Month: January 2015

Bagtas Approved.

Video games have been a pivotal part of our society for the past 30 years and have evolved a substantial amount since their first release. Genres would change; with the most popular genre being action which is almost always accompanied by violence. This violence has caused negative responses from the community, due to the consequences of violence when exposed to children.

In my opinion, I believe there is no significant harm in this activity as I have played such games and have had no aggressive repercussions. In addition, my very first game was Duck Tales which showed harmful scenes. This contrasts with the games that modern children play due to the majority playing violent games. Is the exposure of violence inappropriate for children?

These activities involve repetitive killing, which can desensitize the young and train them to act aggressively. The endless barrage of bullets and grenades can cause a child to be blind of the real world, war would no longer be an event of sadness but a potential game. Evidence of overplaying can be seen from a meta-analysis, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin in 2014, where researchers from Innsbruck University tested nearly 40 000 participants. The results showed that over-exposure to violent video games can affect the social behavior of the gamer. Furthermore, it led to an increase in aggressive outcomes and a decrease in pro-social responses. There has also been severe cases of overexposure to violence which leads to death. In 2004, a teenager had allegedly murdered his friend due to having major influences from the game ‘Manhunt’ which had been criticized to be sadomasochistic. These are ‘severe’ cases, meaning the mental state of the virtual ‘killer’ may not be the same as a gamer who plays the same (Manhunt) in the same amount of hours. The evidence does show that prolong exposure to violent video games can cause negative effects.

Virtual activities can behave like drugs. A modern game whether that be a Call of Duty or the innocent Candy Crush can become very addictive if abused. Rewards placed in these are the main source of these addictions. According to Springer Link research study, addiction statistics show that as much as 40% of users play these to escape from the real world. Numerous studies have shown that being associated with this addiction would produce poor academic performances, work-related difficulties – as well as psychological problems like anxiety and depression. These traits will hinder the younger generation to succeed as it limits them to talk to strangers or to their future CEOs. Another study found in the American Academy of Pediatrics showed statistics of children playing for long hours had poor grades in school and difficult relationships with parents. As the amount of time decreased when playing games, the children had reduced levels of aggression, better grades and improved parental relationships. This strengthens the theory that video games are inappropriate for the younger audience.

Games are a source of motivation not addiction; the theory is that through determined interactions, young people would develop a sense of identity. They begin to believe in their intelligence and abilities through their achievements in this. Carol Dweck, a renowned Professor of Psychology, spoke of the difference between an entity theory of intelligence and an incremental theory of intelligence. Kids develop an entity theory of intelligence as they believe to have fixed traits which is when they are praised for doing certain tasks, however this can have a negative impact on long term attitudes. The incremental is when they understand what certain skills they have, so instead of praising the child of what they did, you explain what they did. Video games mimic this as they give conclusive feedback through the use of coins or dead ends in mazes which serves as a reward. This keeps the gamer motivated not addicted as it balances challenge and resentment. This teaches the child of the key skills they will need, therefore these ‘distractions’ are appropriate for children.

Are these games causing negative effects on the younger generation? In my opinion, they do not cause negative impacts, but are viewed to be so. Those who do not play video games tend to reach for violence as an excuse whilst those who do – simply acknowledge it as a form of escapism. These do have a ridiculous amount of violence but that is it’s purpose, it is similar to a fictional movie, it is an illusion. Parents who blame virtual reality to their kids educational demise simply did not read the age rating on the cover as it is there for a reason.

There were rumors of an area in the city where the machines did not loiter and the people were not facing a screen.

The market flourished in the abyss of the night; the time when humans would be fast asleep, dreaming of such a place. Under the glistening, glittering, golden lights which stole the majesty of the stars, lied the busy stalls and carts that seem to multiply with each direction. The rumors were true – such a place of magic did truly exist; the glow of the silverware from the various utensils shone under the moonlight as the market was only just awake.

