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AMA to Take on Game Addiction
Will My Wiiitis be Covered by my HMO?
by Sean
According to theSeattle Post Intelligencer members of the American Medical Association are meeting later this month in Chicago to discuss a wide range of video gaming related issues. Among the issues to be discussed and voted on are video game ratings and whether or not to name video game addiction as a formal disorder.
Say man, can you spare sixty bucks?! I gots to pre-order Bioshock before the shakes come on!
Nationwide, doctors are growing concerned over the increasing numbers of young children who play countless hours of games per week. The AMA, citing an outside data source, claim that between 70 and 90 percent of kids are playing video games. And doctors worry that too much time is being spent behind a controller.
The AMA's council on Science and Public Health wrote, "Unfortunately, the (video game) industry's predisposition toward age-inappropriate imaging and marketing techniques has led to concerns about untoward side effects, ranging from physical symptoms such as seizures and tendonitis, to socially maladaptive behaviors such as increased short-term aggressiveness and overuse syndromes."
That's a fancy way of saying too many kids are spending too much time playing inappropriate games.
(initiate sarcasm sequence)
Personally I think this is a great use of time and money. The last time the AMA decided to take on a childhood related problem it was obesity, and look how well that has worked. There are no more fat children!
(terminate sarcasm sequence)
Honestly though, what a waste this whole thing will end up being. They will spend tens of thousands of dollars on a conference in Chicago (complete, I'm sure, with open bars and buffets so all the docs can exercise the restraint they themselves espouse), and will sign some long, drawn-out document that will boil down to what we all already know, Parents must pay closer attention when kids are gaming.
We can discuss childhood obesity and teenage alcoholism in a minute. First, let me at them shrimps!
Its the same with Jack Thompson. Everyone wants to blame the developers, manufacturers, and the retailers. No one points their finger right where it belongs, in the face of lazy parents.
Click here to download the AMA's Report on Video Games
SPOILER ALERT - It's boring as hell!
Source
Say man, can you spare sixty bucks?! I gots to pre-order Bioshock before the shakes come on!
Nationwide, doctors are growing concerned over the increasing numbers of young children who play countless hours of games per week. The AMA, citing an outside data source, claim that between 70 and 90 percent of kids are playing video games. And doctors worry that too much time is being spent behind a controller.
The AMA's council on Science and Public Health wrote, "Unfortunately, the (video game) industry's predisposition toward age-inappropriate imaging and marketing techniques has led to concerns about untoward side effects, ranging from physical symptoms such as seizures and tendonitis, to socially maladaptive behaviors such as increased short-term aggressiveness and overuse syndromes."
That's a fancy way of saying too many kids are spending too much time playing inappropriate games.
(initiate sarcasm sequence)
Personally I think this is a great use of time and money. The last time the AMA decided to take on a childhood related problem it was obesity, and look how well that has worked. There are no more fat children!
(terminate sarcasm sequence)
Honestly though, what a waste this whole thing will end up being. They will spend tens of thousands of dollars on a conference in Chicago (complete, I'm sure, with open bars and buffets so all the docs can exercise the restraint they themselves espouse), and will sign some long, drawn-out document that will boil down to what we all already know, Parents must pay closer attention when kids are gaming.
We can discuss childhood obesity and teenage alcoholism in a minute. First, let me at them shrimps!
Its the same with Jack Thompson. Everyone wants to blame the developers, manufacturers, and the retailers. No one points their finger right where it belongs, in the face of lazy parents.
Click here to download the AMA's Report on Video Games
SPOILER ALERT - It's boring as hell!
Source
Comments
best spoiler alert ever.