With gaming so readily available on the internet these days, people can play games with their “friends” via their online social networks, such as Facebook, or by creating a online profile on websites for Texas Hold ‘em Poker and play in “real-time” with other logged in players.
Some of these new casino style websites now allow their users to play for real money, opening the door to problem gambling into the home, workplace or on a commute to and from work or school. These sites should not be entered into lightly and you must be careful when entering your credit card details to such sites.
Also with the rise of casual and social gaming on the internet, employees who sit at an office desk that has a computer with access to the internet can be tempted to play their online social games instead of working. This can and will reduce the productivity levels within a business and could ultimately lead to a persons termination of employment. I worked in a workplace that heavily censored their internet access where you could not access websites that had descriptions with gaming and social networking to eliminate this from happened within their organisation. Though this led to more problems limiting research for the company and some employees were granted full access to the internet.
I have a flash back to an episode of “South Park: Make Love, Not Warcraft” where the boys were all addicted to World of Warcraft.
Here is a problem of online social gaming right there! People, young or old, lock themselves away in their houses and play World of Warcraft. I knew someone who would play for hours on end, have his room dark as night in the middle of the day and just play and play this game. This can lead to social impairment and be afraid to face the “real world” and live in their fantasy land they have created on their computer. He didn’t have a job or have the desire to go get one, and would rather stay at home and play his game than socialise with his “real” friends. With a lot of people there also becomes the problem of their health. They are either under nourished from lack of meal breaks, lack of vitamin D front the sun, or become obese because they eat and play computer games and never do any physical exercise. You really need to play these synchronous social games in moderation… a bit like alcohol really.
We would all remember the “Farmville” sensation on Facebook. I know that I was hooked on this asynchronous game. You get lost in building your fantasy farm, plant tomatoes, look after cows and make money off the land… It soon become something of a ritual to login everyday to tend to my Farmville farm. You would race with other friends who where playing the same game on Facebook to see who would get to the next level and be the “better farmer”. Potentially a time waster and great for people who wanted to procrastinate, but really is there a purpose in playing this game besides these 2 reasons? You would find yourself late at night harvesting your crop. Things we do to waste time.
So there are a few implications of online social gaming. It removes the need to have physical presence for people to socialise and play games together. It also can lead to problem gambling, unemployment or just not getting anything done. Players beware of the addictive nature of online gaming.REFERENCES:
“Make Love, Not Warcraft – Episode Guide – South Park Studios.” South Park Studios. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/1008>.
“FarmVille – Zynga.” FarmVille – Zynga. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.farmville.com/>.
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