Consequence or Benefit

With the accessibility of technology to people today, the constant connection that is established between them and the world is nothing short of exceptional. Being able to hear from family and friends wherever and whenever you want is very important, but what happens when these individuals use their phones to connect with the world and get addicted? Popular apps such as Instagram and Snapchat paired with videogames have taken over the virtual landscape today, and with the accessibility individuals have to these new forms of technology, the more addicted they can become. The addiction is a large part, but the consequences that come from being addicted such as social anxiety, lack of social skills, and comfortability in social situations can be linked to addiction with social networking and video games. High school is a very important time in a young adult’s life because it will provide a base or give them an idea on how they want to lead their lives in the future. Going to a public high school, I saw the two dramatically different sides of this issue with social networking and gaming addiction. I made a group of friends that were on several different sports teams, but also liked to play videogames. Being able to evaluate this problem with an idea of both sides, I identified a common theme that kids who were played more videogames were less comfortable when participating in class and engaging in conversations. With this being said, I believe that the addiction to social networking and videogames can cause a lack of basic social skills and comfortability.

I began my research an easy google search and came up with an article that talks about the social consequences of a gaming addiction, published online from Video-Game-Addiction.org. According to a section of the article, the lack of social interaction that results from a gaming addiction can have long-term social consequences. The article focuses on how an individual may lack the skills to establish friendships and relationships. The isolationism creates social awkwardness for the individual and can consequently lead to a fiercer addiction. This forms a cycle of gaming addiction that only strengthens with every rejection from society, whether that is a failed attempt at making a new friend or not getting offered a job because of a bad interview. Between my sophomore and junior years of high school, I developed an addiction to video games and my cellphone. Being away from people without the ability to drive caused a gap to be formed between my friends and I. Being addicted to video games meant I was playing around 5 hours or more a day and having very little physical exercise or social interaction. When I was eventually starting tennis practices and going back to school, I realized that everyone around me was much more comfortable in classroom discussions, and I often felt left out because my friends were less willing to hang out and talk to me. My gaming addiction had caused my relationships to suffer, and as a consequence I developed a fear of being left out that I still sometimes encounter a few years later. I was thankful that I had the necessary social interactions of school and sports, but other individuals who are older are not so lucky. Also being mentioned in the article is the problem that gaming presents in a marriage, with one partner developing an addiction and neglecting their spouse and causing issues.

After being reinforced by the article from Video-Game-Addiction.org I started looking for an article from that would help draw some attention to the social media and networking side of addiction and its consequences. “Characteristics of Social Media ‘Detoxification’ “, published in the Libyan Journal of Medicine, Joseph El-Khoury focuses on the effects of social media use on depression and other everyday experiences in university students. Mr. EL-Khoury used an experiment based on the idea of detoxification, the restraint, and no use of social networking sites. Being able to relate to this study because I have tried to limit myself and have even deleted my accounts associated with popular social networking sites and apps. After conducting the experiment and analyzing the results, the evidence showed that most students reported a positive change in mood, reduced anxiety and improved sleep during and after the detoxification. After finding the conclusion of the experiment, I was shocked to how the addiction and use of social networking can play such a large role in the life of a university student. These are very important to realize because the growing problem that is mental health in our country today, that after the span of the experiment, students experienced improvements in all three of these categories. I was often using social networking as a way to see what my friends were up to, but when an individual starts getting addicted, it can have some serious consequences. This article was very important because it helped draw a picture of exactly what I was presenting at the beginning of this paper. And even though you may not see or know anyone that has an addiction to video games or social media, or both, if you can identify some of these problems, you can help improve that person’s life.

I wanted to know more about what social anxiety and basic social skills are to help draw some attention to help someone make the connection and aid the person that may be experiencing an addiction. I Googled “social anxiety” and found out that it is a disorder that causes extreme fear in social settings, and people with this can have trouble talking to people, meeting new people, and attending social gatherings. It is important to identify what is a symptom when looking at a problem. This search goes hand in hand with the first article that I investigated. The problem with a gaming addiction is that it can cause problems talking to and meeting new people, along with attending social gatherings. An addiction to social networking and videogames can have a direct relationship with developing and suffering from social anxiety. The next part of my search was set an idea for basic social skills. After a search, I found that some common ones are the ability to listen to others, ignore distractions and ask for help. When someone is addicted to videogames or social networking, as identified in the first article, they have a trouble with relationships and social anxiety, that interfere with the ability to do these fundamental things. The addiction to videogames and social networking applications is a serious issue in people today and in order to be able to help and identify this problem, we need to look at the symptoms.

But when are certain parts of social networking and video games important and help? My next stage of research was focused on the importance of some of these apps and video games. When I started looking for the importance of video games, many articles came up with the example of educational uses for them. An article from mediasmarts.ca shows that video games can increase children’s self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games, develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem-solving, as well as providing points of common interest and opportunities for socialization (mediasmarts.ca). Although many people look at the problems of video games, it is important to realize the role that they play in society. In my personal experience, I have been able to communicate and connect more with kids when we have a common interest or play the same game. In relation to these video games, social media and networking can be very helpful in many situations; for example, when someone wants to connect with family or friends, but also is a great outlet for news. I receive a lot of news regarding sports from social media. On important topics for people today, social media can be used to reach large audiences on topics such as suicide and sexual harassment, acting as a source to help draw the attention and inform society about the problems that we face today. The internet also opens a pathway for people looking for work; popular sites like LinkedIn.com and Indeed.com, which allow people to create accounts and find jobs to interview for that are filtered to their interests and professional fields. In a time when unemployment is such a politically sensitive topic, having an access point to all this information can only help. Although people may think only of the consequences and downsides of social networking and video games, it is important to know the positive impact and benefits it has.

When it comes to an addiction to social networking or video games, the interconnectedness of our society today can pose a threat to social interaction down the road. I have experienced both forms of these problems, but I was able to break the cycle and am now writing to make sure that people are aware of the threat these things pose. It is not just enough to identify the symptoms or outcomes of these addictions because they can have some very serious consequences down the line, but when identified early enough, people can break the cycle and not experience certain problems when they get older.

 

 

Works Cited

El-Khoury, Joseph, et al. “Characteristics of Social Media ‘Detoxification’ in University Students.” Libyan Journal of Medicine, vol. 16, no. 1, Dec. 2021, pp. 1–7. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1080/19932820.2020.1846861.

“The Good Things about Video Games.” MediaSmarts, 19 Aug. 2014, https://mediasmarts.ca/video-games/good-things-about-video-games.

Higuera, Valencia. “Social Anxiety Disorder: Causes, Symptoms & Diagnosis.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 3 Sept. 2018, https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety/social-phobia#:~:text=Social%20anxiety%20disorder%2C%20sometimes%20referred,judged%20or%20scrutinized%20by%20others.

Video Game Addiction. “Social Consequences of Gaming Addiction.” Video Game Addiction, Video Game Addiction, 8 Sept. 2021, https://www.video-game-addiction.org/social-consequences.html.