College Students Lose Sleep & Grades Due To Distraction By Online Games

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Coming soon after recent studies found evidence of Facebook addiction in college students, a doctoral study by a graduate student in the US has found that students are missing classes and losing sleep on an alarming scale, due to addiction to the distraction of online games.

Sabrina Neu examined the relationship between demographic factors, social anxiety, proneness to distraction, grade point average and Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game playing. She found that 42% of student respondents had reported that the distraction of online gaming was interfering with their studies.

Virtual gaming, where participants take on an identity, has exploded in the past 10 years, particularly among 18 to 30 year olds who play it as a distraction from the real world. Online game subscriber numbers are in the millions and profits for game developers are in the billions of dollars," Neu said.

Neu suggested that unlimited internet access, unstructured time led to students being prone to distraction. She said that players ended up neglecting friends and family for the sake of online games. Applications such as iFreeFace can also be used to limit time spent on games, whilst also combating the effects of Facebook addiction.

Facebook Addiction: Top UK Students Increasingly Distracted

A survey has found that a large proportion of Britain’s top students are struggling to balance the distraction of social networking with their studies, and that some could even be battling Facebook addiction. This comes after a US university recently banned social networking from its campus in the first experiment of its kind.

42% of 200 university students surveyed at Cambridge, Oxford, Reading, LSE, UCL and Imperial reported that using the internet was often getting in the way of their studies. The survey was carried out by iFreeFace.com, which produces distraction-blocking software for students.

A lecturer in the Media and Communications Department at the LSE, Dr Ellen Helsper said “Studies on excessive use and social uses of the internet show that these young people constantly have to weigh the benefits against the disadvantages of being ‘wired’...it is likely that a healthy integration of technologies into everyday life will become more and more important for our social and mental health.”

Meanwhile, Harrisburg University in the US state of Pennsylvania has gone to the extent of banning Facebook from its campus for a trial week in what it calls an experiment on multi-tasking. The idea of the university’s provost, Eric Darr, was to undertake an experiment to find out what distracting impact social media and multitasking were having on college life.

Giovanni Acosta, 21, a student at Harrisburg, found the experiment surprisingly beneficial. "I had to log on to Facebook even though I knew it was blocked, and I did that every 10 minutes or so, again and again," he said. "But now the itch has gone. I've learnt how much I was being distracted."

The impact of social networking on students has led iFreeFace.com to develop a novel solution. The iFreeFace application enables students to set time limits on any computer-based distraction, including websites and games. iFreeFace is designed to help those who might otherwise suffer from Facebook addiction. This leads to improved concentration and focus when performing tasks such as online research and essay writing.

About iFreeFace

iFreeFace is a PC software that helps to overcome Facebook addiction and enables students to set daily time limits on social networking sites and games. iFreeFace is a trading name of Exceltasks Ltd, a British startup.

Survey Methodology

Survey was conducted via online questionnaires. Students at the specific universities were reached via Facebook advertisements. Those who clicked through from the advertisement to the survey were counted as respondents. Each respondent was asked three questions 1) Are you a full-time student? 2) At which university do you study? 3) Do you find that the internet gets in the way of your studies? (Answer options: a) No b) Yes, often c) Yes, occasionally

The proportion of students who find the internet distracting was calculated from the number of full-time students who answered b) or c) to question 3, divided by the total number of impressions of the survey.

Facebook Addiction: A Survivor's Tale

What I'm going to tell you about Facebook addiction

Facebook addiction had a big effect on my life, until I learned how to overcome it. I'm about to tell you how I battled Facebook addiction and managed to cure myself. If you are thinking about how to overcome Facebook addiction right now, then maybe this could help you as well.

Facebook addiction Took Me By Surprise

I joined Facebook quite late, when many people were already on the site. I quickly grew my account to hundreds of people from the past. With people requesting my friendship after seeing me online, I just felt I couldn't say no. And it was fun! I spent so much time catching up with people I hadn't been in contact with for years. It's unclear when this became a Facebook addiction.

When does using Facebook become an addiction?

Addiction is defined as a psychological dependency that continues despite having negative side-effects. I didn't think I had Facebook addiction at the time. I used to spend a few hours of free time easily on the site, using chat, playing games, and catching up with friends. But on the days that I didn't have time to use Facebook because of work, I found myself anxious; waiting to check what was going on. I felt so disconnected from everything. It was like life was happening elsewhere and if I wasn't on Facebook, then I was missing out. I guess it was at that point that you could say I had a Facebook addiction.

Part 2 now available. Check menu on the right.

Ten Ways To Overcome Facebook Addiction

A study by the University of Maryland has found that students cut off from the Internet for just 24 hours had symptoms similar to Facebook addiction. It seems we students cannot function without distraction, but could there be a more productive way?

Some students in the University Maryland experiment said that without the distracting effects of quasi Facebook addiction, text messages and videos, they spent more time on course work.

So here are ten tips to overcome Facebook addiction, get work done in the library and achieve your potential in your exams.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 1. Leave the phone at home.

Even this isn't enough. Some students in the University of Maryland study broke the media restrictions because they wanted to make sure 'nothing bad had happened' to their family and friends over the 24 hour period. So let your friends and family know that you'll be unavailable because you're in the library - perhaps by recording a voicemail message, or updating your Facebook status accordingly.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 2. Diversify your information diet. Slowly.

