Media education
You're reading Mikko Saari's blog Life and opinions. This entry was written 02/ 4/2004, at 11:09.
If you want read more of my entries in the same topic, this entry belongs to the category of Games.
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As I advertised to be a librarian(-to-be), I thought I'd better put up some library-related content on the English side of this blog too.
Few months ago I decided to be more librarianish and ordered the Finnish Kirjasto (Library) magazine and joined the Finnish library association. It was a good decision, because the magazine has been generally quite interesting.
The latest issue is about media education. Its best article is about video games. The person interviewed is professor Frans Mäyrä from Tampere University hypermedia laboratory. He's one of the leading experts on academic game studies in Finland and often quoted on matters like these.
The article ("Are computer games harmful?") is recommended reading for everyone who's worried about what games do to our kids. Mäyrä says games are fine. He actually believes that books can be more dangerous than games, because books can affect one's mind and thinking more profoundly than games.
He also comments that violence in games is less harmful than violence in tv or movies. When you are playing a game, you must control yourself, if you want to succeed. You must keep certain distance from the action. When you're watching a movie, you can "lose control" easier. Research also indicates that young gamers see even violent games as a game amongs others, not as violence. Players can see the difference between fiction and reality.
Also, games can give a child a feeling of might and power, which the child might not get in his or her everyday life. that can be healthy for the child's development. Playing games is also a way to fight fears. Games also require self control and patience - if you can't control your nerves, you will make mistakes and can't proceed in the game.
Despite all the good aspects he sees in games, Mäyrä says that parents should pay more attention to the games their children play. Playing games can be very intensive so the parents must control it. Parents should know the games better, because most of the trouble is caused by the gap between game-literate children and parents who don't know the games. Parents who play are often more critical regarding the games, choose the games for their children more strictly and discuss them with their kids.
Mäyrä sees games as a challenge for libraries. Games are a part of digital culture and something libraries could deal with. Mäyrä thinks the most important game classics, web games played with a browser and some console games could work well in library environment. Libraries would thus develop and record this part of the digital culture.
Why not, though there are lots of problems regarding games in libraries. There's technical issues and copyright issues. Also, I'm not sure how librarians would greet this. Certainly games could draw new patrons in to the library! However, as games are currently banned in most libraries it would take a large shift in attitudes towards games before games are welcomed into libraries.
Meanwhile, learning something about games is highly recommended to everyone (and especially to the parents of children who play games). Games are proper culture (at least when it comes to money, there's absolutely no question about it) and not just a children's pastime. I think many people still consider games as something that belongs to kids and kids only. However, as with movies, there are games for kids, there are games for the whole family and there are games for adults. That is a rather important issue to figure out.
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