Much has been made of President Obama’s sophisticated use of new media technologies. Presidential candidate to advertise in video games, when his “Early Voting Has Begun” ads appeared in Madden 2009, Burnout Paradise, and other Electronic Arts video games. Does this mean they will become more politically active? Before you dismiss these questions, keep in mind that in October 2008, then-Senator Barack Obama became the first U. ![]() Does this mean we are becoming better citizens? Ninety-seven percent of American teenagers play video games. According to a recent survey, over half of American adults play video games, and one in five play everyday or almost everyday. If games are essential to citizenship, then this could be a promising time for our democracy. Of course, Caillois went on to praise games as a source of joy, as well as a healthy means of “escape from responsibility and routine.” For Caillois, as for Aristotle, games are in fact essential to citizenship: they allow us to refresh and renew ourselves, help to socialize us, and afford us opportunities to cultivate our imaginations and reasoning skills. ![]() Most any concerned parent might say, “Play is an occasion of pure waste: waste of time, energy, ingenuity, skill, and often of money….” So said Roger Caillois in his book, Man, Play, and Games. ![]() After all, this is a serious discussion, and games are supposedly frivolous things. Perhaps it seems a waste of time to discuss video games at a moment like this. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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