Online Gaming: a Challenge of the 21st century
Surfing the Internet you see tons of pop-ups and banners that are meant to persuade people to join some community and start playing. There are a lot of different directions: tanks, airplanes, mystical worlds with clans. No matter what type it is, the newcomer gets hooked on the process and spends more hours in front of the screen.
These games are mostly successful commercial projects. People invest money in the objects of the game. It may be some kind of equipment, weapons, transport etc. What may be more stupid than buying virtual things in a virtual world. Though, it’s not a virtual world for gamers, it’s ‘virtual reality’ as they put it. Thus virtuality becomes reality – isn’t it a challenge of the new century?
Ten and more years ago, even after the Internet had become more widespread in our country, its speed wasn’t enough for building gamers’ communities. Though I believe there were some enthusiasts even then.
The problem is that both children and grown-ups are liable to gaming, which seems to put limits on the development of a personality. Do you think it’s normal to be constantly thinking about the gameplay? Listen to schoolchildren during the break and even to some grown-ups at work. They discuss their ‘achievements’.
Never try to argue with them: this is the way they ‘socialize’ with friends. They don’t go out or play sports games in the yard. They fight with monsters together or collect objects in a virtual forest.
If it were a matter of the younger generation only, we couldn’t be worried so much. But…
Any kind of human activity should be aimed at some result. And what is the result of gaming? No one is able to answer this question, so any aimless activity is a waste of time, but it may take one some time to understand it. Clever parents strictly define the time limits for playing with their children. It seems to be the only sensible way out.
Not all the games are bad after all. Speaking about genres generally we may come to the conclusion that some games can develop memory, attention or reaction. For example racing simulators may be useful for drivers in the future, as they really develop reaction. So, after all it’s up to everyone to decide what he wants. But first think and then do. We should remember this before signing up on some website of a game…
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