There's nothing wrong about the statement, "Video game producers, pornography providers, and social media platforms adopted free-to-use, advertising-driven strategies," and complaining about a statement's rhetorical qualities doesn't alter its factual truth. Anyone who loves games should hold the industry to a higher standard rather than apologise for its exploitative tendencies.
I’d add to the first counterpoint, which you do raise partly with the Animal Crossing study, that even if online interactions are inferior to in-person, the condemnation of playing games online with your friends assumes that people (in this case, young men and boys in particular?) have the choice of both and opt for the online one.
I can’t speak for teenage boys in today’s age as I’m an adult, but my friends all live in different cities, and if not for multiplayer games, discord and online board games, I would be even more isolated from them.
I think that’s a flaw that this book (which I haven’t read) sounds like it has throughout - a narrow focus that doesn’t consider the full reality of people’s experience or the landscape of options available. Saying a connection is inferior requires something for it to be inferior to, and if that is just not an option for people, then you can’t really say they are worse off playing video games than they would be otherwise.
I’m open to examining the psychological effects of gaming as a hobby, but there’s just so many changes in how young people spend their time in the smartphone/social media age that pointing out one activity seems very near-sighted.
also sounds like this is severely lacking a queer perspective. as an unknowing queer youth, video games were my social saving grace - one of the few arenas I could genuinely relate to and form bonds with straight guys. they continue to be so into adulthood, and I'm really grateful for that.
Didn’t Meta’s own internal research that leaked a while back show the tangible harm that Instagram was having on childhood and teen mental health? Bullying, constant pressure to curate an idealized and objectified version of yourself, comparisons to peers, etc. I’d hypothesize that social media has done way more harm to youth mental health than hanging out in Fortnite together…
There's nothing wrong about the statement, "Video game producers, pornography providers, and social media platforms adopted free-to-use, advertising-driven strategies," and complaining about a statement's rhetorical qualities doesn't alter its factual truth. Anyone who loves games should hold the industry to a higher standard rather than apologise for its exploitative tendencies.
I’d add to the first counterpoint, which you do raise partly with the Animal Crossing study, that even if online interactions are inferior to in-person, the condemnation of playing games online with your friends assumes that people (in this case, young men and boys in particular?) have the choice of both and opt for the online one.
I can’t speak for teenage boys in today’s age as I’m an adult, but my friends all live in different cities, and if not for multiplayer games, discord and online board games, I would be even more isolated from them.
I think that’s a flaw that this book (which I haven’t read) sounds like it has throughout - a narrow focus that doesn’t consider the full reality of people’s experience or the landscape of options available. Saying a connection is inferior requires something for it to be inferior to, and if that is just not an option for people, then you can’t really say they are worse off playing video games than they would be otherwise.
I’m open to examining the psychological effects of gaming as a hobby, but there’s just so many changes in how young people spend their time in the smartphone/social media age that pointing out one activity seems very near-sighted.
also sounds like this is severely lacking a queer perspective. as an unknowing queer youth, video games were my social saving grace - one of the few arenas I could genuinely relate to and form bonds with straight guys. they continue to be so into adulthood, and I'm really grateful for that.
Didn’t Meta’s own internal research that leaked a while back show the tangible harm that Instagram was having on childhood and teen mental health? Bullying, constant pressure to curate an idealized and objectified version of yourself, comparisons to peers, etc. I’d hypothesize that social media has done way more harm to youth mental health than hanging out in Fortnite together…