Beginning Of The New Study
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I’ve always thought of myself as being progressive as a person involved in some very artistic mediums. Starting my career in a still studio that shot some pretty famous rock and roll acts back in the 70’s. How cool was that? Painting and photography, film and tv. How much more hip and groovy can one person be? I come to find out that I’m very closed minded and not very current or as cool as I thought. Maybe I’ve regained some of that status now that I’ve done some talking and research….it’s yet to be determined I guess.
Because of my study I’ve been gathering information about the psychological and social impact of mass media which includes on-line gaming or MMORPG or Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Games. (a mouth full). I used to think very negatively about them. I watched my son spend a huge number of hours in front of the computer and thought this is going to have some horrible ramifications on him in the future and felt helpless in understanding it or stopping its momentum.
Recently I watched a documentary on this phenomenon called Second Skin and realized that it’s like any other hobby and has far more positive factors than I would have imagined. There’s strategy, logic, hand eye, intense concentration and a lot of socializing. As to cost and hours spent, there might be cause for concern. However if the person is at all reasonable or if a timer could be set and strictly adhered to I would say that I’d prefer it to tv watching.
Even more importantly in this documentary they spent just a few minutes on two very disabled individuals that got enormous pleasure from gaming. As the avatars they created, they were no longer being judged by their physical appearance or physical handicaps or even mental challenges. In the game they could be and act like whoever they want to be. Someone with the use of arms, legs, strong and mighty or sexy and poetic, it just doesn’t matter. This needs a Jungian eye for analysis for sure. It would be fascinating to analyze the avatars against the real person.
The other fascinating thing was that as an avatar apparently people feel free enough to tell some of their deepest secrets way more quickly in this setting than in any other. What an incredible advantage for the psychotherapists. Perhaps all psychologists should be on MMORPG’s! Imagine the progress that could be made.
Also, the added bonus was talking to my son about this. I approached him by saying that none of the questions I was about to ask him will be judged in any way that this was purely for my research and there will be no personal consequences to him. Somewhat reluctant at first he began to answer my questions. As we talked I was delighted to get in-depth answers given with enthusiasm, something my kid doles out very carefully. He’s not shy but I think he’s got a very complicated world that he keeps to himself. This opened up a whole dialogue where there was none before. I think he felt listened to for the first time in a long time, respected and understood. It was cathartic for both of us. He was able to share his world with me in a safe non-judgmental environment and I learned that gaming if kept in moderation (like everything else) had some very positive aspects to it. Fascinating.
What a great way to communicate with your son. Sounds like a fascinating study.
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What a great way to connect with your son. ryn: not to worry – my house isn’t THAT cold. I’m just a whiner 😉
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Fascinating! I know nothing about gaming, but I understand interaction vs passivity. Talking with friends my age, I find many of them play games such as solitaire and word games on their computers instead of watching as much tv as previously. I myself watch little tv now, because I spend time instead on Open Diary and surfing the Net, making my own choices rather than passively watching what ispresented. The MMORPG I imagine are taking that interaction further. Are the players developing more creativity as well as learning maybe to be more open about themselves and in the process understanding themselves better? I imagine one concern is that players cut themselves off from the real world – but then I can remember as a teenager being totally immersed in a novel for many, many hours at a time. Maybe the need is the same, though the vehicle meeting that need has changed.
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RYN: Go to Diary Maintenance. On the right under UTILITIES you will find the Download Diary link. On that page there are options for file type, periods, notes or not. If you’ve never done this, yours must be getting rather large. I do mine in 6 month periods so the files are not overly large. Be well, my friend.
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I always felt like I deprived my sons.. but we have never bought an x-box, nintendo, wii, or any other game player.. Also, I never had cable tv, only what few channels come over the air…. so my boys always wanted to be at their friends house, and their friends never wanted to come over here..but I think my kids have all done really well because we didn’t allow them to spend time on that stuff
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Oh how interesting! How rewarding to find a new way to communicate with your son. I’ve realized lately that because I don’t text unless forced to that I am Ms. out of date.
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RYN: If you look at a map, you’ll see that I’m really not that much farther north than you. I live in the southern part of Wisconsin. We just don’t have the ocean effect on our weather.
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Very interesting entry. A lot of what you say reminds me of OD. No-one knows if people are fat or ugly or what on OD. On OD, people with few social skills can learn to make friends etc etc. And I should definitly set a timer on how long I use OD!
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