Botanica West

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• Connecting with Japan

  The devastating earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan on March 11 has already killed thousands of people, and the full effects have yet to play out. The long-term damage to human health from radiation leaks at the Fukishima nuclear power plants will take years, perhaps decades, to manifest.

  I feel this tragedy deeply. Since my first visit to Japan as a teenager in 1959, I have felt a powerful connection to its culture, aesthetics and people. In the years since, I have been back more times than I can recall. As much as I enjoy the vibrant cacophony of modern, urban Japan, I am particularly drawn to its venues of timeless serenity.

  I am encouraged that the hallmarks of the Japanese character – a reverence for hard work, family, tradition and beauty – will ultimately bring that great nation back from the horror that now engulfs it. Please do what you can to help by donating at the American Red Cross website.

  In the meantime, here are some photos of trips I have been fortunate enough to make to Japan in recent years: Shrines and Serenity in Japan

• Video Game Addiction May Predict Depression

  Too much time playing video games may be bad for kids’ mental health. In addition to depression, it can lead to anxiety, social phobia and poor school performance, report investigators from the Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. The researchers analyzed questionnaires from more than 3,000 elementary and middle school kids in Singapore and found that impulsivity is a risk factor for becoming what they term a “pathological gamer” and that the impulsivity worsens as a result of playing video games excessively. Other characteristics that predicted compulsive gaming included lack of social competence, emotional regulation and empathy as well as playing video games for more than 31 hours per week. On the basis of the kids’ answers to the questionnaires, the investigators diagnosed pathological gaming in nearly 10 percent of them, predominantly boys. Later surveys showed that the total dropped below 8 percent. More importantly, the researchers found that the more pathological gaming symptoms the kids had at the outset, the more likely they were over time to become depressed, anxious, develop social phobia and have lower grades in school than kids who weren’t pathological gamers.

  My take? This study seems to square with earlier research, which showed that those kids most likely to develop “internet addiction” are most likely to be those who are depressed, hostile, have attention deficit disorder or social phobia. Here, too, boys are said to be more susceptible than girls; also at risk are those who spend 20 hours a week online. Computer-related activities are not likely to go away, but monitoring the amount of time kids’ spend gaming might head off the problems seen in this study. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids’ total screen time should amount to no more than two hours a day.

  Learn more: Get Moving with Video Games

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Originally posted 2011-04-09 17:37:35. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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