Week 5 – Writing Session (Tutorials)
Today was mostly focused on finishing building the structure for our essays and starting to write a paragraph, as well as doing some research.
I think writing it down by hand (even though it’s a tablet) helps me remember and think about what I want to write. The pdf is a bit confusing but the main idea for the structure is this: Present the concern/issue; give examples of how it has happened or may happen; propose a solution; counterargument (because my goal is not to discourage VR but to help it evolve correctly).
Also, I was quite shocked when I found a study that basically summarised many of the things I wanted to address in my essay. This paper covers the psychological, cognitive and physical effects of VRTs on minors. I focused more on the psychocognitive effects that include circadian rhythm disruption; difficulty in distinguishing what is real and what isn’t; addiction and isolation. The physical effects may also be a good extra argument to make, but I don’t want to deviate too much from the actual theme since I only have 1500 words to write.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-021-00563-w#ref-CR11
The study’s arguments are very balanced and take into account the need for more research into this field. However, it also supports its ideas based on previous experiences with other types of hardware and software, which is a valid approach since there is much yet to learn from VR itself.
Essay Entry 2 – Research and Writing
I have been trying to write my essay and it has turned out to be way more complicated than I previously imagined. I already have one paragraph that I wrote during class, and I think the way I connected the ideas makes sense. However, I am having trouble doing the same thing for the other 2 paragraphs/points I want to make.
The first one is regarding addiction and I don’t know how to start the paragraph… Do I talk about games? But then how do I move from that to VR and then addiction? It’s really complicated! Same thing with social media and VR. I feel like I start going on a tangent bout social media and end up not being able to connect it to my actual argument.
On top of that, I feel like I’ve gone through tens of papers and haven’t actually gotten anything out of them, since I can’t connect my ideas…
Update: I kind of had an epiphany at 4 am yesterday (or today…). But basically, I found a way to connect the arguments I want to make. I just had to write it down to make sure I don’t forget it… It might be a bit confusing but I’ll upload my notes anyway.
Essay Entry 3 – Writing and Paper Analysis
I am feeling much more confident about my essay right now. I already have a well-defined structure.
Note: I decided to change the connection I was going to make between Games, VR and addiction. Instead, I will compare VR to other gadgets, such as smartphones, as it is a broader argument and it makes more sense. Addiction to technology nowadays is visible in countless technologies, not just gaming. Also, the connection is much easier to make this way.
Structure:
- Intro – do later
- Argument 1 – As with many techs. nowadays, VR can too become a source of addiction for children due to their vulnerability (EXAMPLE); Consequences: addiction a disruption in sleep patterns, f.e. (EXAMPLE); Solution: Involve the parents and design (EXAMPLE); Counterargument: can still be used in moderation and for education(EXAMPLE).
- Argument 2 – VR is becoming more realistic, making it hard for children to distinguish what is real and what isn’t (EXAMPLE); Consequences: confusion and improper responses to real-life situations (EXAMPLE); Solution: education and keeping adults nearby (EXAMPLE); Counterargument: such approaches have shown positive results in children, but it needs more research. Still can be good if done correctly (EXAMPLE).
- Argument 3 – VR is now part of social media too. But it’s not properly regulated, therefore there are risks of sexual abuse and trauma caused by it. (EXAMPLE) Consequences: impact on physical and mental health, and trauma (EXAMPLE); Solution: create regulations and bring people responsible for the attacks to justice(EXAMPLE) Counterargument: If tackled correctly, it can enrich our social lives and change the way we collaborate (EXAMPLE).
- Conclusion – do later
Papers and studies analysis:
I will not analyse in depth every single paper/website/article I used/ am using for this essay, but I will mention them all and explain the most relevant ones. Note: One of them was mentioned already in one of the posts.
Firstly, I had to find a credible source of information that gave me a standardised definition of what a child was. For this, I used the definition established by the UN website. Very straightforward.
https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/youth
To establish the link between technology and addiction, I used a paper published in 2018 that looked into the use of mobile technologies across different generations and the consequences it may have on their physical and psychological well-being. It stated that Younger generations (Y) are more prone to develop addiction and psychological effects of overuse. To accomplish this, it conducted a study with multiple individuals of different ages and genders.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41347-017-0041-3
To illustrate one of the consequences of addiction, I compared the lack of natural sunlight in HMD to the same phenomenon in casinos and how it affected their circadian rhythms. I’m using a study that looked at this tendency, and the ways this has changed by actually finding proof that daylight is a better way to keep gamblers engaged. This only further demonstrates the truth in my argument. Natural light is crucial for human beings and it helps us maintain a healthy circadian rhythm.
