that children prone to game for at least five years have the better IQ with motivation and zeal for achievement to prove their excellence in education. They move to college and successfully complete the course and then move forward to the job world. The research shows that the gamer with high ability can perform better in arithmetic ability and motivation for the subject through game-play scenarios, while others have shown that there can be increased reading comprehension scores through game-playing training programs as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, more conventional teacher based methods. Other benefits include individual developing high levels of hand- eye coordination, good reaction times, better social interaction, better pattern and rule generation and hypothesis testing and generalization, better spatial visualisation and a developed sense of achievement (Cheever, Rosen and Carrier, 2015).

Conclusion-

The above discussed features show the different implication of video games in different aspect of human being. But end of the day, the lesson should be that play game as a past time entertainment, don’t get addicted to it. The proper balance of the game and social life makes an individual enjoy the game and social life as well in fullest. In modern days, none can deny the effect of video games, at the same time none should be addicted to it. The slogan should be -Play and enjoy, but limit must be there to enjoy the game and the life with all responsibilities to be fulfilled as a social creature.

References:

Acton, Q. 2012. Issues in addiction and eating disorders. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholarly Editions.

Angle, C. 2004. Defining ethics, good & evil. Redding, CT: Philosophy Pub. Co.

Bayne, R. 2000. The counsellor’s handbook : a practical A-Z guide to professional and clinical practice. London New York San Diego, Calif: Chapman & Hall Distributed in the USA and Canada by Singular Pub. Group.

Borkwood, I. 2013. Learning Stencyl 3.x game development beginner’s guide a fast-paced, hands-on guide for developing a feature-complete video game on almost any desktop computer, without writing a single line of computer code. Birmingham: Packt Pub.

Boyd, S. and Green, B., 2007. Business & legal primer for game development. Boston, Mass: Charles River Media.

Brighouse, H. and Swift, A., 2014. Family values the ethics of parent-child relationships. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Cheever, N., Rosen, L. and Carrier, L., 2015. The Wiley handbook of psychology, technology and society. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

Creeber, G. and Martin, R., 2009. Digital cultures. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Hercheui, M. 2012. ICT critical infrastructures and society 10th IFIP TC 9 International Conference on Human Choice and Computers, HCC10 2012, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, September 27-28, 2012. Proceedings. Berlin New York: Springer.

Holiday, R. 2012. Trust me, I’m lying confessions of a media manipulator. New York: Portfolio Sold by Penguin Publishing.

Jensen, M. 2011. Encyclopedia of contemporary American social issues. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

Kowert, R. 2015. Video games and social competence. New York, NY: Routledge.

Mandiberg, M. 2012. The social media reader. New York: New York University Press.

Rigby, S. and Ryan, R., 2011. Glued to games how video games draw us in and hold us spellbound. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.

Sikora, D. and Hattan, J., 2009. Business and production for games : a gamedev.net collection. Boston, MA: Course Technology/Cengage Learning.

Sommers, C. 2000. Who stole feminism? : how women have betrayed women. New York: Touchstone/Simon & Schuster.