Developing a Sustainable Environment Based on Augmented Reality to Educate Adolescents about the Dangers of Electronic Gaming Addiction

Abstract

The expansion of the use of electronic games has led to a surge in the rates of gaming addiction among adolescents. Electronic games addiction (EGA) presents, of course, psychological, hygienic, social, educational, and moral dangers. Therefore, it is very important to educate adolescents and enhance their awareness of the dangers of electronic games addiction (DEGA). Given the unique characteristics of augmented reality technology, the present study aims to develop a sustainable environment based on augmented reality (SEBAR) within educational institutions to educate adolescents about the DEGA. The SEBAR in the present study is based on the possibility of using the applications of augmented reality (AR) technology to generate digital objects of some images and barcodes projected on the school walls, classroom doors, school yards, and computer labs, in addition to specially developed missions to educate adolescents on the DEGA. In the present study, the embedded design as one of the mixed research methods was used to examine the effect of AR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Research treatments were applied to seventy-five high school students in two different schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The experimental processing was carried out in a school where it was possible to develop a sustainable environment while the other schools were assigned to the control group. For comparing the experimental group that used the SEBAR and the control group that used the normal environment based on a set of articles and tasks without any link to AR, the quasi-experimental approach was used. In addition, to gain a deep understanding of the effects of AR on the awareness of the DEGA, the phenomenological approach was used. Furthermore, an electronic gaming addiction scale (EGAS) and an awareness test for the DEGA were developed as study instruments. The findings showed an increase in the adolescents’ knowledge and awareness regarding the DEGA in the experimental group that used the SEBAR in comparison with the awareness of their peers in the control group.

1. Introduction

EGA is generally the preoccupation with digital technologies and their increasingly quantitative use regarding time or interaction [1]. Moreover, EGA is a natural expansion of electronic addiction through the excessive use of electronic games and spending a long time of playing them [2]. It is also a loss of control over the use of games, which leads to the disruption of daily activities [3]. According to the previous literature, EGA is an excessive or compulsive use of games that interferes with daily activities [4]. It is the most widely used term among researchers to describe excessive, compulsive, and problematic use of games in general. However, the problematic behavior associated with the use of games can be described in different terms, such as game dependence, problematic game playing, and pathological gaming [5].

Nowadays, electronic games have been such an important part of adolescents’ daily life that they can be called a soft addiction, as their risk might not be clear at first since they are considered entertainment and fun tools [1]. Despite some adolescents’ full awareness and understanding of the DEGA, they cannot stop or delay this kind of gaming [3]. Furthermore, looking at these games as just a means of entertainment is one of the most important and prominent problems of EGA. Moreover, even though electronic games have some educational benefits, such as encouraging cooperation, improving communication, and supporting decision-making abilities, this in turn can also promote adolescents’ long-term use of games [6]. Likewise, the changes happening in the current era have led to a change in the nature of playing in the adolescent phase. While playing in this phase used to be connected to playing with friends outside the house [7], currently it is associated with technological games, where teenagers sit for long hours in front of electronic devices and play games, many of which tend to be violent [8]. Rates of gaming addiction, represented by the rush to play electronic games for long periods, have been strongly affected by the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with adolescents sitting at home for long periods of time due to home isolation policies [9,10,11,12]. Adolescence is seen as a period of contradictions and changes, and in this period the negative repercussions of electronic gaming quickly become evident in adolescents and often drive them toward violence [13]. In this vein, by analyzing adolescents’ use of the Everquest game, Griffiths, et al. [13] found that this game has led adolescents toward a preference for and practice of violence. Furthermore, the results of a study by Konijn et al. [14] also showed that video games increase the aggressiveness and violence of adolescents. Indeed, many adolescents are inclined to be violent, just like the violent characters in the games they play. Intervening to confront EGA is necessary as it is considered one of the most prevalent types of electronic addiction in the modern era [15]. Moreover, the structure of a very large number of electronic games depends on the practice of strange behaviors that are incompatible with values and morals where some of them encourage killing, violence, and theft under the name of entertainment [16]. EGA poses many dangers for adolescents, such as mental and physical disorders represented by sleep disturbance, depression, unhappiness, and low self-esteem [15]. It also leads to lower productivity, unhealthy social relationships, and lower life satisfaction [17]. It can lead to academic dysfunction, insomnia, and deterioration in family and peer relationships [18]. Thus, it is vital to pay attention to the DEGA to overcome the dangers arising from this type of addiction.

The current study attempts to employ AR technology to enhance traditional learning environments with multimedia that can be used to raise students’ awareness of the DEGA, in such a way that can assist in transforming these environments into sustainable ones. The research gap that the present research focuses on is basically raising students’ awareness of the DEGA by using AR technology, which encompasses physical and virtual information layers, and projecting them on places such as school walls, classroom doors, school yards, and in computer labs, in addition to employing some illustrated articles and assignments. AR is a technology that adds digital content to other physical content using mobile devices, which leads to the enhancement of the real environment and improvement of its sustainability through the digital media that is added [19]. The importance of AR in awareness enhancement is due to the ability to develop the processes of knowledge acquisition, learning retention, and improve performance in general [20]. In addition, AR technology has positive effects on all dimensions of cognitive performance, including memory, selective attention, concentration, mathematical calculation, linguistic thinking, and emotional intelligence related to happiness, self-control, emotionality, and social participation [21]. The reliance of AR on multimedia and interactive support contributes to creating a positive environment that can influence and enhance an adolescent’s inner motivations and academic achievements [22]. On the other hand, it also plays an effective role in enhancing adolescents’ engagement and satisfaction with the learning environment [22].

