14 DAY TRIAL // We all know the stereotype for a MMO player, a fat guy sitting all day at his computer, with only item statistics on his mind and no social life. But according to a recent joint study made by the University of Southern California and the University of Delaware, things are completely different in real life. The survey conducted on 7,000 Everquest II players shows a very high physical form; the mental one is rather poor.
“The results suggest that adult gamers have an average body mass index of 25.2, compared to the overall American average of 28. The average gamer also engages in vigorous exercise once or twice a week, which the researchers say is more than most Americans. The reasons for this are not obvious, although the team suggest it may be because more educated, wealthier people are attracted to computer games, and these people also tend to take better care of their health. The downside, however, was that the gamers reported more cases of depression and substance abuse than their compatriots”.
Quite an interesting study, but if us gamers are to think about it, most of us play games in order to escape from the stress of real-life, it would be inevitable for someone to feel a less than healthy bond with their virtual life. The pleasure and glory which their alter egos find in various games create a bit of disappointment because their real life isn't that satisfying. They really should seek professional help because such problems tend to get worse over time.
And on a brighter side, the study also showed that, at least in the Everquest II playing group, males aren't all that dominant, with quite a decent part of the players attending the study being females. It shouldn't come as a shock, women are becoming more and more interested in technology in general and games in particular, and MMOs provide an attractive experience for them with the high customization factor of their characters.