Electronic Life ; Internet Addictions

Hello world. I'm falling asleep tired almost and there's no guarantee I will find the will power to finish this, although it is due tomorrow. My ability to keep track of what day is what escaped me over yesterday and today, leaving me with the thought that I had one more day to complete this. I was intending on doing it in one sitting. I guess this one sitting will be here and now.

In Digital Media we watched a documentary about Internet addictions, online games, electronic lives, etc. The name of the documentary escapes me at the moment, though I already knew a large amount about these topics.

The games presented in this documentary were amongst some of the prominent MMORPG world wide. World Of Warcraft (WoW) and Second Life were mentioned. Just as the name of the documentary, the third one has escaped my memory. I didn't think I would need to write anything down about this but it looks as if I was wrong. Perhaps I did not learn much about the topic at hand, but there has been a learning oportunity (or as many may call, a failure).

I am only speaking about WoW, however this is applicable to most games of this genre.

World Of Warcraft is a game that takes place in a fictional world. There are various creatures, classes, and races that you may play as. Within the game there are many activities you may participate in such as fighting monsters, going on quests, exploring, trading, the occasional party may even spring up. Most activities will reward you through in game currency or experience which will get you closer to leveling up your character so you are stronger. There are many multi player activities within the game that offer a social content as well.

Everything that I have listed so far can be done in a small or large group of people. These groups, often called guilds, will meet regularly online in order to play together. This is not always the case, but it is a frequent event. This interaction is one of the reasons why this game may appear appealing to so many. Social interaction from the comforts of your own home. The players may never meet in person, but they will know eachother better than the people they know in the real world.

Another appealing aspect, and what I think perpetuates this game to be addictive is the work and reword system. The joy you get from leveling up is great in games like this, or atleast I've always enjoyed it. You set a goal and then work towards it. When you get this goal achieved it is great, however then your only next goal is to set another goal.

At first achieving your goals is easy. You start out with low levels that will only take a few minutes to work up into higher levels. Over time this progresses. It will not take much time for you to be grinding (repetitive actions to get your level up) for ten hours total to get your level up. In order to put this into perspective, I know of several people who play this game or similar games, or played this game or similar games, and see a total of ten hours of grinding to be a very short amount of time to get a level up.

Initially the joy of getting your level, your goal, is easily obtained. You are eased into spending more and more time playing the game. For those who become very addicted to Wow, they don't mind this.

As for Second Life, it offers you the chance to live in a perfect world. I am much less knowledgeable with this game however and it is a much less popular game amongst my peer group compared to WoW. It is appealing just in the fact that reality sucks in comparison to the virtual world. In a virtual world you can remain anonymous, do what you want, and life is easier all around. You don't need to put effort into doing anything, when everything takes the same amount of effort. Just point and click, maybe hold down a couple of keys.

I'm loosing steam, sleep is approaching on me.

I think these games are boath great, or at least great concepts. I have never had an interest in playing Second Life however I think WoW would be a game I would enjoy. I can see it also eating away at my life a bit for I'm sure I would be quick to get hooked on the work and reward system. The real world is difficult, but I can be a hero online with no effort at all.

These games must be played in moderation, to avoid cutting off the real world. For some it must be a conscious decision. For others, they may need will power to sit down and play a game like this for any given amount of time.

Another virtual world that has become very popular recently is Facebook. It is a slight connection between the real world and its virtual counterpart. The individuals who most people have added as friends are known in the real world, the events gossiped about it are based in the real world, and the pictures posted (for no apparent reason often) are also taken in the real world. The only difference is there is now a screen connecting the real world to the rest of the real world.

Did the real world just get simulated?

It would seem that this is the case for many. I have seen countless cases of Facebook becoming first thought for so many people. I cringe when my much older but not yet elderly relatives are far too happy to say, "That would make a good Facebook status," or in any manner like that; integrating the website into every day activities. I liked it when Facebok was new and hip and no one knew all that much about it other than it was convenient.

Then the truth about it went a bit more mainstream, people actually read the privacy policies, and the older generations caught onto it as well. Soon as that happened it lost even more appeal to me; but this is all to the side of the main question. Is Facebook real? How real is it?

As I mentioned before, I believe it bridges the gap between virtual reality and real reality. Now, instead of being criticized for grinding a dungeon for ten hours, you can be rewarded by your peers for being so up to date with all the social problems and parties that are happening on the weekend. There's very little difference in how people use Facebook in comparison to addictive games. What holds people to it more than many things have in the past, is it's versatility.

