The Simpsons, man, it's always the Simpsons:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu3bq1dqzOM

Just seems like the same old, same old... outsiders looking down on something they don't like. "D&D is satanic and will lead to suicide!!!" (Mazes and Monsters (1982)) "Video games will make you violent and misogynistic!!!".

Now we have video games as a MD because.... kids aren't biking and fishing like their parents did? So spending all day fishing is fine, but all day gaming isn't? What about kids indoctrinated into religion, that's okay because your parents do it? Argle bargle, why aren't all activities condemned except the ones I like!!!

ANY activity has the potential to consume too much of your time... but there are a million factors involved and every individual is different. Video games can help with escapism from a harsh reality, help vent stress and impotent rage by killing pixels instead of people, stimulate the mind in ways history class or sports may not.... there are multiple elements.

Instead of pointing fingers at porn, I mean rock and roll, I mean role playing games, I mean video games, focus on the inidividual and their life. If they're having trouble maintaining basic needs (job, home, food, health, etc) then it's both fine and encouraged to look into their life and try to help. But in all likelihood video games or whatever is not the problem. One needs to look at the cause, not the symptoms.

I remember a TZ episode where a guy wished everyone was like him, thinking it would make the world perfect. Well, everyone BECAME him, and he wasn't happy at all.

The movie Serenity had a part where some people tried to make everybody totally peaceful, and that didn't work out well at all.
(WARNING! Major spoilers for the movie)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-NVs68X_S4

And I remember a ST:TOS episode where Kirk was split into two halves, a mild-mannered indecisive character and a violent impulsive character, and Kirk later said he/we need both halves to function.

i knew it! playing insane makes you insane!

I need to play that. I've owned it forever.

I've been meaning to watch all the treehouse of horrors episodes for a long time. be nice if there was a big treehouse of horrors dvd.

anybody remember that old simpsons mini golf game?

Have not seen it in any episode, but I can easily think of a scenario - we achieve world peace, in a generation or two have disarmed the whole planet and done away with all violence... and then the aliens come and conquer or exterminate all of humanity because we are completely defenseless.

If aliens had/have the capability to get here, even if we had defenses we'd be toast. :P We can't match up with that tech and I can't imagine we would 500 years from now.

Articles like this always miss the big picture, I can't say I'm surprised they're still going though. Having a scapegoat is easier than actually facing the problems after all. They always depict games themselves as the problem.

I was a video game addict in high school and a large part of reason for my addiction was my high school life sucked. I had depression and video games were an escape from that. Drugs and drinking were the alternatives but video games were easier to get a hold of. It wasn't video games themselves that kept me addicted, it was the escape from reality. Drugs or drinking would have served the game purpose.

Let's not forget that we live in a hyper self serving society were people are constantly trying to one up each other. It should be pretty obvious most people don't like spending time with selfish people however people like this are a little too easy too meet. Before anyone says "you should get out and meet more people", it's not always that simple. People are busier at work now than before as well, for some, their lives are their jobs. Everyone only has 24 hours in a day after all.

Video games have been blamed for violence in the 90's and now they have also been blamed for men not wanting to get married and have kids. The Hollywood stereotype of the basement dwelling loser is probably the most common retort to this problem, no other thoughts are given. Point out the fact in most western countries (laws vary of course), divorce courts will strip a man of financial assets and take his children away. For men who saw their purpose in life was to be a father, this can be traumatizing and the rage either goes inward (drinking, drugs, suicide) or outwards (anger, crime). In the current social climate, a man who marries/has kids today is gambling his life and that is no exaggeration. Considering the risks, many men opt out of fatherhood, but hey, it's the fault of f*****g video games isn't it?

But instead of looking at the current social environment and how it affects us, lets just blame video games, it requires less work and there's lot of idiots who will swallow that BS easily enough.

I think about this kind of stuff often. I have subbed to WoW on and off over the years since January 2005. It's been a long time. Ultimately, I take frequent breaks, and sometimes I'm gone for a long time.

Today was my first day since my most current sub lapsed. Know what happened? I worked this morning, and then this evening I finally finished Steamworld Dig 2. I am also considering staying up and finishing Batman: The Telltale series :)

If you look at my list in the games finished in 2017 thread, most of them were completed between May to July of this year, when I was not playing any online multiplayer games regularly. This is just me, though, and I can't speak for others.

In terms of addiction, gaming is an addiction for some people. I used it to stop smoking weed back in the early 2000's, and kept the gaming and never went back to the weed. Someone else mentioned they used it to replace alcohol.

This is a great thread, but I think most of us are old enough to know that this issue has been circulated by the media for a very long time. Anything done too often is bad, even breathing *see: hyperventilation*.

Seems like most of us are in agreement, if not all of us, that there's nothing new to see. And for the person who made a comment about internet addiction being considered a real illness, it is here in the States in some places, it's just not covered by insurance.

I think the classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man" comes close to that scenario. For me, gaming allows an escape from my depression, and gives me the chance to escape the constant barrage of negative news that seems to be everywhere you turn. I may have the hands and wrists of an 80-year-old due to a lifetime of gaming, but I also have a lot of fond memories involving it.

One of my best decision in term of Gaming is to stop playing Football Manager series. That thing is dangerous stuff.

Imo those scientists making up such crazy theories are insane - period. It's the same with violent movies who will turn us all into monsters. Just ignore those crazy studies.

Kotaku has an article on it now with some rebuttals from other psychiatrists:

https://kotaku.com/experts-have-a-new-reason-to-debate-whether-gaming-dis-1821609229/amp