Gamers More Likely to Drink and Ignore Family, Study Says

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
Joined
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Messages
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This article in the Telegraph might elicit some strong responses with our readership. A study conducted at Brigham Young University in Utah has concluded that regular gamers are more likely to drink alcohol, stop talking to family, have lower self-esteem, and use drugs. ‘Scuse me while I go get a beer, ignore my kids, smoke a bowl, and be all emo on my Myspace page. :rolleyes:

"The most striking part is that everything we found clustered around video game use is negative," said Prof Laura Walker, from Brigham Young University, in Utah, who led the study. She said previous studies had only examined the issue of aggression but added: "It appears video games are related to a host of other negative outcomes."
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now thats just retarded. maybe those that play wow 10hrs a day
but the rest of the world? hardly
 
BYU = Mormon Religious College.

Drinking and Gaming is the Debil! What saddens me is crap like this will get HUGE publicity when it's just biased material at best..
 
Gamers More Likely to Drink and Ignore Family, Study Says
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duh.

I can't decide if my gaming is interfering with my drinking or my drinking is interfering with my gaming. I'm so CoNfusEd!
 
absolutely pissed me off seeing this. i've been a hardcore gamer and LAN party'er for almost 20 years now. i am not judging myself (married, two kids, graduate school educated, working as a nonprofit director putting families into homes they can afford, dont smoke, touch alcohol, and clean) - but i have in that time only seen two gamers who may fit that BYU definition. considering that its 2 out of probably 10k or more overall, i would say that is WELL BELOW the average.

i really cant stand it when some self-righteous elected official or 'moral-based' researcher goes and continues to stereotype a gamer as some kid who lives in front of a computer 24/7. in fact, looking around from experience - we're all getting greyer, more successful, and probably more family-centered, than the so-called 'normal' population.

where the heck do they think those billions of $$ in games are coming from and who the heck do they think can afford to have 4 or 5 gaming rigs worth thousands of dollars lying around their homes? obviously some drunk, drugged out, unemployed wife beater who lives for his myspace page?

BYU research can go suck on my hairy b*lls because they dont know crap - nor the gaming community.
 
hmm, BYU and no mention of controlling for self-selection resulting in reverse causation.... I vote lame attempt to publish something to get/maintain tenure ;)
 
This just in! Youth of America drinks and plays video games! They also spend more time on the internet than any other generation! Coming up at 9, the parents who don't do anything about it, back to you Steve!
 
Does the study clarify its selection criteria? Eg, how do we know the methods used werent prone to finding people with existing problems who play games? Or do people with antisocial issues tend to flock online? My experiance with wow sugests many of the players have poor people skills. But not the vast majority.

Also, BY univeristy is not noted for its unbiased oppinions either. Anything coming out from there should be taken with a bag of salt.
 
I'm waiting for my parents (they're Mormon, I'm not) to call me up and say "See this is why we are not a close family, it's those evil video sorcery on bill gateways windows box!"
 
gamers_beer_1245542c.jpg


Anyone else notice that they're playing Nintendo 64? Probably why they're drinking so much cuz they can't afford Xbox360.
 
The article isnt far from the truth... many of the readers need only look to themselves for a prime example. Maybe they can't accept it, but I know I have and thats how you move forward with your life.

I love beer though, god damn that stuff is effing great.
 
Hardforum is a great place, but some of you guys go ape shit when someone even suggests there might be some social problems associated with gaming that need to be studied further. Here's a small excerpt from the article:

As the amount of time spent playing the games increased, the quality of relationships with friends and parents deteriorated, the study also found, although the effects were described as "modest".
Prof Walker said that it was still unclear whether playing computer games caused other social problems, or were merely a symptom of them.
"It may be that young adults remove themselves from important social settings to play video games, or that people who already struggle with relationships are trying to find other ways to spend their time," she said. "My guess is that it's some of both and becomes circular."
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Why are we (gamers) so defensive when anyone suggests that video games may negatively affect some people's lives? I think it's safe to say some of us have friends who've behaved similarly as the researcher described above, friends who were socially awkward and started playing WoW, then pretty much dropped off the face of the Earth so they could play it 24/7.

