With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit

Re:With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, th... by JauntyHatAngle on Sunday January 28, 2018 @06:12PM (#16254170)

I mean, there is no way to know about what is happening in people's heads, so you may well have made the correct choice - however when I was 16-17, I played online games a fair bit and the reason for it was because I enjoyed them a lot and had friends on there I didn't have in real life.

When I went to uni I met similar friends which led to my social life improving, but before then there really was no substitute for online games at the time simply because I did not enjoy the company of the people I'd met at the time.

When I didn't have access to online games I'd just read the same amount instead.

I guess what I'm saying is that a lot of the time (but not always), online games are a symptom, not a cause.

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Re:With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, th... by JBlue42 on Monday January 29, 2018 @12:11AM (#16255453)

Yeah, same for me. I played team sports until 18 or so all year but also found a great virtual friends playing MUDs and going on BBs and mailing lists centered around subjects that I was interested in. Really opened my eyes to a wider world. Then had a chance to strap on a backpack and go explore it. It's actually nice for an introvert - you can be of the world but still anonymous, engaging with other people when you want, withdrawing to read or re-energize when you don't.

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