Video games have long been a scapegoat for many things. If I even tried to list all instances of such occurrences, I’d probably bore most readers into the 500th word. Strangely, video games and scapegoats have now been taken to a whole new level. Lancashire therapist, Steven Pope, believes that “spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine”. I know readers but hold your *facepalm* until the end of the article. After the break you can see Pope’s full statements on gaming and drugs.

“Spending two hours on a game station is equivalent to taking a line of cocaine in the high it produces in the brain. It's the silent killer of our generation. We're now onto second generation game station players who have always grown up with it. Computer game addiction can also spiral into violence as after playing violent games, they may turn their fantasy games into reality. It is the fastest growing addiction in the country and this is affecting young people mentally and physically."

Pope also urges parents to “go upstairs to your kid’s bedroom and try to take the game station controller out of their hands; kids will react in the same way as an alcoholic would if you tried to take their booze – it’s scary.”

No logical facts or studies were given to back these “far-out” statements (like so many other anti-gamer claims). Plus, if an adult went up to a child and took a gaming controller out of their hands because they listened to some random therapist…I’d be mad, too, to the point of Pope’s alcoholic reference. The real question should be “was parental responsibility ever thought of or taken into account” with Pope’s rantings? I highly doubt it. Alright readers, now you can *facepalm*.

[MCV]