Editor's note:
Psychologist Dr. Philip Zimbardo is a professor emeritus at Stanford
University and is world-renowned for his 1971 research, the Stanford
Prison Experiment. Zimbardo teamed up with artist and psychologist
Nikita Duncan to write "The Demise of Guys: Why Boys Are Struggling and What We Can Do About It," released Wednesday by TED Books.
(CNN) -- Is the overuse of video games and pervasiveness of online porn causing the demise of guys?
Increasingly, researchers
say yes, as young men become hooked on arousal, sacrificing their
schoolwork and relationships in the pursuit of getting a tech-based
buzz.
Every compulsive gambler,
alcoholic or drug addict will tell you that they want increasingly more
of a game or drink or drug in order to get the same quality of buzz.
Video game and porn
addictions are different. They are "arousal addictions," where the
attraction is in the novelty, the variety or the surprise factor of the
content. Sameness is soon habituated; newness heightens excitement. In
traditional drug arousal, conversely, addicts want more of the same
cocaine or heroin or favorite food.
The consequences could be
dramatic: The excessive use of video games and online porn in pursuit
of the next thing is creating a generation of risk-averse guys who are
unable (and unwilling) to navigate the complexities and risks inherent
to real-life relationships, school and employment.
Stories about this degeneration are rampant: In 2005, Seungseob Lee, a South Korean man, went into cardiac arrest
after playing "StarCraft" for nearly 50 continuous hours. In 2009,
MTV's "True Life" highlighted the story of a man named Adam whose wife
kicked him out of their home -- they have four kids together -- because
he couldn't stop watching porn. Continue at CNN
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