Playing Videogames Healthy Or Not?

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I just finished Final Fantasy IX and came up with this question. Once again, I'll open a discussion about videogames and why not computer games as well, in general.

Some people think playing videogames is bad for both mental and physical health. You escape from the reality, your fingers and wrists suffer, you get very frustrated when you lose, you don't get fresh air and so on.

But I like playing videogames and don't want to think it's bad for health. If I didn't play videogames, I still would be a drug addict or something (to clarify, I've never donme drugs!), and we're talking about which is worse. If I didn't escape reality to videogames, I still would read The Lord Of The Rings ten times in a row.

One more point. When I was in a hospital last time, there was a woman who insulted me all the time. I knew she had her own sickness but that didn't help. My self-esteem was extremely low when I came back. I don't know if this is a sensible thought, but I think if I had had videogames with me there, I would have been saved. Finishing videogames is good for at least my mental health. If I take part in saving the world every day, my self-esteem won't get low.

What's your opinion?

[PNT510]

Video games are no worse for your health than TV, movies, books or any other hobby. Yes playing games for 12 hours not moving around and only eating junk is unhealthy, but that's just because someone is a lazy bastard and not the games fault. Everything in moderation.

[Weasel Overlord]

I actually read an article in the paper a while back that said playing video games can improve hand-eye coordination, reaction time, etc. I think it used shooters as its example, but I'm sure you could apply that to a fast-paced Final Fantasy game (FFX-2 or FFXII for example) where you have to think really quickly to react to what's going on on the screen. Actually, FFVIII is the same if the ATB's on active... but yeah.

Personally, I don't think video games are unhealthy. All those horror stories you hear in the news about people killing themselves or going on killing sprees is cos they were already mentally unstable, not because of whatever game they happened to be playing at the time. I find it ridiculous that people think playing a "violent" game makes you a more violent person. For me, I use my games as a release of steam sometimes. There's not much that's more theraputic for me than beating up gigantic monsters with swords and guns á la Devil May Cry.

Plus there's all those puzzle games and stuff for kids - like Professor Layton. Games like that have got to be good for the mind, they're bloody made to encourage thinking and problem-solving. Which employers like, apparently.

[Blademaster]

Video games made me the man I am today.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

In 1998 or something, we had just got an offical Playstation Tekken 3 demo disc. I played it for some hours with a friend of mine, and on the same evening, we ended up in a fight. I told my substitute parents and they banned the game. But I think I didn't see the situation back there myself, my friend wasn't fighting seriously.