The use of gadgets in this modern era certainly has many benefits for humankind's daily lives, one of which is that they are a means of entertainment for those who are looking for refreshment from their routine activities. This is no exception for students, especially at SMAKBo, whose daily routines are quite heavy. So, not a few of them choose to play mobile or even computer games as a stress reliever, such as Mobile Legends, PUBG, Free Fire, Fortnite, DoTA, Warcraft, League of Legends, Arena of Valor, Counter-Strike, Valorant, and so on. However, what are the possible impacts of online games on students?
As with many other things, this issue has some positive impacts while there are still many possible side effects that may tend to be negative. First of all, as mentioned before, playing online games could be the most chosen and easiest way to get entertainment for mind refreshment. But remember, if we overuse our time playing online games, it will give rise to an addictive nature which will ultimately have other bad impacts, such as ignoring obligations that should be carried out.
Second, playing online games can be an alternative way to train brain skills because there are so many varieties of strategy or survival games that can increase our ability in critical thinking, planning, and decision-making. Of course, this will be achieved with treatment within reasonable limits. It is different if you are addicted, then this will be inversely proportional and trigger various health problems, such as brain, muscle, and circulatory system disorders. For example, as reported in the Kompas.com article published on 10/19/2019, 3 students in Semarang City are addicted to playing online games so they need to be related to a therapy process at a hospital.
Third, playing online games can also be used as an opportunity and means to increase and expand relationships both with people you already know and those you have just met on the Internet. Establishing relationships with fellow players on the Internet will improve several social abilities indirectly, including organizing plans, leading groups, and working together in a team or individually. However, once again, if the condition has reached the level of addiction, then this activity will bring negative side effects which are quite disturbing and worrying, including from the psychological and social side of the students. One of the impacts is gaming disorder, which is a condition where a person is unable to control gaming activities and ignores other activities such as eating or resting. This gaming disorder can also lead to the possibility of other more severe mental disorders, such as depression, reduced social skills, social phobia, mood disorders, hallucinations, aggression (hostile attitude), and neuroticism (negative emotional experience and emotional instability).
Fourth, playing online games could be a potential career. Based on the report that was published by We Are Social, Indonesia is a country with the third largest number of video game players in the world with 94.5% of Internet users aged 16-64 years using various kinds of devices, and 68.1% of them using smartphones. This data is in line with the rapid growth of esports communities in Indonesia, especially after the official sport of e-sports at the 18th Asian Games. These communities are certainly a fresh start for those who make esports their passion because of course they have various kinds of regulations that nurture online game players in Indonesia, some of which are Aura E-Sports, and Onic E-Sports. On the other side, if you are someone who has the ambition to be part of a community or even become an online gaming athlete and participate as a representative of Indonesia in the world arena, then you must be willing to sacrifice more time, energy, thoughts, and wealth than you should. Meanwhile, as a student, the obligation to study is enough to take up time for some people. It is not uncommon to use all means to achieve these desires, whether through right or wrong methods, such as corruption, collusion, nepotism, or stealing other people’s property. For example, there is a case that went viral in Indonesia several years ago where a child took more than 10 million rupiah from his parents by taking access to his visual account. Apart from that, there are quite a few people who stop in the middle of their journey and end up experiencing a future crisis because of the immature decision they have taken.
In the end, playing online games could be teenagers’ favorite thing, especially for students, to refresh and entertain themselves from daily routine activities, like school, doing tasks, or maybe taking courses outside of school. There is nothing wrong with seeking entertainment in the form of playing with gadgets as long as we are not distracted from our priorities that must be carried out at that time and also must be able to manage our own daily time in studying as a student, living a social life, as well as looking for entertainment itself.
Sources :
https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2022/02/16/jumlah-gamers-indonesia-terbanyak-ketiga-di-dunia
https://regional.kompas.com/read/2019/10/19/13403171/3-anak-di-semarang-alami-gangguan-jiwa-akibat-kecanduan-game-online
https://psikologi.uma.ac.id/dampak-negatif-game-online-terhadap-kesehatan-mental-remaja/