Recognize this game? Yes? No? Maybe you do, because we're pretty much the generation who have lived through the very end of the '90s only to be immersed into the age of technology. (By the way, the game is Pong!). I'm pretty sure if you asked a younger child, maybe 10 or 11, they wouldn't know. What would they know? They'd know the new X-Box 360, PS3, and Wii games. Also, I'm sure they'd find it boring. Games now have gotten far more exciting, with fighting, exploration, sports competition; with this new and wide variety of games, the whole sitting in front of the screen time has increased far more. You hear about kids playing the newest Modern Warfare game for hours on end for days until they reach the coveted 70th level. 70 levels.
What about those beneficial games, such as Wii Fit or BrainAge? They make it easier for the modern person to maintain their physical and mental health, no? Well, yes and no. It does help to a certain extent, but I don't think it should completely replace other types of stimulating activity. Instead of playing Word Scramble, why not play Scrabble? It takes more thought to create words that share letters and then you need to count your points up as well. Also, Wii Fit's jogging game has easily replace actual jogging for many people, so they can't get the fresh air they should be getting (unless, of course, they live in a very urban place that is dangerous and has very bad air quality).So to answer the question given on the course blog, I do think video games have evolved into something more. They've become this huge part of people's lives, with them spending hours on end playing them. They've replaced exercising outdoors or reading a book. It's like they've provided this whole other virtual life for humans. And I do not feel it's a good thing.
4 comments:
oh em gee, LOVE that picture of the japanese dude from BrainAge. :)
I think you're right; video games shouldn't replace every other kind of stimulating activity. We should look in the newspaper brainteasers section or go outside instead of turning to BrainAge or WiiFit. But I don't think video games are that much of a problem as long as the kid knows enough to take a break more than once in a while. Y'know, if it doesn't take over their lives completely. :P
I completely agree with you! Video games have evolved a lot in a few years, and although the new technology is amazing, virtual life should never replace reality. I'm glad you brought up Pong, the original video game, and then compared it to modern games that are much more exciting. I agree: seventy levels is ridiculous. Video games have evolved in complexity, but I think that that is just a means to making more money.
I think your point about video games creating a virtual life is very perceptive. Especially in the Sims, people spend hours telling their Sims characters to 'read books' or 'go running' without ever actually doing it. The new generations are replacing human contact and real life experience with virtual reality at a rapid and uncomfortable rate.
I do hope, however, that games such as WiiFit will help people who refuse to go running or take up a sport keep physically healthy. Perhaps one day, people will tire of telling their Sims characters to go running, and may actually go running themselves.
I like how you brought up the point about how these new more beneficial video games should not completely replace other types of stimulating activities. This has definitely made me realize that maybe video games aren't as beneficial as I had thought them to be. The thought that video games may be allowing for people to live a virtual life and cause them to miss out on some of the things in real life is quite a troubling thought. However, as long as one has control over how long they play video games versus how long they actually do other types of stimulating activity, and it proves to not harm them in any way, then I think video games can really be quite beneficial to them.
Too true about Wii Fit jogging replacing actual jogging; video games have taken over our lives, haven't they? They've even started replacing those lives with their own little addictive, mind-numbing and/or -stimulating tricks.
I think that video games can be beneficial in that they encourage people to pursue the activities featured in the game. For instance, I've heard of formerly lethargic, overweight kids being turned onto working out by DDR.
But the idea of video games being a substitute to actually living out our lives is heart-breaking. Hopefully it doesn't quite pan out that way in the future!
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