Maybe instead of attacking researchers and the fact that they come from a Mormon school (oh noes! not teh Mormons!) we could help find ways to help researchers understand our community better. In other words we could do a lot more good for public perception of gamers and our fellow gamers with problems if we'd work with the researchers rather than screaming and crying every time a study like this comes out.
 
While at the computer I am socializing constantly, just not face to face. Does that make me antisocial? What do they consider to be a social behavior? Going to the bar, seeing a movie, going out to a restaurant? These things all cost lots of money. Some of us socialize online because it is the only method available to us.
 
A ridiculous study. I certainly hope that their student base used for this experiment wasn't the BYU campus because that BYU campus is only reflective of the percentage of the American population (or un-American population as Tom Hanks refers to them) who are young adult mormons.
 
Terry Olaes said:
This article in the Telegraph might elicit some strong responses with our readership. A study conducted at Brigham Young University in Utah has concluded that regular gamers are more likely to drink alcohol, stop talking to family, have lower self-esteem, and use drugs. ‘Scuse me while I go get a beer, ignore my kids, smoke a bowl, and be all emo on my Myspace page. :rolleyes:
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my religion(well associated with) vs my hobby... cant touch this one.. hahahaha... i never drink (being mormon) and spend plenty of hours playing video games... my latest high score .. Race Driver GRID - Drift Battle - Okutama - Drift Circuit B - 3 laps - Dodge Charger srt-8 Drift - 33,481,696 but yeah, that obviously means i'm an alcoholic.. :p
 
Must be why I play WoW, don't drink, don't do drugs, and have a better relationship with my family than my two siblings.... Oh and definitely the most balanced life.
 
"The most striking part is that everything we found clustered around religious beliefs are negative," said most intelligent people capable of critical thinking. They say previous studies had only examined the issue of believing in fairy tales but added: "It appears mormonism is related to a host of other negative outcomes such as constructing a strawman out of video games and blaming all of the world's ills on gaming."


See, I can make shit up too!
 
Crucible1001 said:
While at the computer I am socializing constantly, just not face to face. Does that make me antisocial?
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yes, mmo and text messaging are extremely anti-social... i hate people addicted to those two things... text and mmo... freaks.. the lot of ya.
 
Spare-Flair said:
A ridiculous study. I certainly hope that their student base used for this experiment wasn't the BYU campus because that BYU campus is only reflective of the percentage of the American population (or un-American population as Tom Hanks refers to them) who are young adult mormons.
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See, this is the type of reply I wrote about in my post above. Our community tends to attack the researchers. You do have a good point about sample size and sampling methods however, but why do you have to throw stuff in there that isn't at all related to the topic (Tom Hanks comment)?
 
as an American i feel that it is my god given right to be able to come home, play video games, drink excessively, take hallucinogenic drugs and ignore my family after a long hard day at work.
 
Terry Olaes said:
A study conducted at Brigham Young University in Utah has concluded
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that they need to get their heads out of their asses and learn to draw up a proper study.

Castor Troy said:
i love how correlation always equals causation. fuck these guys.
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fuck these guise. srsly. wait iz ther an echo in here?

Solaris said:
The article isnt far from the truth... many of the readers need only look to themselves for a prime example. Maybe they can't accept it, but I know I have and thats how you move forward with your life.
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LOL wut? i would hate everyone just the same without video games. i would socialize outside of the internet just the same (never) without video games. they have no effect on my life whatsoever outside of a stress-relieving hobby/pasttime.

petertew said:
some of you guys go ape shit when someone even suggests there might be some social problems associated with gaming that need to be studied further.

