Online Casinos Wrong Focus
The information age has transformed the world over the past several decades and
research studies recently indicate that the internet and the new forms of
technology are changing the patterns of our brains in ways that are not entirely
beneficial. There is huge controversy over the online casino gambling industry
in the US, and the focus of social conservatives is on this gambling industry
instead of the larger issue. The new research coming out indicates that online
casinos are only one slice of the problem and that internet addictions are
actually the real issue rather than the focus on specific niche industries that
operate via the internet. The Republicans may be spotlighting the wrong issue
and are focusing new legislation off of the real problem – the internet as a
medium.
Last week a research study indicated that the internet, cell phones, video games
and the myriad of other electronic devices are having a much stronger effect on
humans and the human brain than has been suggested in the past. In fact, the
rapid stimulation of electronic devices are changing the behaviors of the human
race – and it has nothing to do with whether or not online casinos were played
or if you use the internet to read news portals. It’s a much larger issue that
is a foundational part of how technology and the internet have shaped us into a
much more impulsive (sometimes compulsive) and impatient population. The easy
access of technology means that instant gratification is possible. For this
reason there is a lot of talk right now that some of the anti-online casino
gambling attention should be refocused into new legislation that better
addresses the real concerns facing the US and the rest of the world.
Further, there continues to be no indication that the online casinos represent
any more of a danger than land based gambling and the pervasive fear and
assertions that internet gambling is addictive like crack cocaine is just not
the case. |