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News & ArtsTuesday, August 18, 2009
Games The Average Gamer: 35, Fat, Depressed
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 2:32 PM
At least they are around here:
A new study says the average age of video-game players in the United States is 35, and oh, by the way: They're overweight and tend to be depressed. Investigators from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University and Andrews University analyzed survey data from 552 adults in the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Are gamers likelier to be depressed, or are folks living in the Seattle-Tacoma area likelier to be depressed?
4
Gamers are overweight? Are gamers more overweight than the average American, or just as overweight as the average American?
5
Thank you for pointing out the small and localized nature of the sampling.
When this gets reprinted elsewhere, I doubt that distinction will be made.
The Seattle-Tacoma area is hardly representative of anything, other than the Seattle-Tacoma area.
When this gets reprinted elsewhere, I doubt that distinction will be made.
The Seattle-Tacoma area is hardly representative of anything, other than the Seattle-Tacoma area.
6
I still haven't been able to accept the use of the very word, 'gamer'. I cringe every time it's used in a sentence.
8
@4 for the keen insight.
Originally, gamers mostly used to be really thin, until our population got overweight. Whether that was due to most of them joining Civil War Reenactment battalions, being members of reserve military units, or the long nights of marathon sex, nobody is really sure.
Somewhere in the 80s that changed.
Originally, gamers mostly used to be really thin, until our population got overweight. Whether that was due to most of them joining Civil War Reenactment battalions, being members of reserve military units, or the long nights of marathon sex, nobody is really sure.
Somewhere in the 80s that changed.
9
@5 actually, this sampling is probably on the less-overweight side of the spectrum if you are comparing to the rest of the country
If we were talking about a random small sample from Mississippi you might have a valid argument here....but we aren't
If we were talking about a random small sample from Mississippi you might have a valid argument here....but we aren't
12
Did they consider standing outside of PAX with a clipboard? Because I think you could get a larger, broader sample just by doing that.
13
Actually, I'm 41, skinny as a rail and mad as fuck.
C'mon, people. 552 people ain't a fucking representative sample of YOUR MOM, much less anybody else.
It's still funny as hell.
*Returns to stroking off to 'Do you wanna date my avatar'*
C'mon, people. 552 people ain't a fucking representative sample of YOUR MOM, much less anybody else.
It's still funny as hell.
*Returns to stroking off to 'Do you wanna date my avatar'*
14
@9 Good point on the weight issue. But that supports, rather than refutes, my suspicion of the sample being non-representative.
15
So the depressed have antisocial pastimes tend to let themselves go? Who knew? Sure beats alcoholism* or drug addiction.
*I'm personally more interested in alcoholism than video games, but I'm trying to see the big picture here.
*I'm personally more interested in alcoholism than video games, but I'm trying to see the big picture here.
16
@14 - well it was from gamers in our area.
The depression could just be because Seattleites are depressed.
The depression could just be because Seattleites are depressed.
17
The study's authors state that the study is not scientifically valid and that it only suggests potential patterns for further investigation.
18
Any intense activity can be an escape for depressives. The problem with games is they don't do anything to fix the reasons why one would be depressed.
20
Wow, what a small sample.
I've seen what a fair number of the gamer friends I know look like, have met a good number of them in real life, and the 35/fat/depressed doesn't fit at all. Sure, a couple of us are pushing 35 (who isn't?) and have a bit of a pudge (who doesn't?) but we're overwhelmingly a happy cheerful bunch, and some of them are downright HOT.
I've seen what a fair number of the gamer friends I know look like, have met a good number of them in real life, and the 35/fat/depressed doesn't fit at all. Sure, a couple of us are pushing 35 (who isn't?) and have a bit of a pudge (who doesn't?) but we're overwhelmingly a happy cheerful bunch, and some of them are downright HOT.
21
How can they claim the average age is 35 when the sample was "552 ADULTS?"
It seems to me that a good portion of gamers are minors. This study means nothing.
