B's Blog

http://www.bleedyellow.com/blogs/paydirt/entry/hitting_paydirt

So I came across this rather interesting blog about social skills and their development in a "non-social" setting. I happen to be an avid gamer and a part of the clan Fragweiser, an America's Army clan (for those who don't know what America's Army is, go to www.americasarmy.com and download the game, it's free and along the same lines as counterstrike). Anyway, I find it interesting that some people think that games don't allow for social development. In my case, some of my best friends are from all around the world, living in the US, Canada and even other parts of the globe like India, Europe and Japan. I have only met a few of them in real life, but we all know each other on a first name/last name basis and we spend quite a bit of time playing video games together. But we also spend time just talking, whether we're on our computers, or over the phone or on MSN. I've found that I happen to be more socially active than ever when I'm out and about, and I think it's because I'm less afraid of what people think, basically because I find that in a virtual world it doesn't matter, so why should it make any difference in "real" life? So in terms of being in a physically social setting, yes, we are lacking that. But to say that gaming would cause under-developed social skills, is a little far fetched in my mind. But then again, I'm one of those Gen. Y's, so what do I know about social skills Just as an FYI, I found PayDirt's blog very interesting and I am not trying to start any arguments, simply stating my point of view on social skills and gaming

Signing off,
B