Whether you are a “Halo 3” fanatic, a “Madden” player or if you just thoroughly enjoy playing Sonic and Knuckles, it can be argued that video games are an important part of the male existence.
For you cynical folks out there, you’re most likely rolling your eyes and saying: unless someone is one of the lucky few who get paid to play, he’s throwing his life away!
Well, that’s hogwash! How many friendships have been formed over intense “Mortal Kombat” matches? How many of us can say we have stayed up all night at sleepovers playing “Zelda” and “Mario Kart”?
Thousands, even millions of us “Pac-Man”-loving, “NFL-Blitzing,” testosterone-filled gamers have learned life lessons from sitting down in front of the TV for countless hours to battle for the right to be called champion. To the average eye, those hours may be seen as wasted; but those of us who game, we know those hours taught us more life lessons and values then time in the classroom ever could.
The following examples will solidify my point. When Sonic first encountered Knuckles, he didt want to show that flying hedgehog the light of day again. Soon after they realized that the evil Dr. Robotnik needed to be stopped, they joined forces. By doing so, we men learned to put our differences behind us to work together for a common good because that is what Sonic and Knuckles did.
Sonic isn’t alone. “Mario Kart” taught us that you can’t always trust the person driving next to you; “NFL Blitz” taught the harsh reality that rules are not always going to be followed.
Then there is Mario. Mario taught us the little guy can win, never to give up hope and most importantly, that not even a gargantuan fire-breathing turtle can get in the way of true love.
Video games ignite the passion deep inside us, bring men from all corners of the world together; and above all else teach us lessons that last a lifetime.
Sean Youngberg is sophomore SMAD major.
I would be a hypocrite if I said that playing video games is an unintelligent and pointless misuse of time. I enjoy my fair share of “Super Smash Brothers,” and occasionally get down on some “Gears of War” game-play. But spending hours a day with your eyeballs glued to a TV screen while you anticipate your 629th adventure with Master Chief seems senseless.
I admit that gaming can relieve you from a stressful day, or allow you to bond with your video game-playing bros. The sad reality is that many gamers connect their console to their hips, become virutally addicted to video games and measure personal success in the levels they complete or the virtual hurdles they jump in the cyber world.
Role-playing video games waste hours of time while players submerse themselves in alternate realities and identities. Here’s an idea — be yourself. Work on finding out who you truly are and constructing your (real-life!) personal identity, rather than becoming a level 50 Draenai. Work on impacting America, not Azeroth.
Gamers who argue that you can learn real-life lessons from games shouldn’t be drawing meaningful life lessons from fictional characters that are made of pixels, not flesh or feelings. Video game aficinados who say that playing helps eye-hand coordination should put this coordination to use in real life! Instead of sitting in front a screen and playing “Madden,” get a couple of your buddies together for a game of real football. Pry your fingers off that controller and take up playing an instrument. Put your eyes to good use and read a book for once, or maybe study for a few hours.
Look at any research done on video games and you will see that playing video games too much has the potential to spur aggression, anxiety, attention span problems and poor performance in school, while stunting physical fitness and emotional well-being.
When “Halo 3” is considered the highest-grossing entertainment release in history, while at the same time hardly any of us can name five great scientists or poets of the century, our generation has a grave problem with how we spend our time.
Anna Young is a sophomore sociology and SMAD major.
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