Concepts and Theories of Supply, Demand and Price

Concepts and Theories of Supply, Demand and Price Economics Coursework Paper Introduction This essay looks at the fundamental elements of economics. Economics covers the area of human activity that deals with how people provide for their material wellbeing. It looks at the complex sets of transactions that take place around the world every day. These transactions decide on the global allocation of raw materials and capital. It also looks at the decisions individuals make when they decide how to prioritise their needs and wants and how to spend their money. It can vary in scale from how one person or family will organise its activities to how nations and societies should or can be organised. Economics therefore deals with an enormous subject matter; it offers a way of understanding practically all human activity at any level of detail. The way in which it can do all this, and still remain united as a single science, is to adopt various principles which will apply to a school child buying his lunch, multinational companies merging on the stock market, or nations competing f or trade. In this paper I will look at some of these principles and how they relate to various examples.[1] Supply, Demand and Price You would be correct to assume that economics is interested in the price of things. While this is the main issue for most economic actors such as individual consumers, companies or countries, for economists, this is neither where the story begins nor ends. It is in fact just one of many details that will fit in to an overall economic picture. It is a well known fact that house prices usually rise. It is just as well known that computer prices keep falling. Economics explains these price movements by looking at and understanding their respective markets. The methods used to analyse a market are; understanding the motivations of the various participants in the market; the factors that control how much the consumers in the market wish to buy; the factors that control how much sellers wish to sell; how the price is set; and the institutional structures that also influence the price. When looking at markets in this way, the various actors in the market, or agents, are assumed to be rational, that is that they want to maximise their gains or get the best deal possible. This is known as ‘maximizing utility’ in economics. When speaking of demand, we are not concerned with how much of a product is actually bought, but of how much the consumers in the market would like to buy. The amount demanded is expressed as a flow, which means we look at how much of a product is demanded over a particular period, and at a particular price. For example, if milk costs  £1 per litre, there is a demand for 1 litre of milk per day, or 365 litres of milk per year. In basic demand theory, there are a number of factors that can go into increasing or decreasing the amount demanded. For example, if you advertise the health benefits of milk, the consumer may decide to drink more. Also if there was a shortage of orange juice, consumers might drink more milk to make up for the difficulty of getting orange juice. Making milk cheaper will also increase the demand for it. Therefore, demand is something that can altered and, to an extent, controlled by the seller. One of the key functions of economics is to narrow down and explain the various factors that will effect demand, supply and price. Economists wish to be able to measure exactly how these three variables will interact. If they can do this effectively, they will be able to manipulate the three so as to arrive at a level of supply, and a price, that will maximise the profit, or utility, for the producer. And the reason they can do this is because of the one certainty of economics, which is that the consumer will also be seeking to maximise his utility under the options available to him. Demand and Price While it may be impossible to know exactly when and how much a given consumer will feel like drinking with his breakfast each morning, there are things we can no. One of them is that, in general, the lower the price of a product, the more of that product will be demanded, assuming all other things remain equal. This principle is so dependable it is known as the law of demand. This is because all wants can be satisfied by a number of products. For example, if you are hungry at school, you will have a want, namely lunch. This want can be satisfied by a sandwich, an apple, a bag of crisps, a chocolate bar, etc. Even if you look at the sandwich, you can have ham, cheese, salad etc. The chocolate bar can be a Snickers, Mars, Twix etc. If you suddenly double the price of cheese sandwiches while everything else remains the same, the demand for cheese sandwiches will go down. Some people will still buy the same amount of cheese sandwiches, others will buy less cheese sandwiches and opt for o ther types of sandwiches or maybe and apple or chocolate bar, and some will completely stop buying cheese sandwiches. No one will buy more cheese sandwiches than they did before. Therefore, as price increases, demand will continue to decrease.[2] Economists can demonstrate this using a demand schedule. This shows the demand for a product at various prices. Example of a demand schedule The demand schedule will then be used to plot a graph, or demand curve. The price will appear on the Y-axis and the quantity demanded on the X-axis. This curve will show the complete relationship between demand and price. Example of a demand curve This above schedule and demand curve show how demand for milk will vary according to price. As the price increases from  £0.50 per litre to  £3.00 per litre, the consumer decreases the amount they drink each day from 1.4 litres to just 0.2 litres. This example shows a relatively simple relationship between price and demand. In real life, there are many more factors at work that will dictate the demand for a product. While price is certainly one very important variable, the demand will also depend on the price of other alternative products. So if the price of orange juice for example were suddenly to increase, you would probably notice an increase in demand for milk, even though the price of milk did not change. That is because orange juice is an alternative product to milk. Also, if consumers were to get richer, they would be willing to buy more milk, or pay more for the amount they wanted, and again this would have a significant effect on the demand curve. Similarly, if consumer’s tastes were to change this would effect the demand curve. So if the milk producer was to start advertising the health benefits of milk this might increase demand even though there was no change in price. In practice there are actually an infi nite number of variables that will effect the demand for a product, but this does not mean that the basic law will not always hold. No matter how attitudes to a product, for example milk, change over time, it will always be the case, according to the law of demand, that an increase in price will lead to a decrease in demand and vice versa. Supply Simply finding the demand curve for a product is however not enough. You might expect that it would make good business, as well as common sense, to decide your supply based on current market demand. If consumers want 1 litre of milk per day, and they are willing to pay  £1 per litre, and say there are 1,000 consumers in the market, then why not simply produce 1,000 litres of milk per day. Well first of all, we can see that this tells us nothing about the profits of the producer. If you found out milk costs  £1.50 a litre to produce, would you still recommend that the producer try to sell 1,000 litres at  £1 per litre? Obviously not, therefore our picture is incomplete as it takes no account yet of the suppliers side of the bargain. The economic hypothesis that explains supplier behaviour is that if all other things remain equal, the quantity that they are willing to produce is positively related to the product’s own