The 24-hour news cycle has ratcheted up the amount of fear in the news, particularly for those of us in North America, and CNN has recently published an editorial providing a nearly perfect template, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, of how to write that kind of hype.
Written by Dr. Philip Zimbardo (well-known to undergraduate psychology students as the man behind the Stanford prison experiment) and Nikita Duncan, the editorial headline screams "'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation", quoting the title of the book the two are currently pushing. Initially claiming that video game and porn "overuse" are problems, the editorial doubles-down on that claim by stating games and porn can create "arousal addictions" (a term that appears to be hard to locate in peer-reviewed literature about addictions, and which certainly is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), in which "(s)ameness is soon habituated" and "newness heightens excitement" - which the authors themselves acknowledge does not conform with the accepted definition of a drug addiction - they then go on to explain the dire consequences of video game and porn "addiction", "...creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school and employment."
You read that right: A whole generation which can't hold down relationships, make it through school, or keep a job.
Keep reading, after the jump.
Archive | opinionation RSS feed for this section
The 24-hour news cycle has ratcheted up the amount of fear in the news, particularly for those of us in North America, and CNN has recently published an editorial providing a nearly perfect template, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, of how to write that kind of hype.
Written by Dr. Philip Zimbardo (well-known to undergraduate psychology students as the man behind the Stanford prison experiment) and Nikita Duncan, the editorial headline screams "'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation", quoting the title of the book the two are currently pushing. Initially claiming that video game and porn "overuse" are problems, the editorial doubles-down on that claim by stating games and porn can create "arousal addictions" (a term that appears to be hard to locate in peer-reviewed literature about addictions, and which certainly is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), in which "(s)ameness is soon habituated" and "newness heightens excitement" - which the authors themselves acknowledge does not conform with the accepted definition of a drug addiction - they then go on to explain the dire consequences of video game and porn "addiction", "...creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school and employment."
You read that right: A whole generation which can't hold down relationships, make it through school, or keep a job.
Keep reading, after the jump.
Opinionation: FYI, Video Games And Porn Are "Ruining A Generation."
29 May
The 24-hour news cycle has ratcheted up the amount of fear in the news, particularly for those of us in North America, and CNN has recently published an editorial providing a nearly perfect template, no matter how well-intentioned it might be, of how to write that kind of hype.
Written by Dr. Philip Zimbardo (well-known to undergraduate psychology students as the man behind the Stanford prison experiment) and Nikita Duncan, the editorial headline screams "'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation", quoting the title of the book the two are currently pushing. Initially claiming that video game and porn "overuse" are problems, the editorial doubles-down on that claim by stating games and porn can create "arousal addictions" (a term that appears to be hard to locate in peer-reviewed literature about addictions, and which certainly is not included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), in which "(s)ameness is soon habituated" and "newness heightens excitement" - which the authors themselves acknowledge does not conform with the accepted definition of a drug addiction - they then go on to explain the dire consequences of video game and porn "addiction", "...creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent to real-life relationships, school and employment."
You read that right: A whole generation which can't hold down relationships, make it through school, or keep a job.
Keep reading, after the jump.