An addiction services organization from Norwich believes videogames can be dangerous.
Based in the town of Norwich since 1978, Norcas has done a lot of good for people addicted to substances like alcohol and harder drugs, as well as behaviors like gambling. Today, though, the addiction organization released some troubling statistics that prove videogame addiction is on the rise. Norcas doesn’t have any services that deal with addictive videogame playing now, but based on the independent research they commissioned (but didn’t cite), they probably will soon.
“If played responsibly, gaming is a good pastime, but we need people to be aware of the problems that will arise if the gaming takes hold,” said Maggie Williams, head of Norcas.
Williams’ fear comes from research claiming that 33 percent of the people polled said they knew someone who spent too much time playing videogames. Not surprisingly, 40 percent of kids under the age of 16 said they knew an individual who – according to them – videogames affected their lives.
“It is a generational issue, with almost 100 percent of young people engaging in gaming,” Williams said. Around 40 percent of the young people polled said they play games everyday, mostly between 6pm and 9pm.
“Some 86 percent of the people we spoke to agreed that gaming can be addictive and revealed lack of exercise and poorer relationships with friends, partners and parents as some of the problems experienced as a result of gaming,” Williams continued.
Norcas wanted to make it clear that videogames are not inherently bad, but if playing them encroaches on other parts of your life then there might be a problem.
In other news, I keep thinking about my dark elf fighter/mage. He got into a drinking contest in a bar in Solitude and woke up in the temple of love in Markarth. I can think of worse places to black out. But, yeah, games are bad.
Source: Norwich 24 News
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Published: Dec 20, 2011 09:14 pm