Relationship and family impact

Relationship and family impact 

Over the past few years the amount of online gamers has skyrocketed, Even though the technology is relatively new it has become a common part of most people's lives. The most played online game in the world known as league of legends gets 67 million different players each month and 27 million different players every day, considering that this game has been out for not even 5 years that is a tremendous amount of people. (Mehroof 2009) Why do people online game? Online gaming has been considered an outlet for many anti-social teenagers, it gives them a chance to engage and play with strangers remotely while still being in the comfort of their own home. This is the stem of many gaming addictions as people begin to rely on gaming for a social outlet in their life. Gaming allows the player to get away from the harshness of reality and be happy while not having to leave the comfort of their own house. While online gaming has positives it also has many negatives. Online multiplayer games do not allow you to pause or take a break, when you start and you are playing you have to play the entire game or else it will penalize you for leaving your team. Since you are not allowed to leave this causes many problems most notably with family. For example, if you start an online game and about half way through your mom ask you if you want to go for a walk or something, you are now forced to choose between leaving the game and getting a penalty, or saying no to your mother and not spend time with her. It also affects social status, if you spend too much time online playing games then you have less time to spend with your friends and you will start to lose a relationship with them. Online gaming addictions can have a severe negative impact on family dynamics and relationships in general.

Sources:

Mehwash Mehroof and Mark D. Griffiths. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. June 2010, 13(3): 313-316. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0229.