International Journal of Advanced Computer Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, Pp. 72-76, Aug. 2011.

The Study of Behaviors and Effects of Internet Technology Focus on Online Game Exposure by Thai High School Students
Kuntida Thamwipat & Thanin Sawakejun
Manuscript
Received: 1, Sep., 2011 Revised:
12, Sep., 2011

Accepted:
12, Sep., 2011

Published:
15, Sep., 2011

Keywords
Behaviors, Effects, Internet Technology, Online Game Exposure, Thai High School Students

Abstract This research was aimed to study the behaviors and effects of internet technology focus on online game exposure by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province in southern of Thailand. The sampling group consisted of 387 persons according to Taro Yamanes formula using multistage sampling method. The questionnaire was used to collect the data. The study results revealed that as for the behaviors of online game exposure by Thai high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani Province, the majority of the sampling group was exposed to online games for less than 6 months (37.60 percent). Most of them were exposed to online games for less than 1 hour per day. The time when the sampling group was most exposed to online games was from 16.00 to 20.00. The majority of the sampling group spent on being exposed to online games for 51-100 Baht per week. Moreover, they spent on being exposed to entertainment. They preferred Audition Game the most (47.3 percent) . They preferred the type of sports games the most ( X = 3.53). Besides, the study of the effect of internet technology focus on online game exposure revealed that in overall the sampling group had little effect ( X = 2.55). The research results showed that the sampling group had health effect for the most part ( X = 3.02) followed by the effect on education ( X = 2.87) and the financial effect ( X = 2.53), respectively. There were suggestions by all relevant parties which were the legislative branches, educational institutions and family institutions to solve the problems of youngsters who were addicted to online game.

1. Introduction
At present, information technology and communication have played an important role in human life and have led to various changes in human society, education and economic
Kuntida Thamwipat, Department of Educational Communications and Technology, King Mongkuts University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand ( kuntida.tha@kmutt.ac.th) Thanin Sawakejun, Department of Graphics Design, Surat Media Ltd., Surat Thani, Thailand ( ninnin_07@hotmail.com)

development. In the era of internet which grows progressively. The internet system was developed from ARPANET (Advances Research Projects Agency Network) in 1969. It was experimented to support the research on military and the security of the United States of America in the cold war. Since then, the internet system has been developed and expanded to other countries in the world [1]. According to the expansion of the technology and information, the internet has spread rapidly and the number of internet users is increasing continuously. According to the report on the survey of the internet user by the Institute of National Statistics as classified by the activity for internet, age group and region all over Thailand in 2008, the activity which the majority of children did was to seek information and news. The second most frequent activity was to play online game or play game on the internet [2]. Online games are popular and they are created by more and more developers because the base of online game players increases rapidly and widely all over the world, resulting in the rapid growth in online game industry. As for the online game market in Thailand, it increases as well. According to the survey by Thai Digital Content White Paper : Animation and Games (2007), it was found that the rate of growth in computer game industry in Thailand in 2008 increased by 30%. The income was the first in the entertainment industry because the game market in Thailand could gain 1,300 million Baht per year. In 2008, the rate of growth in the game industry increased by 30% and there were 6 million online game players. It is expected that in 2010 the rate would increase by 19% and the value would be 12,000 million Baht [3]. Online games are special in that they know the characteristics of the players because the online games are similar to real life. The players could talk to, meet and do a lot of activities as they wish or do something unreal. However, online games bring controversy as well, especially the trouble about the children who play late at night, stop playing and their grades fall. Sometimes they have an argument with parents, never listen to their parents. This could be a good case study for learning. Moreover, the technology which is used to develop online game at the present time is more attractive to gain the impression by the players. Thailand has a lot of new games such as Luna Online Audition Special Force Fifa Online Tales Runner which gain a lot of interest by the 3D online game players, especially for the scene in adventure or fantasy manner. In terms of effect, there were both advantages and

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disadvantages which were not in the game. It depended on the players because the argument can be whether it is suitable for minors or not. Children who play games for a long period of time without guidance by the parents could face problems such as skipping class, falling grades and decrease in emotional development. Surat Thani province is considered as the center of southern Thailand in terms of economics, transportation and education. Surat Thani recognizes the importance of the education from kindergarten to college level. In this province there are 490 educational institutions, most of which are under supervision of the Office of the Basic Education Commission, Ministry of Education. Besides students in local area, there are many students coming from other provinces. According to the problem mentioned above, the researchers would like to conduct a research on the high school students in Surat Thani province because this sampling group had more chances to use computer and play online game. All of them had equal opportunities to access to the internet because each school recognized the importance of this academic development in internet technology as a new media for Thai youths in the society and the related governmental sectors.

B. Content A study on the effects of internet technology focus on online game exposure would be done in 4 areas: health, economics, education and relationship with their family and their peers.

