British tabloid/glorified comic book The Sun has brought on a neuroscience expert to argue that videogames can cause temporary -- and perhaps permanent -- mental problems in children. Yep, it's that time of the month where another British "newspaper" scares its readers into hating something irrationally. 

Baroness Greenfield argues that a child's brain, "can be temporarily disabled by activities with a strong sensory content -- 'blowing the mind'. Or they can be inactivated permanently by degeneration -- ie. dementia."

Apparently, "Screen technologies cause high arousal which in turn activates the brain system's underlying addiction. This results in the attraction of yet more screen-based activity." She uses all these words to suggest that kids need to step outside for some fresh air -- good advice in any situation, without the need for scaremongering. 

"There is a need to be outside, to climb trees and feel the grass under your feet and the sun on your face," she adds. 

So there you go, your children will literally have their brains rot if they play too many videogames, and we have a single scientist to prove it! Then again, considering you'd already have to be brain damaged to read The Sun in the first place, I doubt there's much to be worried about.

Computer games ‘are giving kids dementia’ [The Sun]

Legacy Comments (will be imported soon)

Agent9

hear we go again.

Agent9

*here*, i should really focus on one thing at a time.

Jon B

Redundant scientist gets paid lots of money to say scaremongering bullshit. More at 11!

Martin Montiel

Wow wtf is wrong with this magazine did they get screwed up by someone in the video game industry and is taking revenge on the whole industry together??? Or maybe their just trolling gamers to get attention...

salamagogo

"Scares its readers into hating something irrationally"
Ahem..sony,nintendo,pot,kettle

Street Flighter

Don't scientists usually have to give evidence for their 'finds'?

Elsa

Sure... send them outside to play where they can develop new fears - pedophiles, kidnappers, skin cancer, radiation from those overhead power lines that will give them brain cancer, toxins in the weed killers that are used to keep that grass green - we live in a state of fear, where everything is bad for us - and will eventually kill us.

Playing video games just seems less deadly. :)

Gorescream

I am so fucking tired of The Sun, Sterling.

You do realize they only research these things because they want to know the bad stuff, and if there isn't they'll just make it up?

WHY DO WE BOTHER WITH THE SUN?

THE SUN
IS
WORTHLESS

ElReminator

Yeah, because children are UNABLE to play video games for a while and THEN step outside to play.

Once you start playing, the world outside DISAPPEARS!!! It's a well known fact, and I have one scientist to prove it!

Come on, I've been playing games all my life (My mom was a gamer!), and I still had time to go play with my friends outside.

I have a good job today as a perfectly functional adult in society... Or is it just delusions due to my demented mental state??? 0_0

SithZombie

The Sun keeps us warm!

Tristrix

I really don't wanna be the "amg this isn't vidjya gaem news" because clearly it is, but something feels wrong about giving this kind of thing free publicity on the site. I mean I certainly realize it won't just go away if we plug our ears and go "LALALALA" but should we even be acknowledging bullshit like this?

Again, no complaints or anything, just expressing a somewhat uneasy feeling about this.

Gamernerd101

This just in bad parents blame other things for their children's problems. I think I like the way rock and roll caused people to go and killing sprees and cause mental disorders, so I'll stick to blaming that. Thanks "the Sun" for allowing me to keep my blame game options open. I'll be sure to reference you next time a child goes insane due to lack of parenting.

Sir Legendhead

Are you fucking kidding me? My parents gave their children dementia. You pussies.

TheRedDevil

It's no surprise that The Sun would run this kind of story just to scare people who know nothing about videogames.

Gorescream

@Tristrix
That's the fucking thing.
Tabloids around the whole goddamn world nerdbait people by posting these psychotic news, are you fucking kidding me? You twist the words of a fucking scientist for publicity and money? How is that even fucking allowed in this world? The Sun has ZER0 integrity.

FUCKING ZERO, They are trash!

We should just ignore these kind of news posts of mindless drivel.
We are just keeping them alive by visiting their site.

TechnicolorDewDrop

Praise The Sun!!!

tekbunny

@tristrix

Its a big crazy world out there. The more we know about it, the more we can be prepared for that world.

Bakewell

Yep because most things blow childrens minds, they see a cloud shaped like a car and go apeshit.

Also. According to the Sun the streets are full of terrorists and pedophiles so exactly where can my child play?

@jim

When will you stop posting articles about the sun? Sure, I've commented and added my contribution to the destructoid coffers by clicking but this stuff is truly objectionable.

Bakewell

Yep because most things blow childrens minds, they see a cloud shaped like a car and go apeshit.

Also. According to the Sun the streets are full of terrorists and pedophiles so exactly where can my child play?

@jim

When will you stop posting articles about the sun? Sure, I've commented and added my contribution to the destructoid coffers by clicking but this stuff is truly objectionable.

Isay Isay

Keith Treble

Its alright, the people who buy the sun just look at the tits and read the football section, it doesnt matter.

