The Most Unsociable Generation of All Time: The Impacts of Video Gaming

Having flicked through a couple of ideas, I thought "hey, why not talk about video gaming?" and the first topic that popped into my head was this. As I am typing this, my new game (Just Cause 2) is downloading to my computer so I can play it very soon. I am able to do this, write on here, have Facebook open and other research tabs - the wonders of modern technology, eh? These wonders have brought us into a new world of virtual gaming, where computers form a large part of the industry. In 2010, 1 in 3 Brits considered themselves gamers. That alone shows the impact gaming has had already. But I'm not here to spew out facts about how video gaming has become more and more popular, but to talk about some of the accusations the industry has been subject to with regards to the impacts on young people.

Photo Credits: The Guardian

The most well-known impacts of the gaming industry's increase in popularity are those with negative connotations, particularly to do with social isolation and violence. To address the former, I would like to say that many people do in fact talk to people online. Stop. Isn't that a bit dangerous I hear you say? Talking to people you don't know ('los desconocidos' in Spanish)? Yes, it's true that some people take advantage of the system, but that is only a small minority that make the headlines. For the most part the typical person online is aged 13-17 and just wants to innocently have a chat about the game they're playing. Obviously you can never be too cautious, but there are so many young people socialising online with many ways to report someone that this should not be such a worry any more. On the other hand, I do get some adults' point that these young gamers are less confident at making conversation in the real word, because in many cases it's true. In the gamers' defence the games do create a good topic of conversation that can last for hours on end. Furthermore, 79% of parents from the US place limits on gaming time their children have, which I believe is good to stop complete social isolation. There are strategies out there, you just have to find them.

Unscheduled but VERY IMPORTANT!

Ok, so I know I only posted earlier today, but a news article has appeared on the BBC website that ties together the first two posts on this blog (believe it or not), and is THE BIGGEST AMOUNT OF BULLS**T THAT I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO COME ACROSS IN MY LIFE.

"WHAT THE F**K DOES THIS EVEN MEAN?" you might be asking yourself. Well here's a link to the story.

I know we said "no politics", but this utterly astounded me and I felt I had to share it.

~ Tess

Why Modern Foreign Languages are useful

I've been trying to work out what to write about for a few days, and while I told Jenni I'd do something about fandom, I changed my mind at the last minute - sorry. (Fandom will come in due course).

I remember being confused when I was in French in year 7 as to why no-one in my class was finding the subject as interesting as I was, or at least as simple: there were at least four people other than me who had had three years' worth of French lessons beforehand!

And so that's what I'm writing about today - why so few people like learning languages. I was thinking about this because this week I've had to give GCSE options talks to the year nine students at my school studying 2 modern foreign languages - why it's good to carry on their second foreign language to GCSE level.

Why Should We Protect (or Not) the Somerset Levels?

So this seems to be my first post on this site; better make it a good one then.

You may or may not know that the South West of England is experiencing the most severe series of rainstorms it has had in many years. It has caused many homes to be terribly damaged by the large volumes of water that has rained down on the land, and the boats have had to be used.

First, some geographical background, with a homemade diagram:

A Crude Representation of Air Streams in our World.

Notes about the diagram: I know the UK isn't that small, but otherwise it wouldn't work as well on the map. No offense has been meant by these quick drawings, and I am sorry if any has been caused. This is just as the caption says: a crude and NOT SCIENTIFIC representation of the current weather system.

To the explaining! Warm air is directed at North America, but that has collided with a cold air stream from the Arctic - now, one has to win, and at the moment the cold air is beating the warm stuff. So the warm air has to go somewhere, and due to many things, including the rotation of the earth (which goes to the right on the diagram), it is deflected towards Europe, into the path of our wonderful jet stream. This accelerates it, making it much more wonderful by adding even more rain and stormy weather, which occur when it reaches the land of the UK. That's the main reason why there have many so many storms in quick succession, making the ground saturated and more at risk to flooding.

Many coastal villages have been asked to evacuate, and on Monday, even after the majority of the storms, there were still 3 severe warnings in the South of England, which means there is a threat to life. Many people have had to be rescued as the roads and railways are impassable, and there have been many homes without power for days over the holidays.

The Controversial One: Gay Marriage

So I was talking to Jenni and we thought that we'd start with a bang, so here it is: my views on same-sex marriage.


Most of you will be aware that "same-sex marriage" or "gay marriage" has been a frequently discussed issue recently, and as a result has been "legalised" in 16 countries including the UK, Belgium, Canada, Denmark and South Africa, as well as in 16 US states, which is a start, but not where we want to be at this stage. Homosexuality is still punishable by death in far too many countries.

So that was the facts. Now time for the rant.

I don't understand why people have an issue with same-sex marriage. They can say that 'marriage is a religious ceremony' or that it 'diminishes the role of the Church', but that doesn't stop thousands if not millions of un-religious heterosexual marriages taking place across the world - my parents got married in a registry office.

People who say that "homosexuality is a sin because it says it in the Bible' need to go and read the Bible again. Leviticus also condones slavery. Make of that what you will.