4. Research Methodology
This research was a survey research and the methodology was as follows: A. Research Tool Tool used in this research was the questionnaire developed by the researchers in accordance with the theories to cover the topic as closely as possible. The questionnaire contained both close-ended questions and open-ended questions. B. Steps in developing the research tool To develop the research tool, the researchers did the following actions. The researchers studied the literature concerning the theories and the research areas. Then the scope of the questionnaire was developed to meet the objectives of this research. Then the questionnaire was checked by 3 experts to find out the suitability of the research. Afterwards, the questionnaire was revised in accordance with the suggestions by the experts. The questionnaire was piloted with the sampling group of 30 persons at Pradoo Pittayakhom School, Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province. The results were analyzed using Cronbachs method. The reliability was 0.99 or at good level. Then the researchers completed the final draft to collect the real data. C. Data Collection The researchers asked for permission to collect the data at various educational institutions and distributed the questionnaire to the students. There were 387 copies of the questionnaire and the researchers collected the results by themselves. The return rate was 100 percent. D. Data Analysis The researchers checked the accuracy of the questionnaire and then set the score as defined in the criteria. The data were recorded and processed in statistical software for descriptive statistics. The data were described in terms of frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation and the data were presented in the table and the report.

2. Research Objectives
1.To study the behaviors about online game exposure by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province 2.To study the effects of internet technology about online game exposure by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province on their health, economics, education, family relationship and peer relationship.

3. Research Scope
In this research the data were collected from December 2009 to January 2010. The scope of this research was as follows: A. Population and the Sampling Group Population in this research consisted of all male and female high school students aged between 11 and 19 years at the schools under the supervision of the Office of the Basic Education Commission for Surat Thani Province. There were 11,918 students according to the register in August 2009 by the Office of the Basic Education Commission for Surat Thani province [4]. The sampling group in this research consisted of the students at the schools under the supervision of the Office of the Basic Education Commission for Surat Thani province in Amphoe Mueang. This was because the area was populated enough and there were many internet shops compared to other regions of Surat Thani province. The group contained 387 persons according to Taro Yamanes formula using multistage sampling method with the tolerance of 0.5. The quota was done for each school.
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5. Research Result
A. Results from the study on general information about the respondents The sampling group contained 387 persons, 39.80 percent of whom were male and 60.20 percent were female. The majority of them were studying at Surat Thani school for 26.40 percent. Most were aged between 14 and 15 years

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International Journal of Advanced Computer Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, Pp. 72-76, Aug. 2011.
TABLE 1 THE RESULTS FROM THE ANALYSIS OF MEAN AND STANDARD DEVIATION FOR THE EFFECTS OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY FOCUS ON ONLINE GAMES IN VARIOUS ASPECTS

old for 39.30 percent. Most were junior high school students for 56.80 percent. Theincome per week was 501-750 Baht for most of them or 31.80 percent. Their GPA was 3.01-3.05 for most of them or 28.40 percent. They had enrolled in computer classes for 97.90 percent and got A for 52.50 percent. Most of them got a computer at home for 70.30 percent and played online game for 90.70 percent. B. Results from the study on the behaviors of exposure to online game technology Results from the study on the behaviors and the effects of internet technology focus on online game exposure by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province were as follows. The majority of the sampling group was exposed to online games for less than 6 months for 37.60 percent, followed by those exposed for over 2 years for 25.90 percent and those exposed to online games for over 1 year but less than 2 years for 20.50 percent. The majority of the sampling group was exposed to online games for less than 1 hour per day for 51.30 percent, followed by those exposed to online games for 2-4 hours per day for 32.50 percent and those exposed to 1-2 hours per day for 14.20 percent. The time when the sampling group was most exposed to online games was from 16.00 to 20.00 for 42.20 percent, followed by the time between 12.00 and 14.00 for 33.30 percent and the time between 08.00 and 12.00 for 12.80 percent. The majority of the sampling spent on the online games for 51-100 Baht per week for 38.50 percent, followed by those spending for less than 50 Baht for 37.90 percent and those spending for 101-200 Baht for 17.70 percent. The majority of the sampling group had fun being exposed to online games for 20.70%, followed by those exposed for relaxation for 19.20 percent and those exposed for creative imagination for 14.80 percent. The majority of the sampling group preferred Audition Game the most for 47.30 percent, followed by Pang Ya for 12.70 percent and Tale Runner for 8.50 percent. There were other preferred games such as Special Force, Zone 4 and X-Shot. The sampling group were, in overall, exposed to online games at low level ( X = 2.32). It was found that the sampling group preferred sport games the most ( X = 3.53) at high level, followed by role-playing games ( X = 2.28) at low level and mixed-type games ( X = 2.25) at low level.
C. Results from the study on the opinions and the effects of internet technology focus on online games According to Table 1, the results revealed that the effects of internet technology focus on online games were at low level (x = 2.55). When each aspect was considered, it was found that health was the most critical (x = 3.02) or at moderate level, followed by effects on education (x = 2.87) at moderate level and on finance (x = 2.53) at low level.

