Hi again! I've been crazed this week, but it's time to get down and dirty with a couple of articles. Ready to jump in the mud?
Okay. You've done your homework and read the article above right? Because there's a test at the end of this entry.
I'll be the first to tell you I like video games. However, this is absurd. I'm going to throw it out there and say this is a trend that might pick up traction as our current young people get older. Why? Because our digital native youth are addicted to technology on a level that older fuddy duddies (such as myself, and I'm only 30!) can't fathom. I see it in school all the time - kids glued to their cell phones, "creative ideas" are rehashings of popular games or mods, and my favorite: trash talking each other's gaming acumen.
This story highlights one of the darkest sides of human addiction - the belief that people are dispensable and to be used. If we look at it here in the states, you can see cyber bullying as a very real step in this extreme direction (with sometimes tragic consequences). We need to make sure kids understand the role of technology in their lives and how there are very real people interacting with their online presence and the content they generate. There are some amazing books and research done regarding the role of technology in the lives of young people (Marc Prensky, Crowdsourcing, Everything Bad is Good for You for starters) and if we want to lead the younger generations down more positive paths, we need to educate how to turn this technological addiction into a powerful character building resource.
On a side note, here's an interesting example: I just joined the site Fitocracy. It's a website/app that takes the addictive qualities of video games and foursquare and uses it to get people healthy. I'm addicted, in a good way.
Oh, and the test? I was kidding. Whew! What a relief, right?
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