This makes me sad

[Kuyuk]

/wrists


Excess gaming linked to depression, bad grades
When it comes to playing video games, it seems moderation is important to a child's mental health. A new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics finds excessive gaming may lead to depression, anxiety, and poor grades in school.

Researchers in the U.S. and overseas looked at more than 3,000 elementary and middle-school children in Singapore and found that almost 9% of them were considered pathological or "addicted" to gaming – similar percentages were found in other countries.

Over a two-year period about 84% of those who started out as excessive gamers remained so, indicating that this may not simply be a phase that children go through. Boys were more likely to show symptoms of excessive gaming. Overall those considered "pathological" gamers displayed higher levels of depression and other mental health issues than their peers who played fewer video games. The researchers also found that students who did stop their excessive gaming reduced their levels of depression, anxiety and social phobia.

There is debate in the medical community as to whether pathological or "addictive" video gaming should be listed as a mental disorder in the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders – a guide used by the American Psychiatric Association in diagnosing mental disorders.

To gauge the level of pathological gaming, the study authors asked students questions similar to the type used to diagnose gambling addiction such as: were students becoming more preoccupied with video games, did they lie about the amount of time spent playing, had their schoolwork suffered, and if playing helped them escape from problems or bad feelings.

FULL STORY HERE
http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/17/excess-gaming-linked-to-depression-bad-grades/?hpt=T2

[Androidpk]

Is this really a surprise? I think an excessive amount of anything would be bad for your health.

[Gelston]

Researchers in the U.S. and overseas looked at more than 3,000 elementary and middle-school children in Singapore and found that almost 9% of them were considered pathological or "addicted" to gaming – similar percentages were found in other countries.

So are they trying to tell me that video games aren't good substitutes for parents?

[Suppa Hobbit Mage]

Yeah, cause kids have never, ever, in the history of children, be so obsessed with one thing that they watch it/play it/play with it/collect it to excessive levels. As with pretty much everything, moderation and common sense should prevail.

[pabstblueribbon]

So are they trying to tell me that video games aren't good substitutes for parents?

Or pants.. The times, they are a changin'.

[AnticorRifling]

Stop reading after the first word in the title of the article. Substitute ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. Excess is the problem. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

[Cephalopod]

Stop reading after the first word in the title of the article. Substitute ANYTHING IN THE WORLD. Excess is the problem. Moderation, moderation, moderation.


This makes me sad:


Excess masturbation linked to depression, bad grades

When it comes to masturbation, it seems moderation is important to a child's mental health. A new study published by the American Academy of Pediatrics finds excessive masturbation may lead to depression, anxiety, and poor grades in school.

Researchers in the U.S. and overseas looked at more than 3,000 elementary and middle-school children in Singapore and found that almost 9% of them were considered pathological or "addicted" to masturbation – similar percentages were found in other countries.

Over a two-year period about 84% of those who started out as excessive masturbators remained so, indicating that this may not simply be a phase that children go through. Boys were more likely to show symptoms of excessive masturbation. Overall those considered "pathological" masturbators displayed higher levels of depression and other mental health issues than their peers who masturbated less. The researchers also found that students who did stop their excessive masturbation reduced their levels of depression, anxiety and social phobia.

There is debate in the medical community as to whether pathological or "addictive" masturbation should be listed as a mental disorder in the American Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders – a guide used by the American Psychiatric Association in diagnosing mental disorders.

To gauge the level of pathological masturbation, the study authors asked students questions similar to the type used to diagnose gambling addiction such as: were students becoming more preoccupied with masturbation, did they lie about the amount of time spent playing, had their schoolwork suffered, and if playing helped them escape from problems or bad feelings.

[AnticorRifling]

See what I mean. Had it been moderate masturbation they wouldn't have been falling behind in school.

[Latrinsorm]

I think there's an important distinction between excess and addictive behavior. To wit:
Pathological gamers were playing an average of more than 31 hours a week compared with their less excessive peers who played about 19 hours a week.19 hours on average means there are almost certainly people in the non-pathological group playing for 4 hours a day - that's excessive, but not addictive for those particular people.

Also, if you go the article they have a picture of a kid playing on an N64 using the D-pad... lol.