BYU Says Video Games Are Very, Very, Very Bad For You

from the very,-very,-very dept

Just as some new research has come out suggesting that there's no causal link between video games and real world violence, wouldn't you know that some researchers at Brigham Young University would put out a report claiming that video games are bad for you in many, many different ways. Game Politics notes that it's no coincidence this report is coming out just as the state of Utah is looking to introduce new legislation regulating video games (just like regulations that have wasted tax payer money and been thrown out in state after state after state).

This study didn't focus on violence, necessarily, but looked at a variety of different factors between gamers and non-gamers and found out that video gamers came out worse on every single factor. So, according to the study, gamers have worse relationships with friends and family, lower self-esteem, and... they're more likely to smoke pot. At least the study's author preached a bit of moderation in response:

Everything we found associated with video games came out negative... [But] I don't want parents to go out and yank all video games. It's like TV. We have to choose what's good and bad and practice moderation.

Could have been worse... but the results still seem pretty questionable.

Filed Under: research, video games
Companies: byu