From coast to coast, the night market would be swarmed with a river of heads, hair and hats, walking in a direction where the smell of the sea would be present. As fishes to bait, predator to prey, their statuses would vanish among these heads. They passed words with each other, but these are evidently swollen by the void. The sharks in the stands shouted their submissions to the incoming strays, performing magic tricks with transactions which turned heads and wallets. They had transformed simple, mediocre items into the last documentation of ancient civilizations. These sharks had evolved.

Through the labyrinth of stalls slithered a rich aroma which had herded the crowd of heads to the furthest stand in the market; this was the last one that had emerged from the dark. Above this stood a green sign, unprofessionally made. The entire structure seemed to be unfinished yet no matter how unpleasing, it had looked. It had gathered more than a few and less than too many. A large cloud of smoke had risen from the stand onto the army of structures, pulling the strings of it’s people like puppets; the stall created classic, chewy, chocolate-coated apples. Quite a novice instrument to entice the many yet the smell had caused the puppets to relive their past. A sudden burst of colour, illusions and mischief had occurred in their minds.

Amongst all the vibrancy, illusions and mischief, stood an old man. Like the stands in the market, he came early and like the smell of the sea he lingered around. He stays there – silent, as if he was born in the background. However, his presence among all the neon lights and attempted glamour of the market were felt by the individuals within. In fear of disturbing him, the legions of people would creep past him and glance at his fragile and timeworn exterior. The ancient organism planted his feet into the ground, his arms branched to his side which swayed in the wind. The old being, face infected with scars that would crawl to opposite sides of his body began to survey the market; he targeted several stands and deposited each one with a glare of delight and freedom. This slowly became an emotion of isolation – although the man had glided through the market stalls, he knew that he would never interact with it. He would never speak to the people of his Atlantis. This ancient sediment stood there in the early hours of the night market until dawn when the sea of heads began to evaporate and the clones of stalls slowly became extinct.

The once lively land filled with hallucinations, slowly transformed into a desolate, empty, ghost market where the colossal space which was as wide as the ocean – simply became an empty basin. The man stood there, beamed his eyes around the once colourful landscape, a cracked frown appeared; he loathed the transitions of the market. He walked around and collected the memorabilia left from the market. The being salvaged what could be found, however the only item discovered was the glistening, glittering, golden lights of the ‘Night Market’. A smile crept and grew, he knew that it would return but for now…

..the Night Market was over.

Dear Ms Kerr

I am writing to you to express my opinions on your article (Twerking, selfie and unlike? Young people don’t speak like that – I should know) which involves your beliefs towards modern day slang. I have a strong connection with the topic and I have felt the need to share my judgement on the topic you are presenting.

I do agree with you that the slang used in the modern world can produce a bad reputation for the young – that the use of certain slang such as twerk or food baby can cause society to describe the younger generation to be unintelligent. ‘Words simply promulgate an unhealthy culture obsessed with being seen in the right places and knowing who’s doing what’ which further strengthens your argument; that the slang words never have a deeper purpose or carry any poetic ‘skin’. Your last paragraphs had the word ‘unhealthy’  and ‘culture’  which is the most suitable terms to describe our current society with slang because it embodies our current situation.

Your presentation of your article I strongly disagree with due to you tending to only have one opinion on slang and not two. Yes, you are expressing an opinion, however without a second view on the matter – this article is more or less a rant than a sophisticated argument. My opinion on slang is quite different to yours that I feel it poses no threat to our ‘beloved’ English language – I was brought up in a society where slang was as frequent as rainy days therefore almost impossible to get away from. Slang has been ‘alive’ since Shakespeare, which reflects poorly on the people who seem to be quite negative on slang since it’s been going on for centuries, making the ‘so-called slang’ of this generation not any different. Slang is fashion – they are trends that disappear.

