"Boys are spending more than thirteen hours a week playing video games. As a result, they're spending less time outdoors playing and exercising. Perhaps this is partially why they are four times more likely to be obese than they were thirty years ago."

the first part of this is a problem with the paranting ability of said boys, if their children are spending too much time inside playing games, maybe they should turn off the TV and send their kids out to play.  as for the second part, i find it highly more likely that they are 4 times more likely to be obese due to americans growing diet of fatty foods and increasingly sedatory lifestyle

"Research consistently confirms that the more time boys spend playing video games, the more likely they are to do poorly in school—regardless of age. At a time when boys are already underperforming in school, video games only make the situation worse."

the same can be said about anything, if your child spends 13 hours a day playing baseball they miss just as much study time as if they played video games for 13 hours a day.  removing video games from the equation doesn't change this increased study time, which again better parenting could account for, would make the situation better

Many recent studies suggest that playing video games saps the motivation of boys and disconnects them from the real world... Violent video games are especially harmful. A definite link has been established between violent video games and antisocial behavior. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo can make your son more aggressive.

there is also a definite link between the increase in ice cream sales and shark attacks, that does not mean selling ice cream causes people to get attacked by sharks.  what you link means is that children who have antisocial behavior are drawn to video games, not that the games created said behavior.  increased agressiveness is not necesarily a bad thing, and this also undermines the first point made in the paragraph.  agression is a motivator, you can not simultaniously sap motavation and increase agression.

Maybe it's the fact theres a lot more food about nowadays, and most of it is high-fat and processed beyond recognition?

Why reach for Video Games to blame when there's already a wealth of scientific evidence proving that processed food has phsychological, as well as physical detriments to it?

I won't deny that a sedentary life plays a role, and quite a big one, but the same thing could easily be said about sitting round watching the TV all day, which is standard practice for Christmas day, so why is little Billy upstairs playing his Nintendo a problem, whereas Mum and Dad slumped in front of the Telly watching Mary Poppins for the 16th time perfectly alright?

The problem isn't the technology being used, it's the lifestyle that promotes it, and that goes far deeper than finger-pointing Video Games, it burrows down to nature of life in countries such as the US and UK.

Still he is entitled to his opinion, in a way he is right in his advice, but his scope is far too narrow and biased to be taken particuarly seriously.

Let's see... i'm 21 now... if they call a 5'10" person who's 150 pounds fat, somebody's standards need a good looking at... I'm pretty much known for being quiet rather than angry... and i got a Dean's Scholarship for the four years i've been in college. And i've been playing video games since i was three and getting at least a couple among other stuff every christmas since.

One of these are not like the other....

is it just me or do i feel that ''Slamming Videogames'' has become a popular trend these days.

hey how about making a schedule for when to study,family time,going out & game that's what my parents do.

The 'children are spending less time outside' argument always displeases me greatly.

Over the last 50 years (and esp the last 20) we have been decreasing the number of places children CAN go.  Urban areas are not safe anymore, recreation centers are fewer in number, and suburban areas were designed to isolate people from eachother so they generally have poor community playspaces, and playing in a park will generally get you harrassed by the police for loitering. 

Parents are paranoid about pedophiles everywhere so they have pulled thier kids out of organized activities and that mostly leaves children with PAID places to go (malls, movies, fun parks, etc) which parents are reluctant to do.  And pretty much any 'approved' outside activity leaves them heavily monitored by adults which makes them reluctant anyway.

So community leaders have started blaming games for problem THEY created given how they have been putting the community together lately.  If you want kids to go out and play, give them places where they can play with relative autonomy that doesn't cost them money.

Anyone remember that article about the Harry Potter books a while back? About how they had cut down on childhood injuries and resulted in less kids going to the hospital for things like sprained ankles and stuff?

You see, it seemed the Harry Potter books had resulted in an increase of reading. Because kids were spending more time inside reading, they were spending less time outside doing active things. As a result, they weren't suffering as many injuries.

