Strange...

You know what’s weird?

I remember telling the story of how I got interested in the Harry Potter books. I was talking to a bunch of people and said how my Dad had bought “Goblet of Fire” to see what all the fuss was about.

Of course, I made fun out of him for reading it. “Why do you want to read a kids book? Aren’t you a little old for that? Do you want a broomstick for Christmas?”

Then, a few days later, I needed something to read, so with a sense of superiority, I picked up Goblet of fire.

I started reading it, thinking “This is terrible! Why would anyone read this?”

A while later, I looked at the clock and realized it was 4am, I’d been reading for 5 straight hours. Then I thought “I’ll just read one more chapter.”

I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting. Seven and a half hours straight.

Everyone laughed and admitted similar experiences.

Fast forward a few weeks.

During a similar conversation (with the same people) at college, I was talking about when ‘Sim City 2000’ came out for the PC. I’d decided to try it out when I’d just got in from work. It was 2am. A while later I was surprised to hear my parents getting out of bed. It was 10am and I’d been playing all night.

Expecting the same sort of response, instead I got concerned and worried looks, and then more than one speech on the dangers of videogame addiction.

This is what’s weird. Apparently it’s perfectly acceptable to just veg out on a couch and spend nearly eight straight hours in a fantasy land with a schoolboy wizard protagonist.

On the other hand, spending a similar amount of time playing a game where you’re actively making decisions and trying to build and maintain a viable city (including infrastructure, trade, crime rates, pollution rates etc)…is completely unacceptable.

The weird thing is the form of entertainment that requires in-depth thinking and planning is the one that’s looked down on.

That’s something I’d love to know. Why is something looked down on because you experience interactively in front of a computer, yet reading is always looked upon as a good thing…despite the fact that books can be just as violent, or age-inappropriate as any movie or video game?

Thoughts?