Gorescream

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXl9mXrnWhs&#t=775

prime example.

FrankYorkMorgan

Where's this woman's research paper?

BoomingEchoes

"'There is a need to be outside, to climb trees and feel the grass under your feet and THE SUN on your face,' she adds."

See.. She added that you should have the news paper on your face, to spend your money there and slather it all in your eye sockets.

F*cking sun.. I hate it as a news paper about as much as I hate it as a gaseous celestial body.

El Conrado

They don't know what they're talking about.

I've being playing videogaems for more than twenty years and i am prfectlycplbl of grable nim sit ena mdipn, nes dhf jhuresiscv.

pokota

What purpose does anger at The Sun serve? Tabloids thrive on controversy. They're not doing this stuff because they necessarily believe in it, they're doing it because it makes them money. Writing and posting furious rants aimed a piece by The Sun is the same as responding to a troll in the forums.

As for the article from The Sun, it's so bare of details that it's nearly meaningless, with most of the 'conclusions' being in the form of paraphrasing by the writer. It's impossible to know what the speaker in question was actually saying by reading this piece of drivel.

RenegadePanda

STUDIES SHOW THAT LIFE WILL LEAD TO DEATH, SCIENTISTS SAY CHILDREN WHO ARE ALIVE HAVE A 100% CHANCE OF DEATH. LEADING EXPERTS ADVISE PARENTS KILL THEIR CHILDREN TO AVOID EXPOSURE TO DEATH.

MetalDeer

By this, uh, "logic," I should be drooling on my keyboard.


Fucking news media...

TurboKill

People need this guy



to tell them to get their kids to get out more.

Kurlija

"...and feel the grass under your feet and the sun on your face"

I'd much rather feel The Sun on my rectum on a vindaloo day.

FECES.

VolksONER

BIRTH IS A DEATH SENTENCE. Deal with it.

fulldamage

Holy crap - says here these things can explode a child's brain. I'll take ten.

@Gorescream
[i]"WHY DO WE BOTHER WITH THE SUN?

THE SUN
IS
WORTHLESS"[/i]

Somehow this is the funniest thing I've read all week.

Maniac

Meanwhile, REAL scientists have been saying the exact same thing about movies and TV for decades without all the scaremongering.

Wooshamboo

The press no longer has any credability. They have started a buisness of selling people the news framed to fit their own ideals and beliefs. Truth and an honest portrayal of details have become liabilities to their bottom line. In today's world it is irrational to expect to be told the truth.

catsithx

If you want a good laugh read the sun. Other wise batboy will be angry

TysonOfTime

The Sun can give you Skin Cancer!

So nobody read it.

Noir

You know what else will rot children's brains? The Sun.

Planetary Duality

Secondary sources are always such reliable informants with which to gain your scientific understanding from.

Commandant Oreo

Go outside? Hah! This argument may have worked in 65 B.C. where "outside" was far more safe than now. There are so many carcinogens, toxins,pollutants and corruptions outside both physically and mentally. Elsa is spot on. Does this argument work in China, which is the worst place to be outside? I'll stay inside thank you very much!

goinglopsided

@technicolour, your comment made me lol, i never understood why those messages where left everywhere..

pagey123

.........Its the sun........not suprising.......consits of tits.......chavs..........and football.......and they can proove video games are giving dementia.....well we are going to have to tell the people at the old folks home that it was games that made them crazy and randy! Mind you if this was the daily mail every reader would actually panic and lock their kids outside so they cant play games. English people for you ! hehe

Manuelmecia

I was just reminiscing on how shit the sun is, and two minutes passed, then I saw this.

Furyfire

I must be one fucked up person then.. :P

FunWithExplosives

I read and am commenting on this artice to let you know we're all tired of reading and commenting on articles like this.

I'm like Super Logic Man!

BkV

"British tabloid/glorified comic book The Sun has..." Oh boy, I take great offense to this statement Jimmy. A glorifieid comic book¿¿¿ That's an insult to comic books everywhere. Comic books are entertaining/educative and pieces of art.
While the Sun isn't even good as rag....just saying.

misterkatamari

Do these people simply write these articles so that more reputable sites pick it up? And by 'more reputable', I am including Destructoid.

I seriously can't think of any other reason to push this crap. Is there a social acceptance of any of these theories/stories in the UK? As in, do people even actually care? If not, then what is the market for stories like this?

scouserboots

Well my neighbor told me playing too much video games causing erectile dysfunction. She then offered to show me what that meant and then proceeded to take out my....hello, have you seen my green sweater. Oh fuck, there you go. I like Penguins.

Martindoolittle

I've been playing video games for twenty years and it hasn't effected meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

ScottyG

Well I do agree with her statement that kids should probably get outside and be active more. You hardly need a degree to realize that though.

palpablepalpatine

You can tell that Jim is a respectable journalist because he doesn't work for the tabloids and he actually answers his readers.

Props to ya Jim!