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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 4 page paper discusses Steven Johnson's ideas about the value of pop culture forms such as video games and television in regard to the intellectual stimuli they provide. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVSJohns.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
as necessarily isolating or damaging, but as a construct that can actually help to develop intellectual abilities to the same extent as reading. This paper examines Johnsons arguments and gives
personal examples of the way in which such things as TV, the Internet and video games have actually helped us develop our intellectual abilities. Discussion The one argument that we
hear repeatedly from many different sources is that todays youth are losing the ability to develop successful interpersonal relationships because they never practice them. Instead of spending time with each
other, todays teens are isolated: they are watching television, surfing the Net, playing video games, or doing other solitary activities that separate them from one another. Steven Johnson doesnt agree
with this, and his observations are interesting. Consider the experience of watching television. Marie Winn, in her book The Plug-In Drug, states that criticism of childrens experiences with television has
been focused almost exclusively on content (Winn). However, she points out it is the very act of viewing that is of concern: "Perhaps the ever-changing array of sights and sounds
coming out of the machine ... fosters the illusion of a varied experience for the viewer. It is easy to overlook a deceptively simple fact: one is always watching television
when one is watching television rather than having any other experience" (Winn). But Johnson finds something of value in this experience, which he describes as a sort of hunt for
clues to human behavior: "When we watch these shows, the part of our brain that monitors the emotional lives of the people around us ... scrutinizes the action on the
screen, looking for clues. . . . " (Johnson). He points out that the term "Monday-morning quarterbacking" describes the fact that viewers tend to become more absorbed when they are
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