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:
- Griffiths MD. A ‘components’ model of addiction within a biopsychosocial framework. J Subst Use. 2005; 10:191–197. doi: 10.1080/14659890500114359. [Cross Ref]
- Griffiths MD. Fruit machine gambling: the importance of structural characteristics. J Gambl Stud. 1993; 9:101–120. Doi: 10.1007/BF01014863. [Cross Ref]
- Griffiths MD. Gambling technologies: prospects for problem gambling. J Gambling Stud. 1999; 15:265–283. Doi: 10.1023/A: 1023053630588. [PubMed] [Cross Ref]
- Griffiths MD, Parke J. The environmental psychology of gambling. In: Reith G, editor. Gambling: who wins? Who loses? New York: Prometheus Books; 2003. pp. 277–292.
- Parke J, Griffiths MD. The psychology of the fruit machine: the role of structural characteristics (revisited) Int J Ment Health Addict. 2006; 4:151–179. Doi: 10.1007/s11469-006-9014-z. [Cross Ref]
- "Blue Whale: consigli". Commissariatodips.it. 22 May 2017. Archived from the original on 25 May 2017
- "Blue Whale a Ravenna, salvata 14enne". Ansa. 28 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2017-06-02