Your article revolves around that Oxford have added slang words in their Official Oxford ONLINE Dictionary, it being online suggests that it can be deleted and erased with a single click.  It being online means that it is not the true form of the English language but almost a mimic. If we would talk that online dictionary seriously then we should also take another source such as the urban dictionary where users can add words and definitions to words that don’t exist, thus making these words as insignificant as ‘twerk’ or ‘selfie’

After reading through your ‘well-thought’ rant about slang being an ‘unhealthy culture’, you do however use a form of slang without realising it. You had used Google (a popular ‘search’ engine known to many) as a verb, you had ‘to google some of these slang terms’ thus being quite ironic since you are using an internet slang. With this word you have gone against your motives of disliking the use of slang yet you use it. The correct term is to ‘search’ not ‘google’. There are several indications of the use of ‘Right’ which in an appropriate sentence would be fine, however you had used it by itself, therefore lowering the formality of your article – your selection of words such as google or the use of right are inappropriate and I believe they were unintentional.

Overall, I believe you had a valid point and as the old Chinese saying goes ‘strong start, weak finish’. And much like that phrase your article is speaking the truth, but is completely wrong, a paradox. You were strong with your initial objective, revealing how foolish slang were but could not deal a lethal blow. You begin to trail from a sophisticated argument to a informal rant as you tend to shy away from your point and instead use unnecessary quotations/examples. The use of this disrupts the flow and causes your ‘rant’ to become less enjoyable and more irritating.

I hope you take these into consideration.

Teo Bagtas

The smell of iron lingers through the hallways like a stray lingering through alleys, floating in the white abyss.

The hallway had many doors, it had many green doors, professionally painted and professionally sustained.

Door A-24 hosted a man who seem to be glued to his bed in an upright position. His face was unrecognizable, abstract almost – next to him was a cup of orange juice and several white capsules. His eyes and mouth much like him to the bed were glued shut. His face looked like roadkill, his jaw bent the other way whilst his eyes started to twitch – he could not open them. Yet, he insisted to look around. Invisible paintings of people frozen hanging like suspended mannequins, the flickering of lights, the crack in the white walls and the sound of beeping bounced around the room. The room was clean, fixed, white but broken – the room had seemed to be used daily, he was not the first host. The only breaths he could take were short and outlived and the thoughts he had were drowned in the sharp searing pain in his left knee. After several moments of him attempting to think, he begins to hear a slight faint voice coming from outside the room, he begins to breathe more heavily, palms sweating, the bed shaking and impending spill of the cup. Who could it be?

Walk. Walk. Stop. Walk. Walk. Stop.

Heavy footsteps are heard, becoming louder and louder as they approach. The broken man attempted to mumble words but instead were processed to be thoughts;

‘H-hello?, don’t hurt me.’

The footsteps increased and by the time it stopped, IT was right next to him. It became a woman, blonde hair, haggard face, heavy eyes; this ‘It’ was not a threat and had not slept in days. She places her hand onto his cracked face, he begins to scream; her hands were cold and stiff. He winces as she grabs him tighter, the unimaginable pain that he is feeling is engulfed by the situation. In his black eyes the room began to change in to a more bleak environment, the walls darkened, the cup that was there vanished and the inescapable feeling of end was felt. More footsteps are heard, this time they accumulate like packs of wolves.

‘Ma’am, get off him. He’s been through alot’

The crippled and crumbled man laid there and began to speak (after several attempts of trying to communicate).

‘I d-don’t k-know her!’

He began to rock back and forth to shake her off him, he screams in pain, his tears hurt and so did the girl. The man who had entered the room carried 4-inch needles, ready to subdue any animal bigger than a bear or an average man. The needles in his heavy eyes were spears, the men hunters and he became the hunted.

They pierce him. For a few minutes it was nothing but silence, regret and dead. The woman was gone, so we’re the men; the broken and crumbled man laid there as he had always did –  still, silent and frozen like a mannequin. His arms no longer suspended, his face plastic and blank and pale and clear and  smooth, his face no longer bent, his eyes no longer twitching. The room no longer white, but jet black, in front of him was not a door but a glass window.

He was being observed.