It seems to me that a good portion of gamers are minors. This study means nothing.
22
@17 -- In other words, "We at the CDC want a bunch of grant money. We do this by finding enough fat nerds to pad out the bare minimum sample size, proclaiming it a pattern we need to study further, and waiting for the money to roll in."
23
@21 -- They probably conducted half the study in nursing homes, saying that counts because of all of the grandparents playing Wiis now.
25
@7: Larpers are awesome! They're actually away from their computers and doing shit. I imagine sword fighting in chain mail does a body good.
27
#15. John Wayne Gacy was smart, computer literate, fat, depressed .... and a serial killer!
Better gaming...
Better gaming...
28
I would say that fat and depressed fits the gamer profile pretty well down here in sunny Austin, Texas as well as it does up there where the sun don't shine.
30
I wonder how they compared gamers and non gamers in the lower age range, seeing as probably upwards of 90% of males aged 30 and younger play video games on a at least an occasional basis.
31
Yes, sitting on your ass and playing video games at 35 without getting any form of real physical excersize I'm sure will make you fat, and being fat and out of shape can be depressing. Video games are just one out of a number of things that keep people from getting excersize and thus cause obesity, and being obese wears you down and makes you feel kinda shitty.
BTW - obesity is defined as being about 30 to 40 pounds overwieght, not 100 (that's morbidly obese).
BTW - obesity is defined as being about 30 to 40 pounds overwieght, not 100 (that's morbidly obese).
34
How does Dan expect society to progress to the point where gays are treated like human beings even if you disagree with how they live their lives when he can't even treat fat people like human beings even though he disagrees with how we live our lives?
35
Video gamers are the kind of people who sit in front of their computers, and project themselves into another world. They are shitty at living their own lives; they are escapists.
So one has to ask, is this a function of their character; that they were obese and depressed, adn were drawn naturally to the lifestyle of being a gamer, or do video games cause obesity and depression.
A truly valuable research study might have investigated the effects of removing gamers from video games, and observing whether or not this had the effect of making them thinner and happier, or if it made them more depressed, and simply project this behaviour into some other activity.
This study is bogus. Don't be fooled into accepting invalid research simply because it presents information which seems to fit your assumptions. This is released purely for political reseasons: the CDC WANTS to project a bad image of gamers. It suits their agenda. They are the center for disease control and prevention, not disease tolerance and acceptance.
So one has to ask, is this a function of their character; that they were obese and depressed, adn were drawn naturally to the lifestyle of being a gamer, or do video games cause obesity and depression.
A truly valuable research study might have investigated the effects of removing gamers from video games, and observing whether or not this had the effect of making them thinner and happier, or if it made them more depressed, and simply project this behaviour into some other activity.
This study is bogus. Don't be fooled into accepting invalid research simply because it presents information which seems to fit your assumptions. This is released purely for political reseasons: the CDC WANTS to project a bad image of gamers. It suits their agenda. They are the center for disease control and prevention, not disease tolerance and acceptance.
36
Are gamers exclusively video gamers (i.e. players of consoles, coin-ops and computer games), or does it include folks from the backgammon club that meets at the local pub every Thursday?
Does it include the bored middle manager who pulls up Klondike on a slow day? How about the secretary who plays Tetris on her cell phone during her bus commute home?
Would it include all LARP gamers, such as the fully armored guys in the SCA, the guys who cruise the Masquerade parties for easy hookups with Goth girls, or just the Lightning Bolt level supergeeks?
How about Murder partygoers? Improv clubs?
Are Mormon families who play Milton Bradly games on family night regarded as gamers, or only if they play Guillotine or Munchkin?
I assume players of Magic, The Gathering count. How about the gazillions of kids who play the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games as well?
Do members of the local high-school chess club count as gamers? Would Kasparov count?
I think my point becomes clear. Unless one defines the parameters of exactly what a gamer is, it become easy to say that no true gamer is skinny, young or sane.
