Our generation is on the verge of ruin...

[Swedish Cheese]

... according to CNN.

Sorry guys, appear we're all doomed to live violent lonly lives.

Is the overuse of video games and pervasiveness of online porn causing the demise of guys?

Increasingly, researchers say yes, as young men become hooked on arousal, sacrificing their schoolwork and relationships in the pursuit of getting a tech-based buzz.

Every compulsive gambler, alcoholic or drug addict will tell you that they want increasingly more of a game or drink or drug in order to get the same quality of buzz.

Video game and porn addictions are different. They are "arousal addictions," where the attraction is in the novelty, the variety or the surprise factor of the content. Sameness is soon habituated; newness heightens excitement. In traditional drug arousal, conversely, addicts want more of the same cocaine or heroin or favorite food.

The consequences could be dramatic: The excessive use of video games and online porn in pursuit of the next thing is 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.

<snip>

Young men -- who play video games and use porn the most -- are being digitally rewired in a totally new way that demands constant stimulation. And those delicate, developing brains are being catered to by video games and porn-on-demand, with a click of the mouse, in endless variety.

Such new brains are also totally out of sync in traditional school classes, which are analog, static and interactively passive. Academics are based on applying past lessons to future problems, on planning, on delaying gratifications, on work coming before play and on long-term goal-setting.

Guys are also totally out of sync in romantic relationships, which tend to build gradually and subtly, and require interaction, sharing, developing trust and suppression of lust at least until "the time is right."

Less extreme cases of arousal addiction may go unnoticed or be diagnosed as an attention or mood disorder. But we are in a national, and perhaps global, Guy Disaster Mode that needs to be noticed and solutions advanced to fix a totally novel phenomenon, which will only increase in intensity and breadth without the concerted efforts of educators, gamemakers, parents, guys and gals.

It's time to press play and get started reversing these trends.

Be afraid, be very afraid!!!

[I left.]

I'll certainly be on my guard!

[Emperor SJoyce]

Of course. If you look back through history, you'll see that the Mississippians, the Atlanteans, the Pascuense, the Polynesians of the Pitcairn Islands, the people of Malden Island, the Norse of Greenland, and so many other civilizations were destroyed by those two great scourges of man, video games and free porn.

[dialectical fetishist]

So I'm guessing this is the new moral panic? Ugh.

[oakvale]

Judging by the results of the first kiss and/or virginity threads there might be some truth to this.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

Women are more empowered and men have more leisure options. It makes sense that both groups would be less interested in long-term relationships and building families. They need each other less than they ever did in the past.

[Simfan34]

Please stop posting these.

[Beet]

I do believe that we're getting more decadent. Fortunately there are 7 billion of us (3.5 billion if you count only guys) and no such gross generalizations apply to each and every one. As long as we have a system where the cream of the crop is able to rise to the top, we'll be okay.

[Tik]

As long as we have a system where the cream of the crop is able to rise to the top, we'll be okay.

This sentence reminds me of free porn and video games.

[BaldEagle1991]

I guess we could have more serial killers on the loose. Not that I think porn is linked to that, but there is a correlation.

[The Mikado]

I guess we could have more serial killers on the loose. Not that I think porn is linked to that, but there is a correlation.

Do we, though?  Or are they just more reported now?

[Californian Tony]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GFRcFm-aY&feature=my_favorites&list=FLkgPZbRQawmDN4EScSu1DIA

[Leftbehind]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3zL3mtgOGY