Teen Addiction to Gaming

Article: Confessions of an ex-gaming junkie
Category: Issues regarding teenagers
Source: The Sunday Times, February 11 2007

Summary: Benjamin Toh, a 17-year old boy from top boys' school, was active in school until he became addicted to MapleStory, an online fantasy game. He spent hours playing the game, skipping his meals, sacrificing his sleep, playing for up to 20 hours a day and neglecting his studies to the extent that he had to be retained in Secondary 3. However he has since turned over a new leaf, restricting himself to 2-3 hours of gaming a day and working hard to regain what he has lost due to his over-indulgence in the virtual world. He tells reporter Tessa Wong what went wrong.

An increasing number of teenagers in our society today are getting hooked to online gaming, neglecting their studies and some even ruining their future, which makes me wonder what could possibly cause such extreme addiction to gaming.

The simplest reason would be the high and rapidly advancing level of technology in our world today, which allows for the production of mind-blowing games with brilliant graphics and exciting gameplay that teens have every reason to fall in love with today.

Another important cause of gaming addiction would definitely be stress. As society becomes more affluent, life becomes more challenging. Teenagers today are faced with a tougher education system and increasing expectations from the people around them, causing a huge amount of stress. Like Benjamin I am also a student, and as such I can understand the position people like him are in. Yet, I feel that the reason for him being able to play for 20 hours on end is something else altogether, and is perhaps one of the more serious causes of gaming addiction.

As teenagers our parents play a vital role in our lives. We need them both to love us and to point out the right paths in life to us. Many of these teens who are addicted to online gaming come from broken families, or have parents who aren't there for them when they truly need them. Without parental love teens feel unwanted, and can even develop a sense of hatred towards their parents such that they indulge themselves in the virtual world just to avoid facing them at home. Without parental guidance, teens tend to take up the wrong paths in life, going for what they enjoy without having someone wiser to teach them what is truly right. Therefore I believe that it is this lack of parental influence that is the main and most serious cause of gaming addiction in teens.

As teens assume their virtual identities they enter a world where they live among their friends, free to express themselves and ungoverned by the strict authority and high expectations they face in the real world, as such an addiction is developed, not to the game itself, but to its purpose as a place where they can avoid the problems they face in life.

Privileged to have parents who care for me and never fail to guide me along the right paths in my life, I may not truly understand the situation these teens are in. Here I am attributing the lack of parental influence as the main cause of teens to take the wrong paths in their lives, yet I may not understand how some parents have tried their very best to help their kids, but to no avail. Still, I strongly believe that as long as both the teens and their parents are willing to work hand in hand, they can eventually break free of their addiction to online gaming and work towards building a better future for themselves, just like Benjamin did.

(500 words)