That said, as I've indicated elsewhere on SLOG, I play Left 4 Dead, am a recovered Magic, The Gathering addict, play Guillotine and Munchkin (as above) when I can gather players, and am on anti-depressants. Computer games, including a number of RTSes serve as some of my coping mechanisms as I'm disinclined towards common alternatives.
While not obese, I'm not in my recommended BMI, either. I'm outside my thirties. I had sex with a willing partner last weekend.
More...
Does it include the bored middle manager who pulls up Klondike on a slow day? How about the secretary who plays Tetris on her cell phone during her bus commute home?
Would it include all LARP gamers, such as the fully armored guys in the SCA, the guys who cruise the Masquerade parties for easy hookups with Goth girls, or just the Lightning Bolt level supergeeks?
How about Murder partygoers? Improv clubs?
Are Mormon families who play Milton Bradly games on family night regarded as gamers, or only if they play Guillotine or Munchkin?
I assume players of Magic, The Gathering count. How about the gazillions of kids who play the Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card games as well?
Do members of the local high-school chess club count as gamers? Would Kasparov count?
I think my point becomes clear. Unless one defines the parameters of exactly what a gamer is, it become easy to say that no true gamer is skinny, young or sane.
That said, as I've indicated elsewhere on SLOG, I play Left 4 Dead, am a recovered Magic, The Gathering addict, play Guillotine and Munchkin (as above) when I can gather players, and am on anti-depressants. Computer games, including a number of RTSes serve as some of my coping mechanisms as I'm disinclined towards common alternatives.
While not obese, I'm not in my recommended BMI, either. I'm outside my thirties. I had sex with a willing partner last weekend.
41
Well I think it depends on how you define depression. Ennui is not depression but is easily mistaken for it. Gamers (and by gamers I will assume that the study means MMO players that play at least 5+ hours a day) have created, sustained and flourish in a entirely virtual world. Similar to the TFL guys that like to shoot up gyms, isolation will bring with it depression and creativity. Some people can cope, some cannot.
And as for the fat thing, there are people out in the real world that are unnecessarily mean to fat people for trite reasons. I do not see why a fat person needs to spend any time with the real world if its just gonna be an ass about it, if they want to live in a productive fantasy world, by all means do. They might not be as hated and invisible there.
And as for the fat thing, there are people out in the real world that are unnecessarily mean to fat people for trite reasons. I do not see why a fat person needs to spend any time with the real world if its just gonna be an ass about it, if they want to live in a productive fantasy world, by all means do. They might not be as hated and invisible there.
42
Oh, Dan, you're almost as good at being monomaniacally fatphobic as you are at being racist and transphobic, too. Of course, your defense will be that you didn't say anything specifically fatphobic in here this time, but i see what you're trying to whip up.
It's entertaining to see you deciding to give a crap about this study, especially given that you have generally in the past declined to pass judgment on what people do with their own lives. For some reason, though, Good Old Snarky Dan Savage has morphed into Annoyed Middle-Aged White Guy Dan Savage. Sometimes, you're brilliant. Sometimes, you're funny in your pathetic, biased whining, but we're laughing at you, not with you. Sometimes, well, you show that you're part of the establishment now and fuck all those other people i don't like.
For the record, i'm 31, lithe by any definition of the word, and rather joyous. I like me some Warcraft but don't really get how you spend five hours a day playing it every day. I just have better things to do with my time than pass judgment on fat people, especially given that "fat" seems to be this nebulous concept that only gets applied to people we're not supposed to like. (I'll give you five bucks to walk into CC's on bear night and decry all the fat people, Dan.) People like their fantasy worlds. I think it's just a game, but i get that to a lot of people it isn't. I'd rather they take out their issues in PvP than trying to talk to me on the bus or anything. But yeah, i am a "gamer."
So, um, can someone please, using small words, explain the reasoning behind fatphobia? Seriously...i can eat half of the average all you can eat buffet and it won't affect me and i know folks who are allegedly "too fat" who eat wisely and carefully who exercise far more than i do. Does that luck really make for something that deserves a social judgment? If so, why is it more valid of a social judgment than one based on race or sexual orientation? (and before you get out your brickbats, i'm a lesbian of color...)
