Gaming injuries on the rise – The Sun (here we go again)
Welcome back. You're a regular here, so why not follow us on Twitter too...
The Sun newspaper has reported a massive increase in game related injuries, whilst outdoor related injuries have plummeted.
Is the video game industry once again being blamed for something it has no control over?
Earlier this week it was rickets, now it seems that thumbs are the latest body part to fall foul of the demon computer games.
If the tabloids are to be believed, all of Team Attitude will soon be crumbling husks, pitifully tapping away at our keyboards with stumps where our arms used to be – well, those of us who aren’t already.
Whilst we feel that quoting The Sun’s nonsense is a waste of Internet space – surely it must be running out – it has to be seen to be believed;
“THE number of children hurt falling out of trees is plunging – while those injured playing COMPUTER GAMES soars.
Kids hooked on shoot-’em-ups are flocking to casualty with badly strained THUMBS, figures obtained by The Sun reveal.
Those suffering serious repetitive strain injuries last year after spending hours glued to consoles on games like huge hit Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare are up a massive 60 per cent since 2002.
Meanwhile there was a 50 per cent drop in youngsters aged 15 and under hurt pursuing the traditional childhood pastime of climbing trees.
The total was 885 compared to 1,796 seven years ago.
Skateboard, rollerskate, ski and other skating accidents tumbled by 57 per cent over the same period, a Freedom of Information request reveals.”
Truly amazing stuff, we especially like the random capital letters in the middle of a sentence – it’s like being headbutted by words.
However, we feel it would be neglectful if we don’t mention a couple of key points;
- Falling out of a tree really hurts, where as a strained thumb is just a strained thumb. Are we all being encouraged by The Sun to break our necks?
- Modern Warfare is an 18-rated game, so using statistics for children aged 15 and under is just sloppy.
- How are computer games to blame for a reduction in outdoor injuries? There are so many different factors that could influence this statistic.
The comments that followed the article were equally depressing, with one particularly eloquent parent saying;
“I know last week my son had a strained thumb and I put it down to COD. He said he hurt it at school, so who knows.”
Surely this deluge of misinformation has to stop at some point; or have we now reached the point where every illness, injury and criminal act can be justified by blaming the latest big name gaming release?
By the way, the PS3 ate our Hamster – true story.
“How are computer games to blame for a reduction in outdoor injuries? There are so many different factors that could influence this statistic.”
Well, in their defence (sort of), it sure ain’t down to quality TV!
But yeah. We all know that computer games are ‘teh ebil’. I mean, I’ve been playing them for 30 years now, and I’ve lost count of the injuries I’ve sustained as a result, not to mention the people they’ve made me kill.
Oh wait, now I remember… none whatsoever, on both counts.
Haha very true…. The things I’ve seen man…. The things they made me do!! I didn’t mean to kill that eyepet!!
lol – I know what you mean, I know heaps of people that’ve been gaming for over two decades, which according to the tabloids should mean all my mates are serial killers with chronic RSI…… Which, you’ll be pleased to know, they’re not
.
Kids climb trees about as much as they eat their greens and do their homework carefully. In other words, it happens occasionally.
So their falling out of trees is even rarer.
I think I climbed a tree about a dozen times in all my childhood (I discovered drugs at a very young age!)
I thought it was really funny that you even thought it necessary to come up with a counter-argument. That’s what really made me laugh!
If you live in America or somewhere else and have never heard of The Sun, then just realise that they publish this s**t every single day.
I work in the NHS, therefore any statistics i quote are as equally as relevant and perhaps true as those in The Sun.
Number of gaming related injuries i have treated…0
Number of tree-falling-out-of related injuries i have treated…0
What does that tell you? Not a lot!
I actually think the reason there’s not as many injuries from kids falling out of trees is because they’ve all been cut down by those environment-hating loggers!
News flash, the NHS blame the sun and loggers for injuring children!! Somebody tell the times!!!