In the shadowy evening hours as the day unwinds, people all over the world hunch over their computers/iphones/electronic devices...playing Solitaire, 5 Roll, Angry Birds or some other game of their choice.
Solitaire is the first computer game new users learn. It's the game that unites us all from the youngest to the oldest. And from there we branch out, some going on to sophisticated, multi-layered games that take hours or days or months to play.
All have one thing in common. They're played alone. By their very nature, they isolate us in our lonely game caves.
No, I'm not against computer games. For the aging population, most of whom live in solitary splendor, I believe games can keep the mind agile and alive. For the young, such games help them develop cognitive skills and motor skills as they zip the mouse around on the screen.
But I wonder if the games-playing also reveals something about us as a culture. We're tired. Playing a game requires very little input from us. At the exhausted end of the day we don't want to interact with people, we don't want to read a book or watch a movie. At that point we simply want to veg out and fill an hour or two until it's time to go to bed.
In the end, we all become Solitairey animals... :-)
anny
So true!
ReplyDeleteI think game playing sort of recharges you. We used to have Tetris and Dr. Mario and I loved both. I know those video games are now used as part of rehab for brain injured patients, they seem to build new neural pathways.
ReplyDeleteYep, I wonder how many people realize that it all comes to the fact that everyone is actually in the end an individual alone coping with what they have to the best way they can.
ReplyDeleteI've become hooked on the SUdokus on my Nook. Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteThe hubby plays solitaire on the computer all the time. I blush to admit, I don't do the game thing.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm the only person who never learned how to play the game...How bad is that?
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