More...
It's entertaining to see you deciding to give a crap about this study, especially given that you have generally in the past declined to pass judgment on what people do with their own lives. For some reason, though, Good Old Snarky Dan Savage has morphed into Annoyed Middle-Aged White Guy Dan Savage. Sometimes, you're brilliant. Sometimes, you're funny in your pathetic, biased whining, but we're laughing at you, not with you. Sometimes, well, you show that you're part of the establishment now and fuck all those other people i don't like.
For the record, i'm 31, lithe by any definition of the word, and rather joyous. I like me some Warcraft but don't really get how you spend five hours a day playing it every day. I just have better things to do with my time than pass judgment on fat people, especially given that "fat" seems to be this nebulous concept that only gets applied to people we're not supposed to like. (I'll give you five bucks to walk into CC's on bear night and decry all the fat people, Dan.) People like their fantasy worlds. I think it's just a game, but i get that to a lot of people it isn't. I'd rather they take out their issues in PvP than trying to talk to me on the bus or anything. But yeah, i am a "gamer."
So, um, can someone please, using small words, explain the reasoning behind fatphobia? Seriously...i can eat half of the average all you can eat buffet and it won't affect me and i know folks who are allegedly "too fat" who eat wisely and carefully who exercise far more than i do. Does that luck really make for something that deserves a social judgment? If so, why is it more valid of a social judgment than one based on race or sexual orientation? (and before you get out your brickbats, i'm a lesbian of color...)
43
Fenrox's first two sentences in 41 are astute. Many think depression when it's really just ennui caused by relative inertia... something easily addressed with a little bit of exercise.
44
thank you, #42, it is refreshing to hear someone call Dan out on his fatphobia who isn't fat. It makes me feel a little more validated.
48
Yes, remind me of all that insecurity i have about being able to buy clothes off the rack, about nobody ever nagging me about being able to eat like a hog as my "fat" friend is eating a quarter of what i do and being hounded for it. Remind me of the insecurity inherent in never hearing about my weight, or never wondering if anyone's going to yell at me for sitting on the bus or harrassed for daring to fly in coach. Tell me all about what it's like when my weight is not an issue, when i don't have to hear about eating Ezell's, and when...oh yeah, i don't have to be insecure about my weight because society doesn't make it an issue. So nice try there, Gomez, but you fail.
As for what you noted, 44/fauxxxe, i'd like to believe it's because it's so goddamned obvious and consistent that nobody bothers. Or so i tell myself. I think it's my responsibility as a member of the queer community in this town to stand up to his bullshit, including his fatphobia.
Also, nobody's managed to come up with a justification for fatphobia. I guess this signifies that there isn't one.
As for what you noted, 44/fauxxxe, i'd like to believe it's because it's so goddamned obvious and consistent that nobody bothers. Or so i tell myself. I think it's my responsibility as a member of the queer community in this town to stand up to his bullshit, including his fatphobia.
Also, nobody's managed to come up with a justification for fatphobia. I guess this signifies that there isn't one.
49
48, It's not been established that the charge of fatphobia is warranted. All Dan did was cite a study about gamers and so many commented, exposing their emotional baggage about weight issues. Along with the description of "fat" was "35", and "depressed". After the headline, Dan focused on the depression and local aspects, so I have to wonder why so many readers zeroed in on the fat? Time to take a look in the mirror.
50
My personal sensitivity is to the ill stereotypes of gamers, which, in this era, are worse than those of gays.
Of course that could be debatable; violence-addicted social misfits only a hair's breadth from becoming spree killers or rapists is debatably better or worse than disease-ridden pederasts with an uncanny sense of fashion.
Of course that could be debatable; violence-addicted social misfits only a hair's breadth from becoming spree killers or rapists is debatably better or worse than disease-ridden pederasts with an uncanny sense of fashion.
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