price, or the higher the price, the more they are willing to produce. This is basically because increasing production costs money, and the more you increase production, the more it costs, so firms will only increase production for as long as the price they can get for the product justifies the increased cost of production. Just like when measuring demand, a supply schedule is used to compare different price levels with different levels of production. Example supply schedule The supply curve shows the different amounts the producer would be willing to supply at different prices. As can be seen, the supply increases as price increases. Example of a supply curve Using these two graphs, economists can find the most efficient price for milk in this market. For example, if milk was priced at  £0.50 per litre, consumers would be willing to drink 1.4 litres per day, but the producer would only be willing to supply 0.41 litres per day. Clearly there is waste at this price. Likewise, if the price was set at  £3.00 per litre, the producer would be happy to supply 4.66 litres to each consumer, however they would only be willing to buy 0.2 litres per day. So a balance must be found somewhere in between. To find this point, economists will plot both the supply and demand curves on the same graph and find the point at which they intersect. This is the most profitable and efficient level at which to set production and price. The graph below shows that in this market, the supply and demand curves intersect at the price of  £1 per litre of milk. This is therefore the level at which the price would settle under normal market conditions. Price Elasticity The value of being able to analyse markets in this way, and understand how the price will settle is not solely theoretical. Businesses want to use this information to maximise profits. Therefore, theories on how to manipulate the above graphs are extremely important. One aspect if this is known as price elasticity. This is the theory that will explain how changes in price affect the quantity demanded. In the above example, the consumers would be willing to drink 1.4 litres of milk per day if it cost  £0.50. Imagine if you could get the same consumers to continue demanding this quantity of milk at a cost of  £3.00 per litre. This would mean a huge difference in profits for the producer. While it may not be possible to affect this change, having a greater understanding of the demand curve will allow detection of greater profit potential. Likewise, if you identify the causes for supply variation with changes in price, you may be able to improve the efficiency of your own business an d move the point of intersection of supply and demand curves to a more profitable position. The change in demand with price is known as price elasticity of demand. The change in supply with price is known as price elasticity of supply. Elasticity cannot simply be judged by looking at the curves on graphs. This is because the shape of the curve depends as much on the scale of the graph as on the responsiveness of the demand or supply to changes in price. Therefore, elasticity is measured by a mathematical ratio. This is the percentage change in quantity demanded divided by the percentage change in price that caused it. If you get a value for price elasticity of demand of zero this means that the quantity demanded does not change at all as the price changes. Such products are known as perfectly inelastic. There are very few products that would give this result. Even products such as bail to get out of jail pending trial will depend on the consumers ability to pay, and taxes, which supposedly offer no choice to the consumer, are also somewhat elastic as tax evasion has been shown to increase as tax rates rise. If the value is a fraction, between zero and 1, the quantity demanded will change but at a lower rate than the price changes. This is known as inelasticity. So if you were to increase the cost of the good by 50%, demand would decrease, but by less than 50%. This is generally observed in products that are deemed vital or necessary to people, but which are supplied without much competition. It is most typical in monopolies. So for example, if there is only one electricity or phone company, an inc rease in prices will lead to less usage, but people cannot wholly stop using such goods and so the usage will only decrease by a small amount. Likewise, goods such as housing, basic foods, or fuel, even though there may be a variety of providers, will generally be of low elasticity because people are forced to buy a certain amount of these products no matter what the price may be. In these situations, it is common to find government regulation to guarantee fairness of the market. If the elasticity is 1, then the demand and supply change at the same rate as price. This is known as unit elasticity. An elastic good will be one where the value will be greater than one. This means that the quantity demanded will change by more than the price changes. So for example, if there were two identical farms selling identical apples, both located next to each other, and both sell apples for 10p each, you might expect that 50% of customers will go to each farm. However, if one of the farmers was t o increase his price to say 12p per apple, the vast majority of customers will now go to the other farmer. He will lose more than 20% of his customers for a 20% rise in price. This is most likely in markets of high competition. If the value for elasticity is infinity, then the product is perfectly elastic. There is only one acceptable price. Purchasers will buy everything you have at one price, but if you increase it by even the tiniest fraction, they will buy none at all. This exists in theory, and in some highly automated and computerised financial markets. Computers will dictate prices according to precise calculations and then will not deviate from this. Market structures The above explanation for elasticity shows the nature, and ultimate difference in the characters of different markets. One way you can classify various markets is by the price elasticity they will give. It may seem surprising that the huge differences between the New York stock exchange and school children spending their pocket money in a sweet shop, or between modern capitalism, Soviet style communism, and primitive barter based trading systems comes down to the issue of price elasticity, but this is one way of classifying markets and judging the degree to which they are similar or dissimilar. A person shopping for bread in the old Soviet Union, and a person waiting to be granted bail by a judge may appear to be in very different circumstances, but according to this market view, their position economically is very similar, they will accept what they are told, with little regard to price. However, future’s traders in global financial centres, spending billions or ever trillion s of dollars every day, are revealed to have a lot in common with children in a sweet shop, weighing the various combinations of price and utility that different choices will provide them. They will ruthlessly abandon a product that doesn’t pull its weight on their cost/ utility calculation. Conclusion Using these few principles that lie at the foundation of economics, and a few simple examples, we can see how economic principles can explain a huge variety of social situations and human interactions. This is why economics claims to be able to offer an understanding of all human activity and why some criticise its growing influence as painting a false or inappropriate picture of humanity. While economic principles can be applied to children making friends, people acting with kindness or religions offering comfort and guidance, the question is not whether economics can provide answers, but whether the answers it provides are appropriate. Bibliography Lipsey Chrystal, Economics, 10th ed. 2004, Oxford University Press Grant, Stanlake’s Introductory Economics, 7th ed. 2003, Longman Footnotes [1] Lipsey Crystal, p. 40 [2] Grant, p. 77

