Cyber-Socialization: the Future

Recently, I observed several professionals in a deep discussion over the new video game called Halo 3. I brushed off the hype over the video game as something insignificant, but further research revealed otherwise. Millions of copies were pre-sold prior to the game’s release date. Within 24 hours of its initial release, Halo 3 sold over $170 million; an amount several times greater than the biggest box office release of a movie.[1] Films receive great attention and media coverage, but the award for profitability goes to video games. The difference between the home video game console and other forms of entertainment is the form of group socialization. Theatres attract groups of teenagers, families and friends; video games are usually played in solitude or in pairs. Games such as Halo 3 are played through the internet (against other players), but without face to face contact. Players can communicate through a headset with a microphone; other players could be located anywhere on the globe.

In the early 1980s, violent video games in arcades were an issue. For example one suburb in California considered regulating arcades because they were seedy establishments similar to pool halls.[2] Children spent a great deal of time watching television during the 1970s and had become accustomed to the small screen. Interaction and the ability to control the screen is the forte of the arcade. Early video games for the television such as Pong were not violent since it was a tennis match between two lines with a square bouncing around the screen. But, Pong was accompanied with a revolver to hone the target practice skills of game users. Video arcades were very different than pinball games. A silver ball bouncing around neon lights is not as violent as a spaceship blasting aliens. That is how video hides its violence; the enemy is an alien or imaginary figure. Monsters, spaceships and wild barrel throwing apes are the characters in the games. Pacman fights ghosts who are intent on destroying his life. Halo uses human-like zombies as the enemy, but not humans. Shooting at a humanoid is not the same as shooting at humans (or is it??). Today I cannot watch the cartoons that I watched in my youth because Bugs Bunny and the Road Runner cartoons feature too much violence for mainstream television. The three stooges are too violent, but the youth of today has constant access to graphic blood-spurting violent games. In case children do not have video game consoles, the world wide web has games that feature the violence that they would be missing without a console.

[1] CNN Insider's guide: Halo 3, updated 10:27 a.m. EDT, Fri September 28, 2007; http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/09/28/ww.halo3/index.html?iref=newssearch

[2] Patricia Marks Greenfield, Mind and Media: The Effects of Television, Video Games, and Computers. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984.

Humans adapt themselves to their environment or alter the environment to suit human living conditions. For example, the fastest growing cities in the United States are located in desert environments, because air conditioning has become more affordable. Would Las Vegas be popular if there was no method of cooling the city’s hotels? A consumer culture with increased globalization is providing a new environment for humans and homo sapiens are again adapting. Early tools such as sticks are gradually being replaced with joysticks. Hunters and gatherers of food have become gatherers of consumer products and hunters of zombies in video games. Games such as Guitar Hero have become popular since the Christmas shopping season of 2007. The game with the electronic guitar are priced at over on hundred dollars. That price is in addition to the several hundred already spent on the game consoles. The electronic guitar features several buttons and is really a fancy guitar-shaped joystick. Children enter competitions and play against others to see who the greatest guitar hero is. Every time I hear a bout the youth playing this guitar video game, I ask myself the same question: why don’t these kids pick up a real guitar? Something constructive that would foster creativity would be more beneficial than the video game. The kids playing the game most likely have an affinity for music since it is a music game. A used guitar at a second hand store would probably be more inexpensive than the video game and accessories, but there is something appealing about the video game atmosphere.

Humans adapt to their environment and have since the species stood upright and continue to adapt in a high-tech remote control world. It is dangerous for doctors to go to Iraq during the fighting, but medical attention is a necessity. Virtual operating rooms have been considered. Today a proctologist can examine a colon with a fibre optic remote camera and a computer. The same technology could be applied over the cyberspace medium. A doctor could perform cyber-surgery with a computer and their patient thousands of miles away. The only difference is a much longer wire (virtual wire) between the medical instruments and the computer. The skills the doctor would require is the same type of hand coordination children use on video games; using a gamepad or joystick and a screen. Long distance surgery is not the only skill that these video-playing children are developing: what about flying an aircraft? Pilots already gain experience with virtual flight time on simulators, but technology has already take us to the next step.