The abovementioned literature indicates that AR has an impact on factors related to awareness, such as knowledge acquisition, learning retention, attention, concentration, and memory [21,22]. This reinforces the first question and its associated hypothesis, which examines the impact of SEBAR in developing adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Moreover, the literature showed the importance of integrating qualitative with quantitative data to explore and understand the advantages that drive users toward using AR. The second research question was formulated in order to reach a deep understanding of the effects of AR on awareness of the DEGA from the users’ point of view [23]. Accordingly, the present study aims to answer the following questions:

• (RQ1): What is the effect of SEBAR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA?
• (RQ2) How do adolescents perceive the role of SEBAR in raising their awareness of the DEGA?

In addition to these questions, the present study aims to ascertain the validity of the following hypothesis:

• (H1) There is a statistically significant difference (α ≥ 0.05) between the mean scores of students’ achievement in the experimental group that uses the SEBAR and the mean scores of students’ achievement in the control group that uses the normal environment following the measurement of risk awareness of the addiction to EGA, which is due to the effect of AR.

2. Literature Review

2.1. Augmented Reality (AR)

AR refers to the technology through which digital media is presented within the real-world environment [24]. It is also used to execute a process of a simultaneous integration of some digital content with the real world [25]. That is, it is a process of reality expansion through a technological process that adds information layers through the use of some digital tools, such as video clips, animations, audio clips, and other digital content [26]. AR is the reality resulting from the integration of physical and virtual layers, where the most recent reinforces the first [25]. All these boosters play a main role in the processes of the learner’s cognitive expansion based on a mixture of three elements, namely, the virtual elements that are mixed within the real environment, the real time where the AR is always applied, and the interactive technology used through which data are processed and presented [27].

The fact that AR promotes learning in open environments is the most important fact that distinguishes the use of AR in developing a sustainable environment for awareness development. It also has the ability to support individuals with contextual information related to the learning environment, and enhance knowledge retention and impact [28]. In sustainable environments, AR improves information gathering, knowledge application, and interviewing in mobile environments [29]. The nature of AR depends on the fact that it is a technology that adds digital content to other realistic content, which leads to the enhancement of the real environment and its sustainability through the tools that are added without isolating the real or physical context, which eventually makes the environment resemble a single environment where physical and digital components are mixed [30]. In the present study, SEBAR relies on the so-called layers of information that are the container for carrying real and virtual contents displayed through AR applications. SEBAR consists of the following two layers:

• Layers of real information, which are physical contents that may be real or printed in the form of images, logos, or barcodes, to which the mobile phone camera is pointed in order to generate virtual layers.
• Layers of virtual information that are digital objects attached to the real layer, recalled and displayed on the mobile phone once the real layer is scanned by any AR application.

Javornik [31] argues that AR elicits emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses. Emotional responses can be AR attitudes, inspiration, and hedonic benefits [32]. The cognitive responses that AR can generate are based on the media usefulness [33], user engagement and satisfaction [34], and thought generation [31]. The behavioral responses that AR enhances may be capturing the user’s attention [33], and spending significant time on AR applications [34]. Likewise, according to Kowalczuk et al. [35], the characteristics of AR technology such as interactivity, system quality, content informativeness, and reality congruence assist in generating emotional responses such as immersion, enjoyment, and liking; cognitive responses, such as usefulness and ease of use; and behavioral responses, such as reuse intention and content intention. The characteristics of AR that are established on interactivity can help users in obtaining a deep picture of the content, and enable exceptional forms of interaction with the content, and they can also assist users in obtaining information tailored to their needs, and enable them to be in an ideal state of interaction with the content [36]. The system quality of AR applications contributes to the immediate satisfaction of users’ needs and grants them confidence in the reliability of the content provided by the system [35]. In addition, content informativeness as a characteristic of AR refers to the interest in presenting the information that the user expects from the application, providing detailed information about the main issues presented by the application, and allowing the users to create cases of comparison and decision-making according to what they see [37]. Reality congruence as one of the characteristics of AR applications means that the applications present the content in an impressive, attractive, and visually pleasing way, and that the colors and shapes are presented realistically as if they were real [36].

The use of AR in developing sustainable environments to enhance awareness is dependent upon constructivism, which argues that education is the process that supports knowledge building more than communication with knowledge. In addition, practicing activities using AR technology is a meaningful process that differs from one individual to another depending on the nature of the interaction that occurs between the individual and the environment. [29]. Accordingly, constructivism is suitable for the nature of AR and its tasks that put the adolescent in a constant state of being active in building his knowledge based on the content provided through AR applications. Consequently, such a continuous state of activity related to collecting knowledge and communicating with it enhances awareness building and retention [38].

Moreover, experiential learning theory is one of the basic theories that can be relied upon in designing SEBAR. Experiential learning indicates that individuals learn by creating meaning through their personal experiences [39]. This meaning is everything that can be made available through the activities practiced using AR, which allows the user the opportunity to practice his personal experience, as learning begins by having a concrete experience that can be a basis for observation and reflection, followed by hypothesis-making, and testing its effects in new situations [30].

The cognitive theory of multimedia (CTML), on the other hand, is also considered one of the basic theories that must be relied upon when designing AR, taking into account its three assumptions based on dual channels, limited capacity, and active processing [40]. Dual channels indicate the presence of two separate channels, visual and audio, through which information presented as layers of information is received. In other words, it is important to diversify the contents, audio, and video, presented in layers of information. The second assumption, limited capacity, indicates that both channels have the ability to receive a limited amount of information, which means that the information should not exceed the user’s capacity to absorb it. The third assumption, active processing, indicates that humans are active learners who need active environments to practice learning, which can be generated using AR systems that provide the user with a variety of activities and experiences [41].

In the light of constructivist theory, the way in which AR can support adolescents’ awareness can be explained. Learning, according to the constructivist theory, is an active process of constructing knowledge rather than just acquiring knowledge, and that education is the process that facilitates knowledge construction rather than just its passive reception. Given that learning according to constructivism is an active process, students must actively engage in various learning activities and experiences in order to construct knowledge, which in turn leads to the enhancement of awareness [42]. Therefore, learning through AR in the context of constructivist theory is a meaningful and personal process that varies from one student to another depending on their unique experiences, the nature of the interactions, and the kind of activities they have practiced in the AR environments [38]. The principles of the constructivist theory are appropriate to the nature of AR and its tasks that put the students in a state of constant activity of building their knowledge through cognitive and social contexts dependent on the nature of the activities provided through AR applications.

