Josh McAdoo

Final Entry.

McAdoo — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:56:14 +0000

The semester has come to an end and the research projects are due. Everyone, enjoy your breaks because in January we’ll get ready to do it all over again. I hope my project has been of interest to a few people and believe me, this class was a blast. Signing out for the last time, Josh McAdoo

Writing a Research Paper..

McAdoo — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:50:49 +0000

As the semester comes closer to the end I have begun the final preparation and writing of my research paper. As the writing process begins I have come to realize my notes are unorganized and a little broad. In these last two weeks I plan on bringing this project to a close and take these notes and ideas and organize them into a research paper. I have been excited about my topic the entire semester and am even more excited about finishing the project!

When Play Turns To Trouble….

McAdoo — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 04:44:27 +0000

The video game industry continues to expand at a rate so quick that 9 video games are sold every second. With the amount of games being sold continuing to increase the amount of gamers goes up as well. Stanford University conducted a study in February on video game addiction and the results showed the areas of the brain that are responsible for generating feelings of addiction are present while the subjects played video games. Iowa University’s media research lab has also performed studies on the subject and have reported results that almost 9 percent of kids from the ages of 8-18 can be considered pathologically addicted to video games. These numbers, although fairly new research, give insight on the increasing harm gaming may have on younger children.

Annotated Bibliography For Portfolio

McAdoo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:44:54 +0000

Joshua McAdoo

Writing 3020

Kit McChesney

October 6, 2009

Annotated Bibliography

Brockmeyer, Jeanne. “The development of the game engagement questionnaire.” Journal of Experimental social psychology 45.4 (2009): 624-634. Web. 7 Oct 2009. >.

The article above contains two scientific studies used to measure the amount that violent video games affect the mental make up and violence of young teens playing these games. From a mental standpoint this is a huge issue with video game addiction because if this is true then addicts are adapting to the worlds in the video games and taking the characteristics from the game and using them in real life. Such examples of this are games like grand theft auto where murder is a large part of the game (as well as many other crimes). This article seems as though it will be useful for my research because the survey will explain certain aspects of addiction that may be mentally unhealthy.

Carbonell, Xavier, Elena Guardiola, Marta Beranuy, and Ana Belles. ” A bibliometric analysis            of the scientific literature on Internet, video games, and cell phone addiction..”            Journal of the Medical Library Association 97.2 (2009): 102-107. Web. 1 Oct 2009.            .

The article above seems as though it will be helpful to my research because it is simply a bibliographic analysis of all the articles published in the field of my research in the last five years. Within this article there are lists of many scholarly sources and articles that may be helpful in my research. The articles that were focused on were Internet, video games, and cell phone addiction. As I refine my thesis to focus more on the mental risks that can occur from gaming addiction these articles will come in handy.

Hart, Gordon, Bryan Johnson, and Brian Stamm. ” Effects of Video Games on Adolescents and            Adults..” Cyber Psychology and Behavior 12.1 (2009): 63-65. Web. 6 Oct 2009.            .

In this article the research compares the internet addiction in the United States to that of Spain in children and adults. The article goes in detail on how these addictions are affecting jobs, relationships, and school for young adults. This study used a survey taken by many Americans as well as Spaniards and reported the results of online addiction and its affect on life. This article will be helpful because its research used results from actual addicts and the mental risks that can form when internet gaming addiction is prevelant.

Young, Kimberly. ” Understanding Online Gaming Addiction and Treatment Issues for            Adolescents..” American Journal of Family Therapy 37.5 (2009): 355-372. Web. 5 Oct            2009. .

In this article Kimberly Young looks at the rapid growing addiction to online video games, most notably MMORPGS (Massive multi-user online role playing games). Just as any other addictions children and young adults show the same sort of signs as any other addict, lying about their addiction, becoming obsessed with their games, and losing interest in other aspects of life. These mental instabilities can affect young children and their development. This paper also explains the difficulty of classifying online addicts because the internet is such a frequently used tool nowadays. This article is helpful to my research because it assesses many mental risks that are dealt with while being addicted to the internet.

“Video Game Addiction.” Science Teacher 74.2 (2007): 20-22. Web. 7 Oct 2009.            Bibliography

Psychologists at the University of Rochester performed a study in which they look for the rooted psychological reasons for video game addiction. They surveyed many video game players and questioned them on the reasons why they play video games. They continue to explain the mental reasons for game addiction and how these can be connected from a psychological stand point. This article is important because it once again covers the mental risks and rewards that video game addicts go through on a daily basis.

