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18INTERNET GAMING AND ADDICTION IN NEPAL Usha Kiran Subba
Professor, Department of Psychology and Philosophy of Tribhuvan University, President of the Nepal Psychological Society, Kathmandu, Nepal; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The Internet is now an integral and inescapable part of many people's daily lives; they turn to it to send messages, read news, conduct business and much more. Recent scientific reports, however, have begun to focus on the preoccupation some people develop with certain aspects of the internet, particularly online games. The "gamers" play compulsively, excluding other interests, and their persistent and recurrent online activity results in clinically significant impairment or distress. People with this condition endanger their academic/professional functioning due to the amount of time they spend playing. They experience symptoms of withdrawal when kept from gaming. In late 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that in the upcoming edition (11th Revision) of the International Classification of Diseases* (ICD), gaming disorder would be identified as a new disorder. Gaming prompts a neurological response that influences feelings of pleasure and reward, and the result, in the extreme, is manifested as addictive behavior. Further research will determine if the same patterns of excessive online gaming are detected using the proposed criteria. At this time, the criteria for this condition are limited to internet gaming and do not include general use of the Internet, online gambling, or social media. Whether internet gaming should be classified as an addiction/mental disorder is the subject of much debate and a growing body of research.
Keywords: Internet, gaming, gaming disorder
DOI:
ASSOCIATION BETWEEN COMPUTER ACTIVITY AND FEATURES OF PLAY IN PRESCHOOLERS: THE
RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
Olga Salomatova
Junior research fellow of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood, , Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia; e-mail:
Olga Rubtsova
Head of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research of Contemporary Childhood, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Moscow, Russia; e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: The current social situation has caused qualitative changes in the play activity of preschoolers. Contemporary children spend less time involved in free play, and developed forms of role play are rather seldom found . These trends are associated with the emergence of global informatization and digitalization. Many scholars argue that a new cultural and historical type of childhood - "digital childhood" - has developed. The current study focuses on identifying specific traits of play activity in children with high levels of screen time. Research methods include the "Method of diagnostics of role-playing games" by E.O. Smirnova, I.A. Ryabkova and "Diagnostics of the development of playing skills" by R.R. Kalinina, as well as a questionnaire elaborated by the authors to evaluate different aspects of children's interaction with digital content. The empirical study was conducted from December 2019 to January 2021.13 children between 4 and 6 years of age participated in the longitudinal study. The analysis of the collected data showed that the level of computer activity was associated with characteristics of play activity such as subject substitution; interaction, organizing the game; plot elaboration; role behavior; play actions; the use of attributes and implementation of rules. The more time the child spent interacting with gadgets, the lower the indicated characteristics of play. The results
