Can too much gaming lead to death and divorce?
Well, it depends on whom you ask. As you read this, David Staniforth is on a mission to warn parents about the lethal consequences of gaming. Staniforth believes that an Xbox marathon led to the death of his 20-year-old son, British student Chris Staniforth.
After conducting research on the pulmonary embolism that killed his son, David Staniforth concluded, “After my research I saw there was no difference to Chris sitting at a desk on his Xbox and someone on a long-haul flight.”
According to the Vascular Disease Foundation, “Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot that lodges in the lung arteries. The blood clot forms in the leg, pelvic, or arm veins, and then breaks off from the vein wall and travels through the heart into the lung arteries.”
High blood pressure, smoking and “being immobile” are risk factors for developing the deadly condition.
David Staniforth states that his son was immobile for extended periods of time while he was playing his beloved Xbox.
“Sitting still is literally the danger zone,” David Staniforth said while campaigning to raise awareness of the alleged dangers of extended online gaming. “Chris loved to play and would stay up all night.”
Extended gaming is also lethal to relationships, according to a Divorce 360 report.
In a nutshell, online gamers, (caught up in the interactive nature of escapism) are neglecting their wives.
The neglectful gamers may not realize that addiction is built into game play, says Psychiatrist Michael Brody: “they are purposely designed to be compulsive. Repetition creates habits, and these games challenge motor skills and cognitive skills, by rewarding players with harder and harder levels. You can’t stop; you are motivated this way to go on to the next kill.”
The latest obsession for many adults is social gaming, the offspring of social networks and online games; according to Parks Associates, there are 200 million social gamers, and the hobby (and/or habit) has become the top-ranked form of entertainment.
According to the online support group Video Game Addiction, these are the seven signs that you’re addicted to gaming:
•You lie about how much time you spend gaming.
•You feel intense pleasure or guilt about gaming.
•You spend more time gaming in order to get the “high” or rush of intense pleasure.
•You isolate yourself from friends, family, social activities and work in order to spend more time gaming.
•You feel bouts of anger, depression or mood swings when you’re unable to play your game.
•You spend money that you do not have on computer upgrades, games and online services
•You think about gaming, even when you’re participating in other activities.
There are physical symptoms associated with gaming addiction that includes sleeplessness, back and neck pain, dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome and migraines.
Gaming addiction is not recognized by the American Medical Association as a psychological disorder due to limited research on the phenomenon.