The Golden Apples Essay -- Literary Analysis, Welty

In Eudora Welty’s novel, The Golden Apples, the author presents a combination of short stories to give the readers an insight into the intricacies of human relationships. In doing so, in â€Å"June Recital,† Welty utilizes the separation technique, once again, to give multiple perspectives depending on the different time periods and characters. Moreover, by implementing the textual structure and significance of the MacLain house from the â€Å"Shower of Gold,† the two stories, although separate, have a strong bond and share similar significance to one another. As a result, with dense and detailed descriptions and vernacular languages, Welty succeeds in providing the reader with a three-dimensional analysis of the events which occur in the â€Å"June Recital.† The separation of the story into four sections and the utilization of line-breaks within each section contribute to the whole story such that it provides different perspective and the combination whi ch leads to ultimate understanding. In â€Å"Shower of Gold,† a preceding story of â€Å"June Recital† in The Golden Apples, the narrator provides the background of Snowdie and King MacLain, and the incidents behind the MacLain house in Morgana, Mississippi. The house has gloomy background, as Snowdie MacLain has been left alone by King MacLain. Snowdie, therefore, was the talk of the town. As a result, the house has been the background for sorrow and loneliness in the past. Furthermore, the house was devoid of love and departures and arrivals were common. All of the above features and past histories of the MacLain house was passed on to Ms. Eckhart when she rented the house for her living and piano lessoning purposes. It is significant to recognize how although the two stories are separate in terms of... ...assie, is the grand finale of â€Å"June Recital.† As Loch â€Å"dreamed close to the surface, and his dreams were filled with color and a fury that the daytime that summer never held† and Cassie â€Å"says aloud, ‘Because a fire was in my head’† (97). These two are important to recognize as Welty combines the two perspectives to create a perfect description and portrayal. In conclusion, in â€Å"June Recital,† Welty successfully brings upon the themes of the past, social codes, and prejudice. The separation of stories in The Golden Apple, the separation of sections in â€Å"June recital,† the separation by the line-breaks, and the separation of perspective and narrative may lead to a haste conclusion that the story overall portrays separation. However, by introducing the two supplement and counterpart perspectives, Welty successfully combines the story to bring about a unified message.

