The power of computers will continue to double every two years or so into the foreseeable future.
There are over 1 billion Internet users worldwide — a number expected to double in the next five years.
One-third of American homes have broadband Internet access. Rates are even higher elsewhere: half of Japanese households and two-thirds of South Korean homes have broadband, at more than ten times the speed of the average U.S. connection.
There are over 75 million sites on the World Wide Web; 17.5 million new websites were created in 2005.
There are over 30 million active blogs worldwide; some 75,000 more are added each day.
In 2002, more than five exabytes of information were produced throughout the world — the equivalent of 37,000 Libraries of Congress.
There are nearly 2 billion cell-phone users worldwide, which means that almost one-third of the global population has a mobile phone.
In addition, specifically related to youth in the U.S. :
About 83 percent of young people between the ages of 8 and 18 play video games regularly.
72 percent use instant messaging.
On a typical day, more than half of U.S. teenagers use a computer and more than 40 percent play a video game.
I've been thinking about this question for some time now, 'Can a Video Game Change a Life?'
The obvious answer is, of course. There are certainly many examples cited as evidence of the negative impact of video games on the lives of teens. Recent cases of youth addiction have garnered media attention worldwide.
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There are even cases of suicide apparently linked to game play. This kind of negative press seems pretty commonplace now. Not to be left out, scientists and researchers have jumped into the fray with studies that 'conclusively' indicate violent video games desensitize us to violent acts.
So while the answer may appear moot in the minds of many, I think it's worthy of some deeper consideration. It may though, be better to rephrase the question to 'How can a Video Game Change a Life?'
With this blog I'd like to explore both the positive and negative aspects of this question. The answer, while it's unlikely to be a definite one, lies in a somewhat convoluted mix of social dynamics, psychology, learning theory and pop culture. If there is no definite answer, the process of exploring the question looks to be an interest journey.
