Obama: "Turn off the video games and pick up a book."

[A Tasty Burger]

I like how Obama is implying I don't read a 1000 page book in a week. I read as much as I play video games and when I can't fall asleep till 2 or 3 in the morning every day that leaves me with a lot of time to do both.

 

[William MacKay]

he means well: he just wants to reintroduce culture to youth. but i used to read a shitload. i literally have no space for anything. the only thing i can store is hats. that is the only thing i have space for. fucking hats. all my storage space is books ive read at least twice and some games and dvds. but its a good idea.

 

[Madara XIII]

I agree with Obama on this one. However I'm for getting active as well.

Secondly I can't afford to play video games at this time. Too busy trying to pass chemistry and history at my university.

So yeah, I'm currently reading 2 books if that helps. Chemistry, the 5th edition text book and At the Mountains of Madness.....God I love that book to death.

 

[Realitycrash]

I have something to say to him...

Do your freakin job!

Considering one of the duties of the president (or any public figurehead) is to try to be a role-model, I'd say he's doing his job. The unfortunate thing is that he is like many adults (my own father included) who view video games as detrimental. It would be nice to get past the books = good, video games = bad.

Eh, I'd certainly agree with "Most videogames= Less educational than most books".

 

[Kadoodle]

It should be more like: "Turn off Call of Duty and play Bioshock."

I've actually come to a standstill with reading; after I read Mogworld, everything else seemed like crap. Damn you Yahtzee, you magnificent stallion.

 

[jpoon]

I have something to say to him...

Do your freakin job!

Hah, agreed! Not much more needs to be said.

 

[HentMas]

"We know that every father has a personal responsibility to do right by their kids - to encourage them to turn off the video games and pick up a book; to teach them the difference between right and wrong; to show them through our own example the value in treating one another as we wish to be treated. And most of all, to play an active and engaged role in their lives," he said.

actually, i se no harm,he is not saying Video Games are "bad"(as other people) or that kids shouldnt play them, he is just adressing the fact that they are what most kids do waste their time (because yes, its a time wasted), and is asking the parents to teach them how to "waste" that time.


and reading a book is much better (IMO) than playing VG, but thats just me.

how many of you play more than 5 hours a day? if you dont fall into that category, he wasnt talking about you, so chill out and look someone else to troll.

and the "right and wrong" is him actually saying "WE KNOW VIDEOGAMES ARE NOT THE CAUSE OF MURDERS, BUT BAD PARENTING" just so you actually understand what he is saying.

 

[Fearzone]

I think that is the only thing specific he has said in 3 years.

 

[SaunaKalja]

I wonder if Fox News will now defend video games and oppose the terrible muslim atheist communist Obamas attempt to remove the peoples god given right to play games?

 

[StereoMike]

I agree with the people talking about great things that have been done with books, but thats mostly because we've had thousands of years where books were essentially the only narrative medium. I don't think that makes them inherently a higher form of art. They are a higher form of art because far greater works have been created using the written word, but this does not make books by their very nature, a better medium. Both games and books have the potential to make great works of art, games just haven't done it yet.

There's a weird obssession with books in the western world. Nobody ever says "you should put down that novel and pick up a picasso!" but that would be really good advice.

I see what you are saying about being fair to the different forms of media.... but
Books also enhance the vocab. It's reading. I have yet to have a video game work on me the same way. And if anything can be done to help the youth sound less moronic in conversation (written and spoken), then I am all for it.

ps - then they would say you should put down that Picasso and sing an epic poem, preferably in the heroic hexameter.

Well, I learned to read by playing the original Monkey Island, so while you've never had the experience, many others have and that number will only increase . And the thing is, a book will only enhance your vocabulary if it has advanced vocabulary in it. I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd only read books by celebutantes to spite Obama's preachiness. I would get nothing of any value from those books at all, they would do nothing for my vocabulary, and in the end, probably make me stupider.

I know reading is the most efficient way to increase vocabulary, I'm an ESL teacher. But this obssession with books as the seemingly only legitimate form of education and learning is a little outdated. Books are wonderful ways to learn, but in the west they are given an absurd amount of priority, and other forms of media are considered second class for some reason.

 

[wikiman]

What he's trying to say is "Stop wasting time and do something productive".
He's talking about video games since that is what most kids are doing. That's what I was doing when I was a kid and I can say that it is one of the most time wasting and unproductive hobbies out there. No matter how sophisticated, story driven or complex your games are, you're just playing them to waste time (don't lie to yourself).
He's not dumb, he's not just going with the "Games are Satan" crowd, he knows that if you'll spend your whole youth just sitting in your room, staring into the TV screen and moving 6 fingers, you'll have a hard time keeping up with reality when it's time to take responsibility for your own life.
I think he's also saying "Don't let video games be the substitute for a family".

That's what I think, at least.


...what?!?

Well, not. Games are a form of entertainment. You are playing a game because you want to have fun, get a quick stress relive, or imerse yourself in a great interactive story. Books are also a form of entertainment. Sure you can read boring stuff because you have to, but in your free time, when you take a book to read, it is usualy something you want to read. Because it is interesting, entertaining, etc. So what im trying to say is this. Anything that enriches your life in some way, no matter if it is a comic book, game, a movie or a tv show, is good for you. If you had a positive experience that somehow makes your life better in any way, then time spend doing this is not wasted.

I just can't get over this notion, that here on a gaming website some people still consider gaming as time wasting activity. Suere there are extreme cases, like grinding for the sake of grinding in WOW, but people who do that are sick. They need help. And on the other hand we have other games, that are a great experience, and can teach truths about life better than any book. People need to point at positive things that come from gaming, not only negative stuff.

 

[AbsoluteVirtue18]

...Wait, other people don't read for fun? What the hell is wrong with ya'll? I love reading! Then again everyone else in my family reads for fun, so I guess I was just raised that way.

 

[Von Strimmer]

I would like to see what would be said if Fox News or a Republican presedential candidate said the exact same thing. I bet there would be a shit load of different responses just a guess.

 

[DesiPrinceX09]

No, I will not turn off the video game. Books are boring mostly, I have no interest in most novels. If I am reading something then it's either a history book, a science book, a philosophical text, or my Qur'an (or some other religious text in my religion).

 

[AMMO Kid]

I never wanted him as president in the first place

 

[harvz]

uh, putting aside that i dont even live in the same hemisphere as obama, i would say that i do more reading than gaming...on the internet.

 

[Hugga_Bear]

It should be more like: "Turn off Call of Duty and play Bioshock."

Pretty much. There are great and informative games out there just like there are great and informative books. Likewise there are games which are just for fun and teach nothing and there are books which are just for fun and teach nothing.

I don't like the broad strokes here, some games are genuinely educational, I learnt a lot, I mean a lot, from Civilisation 2 as a child, I've learnt stuff more recently from games like Bioshock, like the Final Fantasy's, Assasin's Creed(!) and so on. Not all games are produced solely for idle entertainment (there is nothing wrong with entertainment either, it's not a waste of time if it's enjoyable). No way are all books produced for the purpose of furthering knowledge or insight.

So, put down the CoD every now and again and do something different, yeah. Not turn off video games altogether, that's a mentality which is backwards and just plain incorrect.

 

[Sonicron]

The way I see it, the guy simply calls for moderation in all things when he makes statements like that, which is fine by me. Besides, one should never underestimate the value of a good book; Over the last two days I read the Divine Comedy and the Edda, and it's honestly difficult to feel this enriched after playing a game.