Video Game Addiction

The article:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/03/health/webmd/main1773956.shtml

My thoughts:

This article discusses video game addiction and the fact that it is as serious as other forms of addiction such as alcohol addiction and drug addiction. Although the article mainly discusses video game addiction in the US, it is also rampant in other parts of the world, especially Singapore. Walking into a classroom in any Singaporean school during recess, one would easily be able to find students playing handphone games; this is but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to video game addiction.

The article goes on to define addiction as something that causes a person to "[need] more and more of a substance or behavior to keep him going" or something that causes a person to "[become] irritable and miserable" if he "does not get more of the substance or behavior". This shows that video game addiction, which can cause both of those things, is as serious as other forms of addiction. I strongly agree with this - video game addiction is not something that should be taken lightly or overlooked. If left unchecked, video game addiction can result in a great setback in terms of normal social development. Keith Bakker reinforces this point by saying, "You can get a 21-year-old with the emotional intelligence of a 12-year-old. He’s never learned to talk to girls. He’s never learned to play a sport".

Further on in the article, the author discusses the psychological factor of video game addiction. The player, who in real life is often very intelligent but not very social, often uses the video game as a form of escape from real life, as he can "become dominant in the game", as Kimberly Young says. In such cases, the player's parents should take him or her for psychiatric help, so as to prevent furhter addiction, and to help the player to become more social with his or her peers.

The article ends off by saying that video game players have to learn how to use computers responsibly, which means that they should not be playing computer games. Additionally, Bakker says that "the key... is to show gamers they are powerless over their addiction, and then teach them 'real-life excitement as opposed to online excitement'". I believe that this statement is quite valid, as when a gamer experiences real-life excitement, he may find that it is more exciting than online excitement, and take a turn for the better.

In conclusion, I think this article presents us with a very realistic situation - that we cannot treat video game addiciton as something less serious than other forms of addiction. We must combat this problem as soon as we detect it. If not, the gamer's future is bleak indeed.

Democracy

“Democracy creates stability in a society.”

“If liberty and equality, as is thought by some, are chiefly to be found in democracy, the will be best attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.”

-Aristotle

In my opinion, democracy does, to a certain extent, create stability in a society. However, we should first define the key terms in the statement, such as ‘democracy’, ‘stability’, and ‘society’. The word ‘democracy’ commonly refers to the indirect ruling of the country by the citizens. What this means is that the people of a country are the ones who vote for their leader, who makes most of the decisions in the country. It is a system where everyone is allowed to have their individual opinion, and one where the majority rules. ‘Stability’ can be defined as a state in which the society is in a relative state of peacefulness, with a low crime rate. Additionally, a stable society should be a conducive environment for people of all professions. Finally, ‘society’ can be defined as a group of people who live together and share a general identity.

Now that we have defined the key terms in the statement, we can begin to delve deeper into the topic itself. I believe that democracy does create stability in a society, as it allows each individual to have his or her say. Hence, it cannot be said that democracy is an unfair system of government. In fact, it is very fair, as everyone is given equal opportunities to voice their opinions. Democracy also creates a sense of stability because the elected leader often feels indebted to his voters, as if he feels responsible for their well-being. Hence, the leader will try harder to fulfill the citizens’ needs, bringing the society one step closer to stability. A good example of how democracy creates stability in a society can be seen in Switzerland. Switzerland utilizes direct democracy, in which all citizens who wish to participate have sovereignty. This form of democracy has reduced corruption rates in Switzerland, thereby creating more stability in the country.

On the other hand, it can also be said that democracy does not bring stability in a society. If the majority wins by a small percentile, then the losing party, which would be almost half of the voters, would feel compromised and would no longer support the government. This would create a divide between the two parties and weaken the government’s authority in the society. Another example of how democracy fails to create stability in a society is evident in societies where there is a majority and a minority. For example, in Sri Lanka, the different regions of the country mainly consisted of a Sinhalese majority. Hence, the Sinhalese majority took every opportunity to vote for something that worked against the Tamils. This is known as tyranny of the majority, in which the majority twists democracy to their own needs and uses it to discriminate the minority. Tyranny of the majority could lead to disastrous results, such as violent outbreaks between the two parties.

In conclusion, I believe that democracy does create stability in a society, as it empowers the common man to voice his opinions and take a stand. In cases when democracy is misused to disrupt stability, it is not because of democracy itself, but because of the people who are misusing it. Hence, I believe that democracy does create stability in a society.

Teenage Issues: Stress

The article I'm writing this post about can be found here:

http://panicdisorder.about.com/cs/youthanxiety/a/teenstress.htm

My thoughts:

The article states that the stress felt by many teenagers in the United States is caused by "overwhelming expectations by parents and society". This does not only hold true in the US - it is very evident in Singapore, the little red dot, especially in schools such as RI. For students in RI, the latter part of that statement is very important. Society often expects students from RI to be the best at everything, and when they are not, society leaps at the opportunity to take a swing at Singapore's premier secondary institution.

Parents often place importance on being an all-rounder: they want their children to excel academically, physically, and socially. This could cause the children to become confused and unsure of what they are supposed to achieve. Another possibility is that, in trying to accomplish all of their parents' goals, they neglect other aspects of their lives, which could cause them to miss valuable life experiences.

However, that is not all that the article encompasses. It also discusses how parents should help their teenagers. Some adults may not sympathize with teenagers when it comes to stress. After all, one has to learn how to deal with life's problems sometimes. Parents also commonly use the phrase "When I was your age, I ...". What these parents fail to realize is that times have definitely changed. In this modern day and context, teenagers have to deal with schoolwork, social life, puberty, technology, living up to expectations, and peer pressure. These are considerably more than the number of distractions that adults had in their day.

Unfortunately, this is the wrong way to deal with teenagers. Instead of giving them "tough love", adults should teach their children how to deal with stress, and perhaps, even share with them a personal experience or two. Such techniques create a bond between the adult and the teenager - they are able to relate to each other, as they face similar problems.

I believe that this is the correct way to deal with teenagers. If the parent does not make an effort to understand their child, it is difficult to construct that special bond. Hence, my final message is this: parents, please, please, try to understand your children, and the problems that they face, and guide them in this long journey - life.