Addiction vs. distraction

These days, many smartphone users in Korea are busy playing Anipang, a cyber game on Kakao Talk.

In a crowded subway train, teenagers are absorbed in whipping their fingers to match three of the same animals in a row, a completely different scene from subway trains in countries in the West where many passengers on board read books or newspapers.

Truly, the game is so interesting that nearly half of all smartphone users are said to play it every day.

However, in the course of being obsessed with the game, people are unconsciously being exposed to dangers related to it and several side effects are emerging.

Those problems are so widespread and detrimental to both players and non-players that without urgent preventive measures they could cause serious negative effects on our society.

According to Sundaytoz, the maker of Anipang, the game has been downloaded more than 20 million times and around 10 million people are playing it daily. This survey represents how many people are addicted to the game.

Then, what makes it so addictive? One reason is that people can only play it for one minute at a time. They say that as they can’t play it for as long as they want, they want to play it more.

Competition to record a high score is another factor. As scores are instantly shown to everyone on their Kakao Talk contact list who play the game, people try their best to raise their tally. In this process, they become addicted to the game in spite of themselves.

“People are sensitive to figures, so the score really arouses competition. Almost everyone around me has got into it. My children, husband, and brother play the game too,” said a teacher at our school.

As far as health is concerned, the excessive absorption in the game is said to hurt people’s eyes. While staring at the screen, their eyes do not blink much, which causes tension in eye muscles. If this lasts for a long time, it could damage their eyesight.

What’s worse is that even non-players can be harassed by the frequent calls for a ‘heart,’ a type of cyber currency needed for the game.

As they only can play the game six times in a row, thoughtless players send text messages to others asking for hearts, which sometimes bothers those who are not interested in the game.

I think we need to take drastic action before these problems become serious.

In this sense, my opinion is that we should ban the use of smartphones at school because most teenagers, me included, are not mature enough to restrain ourselves from such an addictive game.

Another possible step is campaigning against its harmful effects. The campaign could involve an essay or art contest concerning the negativity of Anipang.

I think enjoying games is good as a distraction from complex activities. But excessive engagement could cause more harm than good. So we need to play discreetly in order not to be enslaved by it.

In this good season for reading, why don’t you put aside your smartphone and pick up a book instead?

The writer is a second-year student at Gimhae Girls’ High School. She can be reached at hcho110@naver.com. <The Korea Times/Park Eun-hee>