New Media Culture

I decided to write this blog on the growing apprehension concerning the effects of technology. In my opinion the relationship between the youth of our society and the growth of technology is slowly getting out of control. This is due to the expansion of the media in every form - from the basic viewing of wars, conflict and terrorism dispayed on the news to the invention of new technology readily available to any child. The development of television has had a huge effect on the amount of time people (mainly teenagers) spend sitting in one room all day. In particular the development of the computer game which is what i want to talk about. Members of our society will literally sit infront of a computer or television screen playing imaginary games with imaginary characters al day. There are many negative issues that have evolved from the ever advancing 'computer game' one being child obesity. That can be blamed on the television as well but many children young and in their teens will be affecting their health by becoming addicted to computer games. It isn't just unhealthy children that is seen as a side effect to over use of computer games but also the hinderance of their ablity to socialise with other children. When i was a kid yeah they had computer games but we spent every free minute outside playing with friends, not sitting couped up on a sofa or study chair.
Helena and I actually live with two boys and we decided to use them as our subjects for this blog, plus we wanted to rant about them a bit! These boys have turned our dining room into a 'blokes room', our kitchen table is covered with a television and playstation 2 box. Their favourite and instantly understood phrase at the moment ia "Pro?" which to us normal people means "would you like to play a game of pro evolution?" Pro Evolution has become the bane of our lives, it is a football game where you are the players. We wanted these photos to display the sheer about of time that is wasted staring at a television screen. Sometimes late at night you can still hear them playing game afer game.

We suddenly realised that these boys are so in love with this form of media that they would rather sit in a small room playing football with their fingers rather than actually going out into the fresh air and playing the game with real people. This made me realise that the development and use of a childs social skills (skills that will be vital in later life) are being left behind and ignored.
I also started thinking about the effects of everyday events like wars and terrorist acts that are being transfered and made into computer games where its fun to kill and causing more damage and conflict means you win! Children will become desensitised to the horrific images we are shown in the news. They will begin to think its a natural act to blow up buildings and destroy cities.
I sound incredibly judgemental towards the development of computer games but there are many games that can be harmless fun, for example, The sims, where you can create your own family, community or city and Car games where you race around in cars (not the one where you have to steal the car first!). I am just concerned with the over use of damaging images that are used to create enjoyment for children. Is the continuous advancing of technology corrupting childrens minds with damaging images? When will we know when to actually draw the line on violence in computer games (the point where we have gone to far) and how are children of this generation going to learn the social skills needed to interact and secure a future for them?