Facebook has everything you need for your computing experience except for a Google search built into it, and if that happens I will be doing even more to stay away from Facebook. E-mail has been replaced by Facebook Inbox. Blogging has been replaced by a 420 character limit 'status' posting system and a notes application for those who are still literate. Inviting people to events has been replaced by an events applications. Calendars by a calendar application; games by gaming applications; instant messaging by an instant messaging system; graphics uploads by a pictures system; even those annoying online quizzes that always catch so many people's attention are everywhere and they're easy to make yourself. Everything that use to be done on the Internet by the average user has been simplified so you may shift your attention back and forth between several events without needing to put thought into anything, and it is all on one website. All your friends use it, it is an inconvenience for you to use it as well; correct?

Well personally, if you have not noticed this by my previous comments, have been pulling away from Facebook for some time and I would advise many other's to do the same. Go read a book, perhaps even play a game off the computer. Hardcore gaming is still popular off PC's, and they often have the same problems with addictiveness once you can play online against real people.

In South Korea, gaming is a huge franchise. It's a cultural phenomenon, and it is dangerous for many. There are cheap Internet cafes that are open 24/7 with nothing stopping young gamers from playing for days at a time with limited food or water. This is dangerous. People have died doing this. My inner gamer almost wants to declare them heroes, but the common sense side of me says that gaming has been taken too far in these situations.

Everything in moderation may be difficult when your job is to game. South Korea is famous for their video game tournaments. Players who are the best at some of the greatest games that have been released for some time will duke it out behind screens for hours on end until two people have won every match they have played in. Once it is down to this everyone is watching, even if the match only lasts a few seconds, and then it is all over. One person walks away in the second place position, where the individual who won just earned several thousand dollars to pay off for their time gaming.

Perhaps gaming is just a passion for some. For too many it is an addiction. I've caught myself addicted to games a few times, it isn't the greatest thing in the world but because you are so hooked on the game you don't care at the time. This is where the problem lies, but as long as money is being made by the makes of the games there is no sign of this industry slowing down.

Bugworlds

It is now the next morning, I have slept and I feel much better and focused. In Digital Media class I am filtering pictures fifty at a time, so I have a bit of a wait in between doing anything on my computer. Since my friend, Patlikmerah, is more or less asleep beside me I have taken over his computer.

The details on the assignment are sitting on the white board behind me. It turns out the name that escaped me, of the documentary, was Frontline. A topic I did not address was how the every day use of media technology effects the individual, family and society in general.

A constant stream of media can be found in every day activities. Most every day activities are based around media, or it would be easy to mistake them to be so. It is common practice to wake up, turn on the TV and listen to the news as you make your coffee in the morning. Your commute to work will take you past many adds, posted everywhere. At work you will be using a computer, so if it has any Internet access you will be bombarded with even more adds.

The result of this, is the media has become a normal. It is expected for you to be constantly absorbing information against your own knowledge, and when there is a lack of it there is an uneasy different that haunts the atmosphere. Does your family have the television on when you're eating dinner, if you even still eat as a family? How much conversation goes on during that time.

My family has always had the television on during the few minutes of dinner. Making conversation is difficult because if you speak there is a chance that someone cannot hear the constant grovel of the news. The media has killed the ability for my family to communicate over what use to be a staple of being a family.

When I am out with friends, just speaking to them may be a difficulty at times. Every few seconds there's a high chance of someone getting a text message and by force of habit they will cut their sentence short in order to answer it; no matter how trivial the message or their reply is.

iPods can hold far too much music, and they are around far too often. I'm not sure if iPod's fit into media, but I will force them into it anyways for now. I know people who have ridiculously unbalanced hearing because they always have their ear bud sticking in their ear pumping out compressed audio. They've listened to it so much they've lost any hope of appreciating it, in my opinion. That is for a different post of complaints about our society and how I can fix it with my ideas.

I wish to finish this quickly, so I will.

The individual is overwhelmed by media, surrounded by it, and eaten alive by it (more or less). There is a constant stream of media that is influencing us, and we cannot escape it in many cases. It has found its way into our daily schedules and the media producers love that. As long as you're insecure with change it will stay in your life.

As for families, well it has killed communication. Media encourages us to communicate with our friends, but not with the individuals who are around us at the time.

An for society in general, is has reshaped society. There is an entire industry devoted to the creation and consumption of media.

Once again I have ran out of inspiration to ramble.

Bugworlds