Will free Wi-Fi 'Supersize' obesity rate?

We, of course, are slaves to the Internet, and are usually excited to learn about new free Wi-Fi availability. That excitement turned to wariness, however, in the case of Nintendo's announcement today that it will offer free wireless Internet access for its Nintendo DS portable game system at McDonalds restaurants nationwide.

It's well-documented that the nation's childhood obesity rates have hit alarming levels, in part because kids are getting less physical activity, and in part because they're eating too much processed junk food. So we, like some bloggers, can't help but be disturbed by the image of kids playing video games against each other amid the waft of Big Macs and fries. Ironically, McDonalds recently launched a campaign to encourage kids to participate in more physical activity.

It should be noted that McDonalds was already offering Wi-Fi access for a fee to laptop users in 6,000 restaurants, but the free Nintendo arrangement will permit DS machines to play without a laptop.

Blog community response:

"What a smart move. This will no doubt add steroids to the McDonalds party rooms over the nation. Super-sized ethical concerns or not, it's a great marketing ploy for both Nintendo and McDonalds."
--Bronte Media

"Great, now we're going to take all the poor kiddies who are addicted to Animal Crossing and get them hooked on Happy Meals. I mean they're already playing video games instead of exercising, poison burgers aren't going to help."
--Apreche on Kotaku

"When is going digital, just going too far? Should we have Wi-Fi in every corner of the globe? Before you jump to say of course, think about the implications of going out to dinner, or for breakfast and having to sit next to the person who is writing a 10-page paper...There is always a downside to what seems like a completely positive idea. Before we put Wi-Fi antennas on every rooftop, we should really consider the implications."
--Vision Blog Spot

"Personally I think this deal makes an amazing amount of sense based on the shared audience of the two companies. While there are not many games for the DS supporting Wi-Fi today this could lead to some great hacking or force developers hands a bit as the 6000 enabled locations will be quite tempting."
--atmaspheric/endeavors