Therapist: Gaming is Like Snorting Cocaine
How about snorting a little Modern Warfare 2? If games are like cocaine, then I'm a junkie.
A recent report in the Lancashire Evening Post claims that two hours of video games is equivalent to a line of cocaine. But what the report doesn't say is that video games don't cause lung cancer, they don't cause liver disease, and they certainly don't kill brain cells... at least not to our knowledge (and those brain cells probably died off long ago anyway). Yet gamers are bombarded with supposed studies and theories that games are just as bad--if not worse--than smoking and drinking alcohol.
The latest "games are bad" article surrounds the younger gamer, reporting that they're skipping meals, skipping school, and even stealing money from their parents. However here's a news flash: those elements were in place long before gaming went mainstream. Still, there appears to be a growing number of young gamers sitting in therapy due to their virtual "addictions." We've already seen signs of this pop up (via "boot camps") in China as well as in our own back yard up in the state of Washington. And as we've seen in prior reports, the games themselves are usually a means of escaping problems in the real world. With that said, it's easy to compare games to alcohol and drugs.
"A lot of young people get themselves into a situation where they use video games as an escape from the world and they get hooked on the release of adrenaline it gives," said councilor and therapist Steve Pope. "It is the fastest growing addiction in the country and this is affecting young people mentally, as well as leading to physical problems such as obesity. It gives parents peace and quiet, but it becomes a concern when it is all the child wants to do."
But young gamers aren't the only "addicts." According to Pope, adults and seniors can be just as hooked, especially with sites such as Facebook and eBay. "I am working with one family where a 74-year-old grandmother is addicted to online poker," he added. "Her daughter is addicted to eBay and has bought 270 pairs of shoes, and her grand-daughter is addicted to Facebook. The poisoned chalice is being handed down through the generations."
Ok, and what about us PC gamers and our love for first-person shooters? "Computer game addiction can also spiral into violence, as after playing violent games, they may turn their fantasy games into reality," he said.
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Dude.... I want to play the games this therapist is playing.
Spoken like a therapist that has never, ever tried cocaine... or maybe one that needs to find a better supplier. LOL!
Dude.... I want to play the games this therapist is playing.
Lmao, no kidding.
Of course!
Reminds me what they were saying about D&D back in the day, but they were more blatantly calling it evil and devil worship and all that garbage.
Snorting yay is like a game, see how many lines you can do before you od.
please don't you dare compare video games to a truly destructive substance like cocaine. these people just need to learn/be taught some self control.
Different day, same garbage. He's not the first guy to make these arguments, and he certainly won't be the last.
Yet they don't complain about television?
They just want something to whine about, and to make money off of "video game addicts". What about stamp collecting addicts or football playing addicts? Computer gaming is just a hobby. With this type of thinking, anything someone does every day could be considered addicting. Ridiculous.
Why don't they worry about drugs and mental problems instead.
Reminds me what they were saying about D&D back in the day, but they were more blatantly calling it evil and devil worship and all that garbage.
You know it is bad when you refer to those days as better days.
Therapists need to stop "creating a market" for themselves....
well ill never pawn all my moms stuff to get my videogame hi!
And then I pulled out my gun!
BRING IT ON
Yeh, I dropped a nuke in MW2, then felt a desire to go and kill someone.
Whatver you say Mr. Therpist.
This therapist's license should be re-evaluated.
And this therapist is addicted to.. omg... publicity.
Holy shit.
bullshit
Right (roles my eyes) this therapist is full of brown brown crap.
pseudoscience
I shot this therapist since I played outside too much with paintball guns.
Really, this is trash.
This guy probably would have complained about fantasy novels if this kind of job existed when they first appeared.
"The children and adults go into a world of their own, a world shaped by the author in order to stimulate the bodies natural hormones and create a sense of excitement and immersion which is totally addictive; and ultimately destructive."
- The kind of thing he would have said.
It always cracks me up when i see some pseudo-therapist come out and say things like these.
Unlike him, i have real extensive experience in both. I´m a recovering addict myself, after almost 20 years of heroin addiction, with a lot of cocaine in between. I can promise you, comparing gaming to cocaine is utter bollocks, and is only done to add shock value to a statement that lacks any real credibility.
Theories like these are concocted by self-interested people with an eye in making a quick buck from desperate parents that should know better. No doubt the authors of said theories have opened a gaming addiction clinic somewhere, and are just seeking out customers by scaring the living shit out of parents when using words like cocaine and gaming in the same sentence. Pay no mind to these buffoons.
I think I have a going to work addiction....I just seem to end up there day after day and stay there for hours...do I have a problem?
i can see that therapist has been snorting some cocaine himself.
Power rangers make me want to fight people too.
If this is true, what is crack cocaine?
MMORPGs?
OK... maybe StarCraft for Koreans is like cocaine. Games aren't habit forming, they start off as hopefully a challenge and progress until you finish the game and get board.
Maybe staring at a campfire is like meth?
TV must be like pot?
I suppose cookies are the equivalent to heroin. I can't wait until my next cookie. I should rob my entire family for another cookie.
I bet playing sports is far worse according to this logic. No more school sports, it's addicting!!!
Stupid silly crap
Gaming can definitely be addicting. But not like cocaine or any other drug that causes a physical dependency. If you call something that you spend hours a day doing addiction, a lot of things fall into that category. Sports, reading, work, ect, ect...
Oh well, if it was reported in the Lancashire Evening Post, then it must be true!
well all i have to say to this guy is therapist is made up of two words... The - rapist ... ask me they are raping poeples pockets and thier minds