Technorati
Since a few referrals to this brand new blog have already come in from Technorati, I’m “claiming” the blog over on their site. Always did like Technorati …
In fact, through Technorati, I discovered a well-written post by Brett Miller wherein he compares Marc Prensky’s latest book, Don’t Bother Me Mom — I’m Learning with Playstation Nation: Protect Your Child from Video Game Addiction by Olivia and Kurt Bruner.
I know Prensky and his earlier book, Digital Game-Based Learning. This book sparked something of a revolution in that it got people to realize that video games can actually be quite useful for educational purposes. I spent a couple minutes with him at last years’ TCEA convention where he was a featured speaker. At that time, he had just finished Don’t Bother Me Mom and shared with the audience several points from the book.
This is the first I’ve heard of Playstation Nation, but from what Miller says about it, it appears to be a hit piece on video games, filled with dire warnings to parents about dangerous consequences of letting their children play. That’s too bad because there are doubtless some people out there who will buy that argument. Fortunately (or not, depending on your POV), all new things that are initially railed against in popular culture eventually get so widely adopted that no one complains about them anymore. Think how many times Shakespeare’s theaters were shut down by the church. Consider how the novel was deplored in the 1700s.
In due course, children whose parents may read Playstation Nation will find ways to play video games regardless of parental wishes, at home or school or at a friend’s house. And, when they grow up and their own kids want to play a video game some day far in the future, they will likely be more tolerant than their parents. Maybe they’ll take the message from Steven Johnson’s book, Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter. The title says it all.
March 1, 2007 at 10:44 am
John,
Thanks for the comments on my post, not the least because it introduced me to your blog here.
Funny you should mention the church. Although not completely apparent at the beginning of Playstation Nation, it is all too obvious by the end that this book is an attempt to get parents to keep their children from straying to far from God. (A quick check of the authors’ previous publications would have clued me in much sooner.)
Many of the authors’ recommendations for alternatives would be hilarious if not so disturbing. A perfect example: instead of playing video games, have your kids watch classic TV DVD box sets - like Gilligan’s Island. Not sure what that has to do with God, but I guess as long as it isn’t video games….
March 2, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Hi Brett, glad to make your acquaintance, albeit electronically.
To clarify, I should state I’m not opposed to the Church of England. However, had I lived in Shakespeare’s time, I would not have liked church officials closing the theater on moral grounds.
People too often confuse the message with the medium. I admire anyone who takes a moral stand, but trashing the entire medium is not the way to go about it, whether we are talking about comic books, movies, novels, plays, or video games.
Anyhow, hope I’ve clarified myself, and I’m glad to hear about Playstation Nation even if it does appear to be somewhat misguided.
March 2, 2007 at 9:06 pm
[...] Contexts. The article makes for an interesting read, and supports many of the points I’ve made here. Basically, Sternheimer asserts an oft repeated (but rarely acknowledged) point that correlation [...]
March 6, 2007 at 11:13 am
John,
I didn’t mean to imply there was anything wrong with the author’s attempts to avoid video games for their kids for religious reasons. Like you, I admire people who take a stand based on their beliefs.
My problem with the book really came from the mis-representation that it makes, essentially saying right up front, “If you let your kids play video games, they will become addicted and you will lose them forever.”
November 6, 2007 at 1:35 pm
John - nice post and it dovetails with my experience with my own two boys. I started playing WoW as a way to do something with them, particularly when I was away on business. It gave me opportunities to teach them all kinds of things - we’ve had dinner table conversations about ganking, ninja looting, what a good group looks like, and the economics of the auction house to name a few items. I’ve also had opportunities to play with their friends which has given me insights into their characters and other opportunities to model positive behaviors.
Oh and there were times when it was just insanely fun.