Positive And Negative Aspects Of Online Gaming

Harmonious Passion in Online Gaming

Describe about the Online Gaming for Positive and Negative Aspects.

Internet and technology have brought a number of advancements in various sectors and gaming is one such sector that has experienced major transformations due to the same. Online gaming has managed to become a preferred mode of entertainment for people of varied age groups including kids, teenagers and adults. There are online games that are now available for users for free of cost and the advanced level comes at an affordable cost. There are positive and negative aspects that are associated with the online gaming.

There are various forms of passion that may be associated with a particular activity. Harmonious passion is a kind of passion that makes sure that the activity which is online gaming in this case does not conflict with any other activity. Online gaming has emerged as a source of entertainment for the players and they ensure that they make some time during the day reserved for the same. The activity and the passion that is involved with the same comes out to have a positive impact on the mind of the player as long as the passion does not turn in to obsessive passion, addiction and craving.

Education and General Knowledge

There are various categories of online games that are present for the users and can be easily downloaded and installed. One such category of games is education and general knowledge games. These games assist parents to easily educate their children with an activity that does not appear to be regular classroom tuition and likewise. These games act as a mode of entertainment for the kids and the information that is present within the games add to their knowledge as well. For instance, there are games that are developed on the concepts of primary mathematics that has got various levels present one after the other. The user will be allowed to move to the next level only if he/she succeeds in clearing the one prior to it. The levels comprise of basic mathematics operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and likewise presented over an interactive user interface. The game enhanced the mathematical knowledge of the kids along with their mental ability and awareness. There are also hints and assistance included in the game to make the kids learn about the mathematical techniques. Similar games on other subjects and general knowledge such as quiz games and likewise are also available for the users (Frank, Sanbou and Terashima, 2016).

Positive Aspects of Online Gaming

There are also games that can measure and improve the typing skills of the users. Computer systems are essential in the present era in every field and it is necessary to have decent typing speed and skills to make proper utilization of the same. Online gaming has provided a solution to enhance this skill of the users by providing attractive interface to type on and remember the keys on the particular keyboard that is used for the same. These games display the typing speed, errors and various associated details and also comprise of difficulty levels as easy, medium and complex which provide a time based challenge to the users. Regular gaming allows the users to enhance these skills in an easy manner.

These are the skill sets that get enhanced with certain online games that can be played by the users. There are games that involve interaction with the various team players and there are also games that have multiple players in one team and multiple teams in one game. The interaction and communication between the teams determine the win or loss in a game. The users therefore make sure that they maintain a required level of communication and the same develops additional necessary skills such as team building, team cooperation and team collaboration as well.

The primary motive behind the playing of the online games for the users is to have fun and have a mode of entertainment and refreshment. These games allow the users to refresh their minds of all the stress and tensions of the daily activities. The users get engrossed with the games and indulge in the world of the game for a particular time period. The same has a positive impact on the overall health as it freshens up the mood and creates positive energies.

There are also some of the negative aspects that are associated with the online games and the same are usually the result of excessive gaming.

There are scenarios wherein the users get addicted to a particular game and develop an obsessive passion for the same. It is a result of excessive playing and the same leads to avoidance and conflict with the other routine activities. The addictive behavior also takes a toll on the studies and associated activities for the kids as they get indulged in the online gaming at all times. Instances wherein the users do not get the desired share of time to play the games result in cravings which is not beneficial for the human health (Stoeber et al., 2011).

Negative Aspects of Online Gaming

There are a number of negative impacts associated with the social aspects associated with the online games. There are negative social impacts that result out of indulgence in the online games. The kids in the present era keep themselves busy in the world of online games and do not go out playing with other kids in the society. The same leads the inability in them to develop the social skills that are extremely essential part of life. There are also decreased social interactions and activities that are seen among the teenagers and adults resulting out of the online games and indulgence in the same. Social skills allow the individual to have an interactive session with the fellow members and are extremely essential for the overall personality development of the individual. Online gaming takes a negative toll in this regard by preventing the users to develop such skills. Social isolation is the result of the prolonged and excessive gaming (Kowert et al., 2014).

