Video Games...Good, er...Bad

I do enjoy the news sometimes. I don't get to spend nearly enough time interacting with everything that flies by the wires. There are days, though, when I get a chuckle.

It started with CNet, where my writing partner wrote a blog about a Chinese clinic opened specifically to deal with game addiction.

Take the case of the 12-year-old boy who spent four days at an Internet cafe, barely eating or sleeping. Or the 21-year-old who used video games to escape from family pressures to study.

Now, I know John -- and while I don't want to speak for him -- I can almost bet he was laughing while he typed the blog. (Why? Who in the heck lets a 12-year old roam free for 4 days? Is that a gaming issue or a parenting issue...discuss.)

That, of course, isn't what made me chuckle. It was the next item that appeared in my RSS feeder. Here is a story (and it would make sense to me) that reports people who play video games have better eye sight. (This does not explain my wicked-thick glasses.)

From the article:

Researchers found that gamers who devote much of their free time to Grand Theft Auto and Super Mario may be able to scan their environment and spot the target of their search more quickly than non-gamers can.