Wiley's introduction was very well thought-out, and in my opinion very true in a generalized, categorical way. However, in terms of defining an entire generation, labeling ours as the 'gamer generation' is a lot like labeling the boomer generation as the 'hippie' generation or the 'free love' generation. It applies to a group of conspicuously different individuals whose values truly are reflective of an overall change in culture, but who are an extreme example of that change.
Though the boomer generation in general represented a new pattern of thinking in American culture, to say that music, sex, and drug use was a way of life for all boomers would be ultimately wrong. By the same principle, to say that video games are a 'way of life' for the current generation--the 'information' or 'internet' generation--or to call them 'gamers' because of the video game trend, is something of a misconception.
Gamers are a specific subculture that take great pride in what they are. Like bikers or rock musicians, there can never be a 'gamer generation'. Thats like saying people growing up in the fifties were 'the greaser generation', or that anyone with a motorcycle is a 'biker'.
I play video games, as a result of the electronic cultural wave that is a larger cultural change. Video games, however, are the first thing I habitually cut out of my life, and i rarely have time for them. I know enough Gamers, and they would laugh at me calling myself a 'Gamer'. If i started playing games all the time, I would still be a 'noob' for a long time before I would gain any respect from real Gamers.
There are more widely used names for our generation. A few of them are:
The Information Generation / iGeneration
The Millennials
The Echo Boomers
Generation Next
Generation Y
No comments:
Post a Comment