In part two, this week, Amna M. Saleem looks at the various negative issues associated with gaming and its impact on children, as well as addressing the need for socially responsible gaming and the debate on video game piracy.?? DR. Naim also spoke to Saudi Gazette at length about the extent to which video games have influenced our lives. “The most notable way is the feeling of accomplishment that games gives us,” she remarked. “This sense is addictive because it is the antithesis of boredom and because modern life has removed this sense as a necessity from our lives.” She added that this sense was useful to boost self-esteem and remain focused, but the addictive nature of it often means that gamers start spending more time in cyber reality than is acceptable. This mirrors the opinion of most parents and teachers: that games are a source of more problems than benefits. There is a widespread perception that even seemingly harmless games can damage young people mentally and socially in the long run. Negative implication of gaming“It can be linked to these problems for youths today: obesity, lack of social skills, and decline in schoolwork productivity, confusion between the real and virtual, and aggressiveness,” Dr Naim explained. “Just look at the number of users and the average time spent playing games like World of Warcraft, or Everquest. I'll give you a hint: it's more than three hours a week. This leads to obesity because instead of going outside and getting exercise, children and teenagers are staying inside.” Another important issue is of course, the lack of necessary social skills in most gamers. “When a child plays video games they are isolated and do not like to be bothered. This lack of human contact could prove to be detrimental to a child's social life,” she stressed. Indeed, this is the single most pressing problem for most parents. A Jeddah-based Palestinian mother of four children shared her concern about her 12-year-old boy with Saudi Gazette: “He is glued to the screen playing his games. If I tell him to do anything he would just say ‘mom I'm on the next level!' and tune me out,” she complained. “When a child comes home after school and goes straight to video games they are not likely to stop and start doing their homework,” added Dr. Naim. The most dangerous implication of all, however, is that young and impressionable gamers can start assuming that they can control their actions in reality the same way as they do in virtual reality. This not only rings true for violent games, but also those that are morally questionable. The addictive nature of gaming is further exacerbated by online games such as the “insanely popular” World of Warcraft series. According to Khalid, “such games don't end quickly as different ‘patches' and expansion packs are provided on a frequent basis, expanding the possibilities further.” He added that “getting far in such games is very, very time consuming.” Dr. Naim throw light on another issue: the fact that video games send false messages to players. They are told that problems can be “eliminated” with little personal investment and portrays problems as clear-cut issues - either black or white, which requires instinctive rather than thoughtful problem-solving. Dr. Naim is quick to point out that a more balanced view is required by most authorities on this matter. Gaming's virtues - creativity and problem-solving skills - need to be individually pitted against the negative implications and parents need to start spending time with their children. This can even be done by playing a video game with them.? Piracy?Much of the gaming world has become widely accessible to people, and for a reason the video game industry would not be proud of – piracy. For instance Sony's PlayStation Two gaming console system (which uses DVDs) or the Nintendo DS (which uses cards) were both hacked long ago and pirated games for such systems are available everywhere. And why wouldn't they be? Pirated games sell for less than ten percent of the original price. Visiting a Tokyo Games shop in Jeddah's Aziz Mall made the dilemma glaringly apparent. “The games sell from anywhere from 150 Saudi riyals to about 280,” an employee at the store told Saudi Gazette. “I have personally noticed sports games or racing games selling better. Normally, those games which are advertised better sell more.” Despite all the negativity, however, we cannot ignore the fact that we need technology in our lives. Not perhaps to the extent that ties with the real world are severed, but the key to balancing our relationship, according to Dr. Naim, lies with controlling ourselves and our relationship with technology. In a sense, any form of technology these days can be beneficial and harmful depending on the person using it, how they use it and how much they are influenced by it.
