Good news gamer kids! While media outlets focus on the un-proven harm games ‘might’ have, they are not increasing the reports on the harm they cause adults. There’s also no increase in the number of reports that ask kids what they think.
This means the media still see gamer-kids as infant-citizens and future-citizens. Oh, I said good news didn’t I? … well games are no longer the sole nascent threat! – Now parents are reading about sexting and trolling too. So even if you give up the game, media outlets will still say technology is bad (unless it’s the one they are selling).
The reason it’s okay for a 40 year old to play is because during the 1980s is that when they were kids, the pre-loaded media message of technology was that it was ‘good’ for learning. Games were so new, their parents didn’t read anything about video-games, and there was limited TV and print media space given to it, so they didn’t freak out. Even more amazing, they survived childhood, got a job, got married and had you. Only a small number of those who grew up playing games became journalists, most journalists didn’t.
Ironically, the media also tells your parents The Block is a reality building show and Australia’s Got Talent is judged by ‘stars’ who have no obvious talent.
If parents stopped watching TV, they might start thinking. If they started playing then they might discover a games’ interactivity can create a “long zoom experience”, carefully peeling back the layers of complexity of technology and media within the universe that includes being online – not just update their Facebook status with photos of their lunch.
Playable 