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"Computer games are a Health hazard."

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Mon 02/09/02 at 11:55
Regular
Posts: 787
I have been playing computer games for 80% of my life, and have played in spells of 6-8 hours straight with no effects on my health whatsoever. Computer games are meant to be fun, but a hobby quickly turns into an annoyance when limits are introduced. How are we supposed to enjoy playing games with warnings on every single one?
Computer game manuals now carry warnings, such as, "Take a break for 15 minutes every hour". How are we supposed to enjoy playing computer games when we are 'advised' to take a break every hour? These are apparently the effects from playing computer games for long periods of time:

Some people (1 in 4000) suffer from photosensitive epilepsy (P.E)- which basically means that these people will suffer from an epileptic fit from looking at flashing lights. How does this effect computer games then? Well, it's all to do with televisions. They work by sending lines that flicker downwards on the screen. This means that people that suffer from P.E can also have fits from watching TV, but you don't see warnings on watching television though…do you?

Another thing that adds to epileptic fits is tiredness. It clearly states in the manual that to avoid epileptic fits, you should not play when you are tired. If this is the case, why don't people who argue about epilepsy mention this fact when they are trying to campaign against epilepsy? The manual also clearly states that you should play in a well-lit room. Again, they don't mention this. Why? Well, they want to put limits on computer games, so why would they want to mention about things that actually go against these complaints.

A report made in February earlier this year stated that doctors are calling for warnings on vibrating controllers after a boy suffered an injury. An injury from a console controller; that's pretty strange. It also had never happened before. So what actually caused this injury then? A 15-year-old boy played on his games console for more than 7 hours a day straight. 7 hours a day, seven days a week. A long time, but then again, it already stated in the manual to take breaks from computer games, so what do the doctors have to back up their case then? Well, in the report it does actually mention about the guideline (i.e. Well-lit room, tiredness etc) so they can't complain about that. What they did say though is that there should be a sticker on the controller. It's says about playing guidelines in the manual! Why do they need a sticker on the controller then? DR. Bernard Goenveld says, "Most people always read the manual, and the health warnings, but they don't think about it. If we put a sticker on the controller, maybe they would read it." What he didn't mention is the fact that people may peel it off (I certainly would) or they may not even notice it. They also stated that, "playing 7 hours a day is excessive and exceeds the console maker's recommendation." Sound familiar? Yep, that's what it says in the manual. So not only have they made a pathetic attempt to put a sticker on a controller, they also have attacked their own argument, which to gamers is quite amusing.

Another health report made in 1995 tried to show how playing computer games can be bad for your health. Graham Harding, a scientist familiar on the subject and the reporter Norman Swan had this report:

Norman: "How common is P.E?"

Graham: "It's very rare in the population, and is more common in Girls than boys."

Now, given hardly any girls play computer games, it raises the chances of having an epileptic fit from 1 in 4000 to 1 in 6000.

Norman: "Are some children only affected by certain games?"
Graham: "Oh yes. Some Children are only affected by some games, and some are only affected by parts of a game. Take one child, he played a ghost busters game. He was only affected by P.E when he looked at the map on the screen because it had a special frequency. He found that by sitting away from the screen, he wasn't affected."

Norman: "But doesn't the manual say that you should sit away from the screen?"

Graham: "Yes, it does. If the child had sat away from the screen, he wouldn't have had the problem."

Norman: "So, what you are saying is that the manual clearly states that you shouldn't sit near the screen, but the child did? If that's the case, then it was the child's fault entirely,"

Graham: "Yes, it was."

Norman: "It was? That means doctors are fighting a losing battle then against health and safety warnings on games."

Graham: "Yes, indeed they are. The manual clearly states all the warnings on games and controllers."

Norman: "So why do people still suffer from epileptic fits then?"

Graham: "They ignore the warnings. It's their life, they treat it as they like"


So, as you see, Doctors have no way of campaigning and protesting against health warnings, as they are already in the manual. Those that are affected by P.E know the consequences of not reading the manual, and it's their fault. Doctors have no evidence that computer games can cause epileptic fits to all players, so playing computer games for long periods of time do not effect us in any way, unless you have epilepsy or are stupid and don't read the warnings.
Tue 03/09/02 at 21:41
Regular
"Jog on, sunshine"
Posts: 8,979
Oh no!

*cries*

Shut up, fool!

*looks angry*

Woo hoo!

*looks happy*

You, i'll get you

*looks like, er, revenge*

Er, wait, one of thos eisn't right...

:D
Tue 03/09/02 at 21:25
Regular
"sdomehtongng"
Posts: 23,695
Still, having no emotions could have good uses.....
Tue 03/09/02 at 20:52
Regular
"Jog on, sunshine"
Posts: 8,979
Yes, i was quite surprised at that
:)
It seems that Most people will have no emotions at all after playing games for too long.

Very scary indeed!
Tue 03/09/02 at 20:49
Regular
"Sex On Wheels"
Posts: 3,526
In the latest edition of NOM it states that

GAMES ROT YOUR BRAINS!

A study conducted at Nihon University's i Japan has concluded that playing video games negatively affects your brains power. Professor Akio Mori surveyed 240 people between ages of six and twenty nine and discovered that the activity in the brains prefrontal lobes, the area that governs emotion and creativity, dipped in relation to the time spent playing a game. Those most at risk were people who spent between two and seven hours each day playing games. In these cases the activity in the prefrontal lobes was constantly near zero even when they were playing something other than games.

Now if that isn't scary then nothing is lol.I think that proves without a doubt that computer games are a health hazard but in the end who cares lol. Anyway great post it raised a lot of good points and for once i agree with all of them (shock! shock!)
Tue 03/09/02 at 19:02
Regular
"previously phuzzy."
Posts: 3,487
I played FFX five hours after school each night for 2 weeks. I'm not in recovery, but i'ts seriously not reccommended.

Nice post, MC. Raises good points.
Mon 02/09/02 at 22:12
Regular
"Jog on, sunshine"
Posts: 8,979
Thanks for all the replies. :)

Things that get me though, is that when people do get affected in some way by computer games, for example, they always make it seem like EVERY single game will affect you. it's not always the case, as I mentioned about the little Boy who only got affected by one part of one game.

:)
Mon 02/09/02 at 21:27
Posts: 0
I'm not obsessed with health or anything, but I reckon playing on a console or working on a PC for a long time is damaging in some way, even if you don't see the effects immediately. Anything in large doses is bad for you, even stuff that doctors recommend, like fruit and veg.
Mon 02/09/02 at 21:16
Regular
"ProGolfer"
Posts: 2,085
YEh but if someone had an epiletic fit thingy because of a game not saying dont play for two long they could be sued so by putting that there there is a safty net. Even thought as my neighbour a respected barrister signs mean nothing in law so really i aint got the foggeyest.
Mon 02/09/02 at 21:05
Posts: 0
I usually skip past th first few pages of the manual anyway, because I know what they say due to the fact I read one when I was eight and I even ignored it then. And the sticker on the controller is just a joke, as soon as you buy something you remove the sticker because it make it look cheap making the whole thing pointless.
Mon 02/09/02 at 20:39
Regular
"Jog on, sunshine"
Posts: 8,979
Yes, valid point. What godd is a sticker on a controller going to do anyway? :D It's not like I wouldn't have seen it in the manual befroehand.

:)

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