In Chapter 16, McQuail describes the media as a social tool, which can be positive or negative. On page 438 he writes "Mass-mediated social contact can supplement and complement, as well as displace, real personal contacts with others. As a result, the potential for social interaction can just as easily be enlarged by mass media as reduced."
I agree with him, using the Media as a way to block out society is no way to live your life. Even though some days all you want to do is sit on the couch and watch TV and read gossip magazines (which is okay) the media can be a strong social bond that connects people. Meeting your friends to go to a movie or trashing the newest Britney article on perezhilton.com with someone you met in class(Media 331 maybe?) are great ways to make that connection. Anyways, what I'm trying to get at is that the Media is really stepping up in ways you would never realize to market their product as a socializing tool.
I found an article in the New York Times on Friday about how the video game industry is booming in production for it's human contact games. Games that encourage interaction, like Wii and Guitar Hero. Even though these games aren't getting high ratings with the critics, they have become very popular in the general public. These are games that are more fun to play in a group, not alone in a basement with Cheeto residue on your shirt. These games have become easy enough for audiences of all ages, they're not just marketing to the teenage males anymore. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/arts/01game.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=wii&st=nyt&oref=slogin
What do you all think about this outbreak in social video games? I'm sure some, if not all, of you have been exposed to the explosion of games like Guitar Hero, Wii and even Dance Dance Revolution. Do you think the media is a positive or a negative tool for social interaction? Why do you think so? Happy posting!
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This new wave of video games seems to be following the most obvious, yet over looked concept the media brings to the table- and that is the level of social interaction it can create. But to further build on that idea is this concept that now video games have branched out to expand their audience. In the article Jill posted, it had pictures of an 81 year old woman playing Wii and having Guitar Hero be a staple at clubs in New York City. My mom got Dance Dance Revolution for Christmas...Need I say more? Not exactly the typical market you'd relate video games to. Yet in this case, I really do think these new types of interactive video games have a positive effect on social interaction in the media. It is a genre of entertainment that adds value because of the human element. Not only has the video game market expanded its demographics but it has indeed brought family and friends, and for all we know, strangers together when it's played. It seems to have that similar social phenomenon of sports, where complete strangers can come together to embrace and celebrate a common interest. Seeing that some of the most popular Wii games are sports related, you can't help but wonder about the coincidence there...
But going back to Jill's questions, I do think these active and interactive video games are the best ones out there if you're going to play them. They prevent people from becoming introverted and they do require some physical motion, so at least people are a'movin' and a' groovin'.
As an ex (and I stress the ex) avid "gamer," it would seem to me that the new explosion of these socially interactive games is due in large part to the basic ideal that despite more advanced and evolving forms of media, we are in fact social beings; not only is this type of interaction desired, it is almost innately necessary to us. After years of what could fairly be labeled "isolated" gaming, I think it's a fair to assume that developers have caught onto the general needs of their consumers and are thus reaping the benefits. Whether this was in lieu of the success of online gaming or successful multi-player franchises is besides the point - bringing people together works. For years up until later in high school I would retreat to my room for what would seem hours upon hours of isolated first person shooting, or role play gaming (RPG) without any interaction with my peers. While there was always the occasional multi-player platform revered by critics, it never seemed as though developers fully utilized the potential of making the gaming experience more of a group effort. Now that it appears things have changed with the proliferation of games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the incredible success of Nintendo's Wii, companies are far less concerned with critical acclaim and more so with a rampant increase in sales. As someone who was once well aware of the happenings within the gaming world, I see this recent outbreak as a natural progression away from an otherwise isolated medium into a much more promising social activity. It would seem as it's just the beginning at this point. Lastly, in response to the question of whether or not I feel the media is a negative or positive tool for social interaction, I feel as if you have to look no further than McQuail's discussion of sociablility and uses of the media (436). If we are to rely on the uses and gratifications model, then it would be fair to say that it (the media) can be both, or in other words, whatever the audience desires. If a particular audience member relies on the media in a form of escapism than in terms of social interaction, it can be used as a negative tool. However, if we are to look at some of the aforementioned interactive video games, I think its a testament to the positive social power new media as well as old still possess. Believe me, aside from watching the Superbowl I spent half the weekend playing Mario Party 8 with my closest friends.
-Steve Callahan
Video games are a relatively new media, and this stage of their development as being social tools is just the next phase. Didn't video games start out in arcades (generally where they were used socially), move into people's homes as consoles, and now console games are diversifying into both single and multi-player modes? I believe it's a natural progression.
Being a gamer, I feel the uses and gratifications theory applies to video games just like with any other media. I play single player games when I need alone time; it meets my need for escapism and diversion. Other times video games are a social bonding experience. I enjoy playing games with friends (right now it's Illusion of Gaia on the super nintendo), and the Wii really takes advantage of being both interactive and a group activity. What's better than playing a fun game which you can take part in the actions of the game? Playing with friends while you play the fun interactive game.
On a side note, in the Washington Post I read an article about how older people in nursing homes are using the Wii as a social tool and a way to do things (like virtual sports) which they wouldn't be able to do in reality. I think video games are still only in the process of tapping into their potential.
Video games aren't positive or negative tools for social interactions. They're just there. I said that I like to play video games by myself, but that doesn't mean it impacts me only in a negative way. How people use the media available to them is what makes that media negative or positive.
The media is a amazingly strong social tool. Who wants to go to the movies alone? Film, music and literature are all topics that I discuss with friends everyday. The fact that video games have become more social is a great step in the technology of video games. I am friends with kids that use head sets and can play games with people all around the world. It as an amazing concept. I have never been much of a gamer, in fact I haven't bought a system since 64. I only played the games that could be played with other people. Goldeneye, Wave Race and Mario Kart are all games I still play with people. It surprises me that the Wii isn't getting positive feedback from critics. My roommate recently purchased one and it is an extremely social system, that should be recieving more praise.
I didn't realize the power of social video games until I went to Spain last year. Yes, I did buy myself a Nintendo DS before leaving (just for Brain Age, I swear), but I was pleasantly surprised to see a plane full of other people with DS. Before we even took off I was battling head to head in Mario Kart with a 9 year old and 26 year old law student. Anyway the point of that little tidbit is that I think social video games are becoming networking tools in a way similar to the Internet in the early days of AIM.
While there certainly are many games that are "Cheeto residue"-esque, the increase in interactive games is at least a step in the right direction. Nintendo Wii is hard to resist, even for our parents and grandparents. One interesting example of this that I think of as a hybrid social video game is the online games, like World of Warcraft, or even, dare I say, Virtual Laguna Beach. These virtual worlds bring people together in a competitive and social way.
As for Jill's question, I think the outbreak in social video games in the natural next step in our media progression. Everything that we have as far as the media is becoming interactive. Television viewers can text message their votes to a show, or be selected for a reality show from the Internet. I'm not sure how healthy I think all of this is, but it's inevitable. Social video games can be negative or positive, but at least some of these new games are getting people up and moving.
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