1/4/2009 - Immersion

There has been much talk about the link between video gaming and childhood obesity. I'm not going to make a judgment about that except to say that I personally don't have such an issue, despite being a gamer for over 20 years. Genetics may be part of it, but I feel that I actually burn a lot of calories when I'm gaming. Maybe that's because I really get into the games... I take the life and death situations in the game seriously, and that translates into the physiological responses associated with flight or fight situations: heart rate increase, perspiration, etc. In other words, unless it's a boring game, I don't become a zombie when I play... unlike some of the kids in this video:



It's funny how a lot of the kids have an intense, yet sleepy stare when they are playing. It's as if they've been pulling an all-nighter on the game... which wouldn't surprise me.