The 10 Dumbest Arguments Made Against Games
By Justin Amirkhani | Jan 6, 2012 | 1:57 pm | Permalink
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Like comic books and rock ‘n roll before it, video games have been attacked by ignorant folk with no real understanding how they work.
As they try and pass legislation to limit their sales, decry them as morally bankrupt, and associate those who play them with images of gangly, neckbeard-sporting, basement dwellers, they bring about the most foolish arguments to support their cause.
The stereotypes surrounding video games and gamer culture are wide, and it’s these arguments that spread them.
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Cameron January 6th, 2012 at 07:59 PM
Yeah, actually doing any non-physical activity for a long period of time (ie. sitting on your ass) puts you at a high risk for heart disease EVEN IF YOU WORK OUT. Don't think that sitting around isn't going to hurt you, you need to be on your feet periodically most of the day to stay healthy, that means every 20 minutes to half an hour TAKE A BREAK YOU LAZY SLOB!
JR January 6th, 2012 at 09:01 PM
Sitting on your ass for long periods of the day does not increase heart disease in itself but can cause back problems such as iritated muscles and inflamation and even affecting blood flow. So please know what your talking about before typing random things on the internet like a troll. Your diet on the other hand and total lack of physical exercise does effect your chances.
Cade DeBois (@lifepostepic) January 10th, 2012 at 01:13 AM
Exercise improves a person's heart muscle and cardiovascular condition which is a factor is preventing heart disease, so yes, conversely, weak heart muscles and cardiovascular condition is a factor of developing heart disease. Heart disease is very complex, but stronger hearts are less susceptible than weaker ones.
Cade DeBois (@lifepostepic) January 10th, 2012 at 01:09 AM
"Addictions are defined by their ability to rewire brain chemistry, generally people don’t ingest games" Oh boy, what a massive FAIL. 1) Brain chemistry is not rewired. It's altered, usually due to decreased production in one or more neurotransmitters. For example, lack of sleep decreases serotonin production; lower serotonin decreases one's ability to cope with stress and can lead to depression. Restore serotonin levels by sleeping, decreasing stress and perhaps meds and your brain chemistry returns to normal. Nothing is "rewired." What is popularly meant by "rewiring" one's brain is actual neuron processes that the brain develops to do cognitive tasks. See the following. 2) The human brain is adaptive and continues to change throughout life depending on what is demanded of it. That means behavior is critical to changes on brain processing. In order to do demanding cognitive processes more efficiently, the brain can and does create new neuron pathways. Likewise, in order to maintain those neuron pathways, we need to continue to use them. 3) Most cognitive processing is behavioral. What we think ultimately is manifest is how we act, and how we act influences how we think and what we think about. That means behavior changes our brain. That's why people who are very social tend to have many more neuron pathways of a certain type than people who don't socialize much, and thus can perform cognitive processes in social setting more effectively. Likewise, as newer research suggest, people who spend a lot of time playing complex video games that require problem-solving and mental mapping can develop more neuron pathways for spatial reasoning. It's just our brain adapting to the demands of our own behavior. You socialize a lot--your brain adapts to better work in social settings. You spend a lot of time running around an virtual world--your brain will adapt for that too. 4) Because behavior changes the brain, pretty much any behavior can be addictive. We have a far better grasp of addiction caused by drugs than those by behavior, but the result is pretty same--the individual becomes so focused on that behavior that it begins to negatively impact their ability to function in other areas of their lives, like personal finances and relationships. It appears some people are more susceptible to becoming addictive--what recovering addicts call an "addictive personality" although the factors of addiction susceptibility may be more than just certain personality traits, like low self-esteem, intense self-centeredness, problems with prioritizing, poor long-term planning skills, inability to confront difficulties in life, etc., that appear very common among addicts. And given that excessive game playing has been linked to low self-esteem, I think the possibility of people getting addicted to gaming is quite real. That is not the say games are inherently addictive. they do present an activity that for certain types, may encourage traits that lead to behavioral addiction, like a distraction from their life problems or a false sense of accomplishment. Of course, while the possibility for some people to get addicted is there, it would be unfair and wrong to say all avid gamers are addicts. But to defend gaming with bogus information and to deny that gaming addictions can happen is just cheap and cowardly. Like I said before: FAIL.
burninator3000 January 11th, 2012 at 12:51 PM
They were clearly refuting chemical addiction which is the most long-standing definition, the most well understood, and the most difficult to break form of addiction. It also happens to be the most colloquially referenced and the most taboo. So, actually, your rant is fail. You might as well rant about how defending surfing (or eating a well prepared steak) as not being addictive is a "cheap and cowardly denial" of facts. You're despicable.