Funny, isn't it. I remember reading that article, and thinking to myself, "Wait, now spending time inside and being inactive is a good thing?" The article could have just as easily been "Harry Potter makes kids fatter" by highlighting the exact same thing: kids are spending more time inside reading, instead of doing active things outside.

So with that in mind, perhaps I should start saying that video games make kids safer and reduce their chances of breaking their neck tripping while trying to catch a baseball, or cracking their head open trying to do a skateboarding trick, etc, etc.

This is sort of a false dilemma, isn't it?

"Boys" arn't supposed to be playing violent video games. Everyone knows that and the developers have done nothing to suggest that boys should be playing them.

The only reason "Boys" play them is because many parents have the outdated notion that games are for children.

In reality, giving a kid a copy of GTA IV is like giving them a copy of Pulp Fiction. It is stupid and no one is arguing it isn't, least of all the people actually making the games.

The Honest Game - http://www.thehonestgame.org

I'm really getting tired of these pricks.  Stop making videogames an excuse for bad parenting.

I can't help but think about how the term expert actually used to mean something, to imply that one had a true understanding of their chosen field.  I wonder if it ever really held any meaning at all.

Let me reverse a few words that this man says

---

Videogame critics are spending more than thirteen hours a week blaming video games.

As a result, they're spending less time outdoors playing and exercising.

Perhaps this is partially why they are four times more likely to be blaming everything for the problems in society than they were thirty years ago.

Research consistently confirms that the more time Videogame Critics spend blaming video games, the more likely they are to do poorly in society—regardless of age.

At a time when Videogame Critics are already underperforming in socity, blaming video games only make the situation worse.

Many recent studies suggest that blaming video games saps the logical thinking of men and disconnects them from the real world...

Blaming Violent video games are especially harmful. A definite link has been established between blaming violent video games and antisocial behavior.

Games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo can make Videogame Critics more aggressive even if they don't play the game themselves.

So if you're thinking of blaming video games for all the wolrd's problems of today this holiday season, you might want to reconsider.

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A little Edditing done by TBoneTony

"A definite link has been established between violent video games and antisocial behavior."

Really?  Goodness, this whole article just lumps assumptions and unsubstantiated statements into one nice little wrapped package of BS.  Seriously, this guy just pulled everything out of his....uh, rear.

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"We received 20 calls last night. As we all know, one call equals a billion people. So 20 billion people called us last night. We must act to preserve decency on television." -The FCC

It's like a laundry list of complaints, and hey if it doesn't mention interactivity you can replace video games with TV and you'd have an argument from the early 90s (or maybe later).

My parents have hidden the controllers to prevent me from playing them, and even if I found out where they were I'd still have to wait for both of them to be gone before playing, or they could just stow them in the trunk of the car. I'm sure that with the newer consoles that wouldn't be neccesary to limit play time.

It reminds me of something Jon Stewart said when he was making fun of a politician, whose sons were avid gamers, expressing concern for violence in games.

"And as I stand there, watching them play these violent games, .. helpless to do anything about it, I can't help but wonder ... where the system has failed."

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"What for you bury me in the cold cold ground?" - Tasmanian devil

The problem about whining about the failings of society you show you are unable to act and aid society, all they do is sit at the top and whine and complain on common place issues they know nothing about.
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Pirates,Shearers,Lenders and downloaders are not a market that can be taped by the mainstream.
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I is fuzzy brained mew =^^=
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/

Ridiculous on nearly every level. The only practical thing was said was the link between Games and Obesity. I don't think we can argue with that one (nor blame the games but rather the people who don't use moderation). But everything else, ridiculous and wrong.

It's sad that no one cared nor reported about his reply to gamers :

http://ednews.org/articles/32053/1/Gamers-Target-Op-Ed/Page1.html

Not that I agree with what he says, but at least he defended his point of view, and in his defense he was quite respectful for his contradictors.