Just a Game?

[Remy]

So I just happened to post this video on Skype and realized that there is a great wealth of opinion's in the guild that I believe would be a huge benefit to our research.

Some background. I research in the Sequoia lab at BYU which includes internet safety and computer gaming as well as the study of how humans create software.

sequoia.cs.byu.edu/?page=overview

For education week Chuck gave a talk on gaming addiction. I would love to get your thoughts on what he says. Do you agree? Disagree? etc. He does not play WoW but has studied it quite a bit and I think makes some good points.
Thanks

www.byub.org/talks/Talk.aspx?id=4006

[p00p]

Interesting talk. Up until the last several minutes I was going to say that it sounded much more informational than any kind of warning or reasoning behind The Church's verbose concern for Game addiction but he wraps it up well in the end.

It all boils down to eternal perspective and to not get caught up in the distractions in life BUT to not live in a closet or constant state of fear, timidness, or ignorance, either.

I think it's important that people understand WHY gaming can be so addicting and he explains it very well. Knowing the risks and the signs of neglect are the key as he explains very well in the end.

[b0lg]

Not sure I learned anything new, and seemed like a lot of the information can and has been applied to a lot of other forms of addictions. But it was a good listen thanks for the link.

While gaming addiction is an issue the bigger issue is Tech addiction, share these with your class!
NPR POD cast
His first article about it
The experiment they talk about

[Mathazar]

I agree with bolg in that there was no new information for me, but this is a subject that I enjoy so that's not something I expected.

The tie in to religion at the end seemed forced to me. Like a bolt on to his topic in order to meet the requirements of the group he was speaking to.

It is nice to see it so clearly explained for the layman however without a lot of hyperbole about how L4D is a murder simulator. Gaming is just one way to spend your time. Like anything there are pro's and con's to both casual and addictive gaming. I personally game to much, I know that about myself but I don't work to hard to fix it. Of my past addictive activities gaming is the least destructive. The biggest issue I currently have with gaming is those nights when I stay up until 2am and am near worthless at work the next day. Or when I spend a Saturday gaming/tinkering/interneting (yes interneting is now a word I've decided, shut it) instead of fixing the toilet/sprinklers/deck. But the financial cost is low, the relationship cost is low, there is little impact to my work and it's a social activity now unlike in years past.