New University-only Second Life Forum

Case Western Reserve University has their own private Second Life sanctuary for students and faculty to interact within. Properly managed, this is the logical extension of distance education. But one thing I've noticed in my years of university teaching is the lack of read world social skills. Letting students bury their own personalities beneath that of a flying avatar's flamboyance isn't maybe the best idea, is it? And isn't the usual beef with distance education that the quality isn't there? How might that translate into this type of situation?

What do you think?

New article on Video Game Addiction

I just ran across this e-article on video game addiction that focuses primarily on the preteen (9-12 years) demographic. Though the ideas are sound and useful, what bothers me is that no mention is made of how this addiction transcends ethnicity, affluence, and age. If it were contained within a particular age range (or part of the country), it'd be a lot easier to deal with.

What makes me happy is that the issue is being discussed. For me, at least, that's something significant. It's time to take video game addiction seriously. I see that Ozzy Osbourne World of Warcraft commercial on TV at least three times a day (and that's not counting the nearly 3 million views it had online over the past 6 months).

Blizzard is upping the ante. We need to, too.

Back to the Blog

After agreeing to give a pair of talks in Tampa, FL on video game addiction and the future of digital culture, it's clear that these topics need to be addressed in a wider format. That being said, I'm back at this blog and hope to continue it regularly now. I welcome your input on the discussion. Please share your own experiences with video game addiction and what sort of steps you took to help yourself (and/or others). Thanks.

on hiatus

I'm in the middle of a sizable reworking of my video junkie memoir, so this blog will be on a temporary hiatus. Wish me luck.

Memoir Rolling Along

I just heard back from the fifth literary agent interested in seeing UNPLUGGED, which chronicles my lifetime addiction to video games. Every time I have the smallest inkling of doubt that maybe it's just me, that maybe I'm the only one wasting away my years with a control pad or keyboard in hand as I stare at a pixellated world, I get affirmation that this project matters. No other memoir exists on video game addiction, but with a bit of luck, mine soon will. Perhaps it'll help begin the discussion on a wider arena than it's already happening. Perhaps it will help initiate some important change on how we use, understand, and relate to the digital world.