For my last reading response of this semester, I read a passage from Convergences called 'Living In a Virtual World' which can be found on page 357. This passage is about online games called Second Life and World of Warcraft and in these games, people can create avatars that will obey there players every command. The passage continues to talk about why people do such things, what it's like in the gaming world, and where will all this lead. The gaming world is a place that people can "escape" to and break social norms and not be judged for it. The passage says that people can openly have sex, kill people, and have political riots without getting in trouble for that they're doing. It's an escape from their every day life that has
become a routine and some people spend up to 40 hours a week on video gaming.
Some psychologists worry that dangerous or perverted online personas could spill into the real would and cause more harm and crime in the world. There are some people who are actually addicted to online gaming and have to go to a rehab group to deal with their addiction.
I'm not a gamer at all so reading this little story opened my eyes. I had no idea that online gaming had so many depths to it and could potentially cause harm. Some gamers use online games like Second Life to live a life that they could potentially wish they had. I would suggest you read this article because it's short and keeps you interested throughout the entire story.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have myelf heard of the online games such as second life and world of warcaft and am not a gamer myself. I think that it is going a bit to far when you can openly have sex and cause riots in a video game.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting topic. As a so called gamer myself, I have to believe the percentage of people that would let games affect their real life, has to be small. The media likes to blow things out of proportion, and attribute gaming as a cause in some situations. I think you did a good job expressing the author's view and stance on the topic, but I would have liked to have read more about your views.
ReplyDelete