There are numerous health hazards that are associated with increased online gaming for people of all age groups. First and the foremost is the impact on the eyes of the individual that results out of online gaming. The eyesight deteriorates along with other related problems such as irritation and itching in the eyes. There are also a number of other health issues that result out of online gaming on the physical health of the person. Physical activity and fitness is essential and shall be incorporated in the daily routine. Online gaming prevents the individuals to perform physical activities and makes them stuck to the couch or chairs that result in various health issues such as obesity and many others leading to some of the extremely severe health impacts (Stetina et al., 2010).

There are a number of aspects that are associated with online gaming such as use of sound, peer pressure, fun, score and many others. Players tend to get emotionally involved with the games and the same has an impact on the mind and body leading to a number of psychological impacts. The loss in the game leads to a state of sadness which also becomes depression in certain cases. The combination of audio and visual effects present in the games determine the human behavior as well that leads to some of the negative psychological impacts (Kowert et al., 2014).

There are a number of ethical issues that are involved with the online games in terms of the category and content present in the game. The developers at times do not take care of the type of content that they should incorporate in the games and also the accessibility of the same is not controlled leading to their usage by the individuals belonging to the minor age group. Usage of such games by the kids and minors is a violation of ethical practices that takes a toll on the mental and psychological abilities of the users (Albrecht, Michael and Michael, 2016).

With the increase in the number and ease of accessibility of the online games along with the increase of the usage of the same leads to a number of security risks associated with the games. The attackers succeed in obtaining personal information associated with the users through unauthorized manners which leads to the violation of the confidentiality, privacy and integrity of the same. There are also apps that need to be purchased or involve in-app purchases. Attackers also get hold of the payment information of the users that can have extremely severe impacts. These security risks can also lead to the deterioration of the reputation of the developers and the organization that provides these games to the users. The customer base and market shares also therefore come down as a result of these risks. These security risks primarily involve availability risks, integrity risks and confidentiality attacks such as denial of service attacks, media alteration, phishing attacks, scams, malware attacks and many others. There are also some of the games that determine the user location and the attackers acquire the same for executing physical security attacks such as stealing of device or harm to the device owner.

There are a number of measures that the users and the game developers shall take to minimize these security risks. The users shall not click on any suspicious links and shall consider the reviews and comments before downloading a particular game. The payment processes must be carried out in a secure environment and the device must always be kept protected with the anti-virus and other anti malware packages. The developers must install security mechanisms in the games during the development of the same in order to protect the information of the users.

Conclusion

Online gaming is an activity that has been developed as a source of entertainment for the users. The usage and incorporation of the same in daily activities shall therefore be restricted so that the same does not turn in to a hazard or result in negative impacts. There are numerous positives that are associated with the games and the same shall be maintained all throughout. There shall also be monitoring and control applied by the parents to prevent the children from excessive usage and addiction. 

References

Albrecht, K., Michael, M. and Michael, K. (2016). The Dark Side of Video Games. 1st ed.

Frank, I., Sanbou, N. and Terashima, K. (2016). Some Positive Effects of Online Gaming ô€€€. 1st ed. Hakodate: Future University Hakodate.

Kowert, R., Domahidi, E., Festl, R. and Quandt, T. (2014). Social gaming, lonely life? The impact of digital game play on adolescents’ social circles. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016].

Kowert, R., Vogelgesang, J., Festl, R. and Quandt, T. (2014). Psychosocial causes and consequences of online video game play. 1st ed. [ebook] Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016].

Stetina, B., Kothgassner, O., Lehenbauer, M. and Kryspin-Exner, I. (2010). Beyond the fascination of online-games: Probing addictive behavior and depression in the world of online-gaming. 1st ed. [ebook] Vienna: University of Vienna, Austria. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016].

Stoeber, J., Harvey, M., Ward, J. and Childs, J. (2011). Passion, craving, and affect in online gaming: Predicting how gamers feel when playing and when prevented from playing. 1st ed. [ebook] Kent: University of Kent, Canterbury. Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/locate/paid [Accessed 20 Oct. 2016].