New York Times: 'Screen Addiction Is Taking a Toll on Children'

That's what my son (HS soph) says he's going to do. I don't know if there are actual majors for it, but I know it's something they teach in computer science. Of course, he might just skip college and go pro in League of Legends.

Anyway he plays 10x more video games than I ever did and he's also 10x better at math than I ever was, so maybe there's a connection.

 

OK.

 

Had another poster posted this, I might have replied thusly ...

"It's no great accomplishment to be 10X better at something than someone who has absolutely zero ability in that area."

 

What's worse -- being too caught up in video games, or being so caught up in life (and probably video games) that you don't even want to bone?

Japan's huge sex problem is setting up a 'demographic time bomb' for the country - SFGate

A full 49.3% of respondents between the ages of 16 and 49 in the 1,134-person survey said they hadn't had sex in the past month.

Respondents gave a range of reasons as to why: 21.3% of married men and 17.8% married women cited fatigue from work, and 23% of married women said sex was "bothersome." And 17.9% of male respondents said they had little interest (or a strong dislike) of sex.

 

You don't think that the percentage would not be similar in the United States?

 

Of course! We play video games too!

 

Substitute porn for video games....

 

I don't even think it's that. I bet that percentage or near it would hold pretty steady through the generations.

People don't have very much sex. Economists have puzzled over this. Great time. Costs nothing (assuming birth control is utilized). And yet people don't do it. Even married people.

 

All right, now we're off on a tangent (but a more fun one than video-game addiction, so I done good) ... but I think that article shows pretty conclusively that Japan has it worse than we do, particularly since their birth rate isn't matching their death rate so they're losing population. And because of stats like: From ages 18 to 34, 61% of men and 49% of women aren't involved in a relationship ... From ages 18 to 34, 36% of men and 39% of women have never had sex.

They're strong in math, though. It's like the whole nation saw the "Seinfeld" where George gave up sex!

 

I'm sure it's at least that many "bothered" married women in the U.S.

That's why there's mommy porn (graphic romance novels) and daddy porn (freebee all over the Internet).

 

Back to the original subject: I'm not 100 percent convinced that my 16-year-old son's 2-hour-a-day video game habit is any worse than my staying up all night when I was in my teens reading Stephen King books. I was the kid who would try to bring a book to the table. I had a book in the car. I had a book at church. I took a book to family gatherings. I was pretty much just as disconnected as any modern kid with an iPad, and I ended up being a fairly functional member of society.

 

Robert Morris University in Illinois offers "athletic" scholarships to to students who play the video game "League of Legends."

College to offer video game scholarships - Chicago Tribune