jamesteufel.com

Everyone needs a break from their day-to-day reality.  Varying environments and experiences seems to be a necessary condition for living a satisfying life.  Some people go on vacation.  Other people go to spas.  Some cycle, run, or read.  Still others play videogames.  My commentary today will focus on those who play videogames.  Videogames typically have a story line that puts the player into the role of saving someone or something from some “evil.”  Every three year or so, I like to play videogames for a few months as a break from day-today realities.  I perceive gaming to be a cost effective break (e.g., gaming=$200/yr versus vacation=$2,000/wk).  From the gaming experience, I have found that being a hero in the realm of fantasy is an actualized rewarding experience for many players.  However, in my real world life, I find that more often than not being a hero is hypothetical reward for many people.  In the real world, many people seem to like the idea of being a hero, similar to the fantasy of the gaming world.  However, as opposed to the gaming world acting as a hero is rarely actualized, especially with regard to acting as hero across long periods of time (not just saving a cat from a tree on a Thursday in 2001).  If people put as much time into acting as prosocial heroes in the real world as they do in videogames, positive social changes could be brought to fruition.  However, there are of course factors that make “heroing” in the real world less rewarding than in the gaming world (e.g., disempowerment).  Additionally, in the gaming world rewards are quick and relatively simple, which is typically not the case in the real world.  Videogames also help to facilitate gaining rewards with minimal frustration.  We need more real world heroes.