Maybe instead of attacking researchers and the fact that they come from a Mormon school
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we go apeshit because everyone outside of our interweb-niche of society thinks that correlation equals causation. somebody wanna tell me what the FUCK the point of doing all these studies, spending all this time, money, resources, etc, is if nobody is ever going to try to understand how to create logical construances from the data they drum up (regardless of the datas accuracy, thats another matter)?!

Crucible1001 said:
While at the computer I am socializing constantly, just not face to face. What do they consider to be a social behavior?
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valid point that bears repeating.
 
i3lacKnyte said:
as an American i feel that it is my god given right to be able to come home, play video games, drink excessively, take hallucinogenic drugs and ignore my family after a long hard day at work.
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:p amen to that.
 
i3lacKnyte said:
as an American i feel that it is my god given right to be able to come home, play video games, drink excessively, take hallucinogenic drugs and ignore my family after a long hard day at work.
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i dont think you're helping our cause here.... :D
 
Woukldn't it make more sense to have started the experiments with the hypothesis:

"People who do any of; drink alcohol, stop talking to family, have lower self-esteem, and use drugs may also be more prone to escapism and utilize gaming as a sedating alternative?"

Seriously, scientific method is not a short quick conclusion.
 
WTF?

According to the BYU honor code:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Young_University_Honor_Code

The BYU honor code governs not only academic behavior, but morality, and dress and grooming standards of students and faculty, with the aim of providing an atmosphere consistent with LDS principles. The Honor Code requires:


Screensaver in the Harold B. Lee Library reminding students of BYU Honor Code dress standards.Abstinence from illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and tea (substances forbidden by the LDS Word of Wisdom)
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But this bs 'study finds':

Research into the habits of more than 800 university students found that most of the men asked, 55 per cent, were regular players, using their games console at least every other day.

By contrast, only around 7 per cent of women admitted that they played computer games that often.

However, the games appeared to have a stronger effect on their confidence.

Female gamers were more likely to suffer low self-esteem than other women, an effect not seen among male players, the study found.

Regular gamers were also around 10 per cent more likely to drink alcohol and take drugs than students who rarely played the games.
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Perhaps this bullshit study is simply a way for BYU to add no video games to the honor code?
 
Show me a study that isn't biased. There's always a base objective before a study is started, and it's so easy to manipulate or disregard results that don't fit the objective. Every time I read "study shows X" I look for who did the study and why. The majority of the time, it's got political or "ethical" motivations, instead of scientific ones... any study that starts biased, ends biased.
 
__hollywood|meow said:
that they need to get their heads out of their asses and learn to draw up a proper study.

fuck these guise. srsly. wait iz ther an echo in here?

LOL wut? i would hate everyone just the same without video games. i would socialize outside of the internet just the same (never) without video games. they have no effect on my life whatsoever outside of a stress-relieving hobby/pasttime.

we go apeshit because everyone outside of our interweb-niche of society thinks that correlation equals causation. somebody wanna tell me what the FUCK the point of doing all these studies, spending all this time, money, resources, etc, is if nobody is ever going to try to understand how to create logical construances from the data they drum up (regardless of the datas accuracy, thats another matter)?!

valid point that bears repeating.
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Agreed, the study needs to be conducted again with better sampling methods and a larger, more diverse sampling of young men. Surprisingly research is done in iterations, and this may be the first.

The study did point out correlation, but the researcher pointed out that the cause and effect relationship is still unclear.

The point of doing these studies is to better understand a new and growing facet of people's lives. Similar studies were done when television came out. A lot of these studies have shown that television viewers live more sedentary lives and that our nation as a whole has become more sedentary since the televisions release to the public. Understanding that data is important to helping combat some of the negative side effects of owning a TV. Studies like this are conducted about alcohol for the same reasons: what negative aspects exist around drinking and what can be done to help individuals who are struggling with some of those negatives?

Video games do have some negatives associated with them, and attacking the research being done about them isn't going to go away. I'd argue that our reaction simply fuels people's beliefs that we're anti social because we can't discuss these kinds of topics without saying things like, "Fuck them, they're fucking Mormons."

