The article by Liliana Escobar was about the increasing trends of obesity, smoking, alcohol use, sexual behaviors, and violence of the adolescents in modern society. The article regarded information on how media, television, radio, movies, and video games impact these statistics. Although this article has experimental studies and statistics to prove it's theory, there were a few "influences" that were brought up that I didn't agree with the connection made between them and these statistics. I'm not saying that entertainment containing violence, sexual activities, and drug use are beneficial to a person or healthy but that this content doesn't directly and exactly account for these statistics. Alcohol and drug usage amongst adolescents has been a "trend" for years. In the 70's what do you think the teenagers were doing? Partying, smoking, "chillin' out"... that decade is known for the hippies and "peace" movement. My own mom has told me stories about her younger years of parties and drunken nights. Another point I thought about while reading this was about the violence in movies, television, and video games and it's effect on the statistics. When video game creators make their games, they are ultimately trying to sell their product, so they make what modern society wants or demands. I'm sure that there are many scenarios where adolescents learned or found out something negative from some form of entertainment, but if this is what sells in our society then that is what will be on the market. This article did inform me on a lot of things I didn't know about influences on our generation, like the obesity rate.
The article about preserving certain games was kind of cool because most wouldn't think it to be important. Instead Lowood found them to be looked at as a cultural artifact.
Questions:
1. Would anyone suspect that increasing rates of teen pregnancy have any correlation with women's continuous fight or "rebellion" for equal standards and outer perception?
2. Is media the one to blame for exposing adolescents to violence since they are simply reporting the news?
3. What are some other reasons that video games could be considered important or worthy of note?
2 comments:
HEY ALEX!
This article really grabbed my attention mostly because the subject interests me. I feel like you could argue this point over and over again and you still would not be able to come up with a definite answer. I like that you talked about how the game creators or media creators make what they make because it is all about money. I completely agree with you on that one. I also liked this article because of the eye opening statistics it brings in. It shows how depressing our nation can be even though we are “the best” one. And I also liked that you mentioned that the games are some type of artifact.
I definitely agree that this subject could be argued over and over again with no exact solution. Statistics aren't always true to their word and they only show a number, so technically they don't reveal much. I believe everyone makes their own choices in life, regardless of what they've seen or know about. As far as video games, the creators of these games are only trying to sell their product. It has to do with the supply and demand for an item. If the economy is buying these violent games, then that is what the makers will continue to sell. I think that our nation is fine. Media is so quick to bring up all the bad, but never the good that goes on here in America.
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