Here are some articles I have written throughout the years. Most of them are quite old going back to high school.

A Stereotype Overcome

, Gaming Issues, David Bond

In society, the term video gamer brings up a stereotypical picture: a lazy, overweight teenager, sitting in his dark basement, eyes sunken into his skull from the glare of the monitor, and with cheese he was eating a week ago now beginning to breed mold. When one questions this stereotype, a much different reality appears. Video games are no longer simply the realm of children, nerds, and geeks. They have advanced on to the global stage, grossing more than twice that of the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball combined (Wendel). As video games have developed, they have shown the positives that they provide, one of these being professional video gaming. Professional video gaming is a mystery to much of society, but when one understands how it affects the people who participate within it, one can overcome the stereotype of the video gamer. Professional video gaming affects its participants by providing positive social and support structures for millions of developing youth around the world.

To overcome this stereotype, it is imperative to examine how the stereotype has developed. Back in the early days of computers, computers filled entire rooms and were nothing more than glorified calculators. They were nearly useless and so the baby boomer generation grew up with only a few geeks among their generation using them. As time progressed, the computers were able to do increasingly useful tasks. Still, to baby boomers, computers remained scary technological marvels which they use for mundane tasks rather than leisure. The generations following, however, grew up with computers and embraced them. The technological marvels were a part of their everyday life. This created a generation gap and disillusionment, for the children were able to run circles around their parents when it came to technology. The stereotypical image was now forming. The older, more powerful, generation did not understand this new technology and so they filled this gap in their knowledge with assumptions. They assumed that video games create socially inept citizens. To them, this was logical for the few among their generation who used computers tended to be socially inept. Furthermore, looking for ways to explain "new" violent behavior, which were surfacing in society they assumed video games caused violence in people who regularly played them. These assumptions have led to the formation of the present stereotype.

Now that one understands how these stereotypes have developed, the next step in overcoming these stereotypes is to uncover the mysteries of professional video gaming. Professional video gaming is a parents nightmare, and a teenagers dream; it is playing games as a career. Being a new industry, it was first established around 1997 with organizations like the Cyberathlete Professional League. Professional video gaming is similar to professional sporting events such as baseball and football, in that the best players compete for the title of champion. Scouts look for good players, who if lucky enough will land a sponsor. With sponsors, the gamers can focus solely on games, going into boot camps where they train just as athletes. For the gamers who train the hardest and who are the most skilled lie thousands of dollars in prizes. Professional gaming is the largest in South Korea. In this country, 240 young men in their early twenties live off prize money and sponsorships. They have public relation managers, security guards, and private hairstylists. They have adoring fans, and it is common for crowds numbering up to 100,000 to gather in stadiums for these events. One player, Lim Yo Hwan, made over 300,000 USD last year alone (Evers). These numbers will only be increasing as professional gaming grows and soon professional gaming will stand alongside professional sports in influence.

With the mysteries of professional gaming now uncovered, one can see that professional gaming demonstrates the socially inept stereotype false. The Oxford English Dictionary defines social as "Marked or characterized by mutual intercourse, friendliness, or geniality; enjoyed, taken, spent, etc., in company with others, esp. with those of a similar class or kindred interests" ("social"). This demonstrates how one may view a video gamer as anti-social, for one may incorrectly assume the gamer sits in front of his or her computer all day long. The World Cyber Games, the largest single video game tournament in the world today shows how video gaming is very much a social event. The stated mission of this event is to create global harmony and friendship, which of course fits perfectly with the definition of social (WCG 2006 Promotion VOD). In the definition, one sees that being social is characterized by friendliness. In the preliminaries of this event last year, 1,250,000 people competed, 679 of whom reached the finals. This tournament drew a crowd of 55,000, compared to the 78,000 who attended Super Bowl XXXIX (Super Bowl Attendance). Numbers as large as these most certainly constitute company with others of kindred interests. On a smaller scale many gamers also meet in what is, known as a LAN party. This is where players bring their computers together for a gathering. Tournaments and LAN parties have become cultural and social events. One can see that video gamers are not socially inept. Instead, professional video gaming provides a social structure.

