|
This story is from the category Total Immersion
Date posted: 18/08/2007 Researchers at Nottingham Trent University?s social sciences department quizzed 1,000 gamers from across the world to assess the impact their online addiction had on their lives. The study showed nearly 50% of players meet up in real life and many of these embark on a relationship. More than 30% of participants found themselves attracted to another player and 40% would choose to discuss sensitive issues with online friends rather than their real-life peers. Female players are more likely to find themselves attracted to others in their online circle and were happier to meet up and go on dates with people they meet through computer games. Only one in five participants said online games had a negative effect on their relationships if their partner was not a player. Professor Mark Griffiths said: "As well as making good friends online, 81% of gamers play with real-life friends and family, suggesting (computer games) are by no means an asocial activity, nor are the players socially introverted." "The virtual world that these games offer allow players to express themselves in ways they may not feel comfortable doing in real life because of their appearance, gender, sexuality, age, or other factors. The study found, on average, gamers spend more than 22 hours a week playing online. 30% said it allowed them to be themselves more than they felt able to be in real life. See the full Story via external site: www.channel4.com Most recent stories in this category (Total Immersion): 19/02/2017: Valve 'comfortable' if virtual reality headsets fail |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
