Online computer games addiction

Online computer games addiction

One of the adverse effects of computer technologies on society is addiction. Computer addiction bears various negative impacts on an individual. Core among them is social withdrawal. Addicted computer users tend to withdraw more from family and friends as they spend more time behind computers (Boyle et al. 2011). Relationships diminish as addicted users minimize their involvement in social gatherings as well as avoiding meetings with families and friends to get more interactive time with computers.

Online computer games are among the growing factors leading to computer addiction. The Asian nations, Korea and China have seen occurrences whereby someone has died due to playing computer games for a prolonged period extending up to forty-eight hours or more.  In 2007, a Chinese national died at an internet cafe following a three-day-long period of playing the computer game binge (Boyle et al. 2011). Resultantly, China, as well as other Asian countries, are enacting stringent policies that regulate its citizens while accessing these computer games and internet cafes. Also, high computer addiction levels have been realized to ripple through an individual’s life. Users who use computers late at night or at work are found to underperform at their roles as it affects their productivity. In worse cases, it results in failed marriages if the addiction .is high among family members.

Computers also contribute to environmental pollution. Producing computer hardware as well as the cleaning components for these technologies is a hazard to the environment and the community around it. Computer technologies bear heavy metals such as lead and various poisonous chemicals that contaminate the soil and pollute groundwater when these technologies are discarded in landfills (Robinson, 2009). Resultantly, people are vulnerable to these toxic pollutants as runoff from the landfills poisons water used for various purposes, including drinking.

Also, electronic waste, including these computer technologies, is usually shipped to developing regions and dumped in landfills, whereby the less-privileged extract valuable material from the waste (Robinson, 2009). Burning the substances is the common technique they use to get the valuables, which emit poisonous smoke resultantly polluting the air and causes health hazards.

Increased long term use of computers both at home and at work leads to developing various health issues. Most people working behind computer screens are reporting high levels of repetitive strain injuries such as muscular stress and strain and ocular distress. Discomfort levels increase as the amount of computer use increases. One of the health concerns of the increased use of computers is vision problems. Using computers leads to users’ vision deteriorating, a condition referred to as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) (Robinson, 2009). Computer screen glare, minimized levels of the contrast of text to the background as well as letters appearing less sharp and unclear as print media stress the eyes leading to CVS. Some of the signs and symptoms of a computer user experiencing CVS are, blurred vision, eye strain, headaches as well as dry eyes. In addition, using computers for long periods of time results in various physical health concerns.  Such users report headaches as well as wrist pains and discomfort in the necks and arms.  The reason for experiencing such pains arises from these users’ fixed position and posture while using a computer keyboard for prolonged periods. They also lead to muscle pain arising from fatigue.

Also, various computer components expose users to radiation that can result in adverse health implications. Some computers contain Cathode Ray Tube monitors, which release X-ray radiations impacting users’ health (Robinson, 2009). Exposure to such radiations leads to tumors, cancer, insomnia, and headaches, and sometimes birth defects and miscarriage for pregnant women. Even for recent computer technologies that meet radiation limits outlined by regulatory bodies, they still release small quantities of radiation.

References

Boyle, E., Connolly, T. M., & Hainey, T. (2011). The role of psychology in understanding the impact of computer games. Entertainment Computing, 2(2), 69-74.

Robinson, B. H. (2009). E-waste: an assessment of global production and environmental impacts. Science of the total environment, 408(2), 183-191.