So uhhh.. Gaming is good for you..

[.TraX.]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/a94085/research-non-gamers-more-anti-social.html

A $1.5 million dollar US study into the global video games industry has found that non-gamers are more prone to anti-social behaviour.

The Government-backed research, headed up by PHD Lawrence Kutner, surveyed around 1,300 young people across the US and concluded there is "absolutely no evidence" that video games lead children to a life of crime.

Most interesting is that the study revealed that playing games gives young males "social confidence", while those who don't play video games had a "significantly greater risk" of becoming anti-social.

Kutner told X-Play: "It seems that playing video games for boys is a marker of social confidence. That surprised us.

"It's interesting if you look at what happened a year ago at Virgina Tech... [the attacker's] suitemates who he shared a dorm room with said that he didn't play video games at all and that struck them as really odd because everyone else did. And that fell right in line with our research findings, that the kids who don't play at all are actually at greater risk... It says something about their social relationships.

"If you look at violent crime in the US over the past 20 years among teenagers, it's gone down and gone down significantly, and if you look at video game play, it's gone up significantly."

But Kutner noted that youngsters who play adult-rated violent video games for more than 15 hours a week could be at greater risk of getting into trouble.

 

[Swampy]

Most ironic study findings ever or mostest ironic study findings ever?

 

[Praxiteles]

Probably both. Now I have scientific study for anti-gamers. Last nail in the coffin or what?

 

[SlipKnoT]

New arguement to introduce when trying to convince my parents to allow me to get GTA4.

Awesome, thanks TraX.

 

[SHUCKLE MAN]

Wow, that's interesting... To be fair though, we don't have the full details of the study. There are some surveys that are so vague that people can draw any conclusion they want from it.

 

[Clash]

Seems logical. Everybody plays games these days, it's a good way to find people who like what you like, through games.

 

[chuboy]

Here's the answer, people who are playing video games all the time are too busy owning to do anything antisocial!

Interesting news though, really.

 

[Jinchuuriki Hunter]

How interesting...I've been trying to play the same games my classmates play so I could be closer to them. (They didn't catch my interest for long though...)
And then I find this.

 

[Brettt]

Haha! Didn't see that coming.

 

[(s.i.e)]

sounds logic to me, it's true at younger ages children need to make friends to
build up a social life to learn how to communicate.

 

[Conquistador]

Mmmm....


What genre exactly? It isn't specified.


I'd say it would vary genre to genre.

 

[GhostAnime]

But Kutner noted that youngsters who play adult-rated violent video games for more than 15 hours a week could be at greater risk of getting into trouble.

this is the only part im wondering about..

 

[Yonowaru in Chaos]

It really depends on the genre.

I mean, look at this forum...

 

[Dattebayo]

Wow, that's an interesting find. Let's see if Jack Thompson can explain that.

 

[HyenaHaze]

Wow, that's an interesting find. Let's see if Jack Thompson can explain that.

"But being an antisocial psychopath is a mission in the game!" Riiiight.

Anyways, I think this mostly works for RPGs. They're "social". WoW nerds unite!

 

[Rave]

I also remember reading somewhere that playing games makes kids less violent too.

 

[Profesco]

Playing Pokemon has helped me to be more socially active.

I would like to know the differences between the genres, as well as how easily the data collected can be manipulated.

 

[Lord of Music]

It's only fitting, as games make you become a maaaan.

 

[Azure Wolf]

I read that games make a person a better driver too in addition to this.

 

[Lord of Music]

Yes, games like Mario Kart Wii support this claim, with the nifty bonus of the sudden urge to throw a banana at the driver at your rear.