For some the word gamification is almost a four-letter word: mothers’ eyes roll at the thought of their kids spending hours on iPads, and their teens on PS4s and Xboxes (and little kids too); teachers clench their teeth in frustration at the hours students waste on Snapchat and Plants vs. Zombies; and the health and wellness sector conduct study after study on the negative effects of digital game play.

Games, for many, are seen as huge distraction—a way to disengage from the society and from the issues that affect our world.

This isn’t a new story.

In the early days of the 20^th century, issues like warfare, financial collapse, women’s rights, and race relations, which had previously sat static on a newspaper page, were now being reenacted in one’s living room. The advent of commercially available radios (then televisions) hurtled current events, grim though they may be, right past pot roast and gravy dinners and into the homes of millions.

Alongside broadcasting global news of the day, radio and television also brought professionally organized sports right into people’s homes—and lo the the proverbial “armchair athlete” was born. For some, like Noam Chomsky, there was a belief that the western world’s newfound access to organized sports, and subsequent “addiction” to, was nothing more than a distraction from the greater issues of the time.

People know a tremendous amount [about sports]. They know all sorts of complicated details and enter into far-reaching discussion about whether the coach made the right decision yesterday and so on. These are ordinary people, not professionals, who are applying their intelligence and analytic skills in these areas and accumulating quite a lot of knowledge and, for all I know, understanding. On the other hand, when I hear people talk about, say, international affairs or domestic problems, it’s at a level of superficiality that’s beyond belief. — Noam Chomsky

Today, Chomsky’s theories on the proclivity of arm chair athletes to know everything possible about “the home team”, as a diversion (or subversion) of brainpower is often applied to video games and gamers. However, there is a small difference between the two: influence of outcome.

Unfortunately, as much as my dad feels to the core of his very bones, that screaming at the TV will elicit a win for the Blue Jays, it’s not in his hands to influence the game. Watching sports will never directly affect the outcome. However, when engaged in games, whether tabletop or online (or on the field), the player does have a direct affect on (and responsibility to) the success or failure of the goal of the game.

In MMORPG games like WoW or MMOG(FPS) like CoD there is an obligation to your team to work together against the Big Bad (unless of course your name is #LeeroyJenkins)

In her wildly popular TEDTalk, game designer Jane McGonigal talks about games and gamification, particularly games like WoW, as a way to influence engagement towards building a better future.

The first thing is whenever you show up in one of these online games, especially in World of Warcraft, there are lots and lots of different characters who are willing to trust you with a world-saving mission, right away. But not just any mission, it’s a mission that is perfectly matched with your current level in the game. Right? So you can do it. They never give you a challenge you can’t achieve. But it is on the verge of what you’re capable of, so you have to try hard. But there’s no unemployment in World of Warcraft; no sitting around,wringing your hands — there’s always something specific and important to be done. There are also tons of collaborators.Everywhere you go, hundreds of thousands of people ready to work with you to achieve your epic mission.
— Jane McGonigal, Gaming can make a better world

Now, this doesn’t negate the fact that there there are serious challenges and issues with how we use digital games and online activities. School districts across the province are currently implementing geofences to block social media access, in order to help curtail excessive online gaming and social media use. But what we can, and maybe should, also focus on is how we can restructure the blanket/catch-all beliefs that playing games serve no purpose, and are a waste of time.

Right Noam?

Now it seems to me that the same intellectual skill and capacity for understanding and for accumulating evidence and gaining information and thinking through problems could be used — would be used — under different systems of governance which involve popular participation in important decision-making, in areas that really matter to human life. — Noam Chomsky