Where My Story is Now at 4:27 PM

This is how I envision my video story on U of M gamers:

I start off by stating that there are no clubs or organizations at Umich dedicated to gaming. I'll list some other random activities that were formed into clubs to indicate the wide variety of groups one can join, yet video gamers are left out. I'll then remind my audience that video games are indeed popular and are most certainly played at U of M, but ask where are they?

I'll begin my quest by asking my roommate some questions about games, the ones who play them, the University, and how they interconnect if at all. He will act as my transition to the Computer & Video Game Archive (CVGA) at the Duderstadt on North Campus. I will then travel there and speak with the main coordinator, David Carter. I'll inquire about why there was even a need for the CVGA and why was it created now as opposed to when the video game boom occured in the late 70s and into the early 80s. I'll ask him why there isn't a club at U of M for gamers and how that speaks to the gamer culture, American culture, and global culture. Are times changing? Are video games that prominent? Do students need an entire room for video games? I'll shift over to the future aspect and ask where he sees the CVGA in the next year, five years, 10, 20 years.

With time permitting, I may also travel to local video game stores in Ann Arbor to gauge what kind of insight they can give me. The Michigan Daily now has a whole section on their website for video game news so I can ask how that's going.

My underlyying point would concern finding how video games is affecting U of M, America, and the world by taking into account all of these recent changes at the University.

Response to "Tuned Out" at 12:24 AM

Up until I read Tuned Out by David Mindich, I felt that I kept up with current events pretty well. Jimmyr.com is a favorite news and entertainment aggregator I visit once and a while to see what's been abuzz on the internet that day. I would occasionally come across hot topics of discussion while surfing the 'net and at least knew a good majority of the important goings on around the world. Through my experience, I know this is more than what most of my friends do to know what's happening beyond their own bedrooms.

Before the 2008 Presidential Election, I explained to one of my University of Michigan friends that I was really hoping for Dennis Kucinich or Ron Paul to win because I shared many ideals with them. She asks me, "Who?" As if she just asked me who Mary Sue Coleman was, I couldn't believe her ignorance toward our Presidential hopefuls. In an attempt to have a serious political dialogue, I went to go see some other friends around campus only to be more disappointed with the realization that I, with only a basic comprehension of domestic and worldly affairs, was more politically inclined than my friends were. This discovery was one of my latest major encounters with “tuned out” persons. Yet my entire strategy for staying in know is that when I find something particularly intriguing, which is usually a hit or miss scenario, I'll actually actively seek out more information. But, admittedly, I won't have the patience to sit and read a lengthy article on a single matter.

As I was reading what I thought would be a refresher of the facts I'm familiar with regarding a lack of political knowledge among youths, I discovered something quite disheartening about myself, my generation, and future generations. Mindich asked young adults about certain basic facts about politics. Sure I knew a few as I was bound to since I considered myself fairly knowledgeable, but I quickly wised up that I barely knew a fraction of what he was asking. I couldn't believe the facts that completely stumped me like naming the Supreme Court Justices or the officials in cabinet positions. I could only name a couple – and I'm going easy on myself by saying that. I felt like I didn't know anything.

I read on about the statistical results from these surveys. They were beyond appalling; they were alarming. How could people not know practically anything? Why wouldn't someone care to look in to where their tax dollars were going? What about the future for their kids or at least for themselves? Do people not want to know about the atrocities happening in parts of the globe? In their country? Their neighborhood? I suppose that’s how it has always been.

I found it fascinating that when Mindich pointed out that some of us don't even know what we don't know. At times, people were mistaken when it comes to who tunes out and why. While some said young people moved to watching television to get their news, others claimed the internet was the ultimate source of where kids became informed. Yet there is a decline in readership among all age groups as years go by in all forms of media. There also seemed to be a general misunderstanding among generations of young people and how tuned in they were to the news. One professor felt like he was “watering the vegetables every day” (Mindich, 5) while Mindich mentioned that, although standardized tests scores have been dropping, he is “constantly impressed with the thoughtfulness and intelligence of young people” (Mindich, 5). A teacher for over 30 years debunks the popular belief that teenagers are getting any less intelligent through the generations and rather stated that information is spread differently now with a focus on the entertainment aspect.