Consider Predator drones utilized by the Air Force; these are unmanned aircraft flown by remote. The United States Air Force describes this aircraft as “a medium-altitude, long-endurance, remotely piloted aircraft. The MQ-1's primary mission is interdiction and conducting armed reconnaissance against critical, perishable targets.”[1] In addition to the aircraft, a ground control station and a satellite link are needed. Fifty five people are required for a 24 hour operation. The skills required would be similar to controlling a video game. There is a camera on the nose of the plane and a pilot controls it from the ground. I remember seeing the movie An Officer and a Gentlemen revealing the grueling training that the pilots needed to prepare themselves for the physical stresses of flying an aircraft. At one point during the movie the pilots are dropped upside down and strapped into a pool of water. They must release themselves and swim to the top. Since the ordeal disorientates the pilots, they are instructed to watch their bubbles in order to navigate themselves and become reoriented. A virtual pilot would not need these skills. A well trained video game player with good hand-eye (or thumb-eye) coordination would be better suited. On a side note, the MQ-1 Predator uses a guided Hellfire missile and a popular video game involving shooting aliens is also entitled Hellfire.

It took three hundred software developers over three years to create the new Halo 3 game. According to a CNN report, the London police cancelled the video game’s launch party since crowd control was an issue. The police believed that they would not be able to control the large crowds. Just in case the game does not produce a large enough profit, additional revenue will be created from comics, novels, action figures and various other paraphernalia. Collectively, the three Halo video games have provided over a billion dollars in sales. Individually, Halo3 reveals a possible trend of online interaction, but combined with other cybercommunication a trend appears to be emerging.[2]

Video consoles and individual games are expensive and young professionals can afford this form of leisure. They were aged between their late twenties and early thirties. This demographic had been exposed to home video games that were played on the television. Previous generations went to arcades to play video games and came into face to face contact with other people. Video arcades were a natural progression from pinball machines. A silver ball bouncing around with various colored lights was the attraction. Pinball machines featured various themes from movie stars to race cars, but video games were different. The arcades featured something that was mildly destructive; usually a character shooting or throwing an object. Pacman ate ghosts and Donkey Kong threw barrels. There was a variety of alien games involving shooting spaceships (most likely inspired by Star Wars). Pinball machines and video games shared a common form of socialization with the youth leaving their homes and meeting each other at common business establishment.

By 1990, home video games were affordable and many children began staying indoors to play. Face to face contact was no longer common; it was man versus machine. In America, virtually every household with children had a game console by the millennium. Children shared a passion for video games, but rarely came into contact with others to play. The internet is slowly creeping into every household in the United States and a new form of socialization occurs. Game consoles such as the X-Box are designed to connect to the internet and challenge other players online. The keypad is wireless and comes with a microphone/headphone attachment. Players can communicate during a game and join teams. Youths are communicating and working together, but never seeing each other face to face; socialization has become cyber.

[1] MQ-1 PREDATOR, http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=122

[2] Ibid.

I had the opportunity to observe three young people ages 12, 14 and 15 play others online. The previously mentioned game entitled Halo 3 is just as popular to the youth market as it is to the young professionals. The 14 and 15 year old children named George and Charlie respectively invited Bob the 12 year old to play Halo 3. George and Charlie are mesmerized by this new video game. Their room is covered with various posters; one of the posters featured Halo 3. Interestingly another poster was for a movie about zombies. Halo 3 is a game that allows the player to kill other characters or players. Characters in the game can become infected and turned into zombies. Although Halo 3 features violence, it is not graphic; victims only fall down when they are killed. There is no blood splattering or limbs flying around like some other violent games. Several weeks earlier, George and Charlie had a “zombie survival quiz” that they downloaded from the internet. They asked all their friends to take the quiz. Hatred for zombies is a necessity for playing Halo 3. Players can become infected by a zombie and become the undead.

Halo 3 is not just a game, but a lifestyle; George and Charlie also wear zombie t-shirts. There is Halo 3 soda and there is a pyramid of cans in their bedroom. The can is black and “cool” looking. George stated that he drank the soda so he could stay up as late as possible in order to play the game. One week before the Halo 3 game was released, Charlie’s parents purchased a Halo 3 X-Box 360 console. Since Halo 3 was not released, Charlie purchased Halo 2 and played for one week. An individual game costs $59.00 and a limited edition for $69.00. The Special Edition Halo 3 X-box 360 retails for $399.00, but there are many more expenses. The memory hard drive (to back up games) is an additional $100.00. The wireless internet attachment, which is necessary for playing online, is also a hundred dollars. George and Charlie were not content with their keypads so they received special edition Halo 3 keypads which retail for $60.00 each. The regular wired microphone/headphone attachment would also not suffice, so an additional $60.00 per wireless headset was also spent. The X-Box 360 comes with a membership allowing members to connect online so they could play with others. The silver membership is limited and is included with the basic console purchase, but gold membership is needed for additional online play. There is also a platinum membership for virtually unrestricted play. Both gold and platinum require monthly fees. The consoles are expensive, but the accessories and additional memberships can cost more than the X-Box. The purchase of several games (at $59 each) can easily exceed the cost of the console.

