Therapist Repeats "Gaming is Like Snorting Cocaine" Claim

[Captain_M]

To be fair, I do play Street fighter IV with all the tiger that is in my blood....

 

[Wintermute_]

So... your saying we should make crack addicts play video-games to make them stop? idk, I would hate to meet a former crack addict turned obsessive addicted video gamer on the other team in a lobby. KD would suffer...

 

[drbarno]

Also, if you split up the word 'therapist', you get 'the rapist'. Just thought I'd point that out(See, I can make ridiculous claims too).

Damnit! Now I can't unsee it.

 

[gmergurl]

Great, another nut. And not even an orignal one.

Brilliant This made my day. Thank you.

On another note. He probably does have a book (sorry didn't read the whole thing). Should Amazong-google him to be sure.... >.>

 

[wrightguy0]

Just imagine what would happen if this guy and the "Video games turn people into rapists" woman got together and had kids. Those kids would have all kinds of crazy ideas about the things their peers are doing, and then even more extreme views of what the next generation does.

is it scary that i don't have to imagine this cause it's already coming true?

 

[Beat14]

When i started reading this article I was on a similar wavelength to this guy, having the control snatched out of my hand would make me pretty angry. Even though I am aware I am wasting my time in my eyes and others. But when he moves on to say that kids stay up late to play video games and that releases a high, that seems absurd to me. Although I'm not a kid any more, so maybe when I was a bit younger I got this high.

I think I can see where he is coming from, I would act like I pissy child if someone took away the power cables to my xbox and pc, pathetic really.

EDIT:
You can't compare this to robbing some ones food or their means to eat. You need to eat, its natural to want to eat, so naturally people get angry if you steal there food, unless they have over indulged or being forced to eat. That's how ridiculous I think the comparison is,(controller snatching to food snatching making people angry), I'm highlighting why some person may go against the natural urge to eat.

 

[dcrane]

Okay, so the man's obviously an idiot. However, superficially (i.e., at the symptom level) there can be similarities between video game playing (let's pick something like COD) and coke/crack highs:

Enhanced aggression? check
Elevated heart rate/blood pressure? check (probably related to aggression)
Enhanced perception/focus? check
Lack of fatigue? check

Of course, your mileage may vary (I'm talking to you Mr ice-in-my-veins Uber COD player)

 

[Tdc2182]

I'm pretty sure taking away anything from someone pisses them off no matter what it is.

I'll be right back, I'm gonna test that on my brother.

Yeah, he looked at me funny then just grabbed it back from my hands.

 

[Chibz]

You know what else can cause an "endorphin high"? Exercise.

People who exercise in gyms tend to get angry if you disrupt their exercise routines. Scary, huh?

Therefore ban gyms. Ban jogging and cycling paths.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

Taking something away from somebody while they're enjoying it is going to piss EVERYONE off the same way, so just claiming it as evidence that video games are evil is bullshit. I mean, I'm really enjoying 'War of the Worlds' right now. If someone snatched it out of my hands while I was in the middle of reading, I'd react badly.

The fact this guy is a fucking psychiatrist is scary in an of itself. This is a respected professional saying this kind of bullshit. And people are bound to believe him.

Playing games for 2 hours doesn't replicate the effects of snorting a line of cocaine. I've SEEN people who've just had cocaine, and no way in hell do 2-hour long gaming sessions produce that kind of effect. I've played games non-stop for way longer than 2 hours and I've still been able to think and reason like a normal, and sober, human being.

Long story short: this guy is fucking dumb and anyone who believes him deserves to be punched in the stomach. Repeatedly. Until they stop being so fucking dumb.

 

[The Stonker]

He's just another snakeoil salesman who wants to sell his lies to a mindless society.

 

[ImprovizoR]

What an idiot. This stupidity doesn't deserve to be discussed about. What is next? Gamers anonymous for video game addicts? Give it a break and take responsibility for what your kids do.

 

[FROGGEman2]

is he really comparing cocaine to videogames

like is he actually doing that

i have no words for all the stupid

grammar fails me

i am as appalled as i am confused

 

[Michael O'Hair]

Sleeplessness? Morrowind and Oblivion frequently put me to sleep while playing them. Several other games caused me to exhibit similar behavior if I wasn't able to play something else before losing consciousness on the nearest couch.

"Computer game addiction can also spiral into violence as after playing violent games, they may turn their fantasy games into reality," he continued. "It is the fastest growing addiction in the country and this is affecting young people mentally and physically."

Number of kids hopping fences using RPG explosions? Probably zero. Kids commanding scores of ants to attack other insects by encircling them with an imaginary cursor? Most likely zero. Number of kids interested in agriculture and animal husbandry after playing Farmville? You get the idea.

To make his point, he suggested that parents listening to the program "go upstairs to your kid's bedroom and try and take the game station controller out of their hands." They will react "in the same way as an alcoholic would if you tried to take their booze. It's scary," he said. As for the claims about sleep disruption that started the whole mess, he said staying up late to play videogames causes an "endorphin high in [kids'] brains," leading to a "chemical imbalance" that disrupts behavior and learning.

Little kids react the same way when anything is taken away from them: candy, television, toys, etc.

Is there an abstract of Steve Pope's research anywhere? MCV article and other news aggregators with the same article don't have it. I assume this is just BS reporting to vilify games so that defenders of video games can rise to defend their pastime.

 

[The_Blue_Rider]

I can see what he might be trying to mean, however he is talking about addiction not people who just like playing games, he just lumping us all together. Also try take anything from a child that the child enjoys and you will get an angry reaction

 

[LordOrin]

I find this disingenuous to crack addicts.

 

[Zechnophobe]

To make his point, he suggested that parents listening to the program "go upstairs to your kid's bedroom and try and take the game station controller out of their hands." They will react "in the same way as an alcoholic would if you tried to take their booze. It's scary," he said. As for the claims about sleep disruption that started the whole mess, he said staying up late to play videogames causes an "endorphin high in [kids'] brains," leading to a "chemical imbalance" that disrupts behavior and learning.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43423/Two-hours-gaming-a-line-of-cocaine]


Permalink

Tennis is ALSO like Cocaine. Just walk onto a court where two people are playing, and try to take the Racket out of their hands! Watch how they react with hostility!

Boxing too! Walk into the ring, and try to pull the pants down of the boxor. OMG!