Yay, a super-scientist with all sorts of opinions about virtual worlds and their ill effects. I am SO tired of this silliness.
Here's the lead-in:
Britons' health at risk from time spent in virtual worlds, says Dr Aric Sigman
Britons could be jeopardising their health as they spend more time in virtual worlds than the real one, according to the psychologist Dr Aric Sigman.
And the conjecture:
He claims the amount of face-to-face contact people experience has fallen by two-thirds over the past two decades, from six hours a day in 1987 to just two in 2007.
At the same time, he believes the amount of time UK citizens spend sitting in front of the TV, playing video games or visiting websites has doubled to eight hours a day.
Then:
"One of the most pronounced changes in the daily habits of British citizens is a reduction in the number of minutes per day that they interact with another human being," he said.
Does he know anything at all about virtual worlds?
He goes on to cite loneliness as a major cause of ill health:
'In an article published in the journal Biologist, he cites research that claims lonely people are more likely to suffer a stroke, develop high blood pressure or dementia and even die earlier.'
Well, in my experience (and doctoral research) VWs are a massive panacea for loneliness, a lack of belonging and other societal ills. People do NOT have to have face-to-face meetings to have meaningful and lifechanging interactions with the millions of other occupants of virtual worlds.
Any other comments? We have had lots of discussions here about what's really happening in online spaces, and how play and various online interactions (thinking discussion boards, support groups, etc.. here) can transform people's lives. How do we connect the dots to other disciplines, research communities, etc? How do we make 20 hours of WoW mandatory before writing ANYTHING about VWs? Sheesh. I'm indignant.
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