The change of children playing sports to children playing videogames

Environmental driving force of The Future of Technology in Secondary Education in 2020

Description:

Since the rise of the Nintendo 8-bit video games have been a part of society. Children who used to play a sport in front of their house with children from the neighbourhood can now play the same sports online with children all over the world. Since the 1960s, the number of overweight kids and adolescents in the United States has nearly doubled. Today, 10% of 2- to 5-year-olds and more than 15% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. And a whopping 31% of adults are also obese. Studies indicate that overweight and obese adolescents have up to an 80% chance of becoming overweight and obese adults, especially if one or more parent has the same condition. This trend has been proven to be the same in Europe, so this is not a cultural thing.

Ofcourse there are a lot more reasons why these changes occur but videogames are a part of it. Ironically there are different kind of theory's regarding this phenomenon. There are people who say that gaming is better then just watching T.V. becuase of the minimal activities while using a controller. And there are even cases of people losing weight while using a "dance-pad" designed to simulate dancing on a console.

Without even talking about overweight people it is quite obvious to see that there are simularities and opportunities when looking at sports and videogames.

Enablers:

• The advance of information and communication technology
  
• Parents who are also used to growing up with videogames
  
• The growth of online gaming and the increasing amount of gaming tournaments
  

• Video game playing introduces children to computer and information technology
  
• Games can give practice in following directions
  
• Some games provide practice in problem solving and logic
  
• Games can provide practice in use of fine motor and spatial skills
  
• Games can provide occasions for parent and child to play together
  
• Players are introduced to information technology
  
• Some games have therapeutic applications with patients
  
• Family lifestyle
  
• Marketing
  
• Easy access for parent and child
  

Inhibitors:

• Organizations against the gaming industry
• Sportorganizations trying to keep encouraging young people to play sports
• Active parents trying to combine both choices
  
• Parents managing child’s media consumption
  
• Game environments are often based on plots of violence, aggression and gender bias
  
• Organisations that rate videogames e.g.the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB)
  
• Customer education
  

Paradigms:

• A new videogame culture
  
• Advanced videogames are moving towards sports
  
• Blending: combine entertainment with education
  
• Reinforcement :reward system in achieving next level
  
• Motivation: attractiveness
  

Experts:

• Marshal McLuhan, The Medium is the Massage
• Nancy Morris, Media and Globalization: Why the State Matters
• Monroe E. Price, Media and Sovereignty

Timing:

The notion of the effects of media globalization emerged in 1960s - 1980s when NWICO (New World Information and Communication) literature critized the presence of foreign media, especially from the United States, as a threat to cultural autonomy in the developing world (Dorfman and Mattelart 1972; International Commission for the Study of Communication Problem).

The trend of videogame being an individual game is changing to a more social and “connect to a network of a group of people”
The analysis of time spend is declining e.g. A good majority now plays best sellers for relatively shorter duration 10 -20 Hours in contrast to 2005,where majority used play games for more than 100 hours.

WEB Resources:

http://www.getupmove.com/media.html
http://health.yahoo.com/news/46838
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/84/98017.htm
http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtml
http://www.pamf.org/preteen/parents/videogames.html
http://books.google.nl/books?id=sl-Hjf-gMyUC&pg=PA409&lpg=PA409&dq=paradigm+children+playing+videogames&source=bl&ots=EvQZ8ydW8I&sig=wRvVhQgHavsrk_omDa4nLuJ6Ze0&hl=nl&ei=13KzSovfJeWK4gaCvPl8&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=paradigm%20children%20playing%20videogames&f=false
http://www.trendsspotting.com/blog/?p=333