'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation | Hacker News Reader

'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation

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I think its easier to shout "bollocks" about this than it is to consider that there is probably truths as well as over-exaggerations in this article.

I do believe that the plethora of instant stimulations is having a major impact on our cognitive processes. Some good, some bad. The bad I see is that it seems that people have a much more difficult time quieting down their minds or enjoying peace. If you watch people, there is a subtle but strong constant desire for stimulation. In fact, its almost odd to see someone waiting for anything without pulling out their smartphone and poking at it.

How this is impacting everyone on a macro level - not entirely sure but hopefully were not on an unstoppable road to the idiocracy scenario.

Get your pitchforks, everybody! He criticized the internet! (For the record: at the time of writing, this comment is -1 or -2, judging by the color.)

I've become genuinely disturbed recently by how many people simply cannot stop using their cellphones. You'll be talking to someone, and every 45 damn seconds the thing is out to reply to someone else. This isn't one or two people - this is maybe a third of all people I know.

"Bollocks" this article is, but there's no doubt in my mind that the generations growing into universal electronics are developing different (probably in a bad way) cognitive processes.

I've solved the problem for me by cutting myself off, as much as possible, from the world of electronic communication. I avoid my cellphone (which is a dumbphone, and will so remain), I don't use IM or IRC, and so on. (I can't believe I'm writing this paragraph on HN, of all places. The shame! The hypocrisy!) I now have the self-control to go without constant stimulation, and to relax and let my mind wander. Most people I know, sad to say, do not. I don't think it will turn out to be a good thing, and I think it's something we should, in fact, be worried about.

Nah you're just addicted to meditation. :)

"I do believe that the plethora of instant stimulations is having a major impact on our cognitive processes. Some good, some bad. The bad I see is that it seems that people have a much more difficult time quieting down their minds or enjoying peace. If you watch people, there is a subtle but strong constant desire for stimulation. In fact, its almost odd to see someone waiting for anything without pulling out their smartphone and poking at it."

This. PG did a good blog post about this a while back, "The Acceleration of Addictiveness" or something like that. If you're building stuff, and what you make is habit-forming, you win. So people build habit-forming things and create habits in other people. So most people have habits that are not necessarily beneficial for them at all, but which are beneficial for whoever built their favorite app, or game, or gadget.

How many people check Hacker News more often than they really want to? I regularly uninstall my Twitter clients because they're too habit-forming. This is my third or fourth Hacker News login; I get disgusted with the sheer amount of time I spend on here, I sign out, throw away my password, and then come back anyway.

Porn and video games make better link bait than Hacker News or Twitter, but the truth is that habit-forming entertainment is a serious problem.

Also, as an aside, I fucking hate how people use the term "addicting" when they really mean "habit-forming." The technical meaning of addiction requires a physiological change where the body cannot function without a given substance. I think I'm on the losing side of this battle, but I haven't made peace with it. I'd even agree that "addiction" in the more general sense is a bigger problem than pure addiction in the literal sense, but it still just drives me fucking nuts.

Bollocks!

This article is based on the premise that 'guys' are being destroyed by technology addiction amplified by a confluence of games and porn. Firstly it is a sexist argument, and secondly, a confluence of games and porn sounds like a good description of the majority of social obsessions throughout history, especially in male dominated environments.

[edit] I just thought about this and realised that the hero in nearly every western ever is a guy with a technology addiction amplified by a confluence of games and porn, usually in a saloon with swing doors, cards instead of consoles and the porn is live.

Unbelievable alarmist crap we've been hearing forever. Is it even newsworthy that CNN is pedaling this junk? Also kind of sexist. Girls can play video games and watch porn too. Why are "guys" so special and only their demise news worthy? This article could just as easily read "The demise of people".

Replace "Video games and porn" with X where X has been: Rap, D&D, Rock and roll, premarital sex, alcohol, drink fountains, teenage necking (kissing), dancing etc

Agree that the article is crap but at least regarding the internet porn part, it has all the requirements to become destructively addictive. And all stats show that men watch most porn so it's not unjustified sexism.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSF82AwSDiU

Beer, cigarettes, and gambling have all the requirements to be destructively addictive. Yet while I've known alcoholics, a couple of smoking-related deaths, and one or two people who have hurt themselves financially by gambling, the generations they are sampled from have lived longer and one the whole more comfortably than the generations before them.

These are all regulated and continuously up for debate, because, in the end, all addictions become a social/economical problem. Plus beer, cigarettes or gambling certainly did not contribute to prolonging their lives. Porn is not regulated in the west. I m not saying it should, but let's keep a watchful eye.

Neither of those things are only one click away when you are at your computer trying to get work done. Being able to resist the temptation to buy beer or cigarettes when you are in a store is easier than resisting the constant temptations of the internet.

And you could claim girls read more erotica and romance and watch more Disney, which one could also say skew social perspectives :P

Destroying a generation though?

i doubt one of these takes up similar percentages of their time. Now, shopping is addictive, but good luck regulating that.

This is just as bad:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870440900457614...

Bringing this one up because it's also talking about some of the same distractions (video gaming, porn) and was sadly lauded by a lot of women I know on Facebook.

Also for reference, it's not like this "narative" is remotely new. It was one of the central plot points of 1999's Fight Club. And it wasn't new or revolutionary then either.

Not really sexist - a few counterexamples doesn't oppose a general trend. The majority of players in violent video games are males, and by far the majority of porn viewers is male. The latter is probably because males are much more likely to pay for porn (there aren't too many strip clubs for women, for example), and most content gets made to suit those paying.