Effects Health Finance Education Family relationship Peer relationship Average

S.D. 0.83 0.80 1.07 0.78 0.82 0.65

Level Moderate Low Moderate Low Low Low

3.02 2.53 2.87 2.17 2.18 2.55

6. Research Discussion
A. Behaviors of Exposure to Online Games Behaviors of exposure to online games by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province, according to the research results, were as follows: The majority of high school students were exposed to online games for less than 6 months. They were exposed 1-2 days per week and most of them were exposed for less than 1 hour per day. They were exposed to online games between 16.00 and 20.00. The cost for online games per week was 51-100 Baht. The majority of high school students gained the following advantages from online games: entertainment and enjoyment. They preferred Audition Game as the first choice. The kind of game they preferred the most was sports. This finding complies with the research done by Jirada Mahacharoen [5] who studied the behaviors and the effects of exposure to online games by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Nakhon Pathom in that the majority of the sampling group was exposed to online games for less than 6 months. The frequency was 1-2 days per week. The time they preferred to play online games was between 16.00 and 20.00. The advantages they gained the most from online games were entertainment and enjoyment. B. Opinions towards the effects from playing online games According to the opinions towards the effects from playing online games by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province, the majority of the sampling group had suffered from health problems the most. When they played online games for a long time, they got sore eyes, back pain, stiff fingers and they often forgot their meal or had meals at unusual time. They slept late at night. Moreover, they spent more than they could earn. The majority of the students who played online games got lower grades and they participated in fewer activities with their family. Online games also affected the time for conversation and activities with their peers. This finding complies with the research by Somphop Wachirawong [6] who conducted an analysis of children behavior about playing games. It was
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Kuntida Thamwipat et al.: The Study of Behaviors and Effects of Internet Technology Focus on Online Game Exposure by Thai High School Students

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found that the negative effects were about health such as vision, blurredness, short-sightedness, fatigue, back pain, neck pain, and frustration.

7. Suggestion
A. Suggestions from research findings 1) According to this study on the behaviors and effects of internet technology focus on online games by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province, the majority of the sampling group liked Audition Game the most. They usually played sport games and the top 3 games were about sports. This type of games did not contain any content which can lead to aggressiveness in players. The games gave fun and enjoyment. This was in compliance with the advantages from playing online games, that is to say, entertainment and enjoyment. The sampling group played between 16.00 and 20.00 for the most part. Therefore, it could be seen that the time the students preferred was after their school. In fact, this time should be used for homework, reports and activities with family. If students spent this time on games, or they did not manage their time effectively, online games will affect the players on education and family relationship. The frequent problem was the time and the duration for the game because the duration for playing lasted longer than the players. Therefore, parents and school should tell students to manage their time. They should be trained to love reading, know their duty, and know about the disadvantages for playing online games without others. Moreover, the parents should pay close attention to their children by giving suggestions and trying to understand their demands. The correctional training is useful and can lead to warm family, resulting in reduced behaviors of playing online games. They tended to participated more in family activities. 2) A study on the students opinions towards the effects of online games by high school students in Amphoe Mueang, Surat Thani province showed that the sampling group had suffered from health problems the most such as they got sore eyes. The other less severe effect was education. Therefore, parents should teach their children to play at right moment for a suitable period of time such as 1 or 2 hours per day. They should teach their children how to use computer ergonomically and describe the effects from using computers for a long period. B. Suggestions for Further Research 1) A qualitative study should be done on the type and the contents found in games which influence the children in an era by focusing on the development of emotion and feeling such as games which increase the aggressiveness in players. 2) A further study should be done on the parents opinions towards online games because the problems from playing online games affected the family relationship too. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the basic institution as important for laying ground for the correctional training for
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children so that they become high performance citizen in the future. 3) A study should be done on the behaviors of playing new type of online games which can be played without installing the game such as vegetation in Facebook which is popular among both adults and children.

References
[1] [2] S. James, The Internet and Society, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2000, pp. 51-52. National Statistical Office, Survey on the Use of Information Technology and Communication in Household, [Online], (2008) Available:
http://service.nso.go.th/nso/nso_center/project/search_center/23project-th.htm

[3] [4]

[5]

[6]

[25 January 2010]. Thailand Department of Health Service Support, Good Games, to Defeat Hell Games [Online], (2009) Available: http://www.thaihealth.or.th/node/7216 [30 December 2009]. Office of the Basic Education Commission for Surat Thani Province Region 1, Statistical Data about Students, [Online], (2008) Available: http://doc.obec.go.th/dataonweb/report/ [25 August 2009]. J. Mahacharoen, A Study on Behaviors and Effects of Exposure to Online Games by High School Students in Amphoe Mueang, Nakhon Pathom Province, (2004) A Dissertation for Masters degree in Mass Media, Faculty of Journalism and Mass Media, Thammasat University, Abstract. S. Wachirawong, An Analysis of Childrens Behaviors about Playing Computer Games, (2009) A Dissertation for Masters degree in Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University, Abstract.

Appendix
SCREENSHOTS OF ONLINE GAME PREFERRED BY THAI STUDENTS

Fig. 1 A screenshot of Audition which is a Sport game

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International Journal of Advanced Computer Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, Pp. 72-76, Aug. 2011.

Fig. 2 A screenshot of Special Force which is an Action game

Fig. 3 A screenshot of Ray City which is a Hybrid game

Fig. 4 A screenshot of Tale Runner which is a Sport game

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