Gaming, Depression, and the CDC: Thanks Ars Technica
posted by Deven Desai
Several news outlets are covering the hyped notion that gamers tend to be overweight, 35, and depressed. The first thing that crossed my mind was this fact: it was conducted in the the Seattle-Tacoma area. Wow, people in MSville which is known for no sunlight, coffe-compensation techniques, and a great era of rather depressing music (i.e., grunge for you youngsters) might not go outside and might exhibit depression? I poked around and Ars Technica has a nice article about the flaws in the study which apparently admits “The fact that the sample was drawn from a population concentrated in western Washington State and from an Internet-based panel may limit generalizability of the results.” The full study is here. I could go on, but the Ars article covers the oddity rather well. Score one for Ars and thanks for noting the nuances in the study.
August 21, 2009 at 8:55 am
Posted in: Weird
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Responses (2)
Alrick - August 21, 2009 at 11:49 am
The regional bias is ridiculous honestly. I’m actually trying to conduct a similar study (nationally) with gamers because I’ve heard the opposite – some gamers can become so immersed in their game they actually LOSE weight. Here’s a link if anyone wants to participate:
http://inlofi.com/limesurvey/index.php?sid=54268&lang=en
Bruce Boyden - August 21, 2009 at 12:24 pm
This just in: new study confirms what you’ve always suspected.
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