photo by me
A couple months ago, some of my friends and I played Dungeons and Dragons for the first time. For those of you who don't know, this game is awesome, seriously. It's awesome because it is based entirely on the imaginations of the players. You can never run out of ideas, or plot lines, or moves, or missions because you make it up as you go. I then realized that the fact that this kind of game was so novel to me was kind of sad. That a game based on imagination was so revolutionary, so different and so thrilling, says a lot about my own lack of imaginary use lately.
I've also been thinking a lot about video games, and the fact that my boyfriend just got an Xbox has nothing to do with it.. I swear. Anyways, video games are also awesome. I mean, I personally don't have a lot of experience beyond N64, but just watching him play with these extremely vivid images and winding plot lines is enough for me to understand how it can consume someone's afternoon. That along with evidence that some video games produce a dopaminergic response similar to eating and having sex... explains a lot. However, my boyfriend is an actor, and he uses his imagination all the time, so the fact that he can spend hours playing those games doesn't really bother me. He already had a childhood full of creativity and imagination and I have seen the photos of him in crazy costumes to prove it.
I too had my share of imaginary play growing up (see previous posts for plenty of embarrassing examples). However, I really worry about kids today (and I KNOW I sound like I am 50 years old but bear with me) growing up who only know how to play using these devices. I feel like there should really be some mandatory imagination hour put into the schedules at school in between all of the absurd test prep that begins as early as elementary school these days. Imagination is the child's specialty. Their true mastery is the ability to be entirely unfazed by the rules of reality that limit our thought as we grow. It is not only a natural skill to develop, but imagination increases our cognitive flexibility, something that has a lot of benefits, including helping to cope with trauma later in life should it occur. Rigid inflexible play is also often a sign for a variety of mental illnesses and disorders. Of course, children vary in their play and some are more elaborate or outlandish than others, so we are talking about the extremes here. I just hope that kids now are getting the opportunities to use their brains in this way because it only becomes harder and harder to find the outlets to do it as we get older. It's no coincidence that professions in the arts are so glorified and coveted. They allow us to do what we are programmed to do from such a young age.
I don't feel like diving into my entire thesis right now (maybe another day) so if I didn't convince you I don't care... for now; but you still have to admit, if nothing else, when kids use their imaginations, it's pretty damn cute.
Exhibit A: my linking wasn't working so copy and paste below, then enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM35grvNkss
Exhibit B: for those of you not yet convinced to go turn off the computer and go play dress-up, here are some good articles on the other downsides of too much tech time.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/features/timestopics/series/your_brain_on_computers/index.html
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