2.2. Electronic Gaming Addiction (EGA)

EGA is a kind of addiction that can be caused by excessive use and preoccupation with games, which is usually difficult to control, manage, or stop (Wang et al., 2015). It can be argued that there are many characteristics of these electronic games that can stimulate adolescents’ addiction. Among these characteristics is the fact that electronic games do not have predetermined endings. That is, there is no specific point within the game at which a player can say that the game is finished and so players do not experience “Game over” [43]. Electronic games that feed addiction create the need to conduct social connections. While games in the past were individual activities, today’s games encourage players to socially interact with each other [44]. In addition, games become more addictive when rewards within the game rely on the leveling system. That is, the position a player attains at the end of one level becomes the basis for the next level [45]. These games encourage the cooperation of other players around the world, which induces the player to stay for longer times leading to gaming addiction [46]. Games causing addiction mostly require team play to move forward within the game. In many games, many tasks cannot be completed except by a group or through teamwork and so the player needs to be online whenever his colleagues are playing, which means more hours of online gaming [47], given that not going further means losing much. Therefore, the player keeps playing the game, making him subject to addiction [48].

Electronic gaming addiction can be recognized through various basic symptoms, including [5,18,49]:

• Salience, whereby gaming becomes the most important activity in a teenager’s life and controls his thinking (preoccupation), feelings (cravings), and behavior (excessive use).
• Mood modification, in the past known as euphoria, caused by a certain activity and can be an adolescents’ self-experiences reported as a result of participating in games. It can also include calming and/or relaxing feelings related to escape from reality.
• Tolerance is the process by which a teenager starts playing games more often, which gradually increases the amount of time he spends on gaming.
• Withdrawal that indicates the unpleasant emotions and/or physical effects that appear when playing abruptly decreases or stops. Withdrawal consists mostly of mood swings and irritability, but it may also include physiological symptoms, such as shakiness.
• Relapse, which means the tendency to return frequently and quickly to previous excessive playing patterns after periods of abstinence or control.
• Conflict, which includes all interpersonal conflicts resulting from excessive play and conflicts between the player and people around him. These conflicts may include arguments and negligence, as well as lies and deception.

To explain the EGA, planned behavior theory suggests that while gaming, adolescents’ every action is based on what they anticipate and how they perceive its importance. For instance, an adolescent sets subjective standards that correspond to the groups he belongs to in the virtual world and tries to fulfill them. Once he can control the various interactions, all the elements of the planned behavior will be available through electronic games, which can provide an ideal environment for all the adolescent’s planned actions [50]. One of the theories that explain EGA is the theory of uses and gratifications, which basically claims that all media are used to meet the different needs of the adolescent, who is thus motivated to use these media [51]. The theory of uses and gratifications has three basic components, namely, achievement, enjoyment, and social interaction. Achievement, in the context of games, can be defined as “the desire to achieve rewards and perform better when compared to others”. Enjoyment within games is derived from task completion. Social interaction is the interaction that results from the ability of electronic games to allow players to socialize and develop existing or new relationships. There is no doubt that these three factors enhance adolescents’ involvement in games, and the greater the involvement and immersion, the more they are reflected in addiction rates [52].

Attachment theory can also explain EGD since it argues that electronic gaming provides powerful tools for adolescents’ relevance to games through the developed reward and relations system and the various gains that can be obtained within the game, and this is exactly what explains the association between gaming and players’ addiction to it [53]. Self-electronic gaming addiction can be explained by determination theory in light of the basic psychological needs on which it is based. This theory comprises autonomy, competence, and relatedness. As known, games stimulate independence by allowing the adolescent the will and freedom to implement his desires. They also stimulate efficiency by giving him a sense of effectiveness in accomplishing and implementing what he desires and affecting his surrounding environment. Finally, they encourage relatedness generated through adolescents’ building of social relationships within social networks and the sense of belonging to the groups established during the use of games [54].

Based on flow theory, it can be stated that gaming environments provide continuous stimuli that help maintain the player’s continuous flow state in order to achieve gains. Whenever the player obtains one of these gains, the higher the flow and continuity in the game, which eventually leads to indulgence in playing and being addicted to electronic gaming [55]. Electronic gaming, from the viewpoint of self-escape theory, provides environments that are almost realistic from the adolescent’s viewpoint, but ideal insofar as he contributes to building them. Accordingly, these environments can be a safe shelter to escape from the painful reality that the teenager may not want to experience [56]. Within the framework of behavioral theory, behavior is repeated and strengthened when it is rewarded, and so all electronic games are based on a strong system of rewards. Hence, EGA occurs because the adolescent repeats the same behaviors when interacting with games in order to obtain more and more gains [57].

3. Methodology

3.1. Approach

In the present study, mixed methods research was used to better understand the impact of SEBAR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Three approaches were used in the current research. First, a descriptive approach was used to review the previous literature and establish the scale of electronic gaming addiction, and the test of awareness of the DEGA. Second, a quasi-experimental approach was used to study the causal relationship represented in the results of the quantitative effect of SEBAR on the awareness of the DEGA. Third, the phenomenological approach was also used to perform a deeper analysis and gain a better understanding of how SEBAR affects adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA.

