My favorite part of journalism would have to be the stories that are actually affecting myself, and those around me. What I want to learn about the most would be why are we so affected by social media stories and magazines that aren't directly influencing our lives, and why, if they are influencing us, do they give us that mindset. I guess my outlook would have to be why media does so strongly influences us and changes us daily? Why should I care that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie wore match red outfits to the Oscar's? Why should I try and change myself to look like an unrealistic Victoria Secret model, when having images like that circulating the media only hurts me and others who will never reach the "ideal" model image? Why is it such a big deal to society to know these things?
What's the point?
Back to talking about myself a little bit, I don't think I'm passionate about one thing in particular. I love doing all sorts of things; reading, writing, playing with my dogs, and hanging out with friends are all in that category. I also like to travel, I've never left the west coast, but I've recently taken a bunch of fun trips just here around Oregon. Something I really want to do is to go on what I like to call "food adventures" and visit places in Oregon that shows like "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" have visited to test out the food for myself. I love good food, especially a good pasta dish!
As for gaming, awhile ago, I actually got back into laying World of Warcraft, with my most used character being a Worgen hunter(if it can have an animal companion, I'm probably playing it). But because of things picking up at work, I haven't played it in awhile. When I did play it, it was maybe for an hour or two after work, maybe once or twice a week, and yes, I was actually playing with somebody close to me, so I was a bit more involved. I also play games like Diablo 3 but never online, just in co-op campaign. But the most recent game I've been playing is the Sims 4, which I guess could be considered online, but not really. How often I play online games depends of how my week goes. I find these games interesting because sometimes it is nice to escape from reality and feel like I can accomplish something, other times its just fun to run around and button mash.
I personally think that maybe Jane McGonigal had a point, but because I don't think that many people use games like the ones that her workplace created, I think she needs a different approach. Like the mathematical algorithm that the gamers solved that the researchers couldn't. I think that in order for her idea to work that there needs to be something more like that, something that baffles some people, but interests the gamers and the population into wanting to solve or improve it.
The documentary "Second Skin" did open my eyes about some things, but I feel like it really only showed two sides of the story, it was only black and white, and I believe that there is a gray area, because I believe that I am part of that gray are. Yeah, I play video games a lot, but a lot of the time I play them when I'm sitting next to someone who is playing along side me. I still have the ability to go out and hang out with friends, do homework, succeed at work, and go to school. Granted, I don't get enough sleep, but that's not because of how much I play video games. I know a lot of people who play video games, and I actually know people who become "gaming widows," stuff like that does happen and its not just to an online game like World of Warcraft. That was only one example. I disagreed with the video because I only saw two sides of the story and they were both two extremes. I believe, like I said in class, that it all depends on how you approach it.
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