femalegamer

A recent study conducted by Australian psychology major Daniel Loton found that 15 percent of 621 adult respondents to an online survey identified themselves as “problem gamers,” or those who spend more than 50 hours a week playing games.

Only 1 percent of those gamers had poor social skills (shyness) according to Loton. Which contradicts the stereotype that all gamers are geeks who seek solace in gaming since they can’t find friends in the “real world.”

The study also found that problem gamers were most likely to be involved in massive multiplayer online role playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft and Age of Conan.

Loton’s findings came after last year’s wonderfully profound and inaccurate statement by the American Medical Association which tagged MMORPG gamers as “somewhat marginalized socially, perhaps experiencing high levels of emotional loneliness and/or difficulty with real life social interactions.

Now, I may not be the most outgoing person out there, or the one that is considered the “life of the party,” but I definitely do not turn to MMOs for the AMA’s reasons. In fact most of my friends are gamers and they definitely are not lacking in social skills. Hell, we can party with the best of them, and know that real world fun can tower over gaming any day. Yes, we may all be a bit dorky about our various obsessions with certain movies, books or bands, but put us in a room with a bunch of non gamers  and I bet you couldn’t tell us apart. Unless one of them makes the mistake of mentioning their desktop specs…

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