Britain is in the grip of an epidemic – and once more video games are to blame! An article in yesterday’s Sun newspaper claimed that playing games is as harmful as several syringes brimming with smack.
Yes, it’s another piece of manufactured frothing tabloid hysteria, created to scare the bejesus out of parents, technophobes and all non-thinking peoples. At least this time it’s not The Daily Mail, but the nation’s favourite perfectly-innocent-breast-peddlers-and-occasional-news-tabloid.
This time however, the games industry isn’t shrugging and hoping it all goes away quietly.
MCV launched an epic takedown yesterday, debating the piece with The Sun’s deputy head of publishing.
Today, the mighty Stick Twiddlers published a fantastic piece, talking to addiction expert (Dr Luxman Parimelalgan) and picking apart the ridiculous claims in the paper.
The site has even launched a hashtag on Twitter #helpsnotharms, asking gamers to provide stories of how games have benefitted them. If you have something inspiring or awesome to add, let them know.