An English charity has claimed that gaming addiction is set to become a huge problem after doing a survey of their local area. They claim that a third of adults and 40% of 10-16 year olds play video games every day between the hours of 6 and 9PM, the hours that should be considered "family time." The shocking thing is that 86% of those asked said that gaming can be addictive and will lead to poor health and a lack of social skills.
I hate to point out the obvious here, but for the majority of people the hours between 6 and 9 are the only time they get. They wake up early in the morning, get ready for school or work, bust their butt trying to earn a living (or prepare for earning a living), get home, get fed and then settle down to play video games, perhaps alone or with friends. I wonder how many people would say they watched reality television or listened to rock music between the hours of 6-9, I imagine you'd find the percentages very similar, if not higher.
The charity were quick to say they have no problem with gaming per se (between the hours of 6-9 or otherwise). “If played responsibly," a representative of the company said "gaming is a good pastime, but we need people to be aware of the problems that will arise if the gaming takes hold.”
The same could be said for anything. Drinking coffee is good until you can no longer get through the day without the caffeine shot you get from a cup of coffee. Playing sport is good fun until you find you're obsessed. Funnily enough, I never see scare articles about how playing sports 4 hours a day could be bad for you and have a negative effect on your life with certain friends and family, nor watching sports.
I guess we're just debating social norms and stereotypes, backed up by crappy research and biased opinion. It makes me want to move to Sweden.
Source: Norwich Evening News (the picture above was chosen by them for their report on this, good to see they're keeping up to date).