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/20425941211223633/full/html
The next paper analysis technology addiction and children and strongly recommends involving parents and education in setting boundaries and encouraging educational approaches to deal with these kinds of problems. I used this study as one of the examples I suggested as a solution for the first paragraph. Although the study seems a bit biased, it still presents some solid arguments and logic that needs to be considered in today’s world.
https://repozytorium.ur.edu.pl/handle/item/4963
This journal tackled several problems to do with VRTs and backed them with data acquired from ethical experimentation and other papers as well. It was overall very useful to reflect on my ideas and further develop my argument. However, I’m only using its content in my essay to exemplify one of the solutions for addiction in VR environments.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frobt.2016.00003/full
The following journal analysis the use of educational games to improve and enrich the educational experience for students. I’m using it to counterargue my point about addiction, to say that it isn’t all negative and that it can actually have very positive results, as this study has found.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563217306143?via%3Dihub
For my second argument regarding the confusion between reality and VR, I’m using an experiment example illustrated in this study. It illustrates how a real-life situation simulated in VR can have damaging effects on a child’s perception and response to danger. And even though it’s from 2006, it has been cited in multiple recent studies and is still used as a credible source of information.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-006-0042-6
I used this paper as a way to counterargument my point regarding the lost sense of reality in children caused by VR. It illustrates the benefits it may have for children with ASD as well as helping them learn pedestrian skills. To accomplish this, the researchers went through many trials with participants to better understand the benefits and how their research can be taken further.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40617-019-00401-1
This newspaper article was very useful to illustrate the type of situation a child can encounter themselves in. Factual and straightforward, it gave the exact type of risk I had previously familiarised myself with. And despite people thinking that news outlets are biased and spread misinformation, we are looking at a situation that doesn’t rely on biases. It uses investigation and proof to show the public what we have to look out for.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60415317
I used this website to illustrate the consequences of sexual abuse in children. It is a national reliable source that pointed out very clearly, the effects these terrible acts can have on their physical and psychological development.
https://www.nctsn.org/what-is-child-trauma/trauma-types/sexual-abuse/effects
I briefly mention the Oculus/Meta company in my essay. I merely intended to expose their statement that their VR technologies are intended for people 13 years of age and older. Which in this case, works against them.
https://www.oculus.com/safety-center/?locale=en_GB
This last study examines social multi-user experiences in VR and looks at various ways that make virtual interaction a reality, as well as demonstrations and experiments that demonstrate its performance and the respective results, which require improvement. They list the benefits of such implementation, backing them up with data and experiments conducted by the authors.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3204949.3208115
Update: I have finally finished my first draft of this essay. I feel like there is a lot of stuff I can still perfect but I’ll be doing that slowly in the next coming weeks. Right now I think it’d be wise to get some feedback.
Essay Entry 4 – Writing and Strategies
Today I spent a few hours perfecting my essay, by reviewing everything and putting it in Harvard reference style. I found a few websites that were extremely useful! I will share them here, in case anyone wants to use them.
“Cite this for me” and “bibguru” are websites that automatically create the Harvard-style bibliography by inserting DOIs and links (or manually).
“Cite them right” is very useful to make sure the citations are correct and make small changes in case the previously mentioned websites omit information. Same thing with “bcu”.
Finally, “check plagiarism” sounds quite obvious. It gives the user the percentage of plagiarised content. It might not be completely accurate but it gave me a somewhat close number to what Turnitin will give me (hopefully…).
https:// instatext.io –> the link wasn’t working so I had to add a space in between.
https://www.citethemrightonline.com/
https://www.check-plagiarism.com/
https://www.bcu.ac.uk/library/services-and-support/referencing/harvard/in-text-citations
https://www.citethisforme.com/
Final Essay – Blog Version
Since I couldn’t add titles to the paragraphs in my final version, I will upload it here. Same thing for the Harvard referencing style. I couldn’t add the page numbers due to the current Harvard referencing guidelines. But I will add them to this version. Note: Some sources do not have pages, therefore I couldn’t add them.