The Basic Human Need

Anyone who has taken an introductory Psychology class understands the basic premise behind Maslow's hierarchy of needs: There are several categories of things human beings must secure to survive, thrive and realize their dreams.

Just above the survival level of needs which includes, food and water we have Safety and above that Love and Belonging. These two levels are necessary for survival nearly as much as food and water. You'll notice that Love and Belonging are placed in the center of the hierarchy. In this position, social interaction serves as a gateway to Self Esteem and Self Actualization. It has been demonstrated that people use other's opinions of them to shape their own identity. If everyone tells you, you are a loser then eventually you begin like a loser. Similarly, if your social peers praise you and never give you negative feedback, your self opinion grows. Sometimes the latter can be just as much a problem as the former as many ego maniacal moviestars and celebrities have shown.

In order to create a more positive vibe, I had you read the short article on "Six Wonderful Things About Games". This short article summarizes some positive aspects of gaming which are by no means conclusively decided, but open to debate.

The second Article, (depending on the order you read them) "Nobody Farts in World of Warcraft" brings up some fantastic material which is expanded upon, and partly contradicted by the Chronicle Article entitled "The End of Solitude" In "Nobody Farts" the idea of Anonymity is brought up in conjunction with words like "Meritocracy" and "Egalitarian" which are all used to explain the virtual environment of World of Warcraft. There is clear evidence that today's society is by no means either a meritocracy or truly egalitarian, two subjects we will return to later in the course. We are however living in an "anonymous" society where social interaction, as evidenced by this course, is facilitated by means which can hide out identities. There is a freedom in not being exposed to public scrutiny as the article points out. In games like World of Warcraft players choose a face to show the public that best fits what they feel, represents them while maintaining true anonymity at their computer. The female Night elf, Druid you meet while playing, may in reality be a 40 year old man who is volunteer fireman in your community. Often people you meet virtually are from different countries altogether.

The Chronicle article took a different tack entirely regarding modern society and technology. As someone who lived alone for almost ten years without a television I can appreciate the importance of solitude. People would often ask me if were lonely, to which I would reply "No". Growing up in a rural area, often by myself, i was perfectly comfortable in my own skin. In fact i am still a little uncomfortable in large crowds. In this article the author highlights the importance of protecting one's "private self" from public scrutiny which is often a problem for young people today who are constantly texting, and Facebooking each other. Many people feel the need to engage in this very shallow type of interaction with their peers in order to stave off "loneliness", which I, and the author, would term "Solitude". Far from being a bad thing, Solitude allows one to know who they are without the constant feedback from others. It is unhealthy to have a self image based entirely on how others perceive you since you then lose all grounding in your "Self".

In his article, William Deresiewicz discusses the Romantic ideal of the self being "validated by a congruity of public appearance and private essence, one that stabilizes it's relationship with both itself and others". This will serve as an apt definition of a balanced social life, one that promotes healthy interaction and allows for self exploration.

This is where Massively Multi-player gaming comes in. As you may come to realize in the coming week, MMO's, like World of Warcraft, allow players to present a "public appearance" in the form of a custom Avatar while maintaining the integrity of the "private essence" behind the keyboard. The Avatar serves as an "incarnation" or surrogate self which becomes the focus for social activity. Instead of putting the details of your life on display as you would via My Space or Facebook, your Avatar allows you the freedom of only revealing what you wish, to whom you wish. Perhaps this is why online gaming communities often foster real life, long term relationships between players who share a common experience. This doesn't mean that it is healthy to socialize only via your online games, it does mimic what a balanced social life might look like.

For Friday please take a look at the following for Friday:

Video Games and the Economy

Welcome to the New Gold Mines


Be sure to have researched an online game you will participate in for next weeks class. There will be a journal prompt every day which i would like you to compile in a text document and then send at the end of the week as your second week project. Please check to blog site for the assignments every day as there will be a separate journal assignment and forum assignment. The assignments will also be posted as text documents on the college portal.