![]() Did she not consider stopping Chris from playing through the night? Taking his computer away? Next to be interviewed was Alison Dando, a woman whose son (Chris) refused to go to school because his life was being taken over by World of Warcraft. Research, be it pro- or anti- can always be skewed to how you want to present it. Quotes from a series of reports flashed up but were ultimately pointless. Some people are just wired that way - again, something Panorama failed to acknowledge. It wouldn't matter if it was video games, gambling, eating or skydiving. But, yes, some people do have addictive traits to their personalities. There is no medical proof that games are addictive. Society is constantly looking for something to demonise, be it music, television or gaming. ![]() We then moved on to Ian Livingstone from Eidos who spoke a lot of sense. This brief section also compared the gurning faces of gamers to those of television viewers, but failed to state that playing video games is not a passive activity in the way that watching television is. Robbie Cooper, the video artist, was a curious and throwaway addition to the programme.Ī lot of focus was placed on the image of a child who didn't blink while he played games evocative footage of tears running down his face. Leo stated that he wouldn't let his worst enemies play it. Cutting back and getting involved in other activities is a better thing to do - surely it's more healthy to have a balanced approach, a few hours of gaming combined with other interests? His interview came across as utterly sensationalist - I've played WoW on and off for years and enjoy it. We were told that he played World of Warcraft for six hours a day minimum, but he had then gone cold turkey on WoW.Īddiction counsellors will tell you that more often than not this is an unsuccessful approach. He was happy to appear on TV, but not give his real name, something that I again found a little odd. He finally stated that he often couldn't pull himself away from the console and once didn't sleep for three days - no food? No bathroom breaks? It was unbelievable in the extreme. There was also a mention of him being thousands of pounds in debt, which was off-handedly lumped in by being down to "partly by buying games". We were simply going on what they said, which is a dangerous road to travel. Throughout the show, none of the 'addicts' presented to us had any medical back-up. He just said he was, with no scientific corroboration. There was no mention of why Joe Stanley (who only mentioned Grand Theft Auto IV and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) was addicted. Joe had been thrown out of university because he was, in his own words, 'addicted to games'. The program majored on stories of 'addicted' gamers. ![]() It would have been edifying to see someone covering the subject who knew what they were dealing with. Mr Rowe made many rookie mistakes: discussing "Laura" Croft being the most noticeable. Now, if you're going to send someone to report on gaming, would it not be a good idea to have someone who knew something about video games? Wouldn't it be good to have a reporter who has played something other than Pong? Throughout the show he talked of his son's gaming hobby, but never once mentioned picking up a pad himself. I found him articulate but a little lacking in knowledge on the subject. Last night's episode was disappointing in some ways but positive in others.Īpologies if this is a little long, but I wanted to comment on everything I saw. Panorama has, for many years, been a forerunner in British television current affairs journalism. It's not as big as the BBC, but hopefully someone will read it and get a little balance. I'm lucky enough to have the support of an editor who will print my views. ![]() Thankfully I'm not just shouting into the wind. Like many of you, last night I watched a report about the rise of video game addiction on Panorama (BBC) and felt compelled to write my view on what I saw. ![]()
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