Survey Released Says 1 in 5 Casual Gamers Have A Disability

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A survey says that more than 20% of 'casual' gamers have a psychological or psychical disability of some kind. The term 'casual' gamer "is a loosely-defined term used to describe a type of video game player whose time or interest in playing games is limited compared with a hardcore gamer." (Link)

Depression, ADD / ADHA and Rheumatoid Arthritis / Osteoarthritis respectively ranked as the most common types of mental, developmental and physical conditions. Only 26% of disabled casual gamers were said to play traditional video games.

The study notes that those with disabilities typically play casual games more frequently and longer than the non-disabled, and find the benefits to include stress release, mood lifting, and "distraction from issues related to disability."

Take a look at the full article here.

 

Thats depressing. Do they have the disability because they play games, or do they play games because they have a disability?

 

I'm guessing the 2nd one, mostly because of the way the article is phrased. It suggests that they play games for longer because they see it as stress-release and escapism from issues related to their disability.

 

How would a game make someone disabled?

When you're stuck in a chair half the time anyway computer games are a pleasant distraction. It's not particularly depressing, what is depressing is when people who are perfectly fine going out all the time, doing sports, talking to people, giong clubbing, whatever, insist that playing games is for 'losers' and do everything they can to draw you away from it without providing suitable alternatives.

Same goes for physical or mental disabilities.

 

I feel inclined to suggest it's people who have difficulty making friends as a whole who turn to escapism through the computer, and many people with disabilities do not have a great deal of confidence talking to someone in person. PC gaming, particularly online gaming then becomes their means of release and making friends, and an ideal way to do so. They can interract with people or programs who will never judge them, and to someone in a wheelchair that can be more valuable than diamonds.

 

I guess you've never played Condemned

 

...by giving a massive epileptic seizure which lead to permanent brain damage. There's always options and everything is possible within certain parameters, of course...

 

The person would have to be epileptic for that originally. Which is classed as a disability already.

A game cannot give someone arthritis for example, or any conditions on the autistic spectrum. Unbalanced conditions, such as various forms of depression I can understand, though they are conditions that can be balanced again.

 

Well I feel alright!

 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder? Ha! There's some pretty awful games there which might do that for someone sensitive enough!

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Yes. A disability, and that's definitely something you might get from playing console games with bad controllers