for my first post on this blog I want to talk about the possible dangers of the internet.
Our class spoke a week or so ago about the people becoming addicted to technology and how we need to be aware of the amount of time that children spend on the net.
I absolutely agree with the idea that children need to have limits on the amount of time they spend plugged in to technology. However, I also think that some people are projecting a negative view of new technology on to their children based on their own ignorant beliefs.
I can remember hearing parents and teachers urging children to minimize the amount of time they spend playing with technology based on the belief that the child will never find a career playing video games or talking on facebook. Well people get paid ridicules amounts of money to be good at sports, and I guarantee that many people originally laughed at the idea of paying someone to play a game. yet in 2008 the average salary oh NHL hockey player was $1,906,793 (http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=240324). who is laughing now?
the following link I think serves as proof that we really don't know what kind of future we have created for our children.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_18/b3982001.htm
the main part of this link I hope people notice is that a person with an on line avatar named Anshe Chung owns online (not real/pretend) property that is valued at $250000 real dollars. suddenly the all time Anshe Chung spent playing on line games doesn't seem like a waste.
I am not saying that excessive on line gaming pays off. I just find that passion and persistence more than anything else attributes to success. Malcome Gladwell when referring to people like Bill Gates talks about a 10,000-hour rule. this rule says that if you look at any kind of cognitively complex field, from playing chess to being a neurosurgeon, you will see this incredibly consistent pattern that you cannot be good at that unless you practice for 10,000 hours, which is roughly ten years at 4 hours a day http://money.cnn.com/2008/11/11/news/companies/secretsofsuccess_gladwell.fortune/index.htm.
So I say if a kid is passionate about video games, let him/her be. Because we really don't know where that passion will take them.
Hi Shawn,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that we need to be aware of addictions on the Internet. However, you also raise a good point that there are good and bad connotations with technology. It is a paradox. I personally believe that technology is a tool, and needs to be monitored. I, being of an older generation, find it stupefying when I see all these students with their heads buried into cell-phones, commenting on face-book, and wasting hours gaming. In this respect, technology seems poisonous to me in that future generations will constantly demand instant gratification, or become addicted to technology from unrestricted indulgence. I want to embrace technology not just for entertainment, or for organization, but to assist me in guiding students to find their passions. Is allowing a teen-ager to play for hours on online games going to help him or her find their passion? Isn’t it more of a distraction? Does a teen-ager even know the difference between a passion and an addiction? If passion is equaled to success, why should we assume technology could be this magic key? Shouldn’t it instead be part of the process? I’m not asking you directly, but just ‘playing the devil’s advocate’ here, and thinking out loud.
I would like to share with you a link to a video we are watching for my Ed. Psychology class called: Digital Nation. It really points out the paradox of technology for education and society as a whole. It comments on technology in the classroom and how digital citizenship is taught to Korean kids, and also the “PC Bongs” where Internet gaming addiction is considered an epidemic there! The virtual worlds of Second Life and the World of Warcraft especially fascinated me because their use questions the technology paradox again. The founder of Second Life argues more technology (virtual worlds) will bring us closer together. But the interviewer muses: “Does a virtual world bring us closer together, or do they just make being utterly alone, bearable?” Adding to this mix are the major corporations using virtual worlds to conduct business and meetings – IBM claims they saved over 1 million dollars alone in travel costs alone! The possibilities seem endless…could you imagine a virtual classroom one-day? I have to admit, that would be pretty cool!! My point is technology has a lot to offer, but we have to be cautious of its use; as I argue in my blog: technology is only as good as the teacher who commands it.
Anyway, check out the video, I think you’ll like it.
Ian
http://video.pbs.org/video/1402987791/
Great post
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I love the analogy of being told that no one will ever make money playing hockey and how that has evolved to the new pass times of our youths.
A good friend and fellow of student of mine is a professional World of Warcraft player who creates new accounts and then sells his characters to other gamers for as much as a thousand dollars a piece.
Ian also brings up a good point though, worrying about where the line is drawn. I spend literally hours a week on Facebook alone but wouldn't necessarily consider myself an addict.
And back to Ian's point of a virtual classroom, I don't think there is a chance of that not happening which is great, a lot less worry of inadequate schooling. Truly equal opportunities for all students.
Shawn thank you for providing such a hot topic in which to reflect upon. You have provided a few reference links to support your inference. I would suggest also looking at academic research to see how the technology affects/changes the development of the brain and potential socialization issues.
ReplyDeleteIs it really an all or nothing piece? Does the NHL player have no other interests? Does the gamer who makes a very decent living not have relationships with others face to face or are all of their interactions virtual? Perhaps balance is the greater discussion here, not an all or none. How are student's being taught about balance? Important Health and Wellness issue that reaches far beyond Technolgy as one tool of many in the classroom environment.
I appreciated Ian's comment about referring to technology as a tool as this is my own philosphy. In contrast I also was interested in Eric's comment about one of his friends who is a professional gamer and makes pretty good money in going so. Sounds like a fun way to earn a living to me. And I am willing to bet he has a life outside of his games and other interests?
thanks for your feedback guys.
ReplyDeleteas you may have guessed, my opinion on this topick is a little biased. The point I was trying to make with this post was that the situation is actualy much more fluid than most people think. we can spend the rest of our lives trying to identify and isolate the source of a "problem", but the reality is that each individual has a choice.
If you want to talk about health risks, then I want talk about a genration of people adicted to smoking cigerets and eating fast food. these are not new problems, the finger of blame simply changes directions.
I realy liked how one of the teachers in the video Ian posted talked about teaching kids ethics. I think it is becoming increasingly important to teach kids that just because you can do something, does not mean you should.
As far as the addiction problem in Korea, I would argue that the problem comes from parents not having the resources to properly raise there own kids. If parents are trying to make ends meet by working one or two jobs, they might not want to spend money on a babysiter. as a result kids without ethical guidelins are expected to amuse themselves.