The synergies between the quantitative and qualitative approaches in the current research stem from the premise that this synergy can assist in obtaining a deep and comprehensive understanding of how AR can be employed to enhance students’ awareness of the DEGA. It is very important for AR technology research, especially that which depends on empirical treatments, to adopt a mixed methods approach, as the quantitative approach can provide information regarding the general trend of users’ AR usage, while the qualitative approach provides information related to users’ perspective on the role of AR and how to benefit from it and interact with it [58]. The use of qualitative data in AR research helps in interpreting the quantitative data, because statistical averages alone are not sufficient to explain the mechanisms of AR, while qualitative data can provide information that explains how AR affects users and the precise characteristics that it is able to instill in them [59]. The synergy between the quantitative data and the qualitative data in dealing with AR technology can be related to the fact that quantitative data provides explicit information about the use of technology, such as usage rates or periods of use, while qualitative data is more concerned with the internal motives of users in using AR technology, and their perspective on how AR technology impacted their behaviors [60].

Consequently, the present study will use a quantitative approach to determine the effect of AR on students’ awareness of the DEGA, while a qualitative approach will be used to determine the mechanisms of AR impact on the participants, such as, for instance, how the virtual layers worked, and how the integration between the virtual layers and the physical layers contributed to enhancing the students’ awareness of the DEGA.

3.2. Design

An embedded design was used in the present study because it is one of the designs in which qualitative approaches are integrated into the general framework of the quantitative approaches [61]. Embedded designs assign unequal importance to quantitative and qualitative components when answering research questions. In this design, some basic questions can be answered using the quantitative data while other, complementary questions that provide a deeper understanding can be resolved using the qualitative approach [62]. Thus, through the embedded design, quantitative data were collected on the impact of SEBAR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Then, qualitative data were gathered to investigate and understand adolescents’ views on the nature of the experimental treatment through the impact of SEBAR on the adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Next, quantitative and qualitative data were merged together at the interpretation and discussion stage of the study results in order to understand and construct the subjective meanings generated from the experiment and to examine the complexity of the phenomenon as experienced by individuals [62].

Figure 1 illustrates the research design according to the embedded mixed methods. It shows that the dominant method of the study was the quantitative method, which was done by examining the relationship between the independent variable (SEBAR) and the dependent variable (awareness of the DEGA). These methods included the qualitative method in the last stage, which was used in data collection and analysis by some participants in the experimental processing according to their achievement of the highest rates of awareness of the DEGA.

3.3. Participants

3.3.1. Participants in the Quantitative Experiment

The participants in the quantitative experiment were 75 adolescent students whose ages ranged from 15 to 18 years old at a secondary school in Jeddah, KSA, in the first semester of 2022/2023. They were all selected in two stages. In the first stage, adolescents were selected from those who participated in the EGA questionnaire following confirmation that they were within the scope of EGA. In the second stage, participating students were divided into two groups, the experimental group (n = 45) students in one school and the control group (n = 30) students in another school. All sample members were males, as the only schools that can be accessed by the research team for conducting the experiment are all-male schools. The social status of the students in the research sample indicates that they belong to the middle social class, as they are enrolled in fee-paying private schools. Moreover, the selected students have cell phones and mobile devices. The equivalence of the schools in which the study was applied was verified, as the schools have the same structural specifications and environment, and the specifications of the classrooms and laboratories are identical, as they are run by the same corporation.

3.3.2. Participants in the Qualitative Experiment

After applying the research experiment and completing the quantitative data collection, participant students in the qualitative study were chosen from students in the first experimental group who used the SEBAR. Then, they were subjected to semi-structured interviews to identify the effects of SEBAR on the ADEGA. The total number of aa participants in the qualitative study was 6 adolescents and they were coded A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, and A6.

3.4. Quantitative and Qualitative Instruments

3.4.1. Electronic Gaming Addiction Scale (EGAS)

The EGAS was designed to screen and identify adolescents suffering from EGA and then attempt to raise their awareness through SEBAR. The dimensions of the scale were extracted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition [63], which is based on the salient traits, mood modulation, endurance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse dimensions. Most of the previous dimensions were reflected in the online game addiction scale [5], Game Addiction Scale (GAS) [49], Video Game Addiction Scale, and Addiction [52], and in a slightly different way, the Online Game Addiction Scale (OGAS) that consisted of 21 items distributed into 3 dimensions, mainly the malfunctions, success, and economic profits scales [64]. Thus, the main dimensions of the present study’s scale included 21 items classified into 6 basic dimensions, namely, the salient features, mood adjustment, endurance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. At the end, participants were asked to rate each item according to a five-point rating scale: always, often, sometimes, rarely, or never). The stability of the scale was confirmed before application, the Cronbach alpha coefficient was 0.83, and the reapplication reliability coefficient was 0.801.

3.4.2. Awareness Test of the DEGA

At first, the dimensions and items of the DEGA were identified by reviewing some studies in the context of the Arab environment [65,66], and through some studies concerned with the context of the dangers of electronic addiction [17,18,51,67]. In addition, a survey of some experts’ and specialists’ viewpoints regarding the most important DEGA was used, too.

Table 1. Dangers and sub-dangers resulting from EGA.

Psychological Risks	Health Risks	Social Risks	Educational Risks	Ethical Risks
Reliability	Food disorders	Social isolation	Deterioration of academic level	Perturbation of values
Conflict	Sleep disorders	Family life disruption	Loss of educational motivation	Mental disorder
Mood changes	Constant fatigue	Neglecting family duties	Inability to manage time	Irresponsibility
Psychological tension	Visual impairment	Identity disorder	Difficulty performing duties	Neglecting religious rituals
Absent-mindedness	Physical pain	Retinal regression	Lack of collection	Disrespect for privacy
Poor self-control	Physical weakness		Difficulty remembering	Engaging in negative behaviors
Depression and anxiety

shows the most important dimensions and items of the DEGA.

In light of the previous basic dimensions, a thirty-item test of the multiple-choice type was developed. The test and retest method, with an interval of two weeks, was used to verify its validity and reliability. The correlation coefficient of the adolescents’ degrees was 0.91, indicating that the correlation is strong.