After reading those misconceptions and results on young adult political competence, I self-reflect on my news proficiency and I can't blame people for giving up trying to educate themselves causing the decline in the politically informed. The rising popularity in television stations such as MTV and VH1 with teenagers would, not surprisingly, distract them from news channels. In an effort to attract more young viewers, news broadcasters like Fox, CNN, and MSNBC became more entertainment oriented where the big story of the day wouldn’t be the excessively over-priced war in Iraq/Iran but instead on who the father was of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. I can understand committing an hour or two spread throughout a few days to a week on a “trendy” issue but celebrity scandals can go on for hours each day for weeks. It’s understandable that some viewers would simply stop following altogether just to avoid the idiocy. I am a strong proponent of balance and it’s better to keep gossip and celebrity entertainment news separate from local, national, and world news. That way the line between entertainment and news won’t be so blurred which could result in dedicated followers in both rather than a decrease in viewership when they are combined.

Although it may be compelling and grabs a person’s attention, entertainment news is not what people should be aware of when there are more important matters that should – no – need to be brought to our focus. Perhaps the reason why so many of us, including my friends, tune out is because of the near impossibility of finding what we’re looking for without the extra “fluff” always distracting us. As many have asserted, there are more resources available to us than ever before to become aware of current events, but with so much entertainment polluting them all, it becomes difficult and often unpleasant to get cut-and-dry news. I just wish news stations would stick to the real news and not cater to those audience members who only care about celebrity gossip.

Tuning In to Tuning Out at 8:09 PM

Up until I read Tuned Out by David Mindich, I felt that I kept up with current events pretty well. I occasionally came across the hot topics of discussion while surfing the 'net and at least knew a good majority of the important goings on around the world. When I find something particularly intriguing, which is usually a hit or miss scenario, I'll actually actively seek out more information, but, admittedly, won't have the patience to sit and read a lengthy article on the matter.

As I was reading what I thought would be a refresher of the facts I'm familiar with regarding a lack of political knowledge among youths, I discovered something quite disheartening about myself, my generation, and future generations. Mindich asked young adults about certain basic facts about politics. Sure I knew a few as I was bound to as I considered myself fairly knowledgeable, but I quickly realized that I barely know a fraction of what he was asking. I couldn't believe the facts that completely stumped me like naming the Supreme Court Justices or the officials in cabinet positions. I could only name a couple and I'm going easy on myself.

I felt like I didn't know anything until I read on about the statistical results. They were beyond appalling; they were alarming. How could people not know practically anything? There were moments where Mindich points out that some of us don't even know what we don't know. At times, people were mistaken when it comes to who tunes out and why. While some said young people moved to watching television to get their news, others claimed the internet was the ultimate source of where kids were becoming informed. It seems that in all medium there is a decline in readership among all age groups as years go by.

Having so many not even hear about these events let alone understand them is discouraging and upsetting. Why wouldn't someone care to look in to where their tax dollars were going? What about the future for their kids or at least for themselves? Do people not want to know about the atrocities happening in parts of the globe? In their country? Their neighborhood?

Then I selfreflect on my news proficiency and I can't blame people for giving up trying to educate themselves. With news stations like Fox, CNN, and MSNBC becoming more entertainment news where the big story of the day isn't the excessevely over-priced war in Iraq/Iran but instead on who the father is of Anna Nicole Smith's baby. I can understand committing an hour or two spread throughout a few days to a week on the issue but this celebrity scandal went on for hours each day for weeks. Although it's entertaining and grabs attention, it's not what people should be aware of when there are more important matters that should, no, need to be brought into focus. I just wish news stations would stick to the real news and not cater to those audience members who only care about celebrity gossip, sex, and impertinent crime.