The shock of suddenly being cut off from the Internet and Facebook was too much for many students. “Although I started the day feeling good, I noticed my mood started to change around noon. I started to feel isolated and lonely." By slowly cutting your time spent online, you can make the process less traumatic. A tool like iFreeFace can help with this.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 3. Fill your ipod with lyric-free music that you don't like so much.

A key issue for many students was dealing with the silence that came from being without their media. “The hardest part of the 24 hours was not listening to music” said one student at Maryland. This could actually drive Facebook addiction - why? Because if you find yourself distracted when there's no music, then you're much more likely to log onto Facebook.

Some students need background music to study, but for others, it reduces productivity despite being addictive. You may find your mind wandering when listening to certain songs.

Try filling your iPod with lyric-free music such as classical. A great source for free classical music is the Isabella Gardner Museum Concert Podcasts. There are over 100 orchestral performances available to download free at http://www.gardnermuseum.org/music/podcast/archives.asp

The key is to find a piece of music that will not distract you but create whatever background 'noise' you need to concentrate.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 4. Update your Facebook to say you're studying.

This point has already been alluded to earlier, but dealing with Facebook addiction requires constant reinforcement. A student from Maryland commented “I knew that the hardest aspect of ridding myself of media though, would be not checking Facebook or my emails, so I went ahead and deactivated my Facebook account in advance. It’s pathetic to think that I knew I had to delete my Facebook in order to prevent myself from checking it for one day.”

If you find yourself in a similar position, then try reinforcing your resolve by updating your Facebook status to say that you're studying. This aligns your social networking profile with what you're trying to achieve, and makes you more willing to work consistently with your plan to study.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 5. Arrange to meet up with friends before hand, or study with friends at some point.

Students who went without media for 24 hours complained that they felt lonely and disconnected from the world around them. Setting up regular meeting times with friends, or having regular meeting places where you get together without caring so much about a set schedule, could help with going cold-turkey and overcoming Facebook addiction.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 6. Plan what you're going to do during the times you usually spend on Facebook or listening to music

Since social media is a part of our daily routines, students have times when they instinctively check the internet or email, or switch on the TV. This is a key part of Facebook addiction. If you're to go cold turkey successfully then you need to manage that time in advance. Find out what clubs and societies, or what other activities you can do during those times, and sign up.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 7. Leave just enough time to make essential calls, do research, and contact people.

It will take a while without media to reduce dependency on it. Meanwhile, there are family and friends to keep in contact with, and a social life to manage, so how can you do it?

If you've let family and friends know about your studying times as above, then they should be able to leave you to it as not many issues will require your intervention within say, a 12 to 24 hour period.

But to make sure to spend an efficient amount of time contacting people when you get to it, identify the times when you are least likely to be distracted and schedule your Internet, messaging and calling times for then. This could be half an hour before you go to lectures. Just make sure you have to be somewhere at the end of your allocated time.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 8. Write down your goals and carry them around with you

“I felt like a complete addict on withdrawal mode, once I gave in, I went all out and felt connected to the world again” - a student at the University of Maryland

It can seem almost like a sacrifice to cut out your media distractions even for only 24 hours, like the Maryland students in the study. To sustain your information diet, you need to remind yourself why you're doing it. Write down what you will gain from getting an extra few hours a day. And write down what you have not yet done, but might have done, if you had spent less time using media in the past. Then carry this in your pocket, and review every time you're tempted to use the computer or your mobile.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 9. Get some help.

No, not a psychiatrist. Just some useful online tools for managing time online. Applications like iFreeFace can be used to set daily time limits on any website, email, and games. iFreeFace is controlled by the user and doesn't send out data. It can also be set to give reminders only.

Overcoming Facebook Addiction Tip 10. Don't give up just because you fail a couple of times.

“I broke my streak by checking into ESPN.com. I couldn’t stand going an entire day without getting my sports fix.” - University of Maryland student

When we're constantly 'wired', it's going to be difficult to give up completely. There may be times when you just give in to distractions. But don't give up! Each day is a blank canvas, which you can start with the best intentions for your student career.

Students Show 'Signs Of Addiction' To Facebook

A recent study has found that students show signs of Facebook addiction and information addiction when cut off from the Internet, mobile telephones, newspapers and other distractions.

When 200 students at the University of Maryland went distraction-free for 24 hours, they were asked to blog about their experiences afterwards. They were not allowed to use the internet, mobile phones or other distracting media, but were allowed access to library books for the duration of the experiment. The findings were quite astounding.

The lack of distracting media had powerful effects. Some students reported symptoms similar to drug addicts in withdrawal. “I noticed physically, that I began to fidget", said one student. A number of students hallucinated that their mobile phones were in their pockets or were turned on, even when they weren’t.

One student stated “When sitting in the library reading my textbook, I actually did hear some vibrations in my head and would think my phone was vibrating next to me”. According to the researchers, the absence of information – the feeling of not being connected to the world – was among the things that caused the most anxiety in students. Could it be that students cannot function without distraction?

The apparent Facebook addiction was not without lofty explanations. "I find it [difficult] to fathom someone not being connected through media, because I know no other way,” one student wrote. “It’s funny,” wrote another, “but I realized we are a social species, and the use of media today helps us to establish a connection with one another.”

It seems that seeking distraction or even Facebook addiction could be an integral part of the student experience. A student admitted "I probably spend at least 1-2 hours on these sites alone BEFORE I even make it to attempting my homework and then continue checking these websites while doing my school work.”

Link to the ICMPA Study

http://withoutmedia.wordpress.com/

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