3.4.3. Semi-Structured Interview

In its qualitative phase, the present study relied on in-depth interviews, in the form of semi-structured interviews, by directing some open-ended questions to the participants about the impact of SEBAR on their awareness of the DEGA. Based on the participants’ responses, query questions were used. Accordingly, the following four preliminary questions were prepared and asked of them:

• What do you think about the possibility of taking advantage of AR technology in enhancing awareness about the dangerous effects of EGA?
• How has the AR helped you to become aware of the harms of EGA?
• What do you think about using AR as a tool to face the difficulties associated with making a decision to quit EGA?
• How did you use the AR tools to improve your understanding of the DEGA?

3.5. Procedures

3.5.1. Instructional Design for the Research Treatment

At the beginning, an analysis of the actual use of electronic games was carried out on a sample of 172 students. The daily consumption rates of these games were determined, too. After that, a short survey was conducted consisting of two dimensions, where the first one aimed to only determine the top 5 electronic games used, arranged from 1–5 to show the rank of each one. The second dimension aimed to determine the number of hours of daily use and the periods during which games are used during the day by choosing from a set of alternatives. The results revealed that the games most used by teenagers were the following, ordered according to their use: Fortnite, Fifa 22, Pubg, Call of Duty, and Uncharted.

Table 2. The most used electronic games by respondents.

N	Social Networks	Code	Medium	Percentage	Rank
1	Fortnite		PlayStation	97.52%	1
2	Fifa 22		PlayStation	93.44%	2
3	Pubg		Mobile	92.55%	3
4	Call of Duty		PlayStation	91.67%	4
5	Uncharted		PlayStation	90.21%	5

shows the order of these top five games.

The results of the daily use rates of these games revealed that 91.6% of participants use these games at a rate of 10 h daily on school days, while on non-school days such as weekends, the percentage increases to 92.3%, and the use rate increases to 14 h a day. That is, these rates indicate the extent of excessive use by the respondents in relation to their use of electronic games.

The results of the application of the EGAS to the participant adolescents to screen for students within the scope of EGA showed that 75 students were in the high domain regarding the EGA, and so they were chosen for the application of the study instrument on them. Then they were distributed into the control and experimental groups.

The nature of the contents that would be presented within the SEBAR was determined as follows: commonly used electronic games (advantages and disadvantages); harms of electronic games; indicators of EGA; causes of EGA; balanced use of electronic games; techniques for confronting EGA; practicing dealing with players; and positive alternatives to online games.

Methods for delivering content within a sustainable environment based on all the forms of AR technology were identified. Eight videos for the eight previously mentioned topics were used so that they could be recalled via AR applications. These videos, of course, represent the virtual layers of AR. In addition, these videos were connected to some images and barcodes that represent the physical layers of AR. The physical layers of AR were integrated into school walls, classroom doors, school yards, inside the computer lab, and within some photo articles on EGA. Eight articles were also written and supported with images that could be scanned and digital objects of them generated. Eight tasks were carried out, each of which is dedicated to one of the eight content areas that had been identified. Figure 2 shows examples of using AR use within the sustainable environment developed for the present study.

In addition, the Zappar application was used to develop the AR system where physical and virtual layers were linked. The connection between physical layers and virtual layers was tested by an experimental scanning of each image and ensuring that it generated its own digital object by the specified display mechanism. Each image or barcode was published separately with its associated digital object. Tasks and articles delivered to participants were printed in color to ease image and barcode scanning through the mobile phone camera. Figure 3 shows a sample task provided to students.

Both of the experimental treatments that used the SEBAR and the normal environment assigned to the control group were activated as shown in

Table 3. The work mechanisms for the experimental groups during the experiment.

Experimental Group SEBAR

Control Group Use of Normal Environment

■ One independent school was assigned to the experimental processing. ■ Physical layers were distributed to the places assigned for them. ■ Students were provided with mobile devices equipped with the Zappar application that were used to retrieve the virtual layers during the time of the extra-curricular activities. ■ The eight tasks were scheduled to allocate two days for each task, provide students with tasks and articles to take home, and use their personal devices to interact with them.

■ One independent school was assigned to the control group processing. ■ All activities were carried out in terms of articles and missions without any connection to AR technology. ■ There was adherence to the eight themes related to the contents that educate students about the harms of electronic gaming addiction.

, which presents the work mechanism for each group.

3.5.2. Qualitative Procedures

In-depth semi-structured interviews were planned to be conducted with adolescent students in the experimental group that used SEBAR. Therefore, a schedule for conducting qualitative interviews with six participants was set. Interviews were conducted over three days. Two students only were interviewed per day. Questions were directed to adolescent students to deeply understand how they perceive the role of SEBAR in raising their awareness of the DEGA. Each interview with each adolescent lasted for 15 min in the evening period after the regular study periods. Furthermore, the school administration and parents were notified of the interview date and were allowed to be present as observers without participating in the talks. All interviews were conducted via the Zoom platform in Arabic and then translated into English. Maxqda software was used to analyze the obtained data.

4. Results

4.1. Results Related to the First Question

To answer the first research question about the effect of SEBAR on adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA and to verify the correctness of the first hypothesis regarding the comparison between the first experimental group that used SEBAR and the control group that used the usual method, a T-test was used.

Table 4. Mean scores, standard deviations, and T-value for the awareness test.

Group	N	Mean	SD	T.Value	Df	Sig.
G1: SEBAR	45	28.49	1.16	33.45	73	0.000
G2: Normal environment	30	18.87	1.31

shows the results of the T-test for the two research groups.

Table 4 shows the superiority of the experimental group that used SEBAR in comparison with the control group that used the usual method. Figure 4 shows the comparison between the experimental and control groups in accordance with the average of the mean scores of students’ scores reflecting their knowledge of the DEGA.

The effect size was calculated using Eta square (η2) to measure the effect size of the independent variables on the dependent variables. The effect size of the SEBAR on the adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA was 0.93 showing that it was appropriately high. That is, a large proportion of the differences were due to the fact that AR technology had an effective role in raising adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA.

