Video Games in the press

[Wilko]

Can someone explain to me why it has suddenly become so fashionable for the media to argue against video games and, in many cases, downright "slag them off"?

I've just finished watching tonight's Panorama on video game addiction, which focused on a few select cases of teenagers becoming addicted to video games, before going on to focus on adults who were addicted to video games, and allowing the actual video game industry little-to-no rebuttal on the matter.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00wlmj0/Panorama_Addicted_to_Games/]Here's the Panorama episode

Another example is this (ignore the captions and just listen to some of the arguments put across).

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_sJnFUHcrg]Alan Titchmarsh Show "Debate" On Video Games

I suppose my question is why, in the 21st century, in 2010, are video games still considered to be a root cause of anxiety, stress, addiction and violence in a civillised community?

Were video games ever "debated" in this way in the late 80s/early 90s? Or is it only as games have become more sophisticated and entered into the majority of households across the world that the debate on "addiction" has shifted further towards video games (and perhaps away from the debates of yesteryear, the likes of rap music, horror films, tv shows such as The Simpsons and South Park)?

[Hartley Hare]

Simple, Wilko - it's Christmas. Lots of people will be buying games for presents, so it's topical to air programmes and publish articles on the subject.

For what it's worth, I do think that video games can be addictive where the person playing them has an predisposition towards addiction. In the same way that alcohol and tobacco can be more addictive to some and less addictive to others.

[jcidaho]

I suppose my question is why, in the 21st century, in 2010, are video games still considered to be a root cause of anxiety, stress, addiction and violence in a civillised community?

I don't think anyone sane thinks that video games are a root cause of the problems you mention. Just that for some people with particular mental frailties video games can be truly addictive, to the point of compromising peoples lives.

[Alex W]

Gaming is addictive, but only because it's so fun and you can play it constantly. If humans were fit enough, I dare say we'd be playing football for 6-7 hours straight, every day of the week.

It's the MMORPG's that are the more addictive ones, they become like a second life to some people. And in more extreme cases, they become more important than their real lives. There are stories of people playing video games for 18 hours a day, and the rest of their day is spent eating/drinking/sleeping. They do nothing else.

The problem is of course that the media (or some sections of the media) will slate the entire industry for these rare cases. Gaming is brilliant, it's a fantastic entertainment on par with films/books now. Instead of watching a film, you can physically play the character in a story good enough for cinema.

The gaming industry does tell people to take breaks between gaming, infact most PS2 games I used to buy had a warning saying you should have 15 minutes of rest after an hours play. That's a little extreme of course, but they put it in there nontheless.

There are addicts at most things, something as popular as gaming is going to have a few people addicted. I did read somewhere that a top psychologist had already treated 3 or 4 of the Premierships top players for Gaming Addiction, which is not suprising. Rooney once said that he'd play Fifa for hours straight every day after training.

[xXDcFcXx]

Gaming is addictive, but only because it's so fun and you can play it constantly. If humans were fit enough, I dare say we'd be playing football for 6-7 hours straight, every day of the week.

It's the MMORPG's that are the more addictive ones, they become like a second life to some people. And in more extreme cases, they become more important than their real lives. There are stories of people playing video games for 18 hours a day, and the rest of their day is spent eating/drinking/sleeping. They do nothing else.

The problem is of course that the media (or some sections of the media) will slate the entire industry for these rare cases. Gaming is brilliant, it's a fantastic entertainment on par with films/books now. Instead of watching a film, you can physically play the character in a story good enough for cinema.

The gaming industry does tell people to take breaks between gaming, infact most PS2 games I used to buy had a warning saying you should have 15 minutes of rest after an hours play. That's a little extreme of course, but they put it in there nontheless.

There are addicts at most things, something as popular as gaming is going to have a few people addicted. I did read somewhere that a top psychologist had already treated 3 or 4 of the Premierships top players for Gaming Addiction, which is not suprising. Rooney once said that he'd play Fifa for hours straight every day after training.

To be fair Rooney is in the game lol. I like video games when we have weather like this or raining. Its a way to relax if there is nothing else on. Id say that my favourite things to do when I have free time are 1. Go and watch derby . 2. Go into town and buy some clothes and see friends that have gone to different schools or colleges. 3. Listen to music. 3. Watch tv (especially football and two and a half men). 4. Play a video game for like an hour at most. If people want to spend hours playing video games then it is there choice, if you dont know them then it isnt going to affect you directly.

[Perky1106]

You can be addicted to anything but video games is a rarity. The people at risk are people with too much free time.

I can't play XBox atm because my wrist is sprained (thanks to slippimg in snow) and moving fingers is agony. :frown: I am typing with one hand as well and it takes ages.