Video game addicts can be party animals too

When I was a kid, I usually found myself doing one of two things: playing video games at home or trying as best as I could to attract every girl I saw. Was I a video game addict? Probably. Was a socialite? Yep. And you know what? I wasn't alone.

According to a report from Reuters, Daniel Loton, an Australian graduate student found that "15 percent of 621 adult respondents to an online survey were identified as "problem gamers" who spend more than 50 hours a week playing games."

But only 1 percent of those respondents had poor social skills and shyness, suggesting the cheerleaders in school were wrong: video game addicts are cool too.

Sweet, sweet justice.

The beauty of this new study isn't that it tells us something we didn't already know--I was known as the cool dude on campus for a reason, you know--but it helps us combat the fools who insist that video games are bad for children and hinder their ability to interact in the real world.

Ah, yes, the sweet smell of victory. Remember all the times we were forced to listen to the uninformed drone on about their penchant for "active pastimes?" You know, people like Giles Whittell who wants children to "overdose on wind, rain, mud, gravy, tents, mountains and overcooked bacon. (Oh, and do their homework.)" What wonderful days those were, weren't they?

But alas, we now have some evidence (at the very least) that video games are not the root of all evil and succeeding generations will not be the dolts of the world, but just like you and me--pillars of society (I think).

Of course, we shouldn't get too comfortable. Countless studies will soon crop up telling us why social interaction will never be the same because of video games and we'll be forced to listen to the same rhetoric all over again.

But I don't care because, well, we all know the truth. Years ago, television was said to harm the development of children and yet, that generation carried the country through wars, saw an African-American become a major party presidential candidate, and ushered in the technology age.

If a few crappy TV shows and the Lone Ranger can do that much, can you imagine what a little Mario and Solid Snake can do? The generation that has been reared on video games may be able to fly to Mars, set up a colony, play a quick round of 18 on the moon, and call it a day.

If I've said it once, I've said it 53,000 times--video games are not bad for us, video games are not the root of all evil, and for cryin' out loud, video games will not ruin the world's children.

Now, the RIAA, on the other hand...

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[jpcheca]

I can definitely relate! Video games were/are fun and there was always a need to step away and do a little socializing. Although, i do think that playing team sports helped avoid any problems of shyness.

@jpcnyc

[kalel33]

You can't take this as gospel. It was a college student running a study with surveys. I went through graduate school in psychology and the worst people to rate themselves were themselves. To give validity to a study, it needs to be duplicated and findings needed to be verified by multiple means. The survey is fine as long as you have corroborating evidence through observation. They also could still be socially geeky in that they only fit in with one type of group. This study was based on measurements that were qualitative and not quantitative. Take for instance, if someone responds with anger to a stimulus you have to define anger, how to recognize it, and separate it from other observable emotions.

This article was written because it supported the values of author and does not prove anything without the study being replicated and done in a better manner. There wasn't even any info of different groups, and no probability results. Qualitative research should not be viewed as an easy substitute for a ?statistical? or quantitative study.

[22mojom22]

I think one important thing to note with regard to this debate is that I feel often times people who claim that video games can be harmful to a person's social development fail to realize is how the video game genre has evolved past the days of sitting holed up by yourself for hours. With the advent of online play video games have become incredibly social. The children today who are playing these types of games are being social. Games such as World of Warcraft or Team Fortress 2 not only promote but require gamers to learn to be social and to interact with their fellow players to be truly successful. I think one of the most amazing things about these games is how the social interaction begins in game but extends far beyond. There are no shortages of forums and website where players can interact with each other once the game playing has stopped. Gamers are social. I think that the definitions of what being social is are changing.

[jlseisdedos]

I personally love video games. I'm considering on getting a new computer from this website: www.titanuscomputers.com. And I was hoping somebody from Cnet could give me some advice on this website and what they offer.