Play in Communication Ethics - Blog Post 2 - Schechinger

So far in this course we have discussed this idea of play in communication ethics and how we apply it our daily lives. Our first application of this idea came with the notion of children's play and having access for recess. Bogosts' article on "The Rhetoric of Video Games," gave me a new perspective on how society views play. He discussed that we often associate play and video games for children as a distraction from homework. Most of the time, society views video games as a sort of play that will hinder the social development of young children. However, as Bogost later mentioned, games (video or real life) can be used for children to explore the possibilities of creating their own rules. By following this idea, children are allowed to investigate new games within their limitation. Another point that Bogost made was that "When we play, we explore the possibility space of a set of rules - we learn to understand and evaluate the games meaning (Bogost 136)." This quote brought me to realize how we view games in the educational setting. If we replace educational games with games that can teach us about society, how to dissect the meaning of the game, and make life decisions based on what could be taught - wouldn't there be more value in the latter? 

Growing up in a rural setting the phrase 'go outside and play' wasn't uncommon. Everyday after school my mom would tell my sister and I that. I think the reason we she would tell us that is so we didn't sit inside watching the television when we could be experiencing new things and to have a space of play. Because of this, I also believe that she didn't want us to become affected by what the television and video games were thought to do to children. If we view video games for children in a different lens, I think we could see what they could potentially give to kids - a space to create their own decisions based off what they learn. If we give kids the chance to become their own version of themselves, through experiences they might encounter, they'll be able to create their own vision.