Yesterday there was a bit of a stir over Dr. Tanya Byron's new TV show Am I Normal? in which videogame "addiction" was compared to heroin abuse, and WoW was written off as "childish fantasy." I didn't want to comment too much, but I felt some of the quotes laid it on a bit thick for a woman who'd just become seen as a games industry ally.
Interestingly, it turns out that the show was actually recorded last year, before Byron published her report and before, one could assume, she had fully researched the issue. Indeed, the Byron report goes some way to dispelling the myth of game addiction -- perhaps this show would have been different if Byron had worked on the report before it was made.
With the tone of the TV show and the Byron report being considered quite different, it might be a case, as some suggest, of Byron learning more about videogames over the past year and changing her attitudes, which is a good thing indeed. More people need to do that.
I am very glad that Dr. Brown's attitudes haven't changed from positive to negative so soon. Hopefully she will continue to help bring sense to the games debate.
Jim Sterling serves as reviews editor for Destructoid.com, head of the Podtoid podcast, and produces a number of news stories, original features, one-of-a-kind videos. With his passionate argumentative style, controversial opinions, harsh delivery, and dedication to brutal honesty Sterling is a name that you can't help but recognize.
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Contest:
1:24 PM on 04.17.2008
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@MechaMonkey
Heh, she can welcome me back into her folds anyday, where I'll gladly keep an eye on her. :p
But that's not what this is about. This is about Tonya Byron, and reinforcing gamer stereotypes by oogling her.
Someday I will free my fellow gamers by hiring a black-hat hacker to break into blizzard's database and erase every WoW character. The gamers may not like it... but I do it out of love
Now, let me say again what I said in the last post about this: The quotes from her show did NOT slam gamers. They simply said that people usually think of video games as being the realm of kids and teens, and gamers are usually thought to be unemployed weirdos. This is TRUE -- people DO think of things in those terms, however incorrect. I don't recall the quotes saying that these opinions were true. PAY ATTENTION, people, and don't overreact.
Here, buddy. She's a big'un, it seems.
In more ways than one...
I'd break her off a piece.
MUCH BETTER
:)
Wait, what's this post about?
So yeah sure at least we know byron hasn't turned but it still isn't good that the BBC are showing programs like this after the byron report.
Right. Jack.