Understanding what causes, or what contributes to obsessive video gaming is important in order to understand how to combat it. Are we in agreement that playing WoW or other games to the point of skipping classes, skipping work, getting divorced, etc. is a bad thing? I can think of a couple of friends who could benefit from some counseling as they're addicted to games. They don't socialize (sorry, but running a raid isn't socializing) they don't date, and they barely leave the house unless it's to go to work.

I love games, and I hate people trying to use them as a fear generator, but games do have some negatives as well and the sooner we admit that the sooner we can find solutions for people who do suffer from those negatives.
 
blgdinger said:
gamers_beer_1245542c.jpg


Anyone else notice that they're playing Nintendo 64? Probably why they're drinking so much cuz they can't afford Xbox360.
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And their chicks aren't that great, either...

Seriously, though:

' "The most striking part is that everything we found clustered around video game use is negative," said Prof Laura Walker, from Brigham Young University, in Utah, who led the study. '

That statement reveals the bias of the researchers. What makes drinking alcohol negative? Abuse of alcohol is negative. Drinking and driving is negative. Simply drinking alcohol (which is all the study claims) is neither positive nor negative.

"Research into the habits of more than 800 university students..."

OK, so where are they getting their study and control groups? If they both (or either) come from the BYU student population, these results can NOT be extrapolated to the general population. I don't think the student body of any religious school can be held as representative of the population as a whole. Maybe not the student body of any university or college, since levels of education are commonly found to be correlating factors with the results of studies of social phenomena.

"Regular gamers were also around 10 per cent more likely to drink alcohol and take drugs than students who rarely played the games."

If, indeed, their "control" group was BYU students who are not "regular gamers", then again, their findings have very little external validity. It is very likely that BYU students have a lower incidence of alcohol and drug use (even gaming) than the general population in their age category. All this study shows is that BYU students who are gamers act more like other people their age than BYU students who are not gamers. The headline would be just as correct if it read "Computer game players 'more in tune with the real world' ".

' "The gender imbalance begs the question of whether chasing a new high score beats spending quality time with a girlfriend or wife," said Alex Jensen, one of the co-authors of the study.'

The researchers' continual summation of gaming as "chasing a new high score" reveals how little they understand games. I can't remember the last game I played that kept a score. It was probably a Tetris clone. I'd love to see these researchers attack the "casual" games that the students' parents play. Hell, my mom is hooked on solitaire. But, back to the question raised by the researcher (Does gaming beat "quality time"?), it depends on the definition of "quality time", the stage of the relationship, other demands on the guy's time, and several other factors. The answer is a qualified "Yes!".
 
Did anyone read their honor code?

People at BYU are not permitted to drink alchol, yet this study says their own students are more likely to drink the alchol they... don't drink.
 
"Research into the habits of more than 800 university students found that most of the men asked, 55 per cent, were regular players, using their games console at least every other day."

That is surely an enormous number of people....not....let's just look at that statement.......

Where is the control group??
Who did they compare to? If at all.
What university? When? Where?
What other dasterdly deeds are these "gamers" involved in???

"Regular gamers were also around 10 per cent more likely to drink alcohol and take drugs than students who rarely played the games."

So................55% of 800 is roughly 425 male students.......10% more likely would be an extra 4 students who would drink beer or do drugs versus the "rarely played" group.

In my fraternity house in college I would be spot on if I said nearly 100% of the male students surveyed there would drink alcohol and consider other "drugs". The only "video game" available at the time was Space Invaders and Pong.
But we did watch sports on TV......shit......it's the NFL.......that's where the true evil lies.:eek::eek:

Yikes......the country is going down the tubes.
 
Edit:

In other words, a highly bogus test because their saying their own students are more likely to drink alcohol, but they haven't tested that because people on canvas can't DRINK ALCOHOL :\
 
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