Christopher Asks a BIG Question here: “Closing your mind is where the true immorality and ignorance live.”
How is this statement any different than say, “Opening one’s mind too much can allow true immorality and ignorance to consume healthy awareness”?
Both are opinionated expressions that have no meaning beyond a persons desire to believe in them. A closed mind, like repression, can be unhealthy. But it is also correct that an open mind, like free expression, can be unhealthy as well. How can anyone say with even remote certainty that technology like video games are not affecting most people negatively on some level? It is not possible to measure the correlation between many aspects of behavior and influence. There are far to many variables involved to just shrug off the idea that exposure to such things as video games and movies can be socially unhealthy. One could drown on a boat ride, but I would venture that exposure to the atmosphere in a real world context is always a healthier outlet than exposure to a simulated fantasy created by strangers for (among other thing) your money.
The key words in your reaction to this persons opinion for me are “unwanted” and “undesired”. Desire does not equate health or truth, but simply what human animals gravitate towards through genetics, biochemistry and influence. The manipulation of known desires is what the creation and sales of both commercials and video games are largely based on. Are these desires healthy to begin with? Developing minds, and by extension modern cultures, are most probably dramatically affected by the influence of technology in way that could be deemed good and bad depending on one’s perspective and what biases one’s desires have formulated. But the influence is there and not all of it is healthy. The influence is also unavoidable, yet should people just throw up their hands and offer their children up to the mass wave? This is not a moral question but rather one dealing with what kind of future we want to leave for those who rant and play after us.
Please don’t assume that I am being arrogant because of the manner of my articulation (many others have). This is just the way the write/type. I am a lousy speller by nature (and despite nurture) so I use spell check, though my grammar may be off. Honestly I cannot see how these things should negate a persons opinion in any way, but I understand that they do for many people. Just another opinion for what it may be worth. Cheers.
Thanks Christopher
Again, this website does NOT advocate “games are good for you”/”games are bad for you” we don’t “moralize – NPR” so to answer your points superficially, this blog encourages parents to think about how they feel about modern technology as it affects their children and then make a more informed decision. There are plenty of people studying these effects but one salient point is that there have ALWAYS been people studying these effects. Everyone from Caveman Og, to Aristotle, to well there are countless examples throughout history.
My conclusion, given that nobody since the dawn of time has offered up a convincing argument either way – and I don’t think they ever will – I simply present my opinion based on reading books, looking at research and my own experiences as a gamer and a father.
What people take away from all of that is their’s to take away. I wash my hands at a certain point. I just want people to do as you have done – and not arrogantly, I might add, I appreciate this message so much I’m probably going to put this exchange on the front page – and that’s THINK about it and come to their own conclusion. Moderation is probably the best course.
As to your first point – generally speaking I recommend an open mind to a close one but there’s always room to be opinionated.
First off, this website does NOT advocate “games are good for you”/”games are bad for you” we don’t “moralize – NPR” so to answer your points superficially, this blog encourages parents to think about how they feel about modern technology as it affects their children and then make a more informed decision. There are plenty of people studying these effects but one salient point is that there have ALWAYS been people studying these effects. Everyone from Caveman Og, to Aristotle, to well there are countless examples throughout history.
My conclusion, given that nobody since the dawn of time has offered up a convincing argument either way – and I don’t think they ever will – I simply present my opinion based on reading books, looking at research and my own experiences as a gamer and a father. As far as playing to “desire”, I can’t imagine a world where that wouldn’t exist. Women and men have body parts and influence desire and despite advertising women who DON’T conform to the “ideal” espoused by the media tend to do better in terms of spreading their genetics – which is the goal. Anyway, you’re describing a false dilemma here when you say this because there’s no way a person’s mind can resist desire. As far as the creation of desire, through nature or nurture, peer pressure or media companies, that’s always going to happen on some level all the time. Advertising too. Can we stop it? Sure. Oppressive and repressive socitities have attempted that throughout time with varying degrees of success.
So, I’m willing to take the risk that the world is heading toward ruin because of what we’re allowing now simply because we’re allowing it now. That’s a risk we’re just going to have to make. I prefer we make it individually rather than being compelled. Yes propaganda is a problem, but an open/critical mind is preferrable simply because a close/incurious mind is far more open to pursuasion via media.
What people take away from all of that is their’s to take away. I wash my hands at a certain point. I just want people to do as you have done – and not arrogantly, I might add, I appreciate this message so much I’m probably going to put this exchange on the front page – and that’s THINK about it and come to their own conclusion. Moderation is probably the best course.
As to your first point – generally speaking I recommend an open mind to a close one but there’s always room to be opinionated.
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