In the context of the results that showed the effect of SEBAR on the students of the experimental group with regard to raising their awareness of the DEGA, this result can be analyzed in the light of a variety of tangible mechanisms of AR technology that were able to activate the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses of the members of the experimental group. AR technology is based on the integration of virtual and physical layers, which can provide an integrated set of contents that enhanced students’ cognitive awareness regarding the DEGA. The formation of awareness of the DEGA among the students of the experimental group was based on a variety of digital multimedia that was projected through the AR application, which was able to provide a clear understanding of the mechanisms of coping with EGA. Interactivity as one characteristic of SEBAR succeeded in enabling the students of the experimental group to interact with the content more deeply, which enhanced their deep awareness of the DEGA and empowered them with mechanisms to overcome these dangers. In addition, the nature of awareness-raising processes through SEBAR, which was based on interacting with content and AR applications, made the students of the experimental group enthusiastic to interact with the content and learn about the DEGA. Furthermore, the immediate generation of virtual layers in the SEBAR system contributed to meeting the immediate cognitive needs of the members of the experimental group, which was reflected in improving their cognitive awareness rates. Indeed, the rapid response by SEBAR has increased the students of the experimental group’s assurance and belief in the reliability of all the content provided to them to promote awareness of the DEGA. It can be stated that content informativeness as one of the characteristics of SEBAR has contributed significantly to providing detailed information about the various aspects of the DEGA, and that the virtual layers of the application contributed to making the students of the experimental group immerse themselves in all the details of the content and eventually become aware of the DEGA. Moreover, the way the content was projected in SEBAR enabled the presentation of the directions and instructions regarding avoiding the DEGA in attractive, impressive, and compelling ways for the students of the experimental group. All the previously mentioned characteristics contributed to the superiority of the students of the experimental group compared to the students of the control group. All the characteristics of SEBAR contributed to the activation of emotional responses and made the students of the experimental group completely engaged in all the contents related to the DEGA. Additionally, through the characteristics of SEBAR, it was possible to activate the cognitive responses of the students of the experimental group, which led to the students’ realization of the importance of awareness of the DEGA and the generation of internal motives towards repeating the use of SEBAR to enhance their awareness. The characteristics of SEBAR were also able to activate the behavioral responses of the students of the experimental group by enhancing the processes of paying attention to the content provided and interacting with all its contents, which led to enhancing awareness of the DEGA.

4.2. Findings Related to the Second Question

To answer the second research question concerning how adolescents perceive the role of SEBAR in raising their awareness of the DEGA, the results of the semi-structured interviews were coded. Then, interrelated codes were compiled into groups to illustrate the role of the SEBAR in promoting adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. After the collection process, topics were presented to each homogeneous group with the result that specific effects in three main areas were identified: the role of the AR in enhancing self-awareness to discover the dangers of addiction; the role of the AR in enhancing the awareness of mechanisms for coping with the electronic gaming addiction, and the role of the AR in developing planning practices to properly deal with games and avoid the dangers, as shown in Figure 5.

5. Discussion

5.1. The Role of SEBAR in Promoting Self-Awareness to Discover the DEGA

The results of the present study have indicated the significant effectiveness of SEBAR in the enhancement of self-skills to discover the dangers of addiction. This result can be attributed to a variety of characteristics associated with AR technology. First, reality can be expanded by adding virtual information layers to fill the gaps in the usual content. Second, rich multimedia content that works on modeling the required tasks and then presenting the content in an unusual way can be introduced, too. Thus, content acquisition processes and a full understanding of the required tasks can be enhanced. With the use of SEBAR, it was possible to generate digital video clips related to specific concepts and have a relationship with the DEGA. These clips were able to provide an explanation and clarification of the dangers related to electronic addiction. Moreover, SEBAR could give adolescents, as part of the study sample, the freedom to move between the parts of the varied content and get the main content points that support their cognitive needs. In addition, AR activities contributed to meeting the direct needs of the adolescent respondents, which were reflected in their cognitive awareness associated with the DEGA.

SEBAR contributed to providing adolescents with the content in a flexible way that made it easy for them to absorb all the information related to the discovery of the DEGA. In addition, it provided interactive content and managed various tasks related to indicators of EGA by providing multiple video clips that define the main topics and indicators of EGA and how adolescents evaluate themselves on the EGAS. Self-awareness building was associated with the social context of the sustainable environment, which promoted awareness-building mechanisms. Layers of virtual information were integrated with layers of physical information to provide the integrated content that explained the mechanisms of how an adolescent could be addicted to electronic games. In brief, AR technology helped the teenagers to understand how to evaluate themselves without any shame, and thus identify the real beginning of facing the DEGA, as was mentioned by one participant:

“Augmented reality technology helped me understand the dangers and indicators of addiction and the way I evaluate myself on the electronic gaming addiction scale”.

(A3)

Another participant said,

“Through the application of augmented reality, I was able to identify what is meant by conflict, withdrawal and relapse, and this will help me identify the dangers of addiction and also how to avoid it”.

(A1)

Another participant said,

“The AR application that we used is very easy to use and helped us to use the application more than once to interact with the content that was presented in a good way to draw our attention to all the dangers of addiction. The application was so good that it helped us to reach the required content immediately through the virtual layers”.

(A6)

As shown in the previous two examples, the advantages of AR technology have been able to greatly enhance adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. Enhancing awareness of the dangers of electronic game addiction is connected to the frequency of viewing, practicing, and the lack of fear and shyness from accessing the content that is designed to educate about the DEGA. SEBAR has been able to present digital media in a way that is suitable to adolescents’ perception of them, which enhances their understanding of them. Through SEBAR, the adolescents were able to practice various social and cognitive learning activities to identify the DEGA, which was reflected in their overall awareness. SEBAR enabled adolescents to interact constructively with the digital objects produced by the AR applications, which served as interactive sources to enhance awareness.

