Readers with a memory for bullshit might recall Steve Pope, a former drug addict and psychologist who said that two hours of gaming was comparable to doing a line of cocaine. Now he's back, claiming once again that your "Game Station" is like coke and that it will destroy your children.
"Spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine in the high it produces in the brain," said in a Pope BBC Radio 5Live interview. "It's the silent killer of our generation."
He said that ... he called gaming the silent killer. I just ... I have no words.
"We're now onto second generation game station players who have always grown up with it," he added. "Computer game addiction can also spiral into violence -- as after playing violent games, they may turn their fantasy games into reality. It is the fastest growing addiction in the country and this is affecting young people mentally and physically"
I think the truly dismaying thing is how the anti-game "experts" are always allowed to say what they say without ever being required to bring evidence. Pope himself has said in the past that he has no statistics for his claims, and yet he's considered an authority on the social dangers of gaming. He doesn't even know what the game consoles are called.
Yet no radio station will let me talk about my solid research that shows Jeff Dunham causes ball cancer. Where's the justice?
Two hours gaming = a line of cocaine [MCV]
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:
1:20 PM on 03.10.2011 | 
AND WHAT THE FUCK IS "PHYSICAL ADDICTION"!?
Think that title has already been claimed.
*looks for his "Princes of the Universe" 7" maxi single
Cocaine isn't an amphetamine. Meth is. They both, however, are stimulants.
I just played a 7 pound rock of gaming.
Tell me, under that brilliant paint job, is that pompous bastard making a smug little weasel face? Judging by the pretentious way he's nibbling on the end of his glasses, I'll wager he is. Whaddacunt.
This is one of those stories.
1 Line of Cocaine = 5% of a gram
1 Gram of Cocaine = 60 dollars
Average 60 dollar game has 20 hours of gameplay
2 hours of gaming is 10 percent of 60 dollars
10 percent of 60 dollars is 6 Dollars!
5 percent of 60 dollars is 3 Dollars!
So 2 hours of gaming costs 6 Dollars while 1 Line of Cocaine = 3 Dollars!
So logically the psychologist is telling us to stop wasting our money on gaming and start spending it wisely on cocaine!
Awesome! Party at Jims!
"silent killer?" the most lethal effect they usually have is helping you become fat and have bad posture. just the same as TV, movies, mcdonalds.
WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT LOVE!?
This header just confirms it. Which is why your articles and posts like this are usually filled with unnecessary stuff.
This blog is fairly large, so it's not like he'd be invisible if he's just in it for the attention. Not only that, but he be able to reach a lot of people that he thinks are troubled with a serious addiction.
Take one for the team, Jim. Ring this guy up.
Wait, how is this bad?
He basically just said that playing video games for a while makes you feel just as good as doing cocaine. (then again, I've never taken cocaine, so who am I to talk?)
But since you don't take anything physical and games don't really do anything to your body as such, why does it matter? It's feeling good without the horrible consequences.
If someone ripped my controller out of my hands and I was about to beat dead space 2 on hardcore mode... yea, I would destroy them. But its kinda like saying "the next time your dad is in the middle of an important report due to his bosses by midnight this evening and hasn't hit ctrl+s in 6 hours, go unplug his computer".
That's right people, hard work = a line of cocaine in the high it produces. I'm writing this paper right now. People need to stop working.
gotta fight sensationalism with sensationalism. or how about a over 50% of psychologist have superiority complexes or are delusional?
http://www.stevepopeassociates.co.uk/contact.html
A-fucking-men Jim, Amen.
I thought that videogames were supposed to be some kind of anti-drug...so what's the anti-videogame? (Kinect is not an acceptable answer!)
More importantly, what is two hours of NARC like?
I'm so confused. What would good ol' Cap'n Lou Albano say about this? Oh. Does that apply to videogames like Super Mario Brothers, too? Does this mean that the Super Mario Brothers Super Show was glamorizing a dangerous controlled substance as much rap music occassionally does? For that matter, does that mean that Super Mario Brothers=50-Cent: Bulletproof/Blood on the Sand?!
My whole world is turned upside down! Thanks a lot, Doc.
Should we be listening to condemnation of gaming from anyone named Pope any more than the Pope?
Me: "Cool, I'll have to check them out!"
Crazy Guy: "Vidya Games are like Cocaines!"
Me: "i'd like to place an order to be delivered!"
Well... At least not yet... BUWAHAHAHAHA!!!