Effects of Psycho-driven games on mental health

Mental health affected by psycho-driving games

Written By: Pavithra Srinivasan

Similarities in Structural Characteristics of Gambling and Video Gaming

Today’s world is much affected by the psychological games that affect the mental health adversely. It is mandatory that we keep away from such games to avoid mental stress and eventually mental disorders. 

Much of the theoretical and empirical work on structural characteristics in video games has borrowed concepts and terminology from the gambling studies field. Work in the 1990s by Griffiths demonstrated that gambling activities vary considerably in terms of their structural characteristics, such as the probability of winning, the length of the interval between the wagering on an activity and the result of the wager (i.e., event frequency), the number of wagers that can be made at any one time, the size of stake, the size of the jackpot, and the use of the near wins. Structural variations have also been observed for specific forms of gambling such as slot machines where there are structural differences in terms of color, sound effects, and theme which can influence the attractiveness of the games being played. Applied to the playing of video games, structural features may have implications for gamers’ motivations and the potential “addictiveness” of gaming activities.

Compared to other areas such as those examining the psychological and biological underpinnings of problematic and addictive video game play, far less research has examined from a structural characteristic perspective. This is also mirrored in other similar areas (such as the research investigating problematic and addictive gambling) but even when compared to other similar areas, there is still far less empirical evidence in the gaming studies field.

Summary

Based on the small amount of empirical data, it appears that structural features that take a long time to achieve in-game are the ones most associated with problematic video game play (e.g., earning experience points, managing in-game resources, mastering the video game, getting 100% in-game). The study of video games from a structural characteristic perspective is of benefit to many different stakeholders including academic researchers, video game players, and video game designers, as well as those interested in prevention and policy making by making the games more socially responsible. It is important that researchers understand and recognize the psycho-social effects and impacts that the structural characteristics of video games can have on players, both positive and negative.

 

Examples

The Blue Whale Game (Russian: Синий кит, translit. Siniy kit), also known as "Blue Whale Challenge", is an Internet "game" that is claimed to exist in several countries. The game reportedly consists of a series of tasks assigned to players by administrators over a 50-day period, with the final challenge requiring the player to commit suicide. The term "Blue Whale" is said to come from the phenomenon of beached whales.

Blue Whale began in Russia in 2013 with "F57", one of the names of the so-called "death group" of the VKontakte social network. Philipp Budeikin, a former psychology student who was expelled from his university, claimed that he invented the game, stating his purpose was to 'cleanse' society by pushing to suicide those he deemed as having no value. 

In Russia in 2016, Blue Whale came into broader use among teenagers after a journalist brought attention to it through an article that linked many unrelated suicide victims to the Blue Whale, creating a wave of moral panic in Russia. Later, Budeikin was arrested and pled guilty to "inciting at least 16 teenage girls to commit suicide", leading to Russian suicide prevention legislation and renewed world-wide concern over the Blue Whale phenomenon.

'Blue Whale' is based on the relationship between the challengers (also called players or participants) and the administrators. It involves a series of duties given by the administrators that players must complete, usually one per day, some of which involve self-mutilation. Some tasks can be given in advance, while others can be passed on by the administrators on that day, the last task being suicide. 

The list of tasks, to be completed in 50 days, includes waking up at 4:20 A.M., climbing a crane, carving a specific phrase on the person’s own hand or arm, doing secret tasks, poking a needle to the arm or leg, standing on a bridge and roof, listening to music, and watching videos sent to the challengers by the administrator.

In Brazil, the game left victims in Mato Grosso, and in the cities of Uberlândia, Manhuaçu, Pará de Minas and Belo Horizonte, in Minas Gerais, as well as in Feira de Santana, Bahia. In Juazeiro, also in Bahia, a girl supposedly disappeared because of the game. In Rio de Janeiro, a mother managed to prevent the suicide of her daughter who played Blue Whale. In the state of Paraná, the game claimed another victim in Florestópolis. In Maceió, Deputy Pastor João Luiz (Christian Social Party) reported in the Legislative Assembly of Alagoas that his niece committed suicide under the influence of the game. 

In the Federal District, on 5 May 2017, four hearing impaired adolescents playing Blue Whale were prevented by the Military Police from committing suicide. In Estrela (Rio Grande do Sul) a mother prevented the suicide of her daughter, who played Blue Whale.

A 16-year-old boy from Kerala in Southern India was reported to have committed suicide on 26 July 2017, after playing the online Blue Whale game. Hailing from the city of Thiruvananthapuram, it was said he ended his life after allegedly completing the tasks of this deadly game, according to information provided by his mother to the media.

 

On 10 August 2017, a Class VII student in the city of Indore, State of Madhya Pradesh, was pulled away by a group of students, before he could take the final suicide leap, off the third floor of the Chamali Devi Public School. The boy apparently recorded the whole 50 stages of the game, in his school diary.

REFERENCES:

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