If I may provide a better, though more cynical headline:

"How huge student loan debts, lack of good jobs, and high gasoline costs are leading to the young impoverished formerly middle class to resort to filling their free time with cheap entertainment, namely video games and porn."

It is true that some games and most porn are produced with the intention of exploiting additive behaviour. There is certainly an issue here. This article sheds practically no light on that but instead takes a rambling, anecdote-strewn approach that starts with a conclusion which it scarcely even bothers to try and support.

There is no evidence given of an actual problem existing on a significant scale in society. There is no mention of any other changes in society which might also account for the supposed phenomenon. Addiction is viewed purely as a cause and never a symptom of depression and social exclusion.

I would love to see a proper assessment of the impact of these industries on society. I would love to see more recognition from the more reputable producers in these industries that some unscrupulous companies gain financially from having an addicted consumer base. And I would love to see constructive and practical ideas for how to improve the social impact of these industries in the future. I'm getting none of that here.

I agree. OP offers a rant with no constructive solution or even asking helPful questions. I actually agree somewhat that porn is a net negative

I view porn and to most addictions as symptoms. Society is not providing us with what we need to feel fulfilled and meaningful. If we all had deep relationships, a connection to our community and worthwhile goals to aim for I doubt most addictions would occur

At least this article isn't written by a female -- those always concludes that dudes are being overtaken females based on idiotic stats like how many people graduate college with a degree (implying that all degrees are equal) and how many finish high school, not taking into account that the high school environment has essentially striped away any posibility to use ones hands.

But this article doesn't present anything new or even noteworthy. Instead it is just more conjecture, more bullshit and nothing that take into account what is really missing from guys life.

This article series on the art of manliness (http://artofmanliness.com/2011/05/09/the-cure-for-the-modern...) does a much better job at hinting at the truth.

We don't go to video games just because they are fun -- we go to them to get a challenge to over come and prove ourself.

We do this not because video games are stimulating, but because there isn't much place in left in this society for doing and creating (computer programming and especially start ups are the exception, but most people don't live in the valley) things and because the traditional manly role of a provider and protector is essentially gone and there isn't a new distinct one that we can take on (if we are simply the same as the females, how do I prove my manhood?).

"if we are simply the same as the females, how do I prove my manhood?"

Why do you feel the need to?

I've never seen so many specious generalizations in a single article.

"No, don't watch porn! And don't you dare have lust towards girls in the start of a relationship! And how dare you use a sex toy! Vent your stress elsewhere... Thank you.. oh wait.. not video games either! Do something constructive with it! What can you do? Don't ask me, I'm just here to tell what you CAN'T do!"

Try an experiment, don't look at porn for 40days straight.

As sensationalist as this article may be (haven't read, not bothered) porn has become one of our most loved.....vices(is that even the correct word?).

I would say that most men who currently view porn on the net (which is to say, probably the majority) would not be able to stop viewing it for 40 days straight. Does this not tell you something?

Why not look at porn for 40 days? Just to prove I am not addicted?

It is stupid/silly, like not eating meat for 40 days. Sure you can do it, but why? I don't have any sins I need to atone for.

> It is stupid/silly, like not eating meat for 40 days. Sure you can do it, but why?

You say you can do it, but really, could you? No porn for 40 days, as an exercise in self control. I think the majority of porn using men could not. There is an entire subreddit(/r/nofap) dedicated to this one task, and if you read you will see how difficult it really is.

Back in the 1700's, nobody had cars, but they (arguably) did just fine. And yet today, hardly a day goes by when you don't hop into your car and go somewhere!

I bet most people who currently use cars for transportation (which is to say, probably the majority) would not be able to stop using cars for 40 days straight. Does this not tell you something?

Bad example. It does tell you something important, namely people no longer live easy walking distance from things which are important to them: job, food, and friends. If you live in a city next to a grocery store and walking distance from your job you could probably go 40 days without driving. You may not even own a car. However, most people (in the US anyway) are not in this situation. Therefore, we drive more than we should.

I probably have not used a car in well over 40 days, and by used I mean been in one (as I don't have a license).

But I agree, I think it's a bad example, pretty hard to compare the usage of porn with the usage of the car (or any other form of transport).

That humans love looking at naked humans?

I haven't watched porn in years so no need for me... I am just weirdly wired and find most porn stars unattractive

You're just on one end of the bell curve, most guys with internet access look at porn (if they can), but that still leaves a small percentage that don't, for whatever reason.

The real travesty is that those kids are still playing Nintendo 64

What a horrible article. Technology has admittedly introduced new forms of addictions, but they make the leap to "the demise and ruin of a generation" based on... what, exactly? Starcraft guy in 2005, and Anders Brevik? And apparently the N64, which was a disappointing console but not enough to ruin men for life. Men like stimulation and sex (and stimulating sex). Not news; not the demise of anything.

How did this get any votes on Hacker News? Terribly written article with ridiculous link bait for a headline. I used to play Call of Duty quite a bit, and haven't gone on any mass murdering sprees recently. Oh wait, that guy is CRAZY. His video game playing habits have nothing to do with it.

I wonder who picked the picture for it and what their intentions were. I mean, an N64 controller? Really? The language screams of bias. The severity and implications of internet/porn/video game/etc addiction are certainly up for discussion, but this article is pure troll bait.

I liked the part where they used generalizations based on people who are arguably psychopathic to indicate an epidemic of addictive demise.

I found this article to be completely non-stimulating.

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