Video Game Addiction

Video game addiction has been talked about for quite awhile.
But now it seems this is really getting a lot of press.

Parents have been saying for years that their kids are "addicted" to video games, but a new study by an Iowa State University psychology professor is the first to actually report that pathological patterns of video game addiction exist in a national sample of youth, aged 8 to 18.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420103547.htm

MONDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- A sizable number of young video game players -- fully 8.5 percent -- exhibit signs of addiction to gaming, a new study has found.
These kids aren't just playing a lot. Their gaming interferes with school performance, disrupts interaction with family and friends and poses health problems, the study reveals.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/04/20/hscout626221.html

A new research article out today in the journal Psychological Science suggests that the answer is yes.
Nearly one in 10 children and teens who play video games showed signs of what could be considered addiction to games in a January 2007 Harris poll that the research is based upon.
The poll of 1,178 U.S. kids and teens (aged 8 to 18) found that 8.5% of those who played video games exhibited at least six of 11 addiction symptoms such as skipping household chores or homework to play games, poor performance on tests of homework because of playing, and playing games to escape problems.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2009/04/65719049/1

The Bigs 2, Nielsen Ratings and Wii Fitness

The BIGS 2
With the exception of our resident sports nut, everyone here in the TPS office does one of those full body shiver/cringe things at the mention of baseball. Maybe it's because we had to ride the N-Judah MUNI Metro train in to and from work and during baseball season our precious public transit was so choked with loudmouthed drunkards in orange jackets that we just kinda started to resent the sport they so tirelessly plunked down cash to see for a few months out of the year. It could also be that if you're not really into baseball, "enjoying" a game might as well be a marathon of watching paint dry, such is the kind of boredom it engenders.
http://totalplaystation.com/ps3/news/8233

Nielsen: Video games winning against primetime TV
Nielsen is out with its latest State of the Video Gamer report, based on data from the fourth quarter 2008. There's not many surprises, but some of the data is quite interesting, including the fact that "heavy" gamers tend to play video games during primetime TV hours and use time-shifting technologies, such as Tivo DVRs to catch up on shows later in the night.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10214587-62.html

Bronx students play video games for fitness
Some students in New York City are playing video games at school to get into shape.
About 25 Bronx middle school students are spending four hours a week after school boxing and bowling, playing tennis and golf and exercising using Nintendo Wii Fit consoles.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-bc-ny--videogamefitness0407apr07,0,4188870.story