The Once And Future King - Mig Essay -- essays research papers

The Once and Future King The legend of King Arthur is a tale as timeless as any other found in literature today. Introduced to us by Sir Thomas Malory during the fifteenth century in Morte d' Arthur, it was the first complete tale of Arthur's life. Countless portrayals followed for any reader interested in the tale of the boy who was destined to become King. The Once and Future King by T.H. White is certainly the most popular representation of the immortal legend of King Arthur. It is similar to the tales woven before it but White gives new meanings and modernization to the traditional story through his unique perspectives and writing. White takes the reader on a journey in the past enriched by the knowledge of the future. Most importantly, White's notion that society cannot be governed by might alone is a prevalent theme throughout the work. He expresses the ideals of 'might vs. right'; as it relates to a world much like our world today. He clearly understands that 'might'; rules the actions of individuals, but 'right'; is the ideal that we seek to obtain. As we often find, the former prevails. The novel is divided into four sections that represent periods of time in Arthur's life. The novel begins with The Sword in the Stone, the tale of Arthur's childhood. At this time, he is not referred to as Arthur but Wart. His foster brother gave him this name and it was his childhood nemesis. Early in the book, Wart finds Merlyn who becomes his tutor. One of the earliest indicatio...

Imperialism :: essays research papers

Imperialism Imperialism is the domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region in order to increase its own wealth and power. Imperialism during the period following the Age of Exploration, when European countries acquired colonies to support mercantilism, can be called â€Å"old imperialism.† In the nineteenth century, a new era of imperialism began, this time spurred on by the Industrial Revolution. Some reasons for imperialism were political, economic, and social. These are some political reasons. Feelings of nationalism itensified throughout Europe during the nineteenth century. Nationalism in the extreme promotes the idea of national superiority. Industrialized countries therefore felt they had the right to take control of weaker areas. Countries also tried to increase their power through the control of more land and people. Economic causes also led to imperialism. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, countries needed colonies for Raw materials to feed the ever- increasing number of factories, Markets for finished products, places to invest surplus capital, and places to send surplus population. And social causes also led to imperialism. Many people believed the word of Rudyard Kipling, who said it was the white mans burden to educate the people of the underdeveloped world, spread the customs of what they perceived was a superior western culture, and to convert people to Christianity, since it was believed that the souls of the non- believers would not be saved. The new era of imperialism brought about important and farreaching effects. Through the creation of global empires, the imperial powers helped spread the Industrial Revolution and the capitalist system around the world. Christianity, western European languages, and Imperialism benefited underdeveloped regions through improved transportation, education, and medical care. Imperialism also had its negative side. It undermined native cultures and exploited people and resources in underdeveloped lands. Eventually, colonial nationalist movements developed to end imperial control.