Portfolio Reflection

McAdoo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:42:24 +0000

As i reflect on my research up to this point, I have re defined what I want to focus on a few times and have come back to the idea of studying video game addiction and how harmful gaming is to the human brain. With all the signs of addiction present (such as loss of interest in other activities, or lying about the amount a person is gaming), I will first define what happens mentally when someone is addicted, and then from there connect all the signs of addiction to this new world of online gaming. From there I will classify some different types of gaming, and how dangerous each can be to the adolescent brain. By defining the dangerous aspects of addiction one can understand why people believe gaming is becoming so dangerous. On the other hand, I will look into the positive brain stimulation that comes from gaming and why these gamers continue to power on the consoles and computers day after day.

I have learned so far that individual research on a broad topic is not only time-consuming, but difficult in the sense that there is an enormous amount of information to filter through. As i continue my research I have found it helpful to stick to online databases for my material because their search engines create more detailed results than when I was filtering through the books assigned for the class. Some strategies I have come up with as I continue my research is to spend more time analyzing and understanding articles that are completely relevant, rather than broadly analyzing a number of articles. By focusing my time on a few key articles the information is easier to understand, and will help me create a more narrow thesis. I have found that my strengths so far in this research have come because I have a general background understanding of gaming, since I myself play video games, and I have used this understanding to decipher articles that will be helpful to my overall project. As the project continues though I still need to continue to grow as a researcher when it comes to locating the articles that will be most helpful in my research. Although I stated above that I enjoy using the databases the most for research, the books should be just as helpful, but I have not been able to look through a book and locate specific information that will aid in my research. The next month is the critical time period for this research project in terms of gathering all the notes and being able to focus them all into a research paper.

Where Will Gaming Take Us?

McAdoo — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:40:10 +0000

With the world of gaming expanding at an exponential rate, its danger among young adults is apparent. Now as we move forward we must wonder where this world of gaming will take our younger generations. The idea of gaming and brain stimulation is one that shows it can be classified as an addiction.. Soon kids across the globe will be generally categorized as addicted to gaming because they play too many hours a week. It sounds scary but our love of putting a label on almost everything is apparent in this world. Will this trend slow down or has gaming just reaching the surface of its full potential?

Understanding Online Gaming Addiction

McAdoo — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:17:28 +0000

Online gaming addiction usually occurs with games known as MMORPG’S or Massive Muti-user Online Role-Playing Games. This type of game ( such as world of warcraft shown above) is an online virtual world in which many people across the globe log on to one server and interact with one another and play as an avatar, or character created for online gaming. In these online games humans use their created character to interact in the world that has been created. In world of warcraft humans take a role of a fantasy avatar, such as an elf or dwarf and work together to defeat evil monsters, complete quests , and build their characters stats. In these online worlds the gaming possibilities become almost endless because the interaction with other humans adds for unpredicted outcomes for gameplay every time the user signs on. Some problems in a person’s life that are associated with internet role playing games are characterized just as any other addiction. The gamers develop feelings of withdrawal from their real life, a loss of purpose in their real life, they begin to lie about the amount they game, and overall use gaming as an escape from real life. The scariest part of internet gaming addiction is some players begin to replace their real life with their online life. In 2006, in the Netherlands, the first detox center for gaming opened. With almost 90% of adolescents playing video games today, almost 15% are likely to be addicted to a point that will impact their actual life……

Gaming to the Extreme…Almost Unbelievable

McAdoo — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:01:31 +0000

As I research the risks that are associated with online gaming addiction, and video game addiction in general I came across a startling fact that I did not think was possible. In 2005 a South Korean man was found dead in an internet cafe. The man had been playing an online computer game known as “Starcraft,” which is a science fantasy style game in which people compete while creating small civilizations and battling each other until only one civilization remains. The man had been playing the game for fifty plus hours as the report’s state. His heart failed most likely due to exhaustion and the man had not eaten or slept during his gaming. This was the first case ever recorded that associated death and gaming. The fact that death can even be discussed with gaming proves the point that internet gaming addiction should be taken serious.

Project Update: Video Game Addiction and Mental health risks

McAdoo — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:31:05 +0000

As i continue my research on video game addiction it seems as though video game addiction can be just as serious as many other classified addictions. With the rapid expanding world of video games, gameplay times on new games are reaching far greater levels than anything before and this is causing longer hours of gameplay. With new features such as xbox live gamers are able to connect almost 24/7 to a network of other gamers and play for endless hours. Online gaming faces the same problems because the internet never turns off and gaming never stops no matter what the hour. As my research continues I will look into the ideas of how this gaming addiction is affecting other social aspects of adolescent lives as well as the brain itself. Gaming may seem as though it is a harmless pass time but when the facts are presented, will this still be true?…

SECOND LIFE..BEGINNING

McAdoo — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:02:06 +0000

My virtual life is about to begin…..

I just recently decided to indulge myself in the online phenomena of second life. This in depth online gaming experience is sure to give me some serious topics to write about. Although I’ve heard of the game before, I havent really been introduced to its actual gaming features.Tonight I’m planning to take my first steps into this virtual world. Updates on how my character is doing will be posted on this site as well as any interesting features i stumble across.