Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

I know I’m probably in the minority of employed 20-somthing’s, but I normally object to going out drinking if I know I have work the next morning. Even if I’m only planning a drink or two, I still feel an obligation against doing so. I can’t say the same for my gaming habit, which can sometimes keep me up into the wee hours of the morning, mashing or tapping away at whatever game of the moment. While one action is located outside of the home and one is located in, both have the same negative effect on me the next morning. When you arrive in the office and tell someone those dark circles under your eyes are from staying up playing a video game, you’ll probably get a few laughs. Of course, don’t try the same story with alcohol.

I’m not going to sit here and say that video games are in any way more damaging to someone’s life than alcohol addiction. If left untreated, alcohol abuse destroys families and lives far worse than Video Game addiction could even approach. What I will say, is that while alcohol abuse is recognized as a problem in American society, video game addiction is not. This lack of acknowledgment gives video game addiction legs that it simply shouldn’t have.

The results of a recent health survey at Michigan State University concluded that 18.5 percent of their students reported that spending time online and playing computer games had caused them to get a lower grade on a test, a lower grade in a class or to drop a class altogether. When this was compared with drinking, only 8.5 percent stated that drinking had the same effect. When you separate the study by sex, 13 percent of women reported the internet or gaming had negative effects on their schoolwork; for men it was a hefty 25.2 percent. Even though these results are from a study of college students, it’s hard to imagine those numbers wouldn’t carry over to society as these students join the American workforce.

Excessive gaming is becoming more and more an acceptable practice in the US. When was the last time someone discussed having an intervention with their friend because of his video game abuse? This isn’t because it’s unnecessary, it’s because it’s simply unrecognized. I know plenty of people who should really take a breather from their gaming habit and focus on reality more often. We’ve all got that friend who can’t get the scratch together to move out of his parent’s basement but has a 50 inch HDTV hanging on the wall, complemented by a stack of Next Gen games to play on it.

I’m sure you’ve read about Korea’s recent string of deaths directly related to video game usage. No, it wasn’t from people becoming violent because of constant exposure to the games. In most cases it was from utter exhaustion and malnourishment! Koreans currently plug away in cyber cafes for all hours of the day, 30% of their population is registered for online gaming. That’s the equivalent of the entire state of Florida!

Psychologist Professor Mark Griffiths, director of the Internet Gaming Research Unit, has admitted that, “[video game addiction] is not taken seriously yet – it is the same for internet addiction.” Griffiths recommends seeing a psychologist for help with a gaming addiction. These comments were taken from numerous articles regarding internet and video game addiction.

I’m interested to see how gaming negatively affects our reader’s lives. Take a few moments and answer the surveys below as truthfully as possible. Maybe it will open our collective eyes a little.

Sources: Michigan State Survey, BBC, IGRU