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Older Americans Increasingly Using Video Games as Recreational Alternative

nytimes.com — Anxious about the mental cost of aging, older people are turning to games that rely on quick thinking to stimulate brain activity. A step slower than in their youth, they are using digital recreations of bowling, tennis and golf.

Who dugg this? Made popular Mar 31, 2007

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  • tidu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37"Back in my day we didn't have warthogs. We had to walk FIFTEEN miles to the next covenant base."
  • SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20Agreed. And let's face it, the last thing I need to hear while I'm trying to play Halo is "ORRRRANNGE GROVES! FARRR AS THE EYE COULD SEE!"
  • psyops2000, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14When I'm old and retired, I'll probably be at home playing GTA XVII or something and telling all the whipper snappers about the days of GTA3 and how cool things were back then.
  • SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13Good point. I'll let my lazy grandparents know that they should drop their walkers and start climbing trees.
  • MaxwellTD, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16@jimilarue512

    i dugg you down because it was kinda mean.. but... That was funny as hell.
  • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Well they sit around in retirement homes anyways
    might as well sit around, have fun and keep that old thinking muscle alive

    (I know the brain is not a muscle so don't give me attitude)

    Futurama:
    When people are older than 160 they are sent to a far away planet, where they are cleaned and hooked up to a machine putting them into a virtual retirement home
  • toppgun, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9Old grandma hardcore?
  • zachblume, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Spam die
  • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Dr Kawashima's Brain Training is a fun game for young, right through to old
    Whats your brain age?
    Mine's 23 (19 Years old really, so I'm "Taking these results with a pinch of salt")
  • SultanTravi, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I know about her, but it still sounds disgusting.

    @Buddhist
    Not for long. She's getting old.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+9These people should be out playing in the yard or climbing trees or something. Damn video games.
  • aserer511, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Honey, Honey!!! xxANGRYCSER22 says he's gonna come over here and pawn my face!!"
  • Smeed, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Hmm that doesnt make any sense. Maybe its because many of the people who are considered "older" were fairly young when video games first started appearing.
  • Chesterfield, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Horse *****.
    I guess I'm one of the 'few'.
    I'm 49, and I can kick the ass of many young gamers online. I was never less than 3rd or 4th in my Quake 3 days, and I'm at the top in Half-Life 2 and Splinter Cel.
    I started very early in computers and work in a field that requires a very sharp eye and nimble thinking. Both the job and the recreation time I have playing games and sports keep me young.
    So I like computer games as an additional challenge. Bring it on.
  • EdwardsNH, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1LOL, This old timers got you beat at 22 (Actual age 44)
  • sbgunn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'm glad to see a gaming article coming from a source like the NYT. I know that a lot of digg gaming content has to come from the blogs dedicated to gaming (and their information is often much more specific and detailed), but gaming coverage from old media seems much more legitimate. If nothing else, I like it because this sort of article will reach a much broader audience than a post on wiifanboi.com or xbox360h@xorz.com.
  • Akeem, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Naw, my 75yo grandma just plays her Dr. Mario on N64.
  • styphoto, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Competition coming: Wii cross-stitch, knitting, tole-painting trigamerthon...who can be the best at making electronic tacky ***** nobody can bear to erase away!
  • Buddhist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2OGHC for life!
  • xSEED, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1cuz the "older" gamers are the original nes generation
  • funkywood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't have much time for games nowadays so it's certainly part of my retirement plan to catch up on all the ones I'm missing right now. It'll be a nostalgia trip for us. Eee, when games we're 2D, them were't good old days.
  • mouth4war, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Get off my Second Lawn!!!
  • ummmmm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1lol "Old Americans"
  • Empyrean, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well if they like video games, perhaps they should look into some other "recreational alternatives"...like THC.
  • KuntaKinte, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This reminds me of Grandma's Boy
  • cvrefugee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1My 62-year-old mom is addicted to computer games. It all started when I signed her up for Real Arcade ($8/month gets you one free game per month) but I canceled it because she would only play a few different games. She became bored of those (Bejeweled 2 and some puzzle games) so now she downloads the demos and plays them until they boot her off. Some demos are time-based, but she found out that if she never exits the demo, she can play forever! I tell her to stop being a hax0r and she just looks at me funny.
  • pairanoyd, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2*****.

    I'm 46 and I have no interest in playing any sort of computer games.
    Why? The number one reason, a problem that plagues almost everyone middle aged and up, arthritis and carpal tunnel.

    I can't handle those dinky little game controllers, they are designed for young, nimble little hands and for older people to try to operate one, no way. It causes me excruciating pain to use one. My son has an Xbox and a PS2, I tried to play them a few times and it would make my hands hurt so bad that I quit within minutes of starting. It's like someone had smacked my hands and fingers with a hammer. I don't believe the story that older enjoy these activities at all. There may be a FEW that do but they are rare exceptions. Even operating a mouse and typing makes my hands and fingers hurt. I've tried every sort of ergonomic mouse & keyboard out there hoping to find one that would cause me less pain than usual but no such luck.

    There's also another factor that comes into the picture. Older people simply don't like computer games. They just don't do anything for us. No offense to anyone intended but computer games just don't interest most of us in anyway. Once you reach a certain age/maturity level, playing any sort of game is about as interesting as a plate full of room temperature spinach.

  • MeltingIce, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I think the Wii did help a lot with this new trend. I know at least my dad actually plays video games now because he can actually compete with me in bowling.
  • notzak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It's true. We're in a new generation. Old people when video games came out had no games to play. But what about us, when we're older? Will it be the standard for old people to game as much as the childrens?
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0You have to ask?
  • silent, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1@pairanoyd: I'm sad for you...

    "Once you reach a certain age/maturity level..." very sad.

    While I'm posting. I'm going to plug the greatest group of online gamers all over the age of 25.
    Fossils Of War - http://www.fow-clan.org/
  • kwimia, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Thanks! Nothing particular, but still interesting for me.
  • livester, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Very useful. I was waiting for this for a very long time...
  • yakizz, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Unbelievable! Hard to beleive.
  • poxoe, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Perfect post! Seems to be vain for me...
  • lolo2007, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I don't have much time for games nowadays so it's certainly part of my retirement plan to catch up on all the ones I'm missing right now. It'll be a nostalgia trip for us. Eee, when games we're 2D, them were't good old days. http://www.gwafi.com/news.html http://www.gwafi.com/story.html
  • nify, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Doubtful info... I'd better go and sleep instead of reading THIS
  • jimbo100, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0i can just imagine getting pwnd in BF2 and just hearing over voip " back in ma daayy, we ushed to aim for the head and it would moshd probably hit them, we didnt have these shcope thingies you people have now"
  • RandoTheKing, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0Do you have a life outside of Digg, supernova? ffs
  • dcoolidge, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Back in my day it was all roll and scroll games. None of this fancy graphics stuff you kids are playing today.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -24/+22It's cool as long as they stay offline. Don't need any old geasers joining my clan and then dying.
  • Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -6/+2Wii FTW!
  • zachblume, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1In other news: "Older Americans Increasingly Using Their Friend's 'Wii' for Recreational Alternative"

    Oh come on you left the door soooo open!

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