Just Because

In the year 2009, I wrote 43 posts. It's July of 2010, and I've written 33 so far. This will be 34, and the little bit of me that's competitive and OCD makes me want to write as many posts in the first 7 months of this year as I did in the entirety of last year. But I still want to make these posts meaningful, so here goes.

You've probably heard the expression "boys and their toys." This can be used to reference classic cars, tools, generally anything with an engine, or video games. This post will be about the latter.

I know there are too many articles and books written, and too many studies done, and on and on about people who spend their lives in games. We are all familiar with the evils of continual gaming; I remember a Lizzie McGuire episode when Gordo got caught up in a gaming community. I'm not going to get on the soapbox about lifelong gamers... I trust that since you're reading a blog, you're not struggling with intensive gaming. :)

However, I want to spark a curiosity in you about playing games in general. Or even watching movies or TV in excess of 4 hours a week. Why? Why spend your valuable time, made even more valuable by my presumption that this is your free time, playing a game? Why lose yourself in an alternative, imaginary reality when you live in an amazing reality? Why watch a screen when you can live your own adventures? Why listen to special sound effects when you can make your own soundtrack? Why blog when you can just talk to people?

I know. Not all of my questions and reasoning is fair. Great values can be found in some films and shows, and playing games can be a good bonding experience. I understand all this, and yet something in me holds out as a "purist," so to speak. Really, face-to-face interaction produces better relationships, and focusing on a screen during your interaction detracts from the bonding experience. I wish there was a part of me that could accept a happy medium, but right now I can only think in black and white, and I'm not even describing the extremely extreme!

Sorry if I'm rambling, dear readers, but this is what is battling in my head, and maybe you have some thoughts that can clear me up... thanks for reading.