This week in class we are studying social networking and online gaming. I've been using Facebook for over five years now, so I'm pretty comfortable there. Online gaming, well, that's another story.
I've played online scrabble, poker and other games just out of boredom, but I'm not sure I'd consider myself an online gamer. I have friends that are obsessed with the Facebook games like Bejeweled. Are they online gamers? What constitutes an online gamer? Do you have to be active in Second Life or World of Warcraft to be considered a gamer? Or are the teenagers playing XBox against teens in Ohio considered gamers? It's an interesting concept. I'd think that anyone who plays games online or over the Internet would be considered an online gamer. I don't think that all of those people fit the standard stereotype of a gamer.
I do, however, know 100% that I am a Facebook addict. I check it with the iTouch as soon as I wake up in the morning and throughout the day. I use the Facebook inbox feature as a replacement for traditional email when I want to contact my friends quickly. I post pictures of Eva and stalk pictures of my friends' wee ones. I rely on my Facebook news feed to alert me to what my favorite people are up to rather than picking up the phone to call and check in.
The best part of Facebook is how easy it makes staying in touch with old friends and family. Facebook has allowed me to keep tabs on my 18-year-old brother and let my 26-year-old brother in LA know I miss him. I'm also enjoying seeing all of the engagement and baby updates from old high school and college friends. I guess you'd say that Facebook is a great source of joy in my life for these reasons.
To be honest, I don't think there is anything wrong with allowing high school students to create and use Facebook accounts. I think that Facebook should automatically increase the security settings for anyone under 18. I know there is no way to enforce this rule, but that's where teachers and parents come in. Allowing students to access Facebook in school gives us the opportunity to use Facebook with them and teach them safe use. Students are no more dangerous hanging out at the mall afterschool by themselves. We can't always hold their hands, but we can give them guidelines. I think my younger brother is safer online because he knows that I'm his friend online. Why not be friends with your children?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Admitting you have a problem is the first step... As long as you haven't been hitting the Farm, I think you're okay. Think of how much less you probably use the phone. Also, being home with little ones is VERY isolating and Facebook offers a really therapeutic outlet.
ReplyDeleteInteresting take on the gaming. I think of online games as the ones where you take on an identity, but I have probably 20 otherwise normal friends asking me to attend their barn raising or milk their cows or some such weirdness. There are other popular options.
You are preaching to the choir about accessing Facebook at school, but nearly every district I know blocks it. We have to teach kids how to have an appropriate online life and how can we do that if we act like it isn't important enough to acknowledge?
Well done.