There is no doubt that these results are consistent with the literature that has proved the effectiveness of AR in developing awareness and mainly developing the cognitive and performance aspects effectively [68]. It is also effective in raising the rates of the implementation of the activities and tasks that are reflected positively in this cognitive awareness [69]. In addition, it could promote access to additional cognitive levels that improve performance [70]. In addition, using AR improves students’ practices of a set of performance strategies that were reflected positively in their learning outcomes, such as awareness increase and strategies including linking, experience, application, collaboration, and conversion [41]. In short, the use of AR was positively reflected in the research experience as participant adolescents were able to practice linking strategies through linking the new knowledge embedded in virtual objects with their background knowledge that was extracted from the SEBAR, dealing with information about the dangers of EGA. Participant adolescents also practiced experimentation strategies. The video clips generated through AR applications provided the learners with an opportunity to review and explore the content and meanwhile practice strategies such as the proper handling of electronic games embedded within these objects, and thus avoid their dangers. In addition, the technology of AR gave the respondents the opportunity to practice and apply the knowledge they acquired, whether through actual or real environments, to practice the techniques of dealing with EGA. It also allowed the respondents the opportunity to practice conversion strategies and apply knowledge and skills in new situations that gave them the opportunity to practice what was learned.

Preference for AR activities in enhancing cognitive and skill performance can be justified by reference to social learning theory, according to which individuals can control their behavior through their personal perceptions and beliefs about the consequences of these behaviors and self-regulation processes contribute significantly to the changes that occur in behavior [71]. Accordingly, students could control their actions and the environment by taking active steps to build and modify their surrounding environment or change themselves. Another justification can be provided by the constructivist perspective that emphasizes the positivity of the learning process and refuses to look at learning or knowledge-building awareness as a passive or sequential process of transferring knowledge and information dependent on reception rather than construction. A student needs active learning via various mechanisms to build his knowledge properly [72,73], which is exactly what can be found through the SEBAR, and that allowed the participant adolescents the opportunity to build their knowledge on several levels using the mechanisms of the AR program and thus the freedom to develop their own concepts regarding the DEGA.

In short, SEBAR was strongly effective in promoting adolescents’ awareness as it presented the content in accordance with the rules of multimedia cognitive theory, which is associated with stimulating dual channels and taking into consideration the limited memory capacity, as well as the existence of an active context. Mechanisms for displaying the contents of AR, according to this theory, work on presenting the contents through verbal and visual channels. The presentations are brief and thus commensurate with the viewers’ limited memory capacity. In addition, the contextual environment where the AR was used was active and allowed the user to partake in various experiences and activities [41].

5.2. The Role of SEBAR in Promoting the Mechanisms of Coping with the DEGA

With regard to the role of AR technology in enhancing awareness about the mechanisms of coping with the DEGA, SEBAR worked on modeling all the mechanisms through which training can be done to confront the DEGA. It provided rich information about the techniques that were to be used to avoid the DEGA. Managing the effective content through linking the physical and virtual layers enhanced the sense of the dangers of the EGA, which was integrated with some issues and techniques related to confronting these dangers and maximizing the value of time as a powerful weapon to confront EGA. In this context, one of the sample participants said,

“Augmented reality enabled me to understand the mechanisms of coping with the danger of addiction, so I will apply everything I learned to overcome gaming addiction because non-confrontation causes me severe damage”.

(A4)

Another student stated that,

“The augmented reality technology helped me to identify the dangers of addiction and the methods of confronting it effectively. The content used was very convincing to me as I could identify the mechanisms by which I can combat the dangers of electronic gaming addiction”.

(A6)

Another student stated that,

“The application of AR presented the content in an interactive way, which made me and my friends immersed in interacting with the content and being attracted to it and benefiting from all the content that was displayed, especially since these contents were detailed and presented in attractive forms that helped me to be aware of all the DEGA”.

(A5)

As shown in the previous two examples, SEBAR assisted the adolescents in effectively practicing some mechanisms that can empower them to overcome the DEGA. SEBAR provided different approaches to coping with electronic addiction, which made the sustainable environment exciting and attractive to adolescents. The sustainable environment also facilitated the absorption of all the information related to the mechanisms of dealing with DEGA, which undoubtedly played a great role in enhancing adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. SEBAR presented the content in various forms, supplemented with a set of tasks and activities that made the adolescent aware of the DEGA and the mechanisms that can be used to counter them. SEBAR, through its integrative design within schools, helped to surround adolescents with digital media environments that helped them to be fully aware of the DEGA. Furthermore, SEBAR provided illustrated articles augmented with multimedia, and tasks. Differentiating the sources of knowledge, presenting the content in various forms, and placing them in various locations enhanced the adolescent’s awareness and provided them with mechanisms to cope with the DEGA.

There is no doubt that the use of AR within contextual environments supporting unrestricted activity and movement greatly enhanced the processes of knowledge acquisition and behavior modeling. This result, to a great extent, is consistent with the results of some studies that indicated the effectiveness of AR in developing learning outcomes when employed and presented through specific contextual tasks and activities. The study by Chen, et al. [28], for example, focused on using AR within a situational learning system in order to affect the situational learning outcomes. Chang, et al. [29] developed a proposed model for employing AR through activity-based learning with the aim of enhancing learning outcomes. On the other hand, Kugelmann, et al. [70] employed AR within the context of an active learning system to support students in reaching additional cognitive levels.

