Introduction
Social networking has become the in- thing nowadays, with most of the world’s population indulging themselves in activities that encompass the use of the Internet for entertainment, and communication with their friends and relatives around the world. The most common types of social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, and other blogging sites. A large number of the young people are also becoming fans of the internet downloading media from YouTube, and engaging in multimedia conversations platforms such as My Space, Skype. This is because it offers an easy solution to overcoming one’s shortcomings, whatever they may be; physical, psychological, medical, or emotional. A number of free online games are available too on these meeting sites, for instances, games on Facebook. Participants are required to log onto these websites and try the free software for evaluation. These games are quite attractive in their presentation. The developers make their interfaces seem so easy that one simply finds them irresistible, as much as they may fear being distracted him from their research. These games provide a necessary break from the tedious formal operations on the website. Such games are usually interesting, but addictive (Castronova, 2006). Together with the huge development of the Internet, these online games could link up those like minded people, but it could also be destructive to the society, it is thus essential to find out the actual value over the society of such an interesting online gaming.
Positive impacts of the use of Internet on gaming
The internet can be used as a source of information for educative purposes, while at the same time it can cause leakage of highly secretive information. We find online games on the internet where they are free for download and provide an interesting distraction for people who can access the internet. Here are a few positive attributes of such online games.
- Though online games are considered unhealthy resolutions to leisure activities, they can greatly lower stress levels in physically impaired people.
- They can be used to carry out survey on a section of the public that accesses the internet.
- They can be used in sample form to advertise a company’s IT products, especially games and software products from developers.
- Such games when placed on a busy page, can provide a means of relaxation for the reader or visitor of the page.
- They can act as a forum for user communication and learning if used with creative intent like a bakery enquiry or coffee shop.
- Games and computer simulations – Games can be played on the internet over some form of bandwidth connectivity. Similarly, one can find games on a server in some domain found on the internet. People usually connect their gaming or computer devices to the internet to start a challenge match with an opponent on a console. Such games that require a computerized interface are known as computer games. Online games differ from these ones in that while the computer game is computer-reliant, the online game is internet-reliant. Therefore, one can only play if there is internet accessibility. Some come in form of real life simulations that one can indulge in. An example of such a game is a flight simulation program used for educative purposes by aviation colleges. Another example is a driving simulation, in which one controls the movement of the virtual vehicle with an imitation of a steering wheel while controlling the acceleration and braking using brake pad and gas pad imitations that are placed below the fake steering wheel.
Since the discovery of the internet, companies and big organizations have used animated cartoons to advertise their products. The internet was initially used mainly as a media, but it has recently evolved into a global source of information where almost the most frequently visited sites are information and news sites. The internet offers online gaming experiences with dialogue information retrieval services, and at times one can even use the internet for wrongful communication purposes. There are organizations that govern the use of the internet for useful dispatch of information to internet users worldwide. Studies and reports show that communication over the internet has shot up since the late nineteenth century as it is readily available in almost all forms of telephone operator utility services, making it possible to access the internet in phones and laptops in moving vehicles, or at the comfort of their homes. The sale and purchase of items and commodity over the internet has enabled people to reach far beyond borders and across continents, to acquire trade on things that are only located in foreign places. Technology is considered autonomous since it is self-developing; we do not create it, therefore, it is not a product of society. It instead shapes society, and regenerates in the hands of researchers and users, rather than its founders. The vast and widespread knowledge of how to achieve a certain task can be uploaded from any point with the access of a connected computer device. Such information can be downloaded at any point on the universe at any time, thus creating an uncontrollable media service, since info is sent via packets of data that replicate thousands of times depending on how many users need to access the data (Ferguson, 2006).
The negative impacts of online gaming and the internet on society
Doubtlessly, those online games might be very interesting as well as exciting; however, there are also some side effects from these gaming. Social problems have been created in some countries, for instance, as most of the online games require the player to spend extensive time to level up their character or weapons, there have been news in Hong Kong reporting that the online gamers have been ripped off by paying huge amount of money in buying some weapons used or leveled up characters in those online games. Moreover, due to the structure of these online games, players would have been easily addicted to the game, and the youths who are potentially the main users of these online gaming, the invention of these interesting online gaming has greatly impacted these youngsters in the areas of their studies, as well as their own development since they would have spent too much time on these gaming in order to level up their characters as well as the vast exposure to the violence. As a result, they would have less time spent on their parents, friends, or exercises. In a long run, they would eventually become hard to get involved in the real life and would have addicted to the virtual gaming life which makes them hard to communicate, as well as get along with the others. (Squidoo, n.d.)
In the field of media study, we can appreciate that it is difficult to isolate effect from cause; therefore, we can recognize and appreciate social changes caused by internet use in today’s society. Thorsten Veblen was a sociologist and an economist in the early 20th century in America he postulated the idea of technological determinism, where he suggested that the technological advances we make will eventually alter the way we think and behave in society. His idea was put to context with the invention of the internet, where mankind was noted to have changed his attention span and concentration levels (Jordan, 2008). Veblen saw technology not as an activity that mankind engages in, but as the main driving force of his usual activities. To an extent, he was right in that, every utility that man invents incorporates new technology, and the ease with which man can operate or control situations is gradually accelerated by the amount of technology he can apply to the activity. Therefore, mankind continually seeks to accomplish new inventions, and eliminates old habits that involved him in manual operations. Continuously seeking to make devices and machines more automated, so that they can come close to having a will of their own. Looking at the internet, man has devised yet another great invention, that he has called the sixth sense technology. This is a small device worn around the neck, like a pendant, dangling in front of its user. The miniature device can detect the hands’ motion, and interpret it into a command as would be intended by the user (Jordan, 2008) if his hands were entirely remote control devices. For instance, taking a snap with the device dangling on the chest, would require one to stretch his hands forward in the direction of the object he intends to take a picture of, and make a view-finder simulation with the hands by holding the index finger and thumb at right angles to each other on each hand. This, if correctly done; with each index finger’s tip on each hand touching the tip of the other hand’s thumb, is interpreted as a command, and the sixth sense device respond in kind. This technology requires only the motion of the fingers to search items through search engines, copy image from another computer’s interface, type, browse and dial numbers on the personal phone book. On can even book events online, while the icons float around as objects in front of the user. This new form of technology (Micro Readers, 2009) may, soon replace the use of mobile phones, as we see it today. The ultimate effect on the society would be enormous. Some negative effects like less concentration levels or comprehension would be apparent, with easy completion of tasks involving knowledge research. The society would become entirely internet-reliant, as a result, there are less actual interactions between mankind and would lead to the inability of communication between each other. www.networkconference.netstudies.org
