The clicks and booms students hear coming from adjacent dorm rooms and apartments at all hours aren't the sounds of a pen-wielding student on the brink of a psychotic episode after remembering that they have a major exam the next day. Rather, it's one of many students diligently embroiled in a fierce battle to achieve rock stardom glory in Guitar Hero III.
While a 1,000-note streak in Guitar Hero is impressive, a greater achievement is found when a self-proclaimed rock star knows how to strike a balance between work and play so that their academic performance goes unharmed. This feat is rare for students addicted to video gaming.
According to the National College Health Assessment conducted by UB during Spring 2007, 18 percent of a 2,000-student sample responded that Internet use or computer games negatively affect their individual academic performance.
"College students are at a higher risk of becoming addicted to video games due to increased access to the Internet and unrestricted free time," said Marla McBride, assistant director of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction for Wellness Education Services.
Addiction can be defined as having an uncontrollable urge to do a particular behavior, accompanied by a loss of control and continued use, despite personal and social consequences, McBride said.
"Based on the literature I've read, there is still controversy as to the element of addictiveness in video gaming," McBride said. "It appears to me that there would be a lack of physical addiction and more of a focus on the psychological motivations behind excessive online game use."
Like video gaming itself, the science involved in researching gaming addiction is still young, with very little known about the psychological and physical addictive components of video game use, according to McBride.
In 1998, 58 percent of students were found to have suffered from poor study habits, low grades, or have failed in school due to excessive Internet use, according to research done by internationally recognized psychologist Dr. Kimberly Young.
According to Young, possible triggers of gaming addiction include free and unlimited Internet access, huge blocks of unstructured time, newly experienced freedom from parental control, and no monitoring or censoring, as well as full encouragement from schools to use technology that can ultimately be abused.
Excessive video game use could possibly obstruct the pursuit of academic excellence as well as decrease motivation for students, according to Young.
"There was one time [I was playing] Halo 3 where I skipped class, but that was it," said Robert Schenkel, a sophomore undecided major. "If you give into the game, you dumb yourself down, but if you know how to control yourself, you'll be okay."
According to Schenkel, who on average plays about 4-5 hours on the weekdays and around 6-7 hours a day on the weekend, gaming serves as both a social networking skill and stress reducer.
"I play [video games] with friends to relieve stress, primarily academic stress," Schenkel said. "I almost had a 3.0 GPA playing video games and doing work this semester, so it's fair to say I know how to balance my time."
Michael Lamb, a junior undecided major, believes there is such a thing as video gaming addiction, which includes certain risks for the addicted.
"Excessive gaming, similar to alcohol or drugs, can hinder academic performance if there is no clear distinction between time to work and play," Lamb said. "I feel anything that can be used as an escape from outside stressors can be cause for addiction."
Whether video gaming has physically or mentally addictive components is still up for debate. However, in regards to the use of video games, potentially addictive agents such as drugs could share a similar purpose for means of recreational use or coping, according to McBride.
"You can compare [gaming] to the need of escapism," McBride said. "I would compare gaming more to gambling than substance abuse. There's reinforcement through intermittent rewards and an element of competition between players."
Some video gaming can have physical consequences on those who abuse them. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, gaming, and in particular, using a Nintendo Wii, can lead to actual physical pain and sore muscles. The physical symptoms caused by overuse have been given the names "Nintendinitis" and "Wiiitis." A combination of excess playing and gamers who are out of shape are believed to be the cause for such injuries.
Coupled with the possibility of physical pain comes the more realistic threats of loss of motivation and sleep deprivation due to excessive gaming and other things that prevent a student from effectively finishing their work, according to Lamb.
Lamb has experienced some of these physical and psychological effects, but does not attribute them to excessive time spend behind a controller.
"I have an inconsistent sleep rhythm, but I don't attribute it to gaming," Lamb said. "Sometimes I want to watch Star Trek and don't want to go to sleep."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