Adaptation Evaluation Essay

Tom Bombadil: Add sense of mysteriousness. Boromir’s confession: Proud, arrogant warrior The â€Å"Spirit† of LOTR: Was it kept? Improvements. A new power has arisen. All must unite or fall divided. This is the story of the Lord of the Rings. The ring of power, forged in secret by the dark Lord Sauron contained all of the might, malice and power of the Dark Lord. Its wearer would be invisible and almost invincible, but it would corrupt the heart of anyone who wore it. Lord of the Rings is a typical good vs. evil story. This time, however, good is losing badly. The Dark Lord’s forces will soon overcome all of Middle Earth, but there is one glint of hope for the forces of Good. Because the Dark Lord Sauron made the ring of power, his life is bound to it. If Good can prevent defeat for long enough so that the ring can be destroyed, Sauron shall be overcome. However, the ring of power can only be destroyed where it was made – deep in Sauron’s realm. This means that hope is in speed and secrecy, not force. A fellowship of the ring is formed and the quest is begun. The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the ring is the first part of the trilogy, which shows how the fellowship evades the servants of the Dark Lord and how the fellowship eventually breaks. A mighty warrior, Boromir is a member of the fellowship. He is lured by the temptation of power and tries to steal the ring. He does not fully understand that the ring corrupts any wearer. He is then asked by other members of the fellowship as to whether he has done anything, but he refuses doing anything wrong due to his arrogance. In the film, the plot is changed so that Boromir does try to take the ring, but he confesses everything. This was a major change as Boromir is meant to be a proud and arrogant human – the author J. R. R. Tolkien always shows most humans as easily corrupted. A large omission was Tom Bombadil. He was a â€Å"father of the forest† type man who has powers of song and looks after the ring bearer. Tolkien added him to add a sense of mysteriousness to Lord of the Rings – nobody knew who he was or where he came from. This was missed out in the film. Characters like him really did help the spirit of Lord of the Rings. Form one point of view; the film did not keep the spirit of Lord of the Rings at all. Parts were missed out and some of the film seemed like a traditional Good vs. Bad film – the beauty of Tolkien was that he took well known types of book and added a slight change, but meant that the whole plot would be different. For example, in the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins goes on a quest to retrieve dwarven treasure. However, he does not want to go and as a result ends up doing a better job of getting the treasure than if he had wanted the treasure. This is the reason why keeping the spirit of Lord of the Rings is so important, Lord of the Rings is unique. However, the film of Lord of the Rings has kept a large part of the spirit. It swings my emotions better than the book did and each character looked almost exactly as I imagined them to be. Because films need a great plot to be good, the director (Peter Jackson) has taken the good parts and made them great – he has really concentrated on the right parts. The film however was a bit too different from the book at times and too close at others. For example, there is an â€Å"I’m dead, oh no I’m not† scene part which was fine in the book, but should have been changed in the film. Another change that should have taken place was the fact that elves are shown as a dying any fading race in the Lord of the Rings film. In the book, elves couldn’t die and the elves simply were leaving the land, not dying out. This was probably shown to make humans seem better. In conclusion, the Lord of the Rings film made great use of an excellent plot and unusual story. I think that the film was very good, but there was a small amount of room for improvement.

