Science Says Gamers are Fat, Depressed Losers
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
- Start date
I was an intensely introverted, depressed person before home video games even existed. I'd say that people like that are just attracted to video games, not caused by video games. And I really don't like the term "play-like activities". It sounds like they are creating a label specifically so they can stigmatize gaming without stigmatizing other kinds of play. When you start to play with semantics to win your argument, your argument doesn't deserve to win.
http://www.piercemattiepublicrelations.com/Skittles_twitter.jpgPlaybahnosh said:The only way to reply to this is to quote Big Bang Theory, but I forgo that for now...
On the other hand, I tend to agree with the majority of the people here. Gamers are not depressed, fat guys because they are gamers, they are gamers because they are fat and depressed.
Hey, I'm a fat guy, and I used to be depressed, but ever since I joined the webzine I write for for three years now, I'm quite happy playing and reviewing games. Sure, I'm still fat, but who cares?
I had a choice: either become a "normal" person, lose weight, do sports regularly and eat healthy foods or become a video game reviewer, do what I like for a living and have fun. The choice was obvious...at least for me. So, what if I die sooner? No one lives forever (pun!), and at least I die being happy
-gives hi-five and a bag of Skittles-
You, kind sir, are the first to win this award from moi for quite a while.
I could be mad....then I think about the epic failure that this is in terms of time and money wasted to come to conclusions that could have been made by a five year old...and i'm not mad...
Plus the whole internet social thing, for me at least, is bs cause most of my social base is face to face.
As for the fat thing, I like to eat, but I try to do some physical activity.
Plus the whole internet social thing, for me at least, is bs cause most of my social base is face to face.
As for the fat thing, I like to eat, but I try to do some physical activity.
A correlation is not a causation. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if most gamers would turn to their games when they are depressed, like I do. In other words, they were depressed before playing.
This is what I agree with, and I think this is the reason of the article. Unfortunately since it was put on by a health department it is put into a different light, but in reality, the article is just pointing out that people who play video games are "depressed" and "overweight", not that video games are the cause, or even that prolonged exposure to video games are harmful. Just that these are the people who play them.PsykoDragon said:
And would any of us really have it any other way?
https://www.tentonhammer.com/node/48989
Now, you don't want to take it worth a grain of salt, this is still important and useful data. And it is kinda refreshing to hear from a survey that ISN'T advocating (advertising) the Wii in old folks' homes.
Hey... I might be depressed and socially stunted, and I fucking admit it, but I am NOT FAT! I am the dead opposite. I'm damn near anorexic! Stupid fucking studies....
This is the kind of shit that shuns me from wanting to be a scientist when I grow up.
EDIT: Wooo! 999 posts! Turn that upside down!
This is the kind of shit that shuns me from wanting to be a scientist when I grow up.
EDIT: Wooo! 999 posts! Turn that upside down!
Once again, the "scientists" are wrong. This is hardly the first time either. Whenever I see these studies where some group samples a few people and then makes blanket statements about a much larger group based on their study, I roll my eyes. Five hundred people is hardly representative of the very diverse group of people who play video games. Why universities and other research institutions continue to waste money on studies like these is beyond me.
The whole BMI thing is fundamentally flawed. Not sure if in the 5 pages of replies some one has already mentioned it. But anyway, I bodybuild and consider myself to be somewhat of a gamer. I'm not excellent socially but I could be far worse. As far as the depressed bit goes, I'm sure we all have our days.
Wow. I should read more of this "coyote"s articles. It's been a while since I've seen writing so hilarious that people were staring at me funny at work, while still having such deep meaning & insight.bakonslayer said:
Anyway, yeah, just sitting on the net for hours on end looking for some amusement can cause health problems (usually in the form of back problems), let alone gaming, which can easily depress people. So if you look at the article from another perspective, they're not saying we're a bunch of depressed fatso's, they might be trying to tell us that we're risking our physical & mental health by doing this too much.
Almost (if not) all of this is a restatement of stuff already said, but I'm going to play the part of science pointing out exactly why it wasnt me who said this. i.e. why this was not scientific
1: BMI.
2: 500 people sample size, now I havnt wiki'd america to check the population numbers but 500 isnt enough to give an accurate estimate about a small city's demographics much less what is a global hoby.
3: Self evaluation, a man who has 2.3 kids, a dog, lives in the suburbs and plays baseball with his son knows that this is an 'ideal' life and therefore assumes he is generally happy, even if he has equal time feeling down or depressed as a gamer who is probably more truthful about being slightly gothic because darkness is acceptable for us.
4: 'Internet for social support' all gamers know how to use the internet, a staggering amount of non-gamers dont. Also this doesnt mean gamers get less support from more personal sources just that they get more from the net.
Now off from the purely scientific bit, I play videogames alot because I am naturally introverted, a trait which can also lead to depression due to being to much of a pansy to go and meet people. I am incredibly thin, 18yo (male) and ~55Kg.
1: BMI.
2: 500 people sample size, now I havnt wiki'd america to check the population numbers but 500 isnt enough to give an accurate estimate about a small city's demographics much less what is a global hoby.
3: Self evaluation, a man who has 2.3 kids, a dog, lives in the suburbs and plays baseball with his son knows that this is an 'ideal' life and therefore assumes he is generally happy, even if he has equal time feeling down or depressed as a gamer who is probably more truthful about being slightly gothic because darkness is acceptable for us.
4: 'Internet for social support' all gamers know how to use the internet, a staggering amount of non-gamers dont. Also this doesnt mean gamers get less support from more personal sources just that they get more from the net.
Now off from the purely scientific bit, I play videogames alot because I am naturally introverted, a trait which can also lead to depression due to being to much of a pansy to go and meet people. I am incredibly thin, 18yo (male) and ~55Kg.
Because simply because you play video games doesn't mean you're fat and depressed. Yes, if all you do is play video games, then of course you're more likely to be overweight, but we don't know what sort of definition they're operating on for "gamer". Also, I could've sworn I read a study that proved that video games do NOT lead to depression, unlike television.sneakypenguin said:
I think things like this are amusing.
Why is it that whenever WE the gamers ask other gamers if they are depressed, extremely overweight, or depressed. The verdict is always something close to no, or I could be better.
I mean sure, people lie. But, from what I've seen all my gamer friends are healthy.
Hell I'm healthy and I spend plenty of time gaming.
In fact I even play WoW (2 80's) on and off. I still boast a toned physic (5'11, 155 lbs 2% body fat) and I do like to credit myself to being a rather charismatic person.
I believe science has a way of cherry picking there way through the masses.
Why is it that whenever WE the gamers ask other gamers if they are depressed, extremely overweight, or depressed. The verdict is always something close to no, or I could be better.
I mean sure, people lie. But, from what I've seen all my gamer friends are healthy.
Hell I'm healthy and I spend plenty of time gaming.
In fact I even play WoW (2 80's) on and off. I still boast a toned physic (5'11, 155 lbs 2% body fat) and I do like to credit myself to being a rather charismatic person.
I believe science has a way of cherry picking there way through the masses.