News Flash: Gamers Aren't Deviants

shadowlight1 writes "Maximumpcmag.com has a short bit on how an independent survey about gamers reveals that most are college educated, socially adjusted males..not the social outcasts the media portrays. " It saddens me to see that it takes "lab results" to confirm this.

Comments

Re:Gamers help

[cpt kangarooski]

Final Mortal QuakePong Brothers III-D

Re:Mindcraft

[Signal 11]

Well, if this is true then nobody knows how to play quake on the pub servers - "only 16% know how to circle-strafe".

This must translate to: 84% use zbot to assist with their aiming, because they don't know how to properly navigate.

Sad. I'm not sure what to make of this - I'm better than 98% of quake players, but that isn't saying much if 84% of them suck worse than Bill Clinton. No, wait... that's not what I meant...

--

So this is a surprise?

[MissionControl]

With regard to the idea that this study proves that gamers aren't deviants, is it saying that they would be if they were female, or poor, or married?

The only actual factor that I can see that might get someone labeled "deviant" in the usual sense is the degree of social adjustment. However, the article doesn't give any evidence to support the idea that gamers are generally well-adjusted socially.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that this study simply supports the generally accepted notions of the "gamer" demographic, and that the people outside of that demographic (married, poor, and female) are logically the "deviants".

Re:So this is a surprise?

[jabber]

Good point. While at it, let's step down to the definition of the word 'deviant'.

Point 1: A 'deviant' is someone who is statistically removed from the norm by a wide margin. For the sake of argument, a double-sigma in either direction on the bell curve.

Point 2: Computer gaming has become culturally ubiquitous. A vast majority of casual computer users can be defined as 'gamers'. Computer gaming is the norm in our society.

Implication: Since 'deviants' are those people that lie outside of the mainstream, and since the mainstream plays games as a matter of fact, then 'deviants' can not be 'gamers' by definition.

Well Gee, we've been saying that all along.....

[Accipiter]

Unbelievable. We're seeing more and more scientific breakthroughs every day! It's incredible how nothing gets past them, even considering that we've been saying that the whole time.

See John. See John play Quake. See John frag everyone in the level. See John turn off his computer, hop in his car, and go to work JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER NORMAL HUMAN BEING ON THE PLANET. (Unless of course he's playing Quake AT work, in which case he's just like me. :P)

So now, when a media outlet says something to the effect of "This guy walked into his office, took out an automatic weapon, and started splashing bullets everywhere killing 72 co-workers, and injuring 13. He then went outside, stripped naked, and ran down the street shooting pedestrians. We think it's because he played Doom a lot.", we'll have scientific backing to OUR side of the argument. pfft.

-- Give him Head? Be a Beacon?

AC Labs Independent Results

[Anonymous Coward]

We decided to try to verify these results down here at AC Labs and here's what WE turned up: 100% of the gamers we polled said "Slashdot Sux d00d!" 98% of the gamers we polled spend 16 hours a day playing Quake 3. 80% of the gamers we polled are aged 16 or younger and own between 1 and 3 handguns. 72.454% of the gamers we polled plan to do something "Uniquely American and Violent" within the next 8 months. 28% of the gamers we polled have or plan to have a high school diploma. 3.14159% of them apparently practised anything even resembling hygene. Of the 20% of the gamers older than 16 polled, 17% were gainfully employed. 80% of that 17% worked at McDonalds, Target, K-Mart or Burger King. 100% of this group were virgins. 98% of them have never had a relationship with a girl. 4% of them were gay. 2 of them hit on the lab attendants and required a small administration of electroshock thearapy (*Tazer) to get back in line. That 4% also admitted to posing as females on MUDs and IRC. Results: AC Labs concludes that the gaming community is openly psychotic and anti-social. AC Labs suggest that any parent who notices their child playing computer games should seek immediate assistance from a child psychologist and/or local social worker. Medication (Lithium, Prozac, Xannex, Ritalin) is highly reccomended. Under no circumstances give in to demands for a "Little GI Joe automatic weapon" play set.

Just one problem with that...

[Millennium]

If they do that, they won't get any ratings.

Resources

[SirSlud]

Heres the part many people don't see:

1. A kid who plays Quake all the time is not hurting anyone. Sure, you can claim he's being influenced while he's playing, but only few people are influenced, and even less into doing deviant things because of it.

2. A kid who ping floods sites for fun is MUCH more likely to do something violent IMHO (of course, most never do, but I'm just saying this is more of an indicator than watching/interacting with pretend violence). Why? This type of action displays a much greater disregard for the respect of others, and their property. But people don't see this. They see the blood in Quake, they think blood. Ping flooding may not be violent, but it says to me that the guity party is more likely to disrespect the laws of society. Now don't get all up in arms. I'm just taking two activities, and pointing out where society seems to go wrong in analysing the people doing them.

3. You can't predict people. End of story. There has always, will always be murder. Sometimes you can spot it, other times you can't. But rather than targeting the ones we /think/ are in danger, there should simply be more focus in our society towards maintaining tolerance, patience, and an understanding that being picked on/isolated/teased is not justification for retribution, but rather motivation to keep on being superior life forms than the aggressors.

The important part here is distinguishing the underlying context of the activity/hobby. Something doesn't have to look violent to influence people into being more violent. But still, we take everything at face value ......

Just my 2 bits.

Mindcraft

[jabber]

[sarcasm]
Well, you have to consider the source of the lab tests, as well as their results. You have to consider who commissioned the study, and what they have to gain by skewing the results in their favor.

I bet it was all those Linux freaks, with bad haircuts and poor personal hygiene, that are responsible. I bet that they took all of their spare change (and God knows they have plenty, since they don't buy software, but rather use Free software) and paid for a statistically unsound study, to make it appear that they are not really the sociopathic axe-murdering, rapist pedophiles that we all know they are.

I'm sure that they selected only a fringe of the college educated, gainfully employed, and self-proclaimed 'normal' people, and didn't include a representative sample of their own minions in the study.

For as surely as the sun riseth in the east, and seteth in the west at the end of the day, so doth Heaven await those who tread the path of righteousness, and heed not the words of the devil. Verily, they that playeth his acursed 'lectronic games and heedeth his call on the internet, shall burn eternally!

Whilst they that believeth in the word of Big Daddy, J.C. and the Holy Spook, as delivered by the prophets of the ABC, the NBC, the CBS and the CNN shall inherit the life eternal, with none of the distractions of no such beepin' and Quakin', Doomin', shootin' rootin-tootin...

Can I get an AMEN, brother?

[/sarcasm]