Gone Fraggin': Video Games Kill Smart People
Or do they? Details is running an article profiling the increasing popularity of video games among high-intensity professionals such as award-winning novelists, finance gurus, and the like. The story seems to be draped around a few stand-out examples of gaming taken to self-destructive extremes, but isn't exactly a harrowing warning for anyone who's ever picked up a text book.
Unfortunately, a little more bad press goes a long way with the uninitiated and the pundits and the granny-scare-lately crowd.
The article profiles Rome Prize for Literature winner Tom Bissel, who squandered a year of free writing in a Roman mansion playing Oblivion and flushed his novel and self-esteem down the toilet. And Pam Rinder, whose consultant husband shirked work to play Everquest until their house was on the brink of foreclosure. Or real-estate developer Danny Yoo, who spent his Tahoe ski vacation conquering Halo instead of on the slopes - Yoo, who'd seen a friend die after playing Counter-Strike for three days straight.
That's right, people - there are a handful of very successful, driven, perhaps-a-little-twitchy people out there who have let their gaming get out of control. One even missed out on skiing in Tahoe, I tell you! The sky is totally falling:
Video games have replaced cocaine, ecstasy, and 'ludes as a cultural obsession, not to mention an addiction. These days, a guy who stumbles around bleary-eyed in the morning probably wasn't out snorting rails; more likely, he was killing locusts in Gears of War or slaying dragons in World of Warcraft... Today's problem gamers are guys who win literary awards, who edit books that you need an advanced degree to read, who handle your taxes and your divorce—guys with big IQs and big Rolodexes.
Make the jump to find out who's killing off all our millionaire assholes! (And hear one sane voice upon a sea of hyperbole.)
So, yeah. High-powered dicks everywhere are discovering that games are fun. And they're applying the same take-no-prisoners character traits to their newfound passion... and some of them are crazy, so they take it to the extreme in a bad way.
Of course, the crazy few always make a good story, but is there anything relevant about this hoopla beyond an anecdotal warning that should come naturally via good old common sense? "No" seems to be the resounding answer from anyone with a lick of perspective:
Experts don't agree on the games' addictive power. "We should not forget that millions of people play video games, and only a tiny minority experiences any kind of problem, whatever the cause," says Dr. Richard Wood, a professor and researcher at the International Gaming Research Unit of Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham, England.
"Ninety-nine percent of the time, these are people who have some sort of emotional disorder that maybe they didn't even know about. The game is what they're using to avoid reality. These are bright high achievers, working in jobs that indicate they're capable of doing much more than they're doing."
So there you have it, gang. Picking up a new pastime is a nice thing to do. Forgetting to eat, sleep, work, or love your family is a bad thing to do. Now how do we communicate this intricate formula to our misguided geniuses?
Are Video Games The New Cocaine? [Details]
[Thanks for the tip, Terrell!]
tiny dancer
Posted to Hot Stuff, Miscellany on 12 September 2007
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: addiction, cocaine, crack, details, ridiculous, video games
Details is still a shit magazine huh? I'm still ashamed I used to subscribe to that rag.
I just read this yesterday. My partner gets the magazine for free, and he gives them to me, which I give to my good friend who loves that kind of thing. I don't care one way or the other, since I'll never be able to afford the things they advertise. Also, is it just me or is it the gayest "not gay" magazine this side of "Men's Workout"?
As to the article, I read it as a lot of nonsense, wrapped up in "video games = bad" things. A person can OD on anything, if they have that kind of personality. These overachievers are using them as a way out. It's not the games, it's the addictive personality. In the article, it even mentioned that one of the people had successfully weaned himself off of video games and has now taken up racecar driving! Yeah, that's a MUCH safer alternative!
It's just another puff piece, and like most articles in Details, is just filler between ads for Prada, D&G, and Louis Vuitton.
Oh, and I LOVE the picture you've used in the article, LOL! Great reference!
Your welcome Tiny, any time Also, I agree with Ben about the picture it's great. Another disconcerting aspect about the article is the awareness of the author that there are people over re-acting to video games yet she (and/or the editor) appear to have a cavalier attitude towards the fact that headlines such as the ones used will by default fan the fires of people's ignorance and fear.
You're right, Terrell. That drives me crazy when articles and TV news stories are so sensationalized, but in the end, say that there is no conclusive evidence, and to take anything in moderation. So, really, they are intentionally creating fear, while not reallly saying anything new or profound...just wrapping it up in a nice little package to scare people. All for the sake of writing an article, or getting ratings.
i are play video games... i are smrt