Even though this section of the forum almost seems like a new-media hate congress, I'd like to point out a couple new studies which find that some types of new-media may actually bring benefits (not to mention previous studies in which they were used to cure phobias and even to aid in chemotherapy).

I would have added the urls to the studies, but since this is my first post I can't. If you want to read their abstract (you have to pay to read them all), go to PubMed.com and search for what's suggested after I refer to each study.

I'm talking about video games.

A study found that unlike magazines and TV, videogames do not lower self-satisfaction with one's own body and thus do not contribute to the formation of unrealistic body standards. PubMed search: Cyber Sexy

Another recent study even adds to this: playing online games, like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars, even increases self-satisfaction and general well-being! PubMed search: The relationship between leisure satisfaction and life satisfaction of adolescents concerning online games.

Since many of the problems with losing weight have been found to be related to low self-confidence which, in turn, is related to self-satisfaction, playing this type of games may actually help!

Yes, playing video games is sedentary and you might feel like it was better to be doing exercise. But if you are only going to do exercise for a week, forgeting about taking care of your emotional self, soon droping to the old lifestyle, it is better to increase your self-confidence and create realistic patterns.

Remember, it is better if you exercise 10 minutes a day for years, than 30 minutes for months...