How do kids interact during the game? Charlie and George invited Bob for a game at their house. Game players are usually male, regardless of age. The television screen displays three sections; one for each player. Bob commented he heard a girl’s voice from an online group game; therefore some females are interested. The players talk to each other through the microphones and listen through the headset. They also talk on the telephone in order to set up games. Unfortunately, players cannot stop during an online game because their character can still be killed. Non-online games against the machine can be paused, but group internet shooting cannot. Players must plan bathroom breaks and snack time carefully. Halo 3 sodas are always next to a player. During intense shootouts the youths seem to be becoming hot and perspiring. Excitement levels probably raise the heart rate and the caffeine mixed with sugar also agitates the body. Sometimes the players cooperate to defeat a more experienced player and sometimes they turn on each other just for fun. At the end of the day, Bob went home contacted Charlie and they continued playing online.

How much time do the players spend playing? Halo 3 is the fuel that keeps them going. George and Charlie commented that they play seven days a week. Charlie stated that he invited a friend over and they played until 5:00 am on the previous Friday. George and Charlie are successful in school and participate in sports several hours a week; therefore, video games are not damaging their health. But, are they socializing adequately? There is a perception of an increase in school violence and children are spending most of their leisure time playing a shooting game with very little (or no) face to face contact with their peers. They may be sheltered from bad kids, but are they developing the necessary social skills to cope with others?

The Halo video games, along with many other video franchises, feature violence. Do humans have an affinity towards violence? If humans had a naturally affinity towards violence, then the human race would have exterminated itself rather than having a population explosion. Between the years 1820 to 1945, almost 60 million people were killed.[1] Biologically, humans have the undertaking of protecting themselves, their family and their tribe. If a human’s family was threatened then some would respond with violence; the same for defending one’s tribe could be said. Various cultures have small deviations in their definition of a family, but overall the family dynamic is consistent. The same could be said for tribes: tribes provide a group with leadership and stability for the individuals within the group. Modern society has tribes but significantly more complicated.[2]

The contemporary world does not have wars with death tolls in the tens of millions similarly to the World Wars. With remote controlled, unmanned aircraft, missiles can be delivered anywhere in the world without the need to send foot soldiers to risk their lives; therefore, future soldiers need new skills. Children no longer play with GI Joe action figures and toy M16’s; future soldiers need video game skills and the necessary hand to eye coordination needed to control unmanned weapons. Games such as Halo 3 develop the skills necessary for the future. Another skill needed by soldiers is the ability to communicate through a headset and microphone to others on the same team. Coincidently, new video games feature internet access with headset communication.

During 1993, the film Jurassic Park was the second most profitable entertainment item; the first was a video game Street Fighter. How successful was the video game? Street Fighter was $1.5 billion successful.[3] The sales figures reveal that video games are more popular than is generally realized. Not only are games popular, violent games are significantly more successful than non-violent ones. In 1993, two versions of the game Mortal Kombat was released: one version for Sega game consoles and another less-violent version for Nintendo game consoles. Although more people owned the Nintendo systems, the Sega version with increased violence outsold the Nintendo version by seven to one.[4]

There is a correlation between increased support for military endeavors and interest for war toys and war movies.[5] The 1993 sales figures are during the after math of the gulf war. The initial Halo game was introduced during November of 2001 and as the current Middle East crisis continued, so did Halo’s sales. A few months ago I witnessed a high school with a video game competition to find the best Halo 3 player. Teenagers paid five dollars to compete. Everyone competing most likely has the game at home with unlimited playing, but the need to beat someone face-to-face seemed to take over. Considering the cyber socialization induced by the easy online access of the new technology humans prefer to meet in person (or perhaps the desire to see the expression of the defeated).

[1] Desmond Morris, The Human Zoo, (New York: Dell Publishing Co., Inc., 1969) p. 125

[2] Ibid. pp. 124-133

[3] H. Goldstein, Why We Watch: the Attractions of Violent Entertainment. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998) p.53

[4] Ibid.

[5] P.M. Regen, “War Toys, War Movies and the Militarization of the United States, 1900 - 1985” JOURNAL OF Peace Research, 1994 pp. 45 - 58