Video Game Week

Hello Golden Bears,

As you may have heard, next class will cover the issue of video games and its effects on minds. Next week's homework will take the form of an interview. As usual, it need only be one page double-spaced.

As we saw in the video clip in class today, there are many reasons offered by those who play video games for extensive periods of time (addicts) and those who are friends and acquaintances with those same people, in explanation of their habits. We heard opinions arguing for and against these video gamer trends.

For your assignment, interview someone you know who plays a lot of video games. The purpose of the interview is to uncover why someone will be willing to commit a large portion of their time to playing video games. Although I do not have any set questions you must ask, some suggested questions can be

• What is it about video games that is so satisfying to the player?
• What motivations do video game players have for playing games for long hours?
• Have they ever missed important events or commitments to play video games?
• Do friends from online gaming networks take priority over friends from "real life?"
  
• Can someone be addicted to video games? Compare it to other kinds of addiction. Do they have anything in common? Or is it all an exaggeration?
• Is there a need to justify the amount of energy and time spent on video games?
  
• And other questions
  

Also, pay close attention to the kind of language used by the video game player's responses. Is there any sort of value system that his/her language reflects (ie., as we saw in the video clip in class, much of the video game players' language had to do with inclusion and being part of a greater community. One interviewee referred to players like himself as "Smashers.")

Once again, have fun and be creative with the questions. Try to get at the heart of what motivates avid video game players.

Yours,

David

Fun Day!!!

Hi everyone,

Here's the list of food and supplies for the potluck today if you forgot!

Soda - Nick, Raymond
Cookies - Heather, Monica
Entree (Pizza) - Lawrence
Chips - Carli, Desteni
Salsa - Desteni, Yejin
Cups/Plates - Daniel
Napkins/Forks/Spoons/Knives - Matt
Dessert - Blanca, Hector, Stephany, Linda, Johanna and Lindsay (Fruit)
Salad - McCabe, Brittney
Other - Carlton/David, Laura, Maria (lemonade), Rosalie (tuna pasta), Jessica (something wonderful), Michelle (chicken)

Looking forward to all the fun, food, and bonding!

Children and Media

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming and participating in the discussion on children and media. This will be an online forum where you can leave comments and we can continue thinking and talking about how the media has desensitized us (especially with our children).

Question to think about and/or discuss:
Is the loss of innocence from media's desensitizing effects from the media even a problem? Are we just overreacting?