Motivation theory, which states that an individual is more engaged and involved in activities when these stem from his inner motivations, leading to enjoyment of whatever he does [74,75,76,77], can be one interpretation of the result of the present study. This is exactly what SEBAR offered. It allowed adolescents the opportunity to initiate and move towards exploring the content through the generated videos and to build learning outcomes according to their inner desires and in line with their motives, to move toward the rapid start of applying the learning tasks. Thus, it is consistent with the findings of Krapp [78] that organizing the learning environment should allow the student a great deal of freedom to choose what suits his interests and should be linked to his inner motives. The more freedom the student has in controlling the learning environment, the greater his desire for learning and building awareness. There is no doubt that this explains the superiority of the experimental group that relied on the SEBAR compared with the control group that relied on the usual methods since the level of control was higher, and the freedom was greater within the experimental group on the SEBAR.

In addition, the study results align with self-determination theory, which is based on the premise that the individual, when carrying out tasks, is affected by a set of internal motives that drive and make him more capable of determining his destiny and actions. These motives also determine his priorities in line with his desires and internal components. Accordingly, the environment should allow the individual to make his decisions according to his needs and motives [79,80,81,82,83]. In short, the technology of AR allowed adolescents to make their decisions freely and according to their cognitive needs with regard to the interaction with digital videos generated through AR applications, which made adolescents interact with the content provided in a manner that fit with their motives.

5.3. The Role of SEBAR in Promoting Planning Practices for the Proper Coping with Games and Danger Avoidance

SEBAR enabled adolescents to develop their skills related to the proper planning practices to deal with electronic gaming and avoid its dangers through the presentation of virtual layers that provided practical models for proper play mechanisms and practices. The framework organizing the practice of all AR activities, which was implemented within the sustainable environment, was similar to the proper mechanisms for dealing with games in terms of respect for time, media synchronization, and layer exchange that were helpful for the adolescents to acquire all the mechanisms for proper dealing with electronic games after the completion of the experiment. In this context, one of the participants stated,

“Augmented reality empowered me to plan to avoid damages related to electronic gaming that I was playing. It also helped me to properly use the games later”.

(A3)

Whereas, another student said,

“Augmented reality helped me use electronic games properly and avoid the hygienic and physical harms and family problems they could cause to me”.

(A1)

Another student stated that,

“The application of AR was rich in multimedia. We were enjoying the contents that were presented through the application and we were immersed and engaged with all the contents that were presented to us because it assisted us in forming a complete picture of the mechanisms of dealing with EGA. The application made us able to plan to confront EGA”.

(A2)

As shown in the previous excerpts, through its physical and virtual layers rich in multimedia, SEBAR provided efficient and integrated learning environments that enhanced adolescents’ acquisition of the appropriate skills and mechanisms to cope with DEGA. Practicing the tasks required in SEBAR enabled adolescents to practice planning skills, which were reflected in their ability to plan to avoid the DEGA. Additionally, the integration of the physical and virtual layers within SEBAR empowered adolescents to link the contents presented in both layers, which enhanced their ability to plan through the integration of the contents.

For the adolescent student to acquire planning and organizing skills, the environment must be sufficiently organized to enhance mental processes associated with planning and organizing [84]. This is exactly what SEBAR could stimulate. Each component of the sustainable environment was linked to enhancing layers that helped the adolescent student to organize his or her learning in the contextual environment and at home. Planning and self-regulation skills in environments of awareness can be developed through the existence of an automatic system that puts the individual in a state of constantly thinking about the components of the environment and their suitability for the desired goals [54]. In this context, SEBAR could put the adolescent in such a state to constantly think about the presented augmented materials, their suitability for the desired goals, and how to reap their benefits. Therefore, the ability of the sustainable environment to enhance the adolescent’s ability to properly plan when dealing with the DEGA was highly promoted. Organization and planning are no longer limited to the interactions and learning of the individuals themselves. They are extended to interaction with technology and the environment itself in light of the advanced and developed technologies [54]. In conclusion, it can be argued that SEBAR as a whole was able to enhance the interaction between the environment and adolescents, which ultimately enhanced their abilities to properly plan while dealing with the DEGA.

Moreover, it can be argued that social learning theory reinforces the results of the present study based on the ability of SEBAR to enable learners to acquire the ability to plan, organize, and model the behavior while dealing with the DEGA. The foundations and assumptions of this theory, namely that individuals learn behaviors through behavioral modeling or the outputs of the behaviors of others, in addition to the fact that the knowledge possessed by the student also plays a major role in the learning process, can explain the results of the present study. Furthermore, students’ knowledge also gives them great control over their actions and environment by enabling them to take active steps to build and modify the surrounding environment or when changing themselves [71,85].

6. Limitations

The following can be accounted for as study limitations:

• Adolescent students in the experimental group were difficult to isolate from their school peers because SEBAR is mostly an open environment. However, permission to use the devices inside the school was given to adolescent students within the experimental group with some restrictions and during extra-curricular activities to reduce the impact of the interaction.
• The control group was from another school so that no kind of interaction would affect the study output.
• The age of participant students ranged between 15 and 18 years old, chosen from the first, second, and third secondary grades as it was difficult to obtain an appropriate sample size from one class.
• Perhaps future studies could discuss the impact of the difference between junior and senior high school in interacting with SEBAR and its impact on students’ awareness.
• The research team was unable to implement the study experiment in a mixed sample of male and female students due to the nature of the segregation of schools here, which are intended for either females or males. We suggest that future studies conduct studies examining AR-based sustainable environments on mixed samples of male and female participants.

7. Conclusions

The present study is one of the important research studies that focus on how to develop SEBAR to facilitate adolescents’ awareness of the DEGA. It has been able to develop students’ SEBAR that depends on multiple components. The most important indicators of EGA in the Arab context and the dangers generated by this addiction were also discussed. The results of this study can be used to develop schools so that they can provide sustainable environments that can combat EGA and raise awareness about its dangers. These results can also be used to identify the mechanisms and tools that can be relied upon in shaping students’ awareness of various issues through sustainable educational environments. In future papers, researchers are called upon to discuss the effects of AR patterns in sustainable environments on consciousness and other learning outcomes. Researchers are also urged to conduct studies on the use of AR in treatment programs that aim at reducing the rates of EGA.