by Victor ‘r0gue’ Vieira
I was quite shocked to find this rather weak article on the Daily Mail UK. I would normally associate good reads with them. So the claim is that the average adult gamer is thirty-five, fat and depressed.
So let’s see now. Its no big surprise that anyone around that sort of age could be an avid gamer. We were born into or around the Commodore or Atari era. So the fact that we very much grew up with gaming makes the fit quite easy to see.
Thirty five and overweight? “No way, you kidding me.” Many thirty-something’s will be carrying a little extra weight. This is even more obvious than the previous argument. We are no longer as active due to the demands of our lives, our metabolism slows down and so on. It’s not a ‘gaming statistic’ that, rather an ‘age statistic.’
Then there is the argument that we suffer from depression due to withdrawal symptoms while not gaming. I think that we would be shocked to know how much people actually are suffering with some form or another from of depression. We live in stressfull times…..come on. This is not science of an adult ‘gamer’. This is just another adult. Oh wait did I mention that this was a study conducted in the US.
Then there was this Aussie study. But a high proportion of teenagers who played video games went on to take part in some form of gambling, most commonly buying scratchies, playing card games, and playing machines.” You know what I was not as much of a gamer when I was young as I am now, and honestly gambling would have probably resulted in a cheaper early-adulthood for me.
No I was not tainted enough by the level of my early gaming. I did not gamble, instead I spent my money at every single Bar or Club from Illovo to Midrand. Yip, there was hardly a barman in Jo’burg that did not know me by first name. Now that I am a complete gamer I hardly drink. It affects my hand-to-eye co-ordination and therefore I can forget about unlocking ‘achievements.’ I’m pretty sure that the Scottish economy took a bit of a knock the day I got my console. People must have got laid off at the Bells h.q.
I don’t think I need to even remind you of how killing spree’s are normally caused by Halo or Gran Theft Auto. Honestly when did we stop blaming everything on weed and alcohol? When did games become the cause of all things bad?