?Chemical Medications or Natural Healing

?Chemical Medications or Natural Healing Many times when people get sick they go to the doctor to be diagnosed, then they make their way to the pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions the doctors say you need to cure the problem. What if the prescription is wrong? But is there a better solution? Natural healing is much better than any chemical medication the doctor prescribes to you because they are natural and more effective. Many prescriptions are easy to overdose on, and usually end in death or serious health problems. Overdosing on NSAIDs also can damage kidneys† says transplant pharmacist McDevitt, a clinical specialist in organ transplantation at Tufts Medical Center. Prescriptions aren’t the only drug that people can overdose on. It is very common for people to overdose on over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol, Aleve, and ibuprofen. â€Å"People play loose and free with Benadryl,† says Ausim Azizi, chair of the department of neurology at Temple University Sc hool of Medicine. â€Å"There are a lot of side effects.One is loss of memory in the imediant period after taking it, and disorientation in older people. † Experts are trying to get the manufacturers to make it harder for people to overdose, but what if they got rid of all the chemical ingredients and replaced them with natural herbs and plants? Without the chemicals made in medications, then people wouldn’t have to worry about overdosing and cause damage to their body. Chemical medications have very serious side effects that can cause death in extreme cases.Many people just ignore these serious effects because they think they have no other choice. Chemical medicines do work, but natural medications work better and longer. â€Å"The best thing is to find the best medicine that will be fast and effective. And in the health market out there, there are tons of medicines that will promise to do that, yet at the same time, the small print tells us to beware of the side eff ects. This little warning is one that we often ignore. Yet at the same time it is important to acknowledge its existence so that we do not end up making ourselves sicker.Natural health medicine has the benefits in that it is one of the few medicines that have little or no side effects. The only side effect that it might have is if you are allergic to a certain ingredient and you didn’t know it. † [Crosshealth, Emmanuel Aubrey] Approximately 25% of the prescription drugs sold in the United States are plant based. These medications are better for the body but not as good as the all natural medicine. When the chemicals are added to the pills, they cancel out the healing powers of the plant.Natural medications actually heal the sickness and infection, instead of just covering up the symptoms. Chemical medications are made to cover up the symptoms so people can go on with their days without having to suffer with misery of the illness. â€Å"Conventional medicine focuses on symptoms and uses ‘drugs’ (man made synthetics) to ‘suppress,’ (NOT heal) those symptoms. Natural health and alternative medicine focuses on the ‘causes’ and getting to the ‘root cause,’ which always improves your overall health.This is the right way of curing health problems, instead of just ‘masking’ it. † [Jonathan Benson] Natural healing does take longer than the quick chemicals, but they heal thoroughly and have a no chance of making someone sicker or killing. Doctors say that natural cures are dangerous and a misuse of public money. They call it encouraged quackery. Professor Marcello Costa of Flinders University said: â€Å"It is disturbing to see a centre of learning†¦ perpetuating health practices based on beliefs in principles that are totally unscientific. Doctors are wrong about natural healing not being proven scientifically. The NCCAM (National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine) has proven and backed up many alternative treatments such as chiropractic and acupuncture practices. Natural healing should be the first thing given to a patient when they have been diagnosed by a doctor. Chemical medications have been known to be overdosed on, to have caused serious side effects, and have been known to not heal the problem but to just simply cover up the symptoms that let a person know something is wrong.

