Licking the Razor's Edge (2015)

*VIDEO GAMES are SOCIALLY ADDICTIVE …
The lack of social interaction that results from obsessive gaming always has long-term
social consequences. It is not possible for a young adult addicted to video games to
develop effective social skills – and this deficiency will automatically hinder his or her
ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships. A thirty-one year old with the social
skills of a 15-year-old will not be able to maintain his or her friendships &/or collaborate
effectively with his or her co-workers. And this social awkwardness (created by the
isolationism of his or her gaming addiction) actually feeds the video game addiction even
further, with the discomfort the addict feels effectively chasing him or her back to an
online world where relationships are low-risk and “success” is available on-demand.
THE CONSEQUENCES OF PLAYING VIDEO GAMES
Despite the fact that sixty-three percent of parents believe video games to be a positive
part of their children’s lives (a most disturbing statistic), the painful consequences of
regularly playing video games are severe indeed.
*Playing video games leads to POOR HEALTH …
The physical consequences of gaming addiction are many, and include carpal tunnel
syndrome, migraine headaches, sleep disturbances (sleep walking, nightmares, teethgrinding
& night-sweats), back pain, poor nutrition, and poor personal hygiene.
*Playing video games leads to CHRONIC BOREDOM …
What person, after the intense, over-stimulated excitement of 8+ hours of video games
each week, doesn’t get bored when faced with “spending time with grandma”, working in
the garden, walking the dog, or even hanging out with their friends? This dis-ease is more
than mere “boredom”. The chronic boredom that results from a video game addiction is
actually a mental illness – the loss of one’s ability to perceive life as amazing; an inability
to witness the ever-present wondrous; the blindness to seeing the real world as special or
exciting.
“Technology: the knack of rearranging our world so that we don’t have to actually
interact with it.” ~ inspired by Max Frisch
*Playing video games leads to an increased INCIDENCES OF INJURY …
According to a report published online in the journal Psychological Bulletin, video games
that laud risk-taking behaviors increase the likelihood that gamers will take dangerous
risks in their real lives. Video games commonly glorify activities that are patently
detrimental to one’s health and sense of well-being – including substance abuse, reckless
driving, gambling, and promiscuous sexual behavior; activities that many gamers then go
forth and recklessly emulate in their own lives, often with catastrophic results.
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