Video Game Health and Well-Being; The Plus and the Minus

I do apologize for slacking off over the past weeks and days. Having this flu thing is terrible, apparently it's the worst  flu season so far, and things will only get worse in comping years.
I've also been having some family issues here; my father's been diagnosed with stomach (or was it prostate?) cancer during a regular check-up. I've kinda had my mind on these things, so blogging isn't really important in the face of personal adversity.
Having said that, our 2 articles for this week are revolving around health and well-being in video games. Here are our articles:

Granic, I. (2013). Video Games Play May Provide Learning, Health, Social Benefits, Review Finds. Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/11/video-games.aspx

Ruah, S. (2006). Video Game Addiction No Fun. Retrieved  May 2, 2014, from http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun

Granic's article is a unique one, in that it's an article commenting on another article. It still has relevant points, so to speak, but essentially summarises its main points in a one page summary.
The "article" discusses a biased study on the analysis of video games on people, and how there is enough evidence on the detriments of gaming, and more study needs to focus on its benefits.
Some of Granic's main points of gaming include improved problem-solving skills, relax minds, cope with life in general and reasoning. Even video games are used to treat patients with various afflictions, such as cancers, and show promising results in terms of adherence to treatments.
Perhaps once day, gaming might be integrated so much so into society, we may not even realise we're gaming! That will be the day when gaming is truly at the peak of society.

Next up is Ruah's article on game addiction. Being completely polar to Granic's studies, Ruah argues that there is an increasing amount of people becoming addicted gaming, and as a result, society is taking the hit the hardest. She also gives examples of signs of game addiction (which have general similarities to any addiction), as well as ways to combat these addictions, such as learning to live with computers, time limits on gaming and understanding that reality and virtual worlds are different places, were problems are not so easily forgotten.
One of the most heavy-hitting quotes Ruah makes is "...You can get a 21-year-old with the emotional intelligence of a 12-year-old. He's never learned to talk to girls. He's never learned to play a sport." (2006, p.g. 2). Those very words basically describe my emotional state in a nutshell, and kinda makes me think: "What have I become? Where did it all go downhill?" And then I remember: High School. That, as far as anyone remembers, was where gaming was at its peak.
In a way, a good thing. But perhaps a major contributor to how I developed into a man, even now, still struggling to talk to girls and doing things outta my own little bubble.

So, that will probably get you thinking for a fair bit for a while. If you really wanted to, you can comment about your own gaming experiences and how that has shaped who you are today, reading this. After all, "Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows"? Only Time.

Peace. ☮