Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Games: Worse than Porn

This story in the Boston Globe is ridiculous. While I have no doubt that people can get hooked on games and that there might even be a psychological problem involved with it, and both can cause a lot of problems in your life...okay, so maybe it's not as far out there as I think it is. However, I do think that the same could be said for TV and a whole host of other things that people may potentially perhaps get addicted to. I would proffer the position that it's something to be careful with, but not as demeaning to women (unless you're playing that new Conan MMORPG) and not as damaging to your pocketbook as gambling or smoking.

3 comments:

Rachelle said...

I don't know, I thought it was interesting. Morally it's not worse than porn or anything like that, but it's sad that so many adults are spending hours and hours a day searching for magic elf pants. :) It is possible to get addicted to gaming and these people need help.

Ryan P Giles said...

Conan rocks, just turn off the adult settings...

I think it is not a problem of computer game addiction, just lack of motivation to do something else. When people have more attractive alternatives they do them.

I got those epic elf pants btw, they emphasize my power and dominance.

Michael 聖 Brady said...

I have read surveys and essays about this subject in a class I took back in the '90s--yes, this issue emerged long before now. Girls do NOT think that gaming is attractive, in fact it is the opposite.

More interesting is the opinion that people who are socially un-savvy in the real universe find boosts to their ego (both Freudian meaning and non). In lay terms, if you are socially inept and have trouble making friends, expressing yourself to other humans, yet still have that longing for love and belonging that we all do, video games offer the perfect outlet to make a man out of yourself: you can gather elf plants, usurp kingdoms, build up armies, pwn your haters, and be macho, cool and dominating.

All of this time invested in online gaming, when that time could have been used dating a real woman who will give you real affection, boost your ego in a real way and lead to real happiness. Once the issue is objectivated, it is much easier to solve.