Gaming its like snorting Coke!

[Luk3us 63]

In the latest spasm of anti-game hyperbole, a therapist in the U.K. has claimed that two hours of gaming generates the same kind of high as doing a line of coke.

 

The Lancashire Evening Post has apparently "discovered" that hordes of young children have become dangerously addicted to videogames and that more and more are "seeking professional help after becoming hooked on the fantasy word of console games." Three out of five kids under the age of 16 play games to the point that it's cause for concern, the report said, while four out of five under the age of ten play games "at levels showing signs of addiction." Four out of five!

 

Why do these games have such a powerful grip on our children? According to one "expert," the reason is simple. "Spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine in the high it produces," said counselor and therapist Steve Pope. "It is the fastest growing addiction in the country and this is affecting young people mentally, as well as leading to physical problems such as obesity."

 

"I saw one 14-year-old Preston boy who played on games for 24 hours non-stop and had not eaten and was showing signs of dehydration. When his parents tried to take his console away, he became aggressive and threatened to jump out of a window," he continued. "Computer game addiction can also spiral into violence as after playing violent games, they may turn their fantasy games into reality."

 

And it's not just children who are being victimized. Pope said that he is currently working with a 74-year-old grandmother who's addicted to online poker, her daughter, who's addicted to eBay and her granddaughter, who is addicted to Facebook. "The poisoned chalice is being handed down through the generations," he warned.

 

Even professional athletes are struggling with the negative affects of gaming addiction. "Many footballers are playing on hand-held consoles and computer games before a game and this is resulting in a natural high which is causing a chemical imbalance which is leading to them not performing their best on the pitch," Pope explained. "I am the psychotherapist for Fleetwood Town and they ban their players from using any form of console for at least 24 hours before a game."

 

One 49-year-old mother who wished to remain anonymous bought Call of Duty for her son but realized only in hindsight what an impact it had on him. "Now that I look back on it, it's like I went out and bought him his first shot of whiskey," she said.

 

Gayle Brewer, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Central Lancashire and whose living is presumably somewhat less dependent upon keeping people convinced that they're desperately in need of her help, took a bit of a more balanced approach. "It is important to find a balance," she said. "It is easier for parents if they set ground rules from the start about how long their child is allowed to spend on these types of games."

 

The U.K. Interactive Entertainment Association declined to comment on the matter and "whether they believed it was an issue they needed to tackle," which is hopefully a polite way of saying that it refused to dignify such stupidity with a response. The Lancashire Evening Post, meanwhile, promised to follow up with a "full special report" in last night's print edition.

 

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/...-Says-Therapist

 

Yip, its JUST like snorting coke, in every way!

[CraftManiac 1]

Dude... I played C&C RA2 for 10 hours and I'm still (pretty) normal

And that problem afects Irregular peapole... (stars FB Players...) ...

[dbjs2009 25]

Dude... I played C&C RA2 for 10 hours and I'm still (pretty) normal

And that problem afects Irregular peapole... (stars FB Players...) ...

 

When i play for 2 hours i get a deadly headache

[Doctor Destiny 41]

It's like coke? Are they completely out of their minds? Video games do not have anywhere near the power of a street narcotic. People need to wake the hell up and remember that young children with video game "addictions" are the product of lazy parenting, and nothing else.

[CraftManiac 1]

When i play for 2 hours i get a deadly headache

 

Oh my...

 

 

It's like coke? Are they completely out of their minds? Video games do not have anywhere near the power of a street narcotic. People need to wake the hell up and remember that young children with video game "addictions" are the product of lazy parenting, and nothing else.

 

Agreed...

 

[PurpleGaga27 39]

When I play games longer, I get sleepy, dizzy and tired.

[Inferno 22]

I can play half a day just fine, although I only sporadically do so

[dbjs2009 25]

I can play half a day just fine, although I only sporadically do so

 

after 12 hours i would spend the month in the hospital (that if i did'nt die)..

 

3 hours a day would be just fine..

[Guest Stevie_K]

It's like coke? Are they completely out of their minds? Video games do not have anywhere near the power of a street narcotic. People need to wake the hell up and remember that young children with video game "addictions" are the product of lazy parenting, and nothing else.

 

qft

 

 

[BioBen 3]

I love how when I buy a video game, I am actively supporting organised crime.

[Luk3us 63]

That statement is only true if its an Activision game.

[Guest Stevie_K]

That statement is only true if its an Activision game.

 

How is that?

[Luk3us 63]

Because what Activision does is criminal.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Activision is just the worst. They're on the **** list with Ubisoft in faggoty bull****. Not even EA is as bad as those c****wads.

[BioBen 3]

Someone wanna explain why? Is it the DRM bollocks or something?

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Activision ****ed up Infinity Ward, have a knack for producing mainly ****ty titles (going all the way back to the 1980s no less) and both have bull**** DRMs for PC gamers to contend with.

[Luk3us 63]

Don't forget Activision, is steadily raising the prices of games as well. And then overcharging customers for DLC products.

 

Sure they're a company out to make a profit, but they are going to far.

 

 

EA are like angels in comparison to these guys.

[Sonic 294]

Activision ****ed up Infinity Ward, have a knack for producing mainly ****ty titles (going all the way back to the 1980s no less) and both have bull**** DRMs for PC gamers to contend with.

Infinity Ward needed to be put of their misery anyway. You can only keep making the same ****ty Call of Duty games for so many years. But Activision will have some other developer mass producing more Call of Duty games anyway.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Infinity Ward needed to be put of their misery anyway.

Maybe so, but the way Activision handled themselves is less than becoming of someone in their standing.

[Gazdude 0]

Keep in mind that this paper is from Lancashire where the local passtime is a heartily sung folk song and the annual sheep counting competition.

 

Expect insanity.

[Guest Stevie_K]

Yeah, news aren't exactly news nowadays. Of course everything is dangerous when they comment simple statements and statistics with doom-goggles.

Especially those 24/7 news channels seems to be able to make even the most silly little piece of happening into an explosive news event. Sick of it tbh.

[Mighty BOB! 5]

This just in: Games cause nosebleeds and serious brain damage.

[Luk3us 63]

The problem with gaming is the stigma they have with the uninformed. I mean case and point all that **** about Mass Effect a few years back, and Fox news. Because it was a video game, no one took it seriously, so they didn't even bother to CHECK THEIR FACTS.

 

Far to many people assume games are for little kiddies. Tis most annoying.

[Mighty BOB! 5]

Yeah they didn't even bother to play Mass Effect or look up the scene that they made such a big stink about. When some of them were actually shown what they were blathering on about their reaction was "Wait, that's it?" Of course I used the qualifier "some" because others are still ignorant jackasses.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

What's this about Mass Effect and a big stink over a scene? I don't recall this. Off to Wikipedia.