The link to this article came across in the Twitterverse this morning and I thought it was worth looking at:
Debunking videogame stereotypes, but not necessarily in a good way, a new study into gaming habits has revealed that today’s average games player is not a pallid skinned, socially backward teenager but rather a 35-year-old couch potato prone to bouts of depression when not submerged in the escapism of virtual game worlds.
Via The Tech Herald
As we begin examining some of the so-called findings, it’s often important to look critically at primary sources. The title of this article is catchy, but not exactly accurate. Read the whole story to find out where the mis-leading bit is. And given the red-flag on credibility, one has to wonder what the original study has to say. The article itself doesn’t have a link to the primary … Wonder why.
Compare that story with this one from Yahoo. There’s still no link to the original story, but there’s a very different feel to reporting and even offering ancillary links to amplifying information.
It’s important to keep in mind that most research does not impute causal relationships, merely correlated factors. Do games make you depressed or do you turn to games to fight depression? Weight and depression are often linked but which came first?
Keep a critical eye on this kind of reporting. It’s seldom what it really appears to be.
August 27th, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I’m glad you posted this. I read the articles and all I could do was shake my head. It’s a shame things can’t be reported in a better way. Aside from the merely correlated factors, all I could think was “I’m so not an unhealthy depressed female gamer.” I’m the exact opposite. This is also a good reminder to really process what you read when it comes to these things.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
The first thing I noticed was where the article came from. It was taken in the Seattle area (the #1 suicide rate in the United States). I’m sure they could have picked a better location of several locations to have evaluated other than the NorthWest. Everyone knows never to use Seattle for any kind of depression statistics unless you want them to be in your favor. They were forcing their hand in that. That is where I have to start shaking my head with Stephanie. “I’m not an unhealthy or a depressed female gamer.”