The stereotype of video gamers also indicates that they are lazy and overweight. This is logical for one would assume that one could not get much exercise when playing for ten hours straight on the computer. Once again, professional gaming proves this an erroneous assumption. While one cannot deny that sitting on a computer all day increases the likelihood of obesity, one must not assume that all video gamers are this way. Johnathan Wendel, the worlds most famous professional gamer is the perfect example of this. In his routine, he jogs three to five miles a day, along with playing tennis (My Story). Exercise keeps Wendel on the top of his game or as he says, it makes sure your "neuro-transmitters are working properly" (Wendel). It has paid off quite well for him, with the estimates being that he has earned a half a million to a million dollars to date. The key is that while video games could cause a lack of exercise and therefore obesity, the competitive video gamer attitude is not one that smiles upon the lazy and obese. Rather it encourages a balanced lifestyle, not the lifestyle of the stereotype, so that one can compete at the highest level. This peer pressure, exerted by the social events of this culture, is a perfect example of the positive support structure that professional video gaming provides. The idea of the video gamer being some violent monster is another stereotype which is based on a false assumption. In the book, Children in the Digital Age, one sees a typical example of this stereotype. In this book, the author refers to several school shootings, "In all three cases, the shooters were students who habitually played violent video games" (Calvert 103). This is a perfect example of the generation gap, for 80% of the youth of today would fit into this category of habitually playing violent video games (Beck 181). If video games do in fact make people more violent one would expect an increase in violent crimes among the young since such a large percent of the population plays them. Rather, since 1993 when video games began to fully infiltrate American homes one sees violent crimes drop by more than 50% (Ferris). Professional video gaming is not the stereotype of violence, but rather it promotes fair play, teamwork, and amity. One is pressured by his or her peers to conform to these ideals, once again creating a positive support structure. The violence comes from the perpetrator, and not the video games.

In order for one to have a complete picture of the stereotype it is also imperative to cover the areas which it proves to be correct. Lee Seung Seop was an average, unknown, South Korean until he fell out of his chair, dead, from playing for fifty hours straight, not eating, or drinking in this period (Evers). Incidents such as these are reported by the mainstream media and are used by opponents of video games as evidence against the games. It is important to realize, however, that these are the exception and not the rule; people die while driving cars, but society understands cars are not the problem, but rather the way people use them. Video games were not what caused Lee Seung Seop to die, but it was the way he chose to use them that caused his death. In fact had this player been involved with the competitive side of gaming perhaps he would not have died, since the social and support structures that professional video gaming provide would have encouraged him to live a more balanced lifestyle. One must not stereotype all of video gaming due to the poor choices of a few.

Professional video gaming is still in its infancy but as it grows, it is constantly coming into conflict with the stereotype of the video gamer. At first glace, this stereotype may seem reasonable, but a closer examination reveals that it is false. Video games, when used properly, can be viewed in the same light as professional sports. They offer a clean form of entertainment to young people, a new advertising market, and they teach younger people the competitive spirit. They give the youth around the world positive social and support structures in which to operate. Some may still hold to the stereotype of gamers, but it is only a matter of time before professional video gaming is no longer a mystery to society. Wait, for in a few years people such as Wendel will be known as well as any baseball or football star.

Work Cited

Beck, John, Mitchell Wade. Got Game. Boston, Ma: Harvard Business School, 2004.
Calvert, Sandra, Amy Jordan, Rodney Cocking. Children in the Digital Age. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2002.
Evers, Marco. "The boys with the flying fingers: South Korea Turns PC Gaming into a Spectator Sport." Spiegel Online 6 Feb. 2006. 30 March. 2006 " http://spiegel.de".
Ferris, Duke. The Truth About Violent Youth and Video Games 19, Jan. 2006. 30 March 2006. "http://www.fatal1ty.com".
My Story. 30 March 2006. .
"social." Oxford English Dictionary Online. 2005. Oxford English Dictionary 2005. "http://dictionary.oed.com.libproxy.unh.edu/entrance.dtl".
Super Bowl Attendance. 30 March 2006. "http://football.about.com/od/histo2/a/SBattendance.htm".
WCG 2006 Promotion VOD. 2006. World Cyber Games. 30 March 2006. "http://www.worldcybergames.com".
Wendel, Johnathan. Interview. 60 Minutes. CBS. Dec. 11, 2005. 30 March 2006. "http://cbs2chicago.com."