Computer Gaming Addiction Essay

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Computer Gaming Addiction is a modern problem in maritime high school students nowadays. It is a challenging part to the teachers to let students stay focused in their everyday lessons. It greatly affects the mental health of every student who is involved in this kind of activity. Computer Gaming Addiction by nature is the irresistible addiction and abusive use of computer for gaming purposes and sometimes even resulting to harmful effects to the part of the user. The person who is involved in this kind of activity can’t control the urge in playing computer games. By being addicted to computer games is like being addicted to drugs, alcohol, or gambling which resulted in academic failure. Apparently, computer gaming addiction has spread throughout the world, including Philippines. Several cases of computer gaming addiction were already recorded in the country and most of the addicted individuals, sadly, comes mostly from the high school category and usually are subjected to academic failure and cutting of classes. Sometimes, gaming addicts even go to as far as spending all their allowance just to satisfy their desire in playing computer games. It is a demanding part for the teachers and mostly to the parents of the student who is engaged in this kind of activity because they are doing their best in letting their child walk in the right path, but it is somewhat sad to note, that this addiction is disturbing millions of Filipinos and their families in every feature of their life. The main areas affected include school, family and relationships. Definition of terms Computer -is a programmable machine designed to   automatically carry out a sequence of   arithmetic or logical operations. The   particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to   solve more than one kind of problem. Gaming -is the practice of playing computer games or   role playing games. The act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning. Addiction -has been defined as physical and/or Psychological dependence on psychoactive substances which cross the blood-brain barrier once ingested, temporarily altering the chemical milieu of the brain. Addiction can also be viewed as a continued involvement with a substance or activity despite the negative consequences associated with it. Maritime, relating to the sea, shipping, sailing in ships   or living and working at sea. High School – is the upper secondary school. Students – are someone who studies at a school, college or in a university. Social isolation is the act of withdrawing from society in   general. There is usually not much interaction with other people, illnesses and phobias are major factors in social isolation. Social Isolation can contribute toward many emotional, behavioral and physical disorders including: heightened anxiety, panic attacks, eating disorders, addictions, substance abuse, violent behavior and overall disease. Habit -is an action or pattern of behavior that is repeated so often that it becomes typical of somebody, although he or she may be unaware of it. Family, basic social group united through bonds of kinship or marriage, present in all societies. Ideally, the family provides its members with protection, companionship, security, and socialization. The structure of the family and the needs that the family fulfills vary from society to society. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE COMPUTER GAMING ADDICTION Computer game addiction is a worrying aspect of the modern-day technologically able youth. Many children spend hours a day on computers, so much so that computers have become a primary source of entertainment for them, as well as a convenient baby-sitter. Many young people suffering from shyness also risk becoming addicted to computers. Success with computers provides them with the self-confidence they lack in their personal lives. Shy youngsters who take refuge in the computer may fail to learn and practice important social skills needed later in life. If history is an accurate gauge, computer games will continue to follow societal trends in the 21st century. One dominant theme in the modern world is the rapid spread of technology, which is having a great impact on children’s toys and computer games. The great strides in computer chip technology over the last several decades have made electronic games and toys more powerful and affordable every year. These famous computer games are not only popular with children but also with millions of teenagers and adults, which greatly increases their reach and overall popularity. Total annual sales of home video game systems—such as Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox—and related software passed $10 billion in the first few years of the 21st century in the United States, and the industry continues to expand. At the same time, some child-development experts and parents fear that the long hours spent playing video and computer games can hamper children’s social skills, discourage more imaginative play, and—in the case of more explicit games—promote violence. The Effects of Computer Games Addiction Putting the Real World Aside Computer games addiction has no physical component or objective diagnosis, but many of the consequences are similar to alcoholism or drug addiction. Some addicts allow jobs, relationships and academic careers to languish or collapse in order to spend more time playing their favorite games. Gamers who become entrenched in excessive daily gaming routines can find it difficult to make room for much else in life. Social Isolation Computer games addicts tend to isolate themselves from normal, face-to-face human contact. Some of the most addictive games are found online, where the player competes and cooperate with others around the world. These online relationships online can eventually crowd out more intimate, real-life ones. The Financial Drain The sheer amount of time many addicts spend playing—100 hours a week or more, in some cases—inevitably leads to decreased job or academic performance. Late nights and days spent obsessing over the game make the addict unable to perform as well as he would be able to otherwise. Some gamers spend real money on virtual products to make their characters more powerful or distinctive, reducing the money available for necessities. Impact on Family Aside from academic obligations, children and young people have relatively few responsibilities to shirk by playing games. When an adult with dependents becomes addicted to computer games, however, the addiction can shatter a family. Game obsession takes away from time spent with family, which can lead to neglect of children and weakening of marriage bonds. Habits Computer games addiction describes an ingrained set of habits rather than a true addiction. It can be concomitant with depression or mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. Therapy, treatment programs and/or medication for the underlying disorder can be helpful. The earlier treatment is sought, the greater the chance it will be successful. ADVANTAGES Computer game playing may have several advantages. Proficiency in video games can develop the self-esteem of the player. It can develop eye-hand coordination, and can have other educational features. More sophisticated games can help players to develop other skills, and recent developments have built in aspects of physical exercise — although this may have limited appeal to gamers. The reality of popular culture is that we are more and more dependent on technology. A generation ago, computers were complicated and difficult to use, but modern computers are more user-friendly, and are relatively easy and enjoyable for the majority of people to use. Video games allow people to have positive experiences of using computers that can provide transferable skills for using computers for a variety of purposes. Bearing in mind the potential positive effects of video game playing, to label the activity an addiction without sufficient evidence and interpretive guidelines about what constitutes addiction could deter many children and their parents who could possibly benefit from video games. There is wide variation in video games, and although some appear to have harmful effects, particularly through the promotion of violence and other anti-social behaviors, this is a function of the content of specific games, rather than a characteristic of video games. Video games as a medium have equal potential to develop positive social skills, or to provide benign forms of entertainment — although these may not be as easily marketable to kids. Concern to Computer Addicts It’s a tough habit to kick. It’s not like you can just stop using the computer altogether. You need it for school and to stay in touch with your friends. If you’re a gamer, most of your friends may also be gamers, meaning that you would not have anyone to hang out with if you stopped playing completely. One of the primary concerns with violence in video games is that gaming is not passive. In order to play and win, the player has to be the aggressor. Rather than watching violence, as he might do on television, he’s committing the violent acts. Most researchers acknowledge that this kind of active participation affects a person’s thought patterns, at least in the short term. REFERENCES Encarta Dictionaries Microsoft Student with Encarta Premium 2008 DVD http://www.ehow.com/about_5377629_effects-computer-games-addiction.html http://addictions.about.com/od/videogameaddiction/i/is_gaming_addiction_real_2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_social_isolation http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gaming http://www.video-game-addiction.org |