For those of you who have never played this game, it is basically a simulation of life. You design your sim, name it whatever you like, create its personality, dress it, buy a house, and then attempt to live a successful life. Now personally, I went through my phase of playing this game in about the 6th grade. It seemed innocent and fun and the time and I have still believed so until I read that chapter in Kloterman's book.
He describes the addictive nature of the game and one's ability to ignore the reality of their own life to fulfill the life of their sim. The Sims is a game that is completely based upon economic and material gain. The main objective of the game is to make your sim happy. And the only way to make your sim happy is to buy it stuff. So, this computer game that the children of America are playing are teaching them to be materialistic.
Klosterman points out the obvious flaws in the point of this game. There is first of all no way to 'win.' And children spend their hours escaping their own lives to try and buy thing for their sims. This material based game is twisting priorities of our youth and should not be played.
1 comment:
I have actually never thought of the Sims as anything but a stupid game but your point is really interesting. In middle school I loved that game and it really was addicting! Even though I had much more fun using the cheat codes to get rich quick so I could build a really big house, rather than actually working. But that is really true about how the Sims teaches kids that material things are more important than anything else. The other bad thing about that game is there are a lot of really risque things you can buy or you can do with your sims which is such a bad influence for the younger base it appeals to. I enjoyed reading your article and you really made me want to read the book because I have heard it is a really book.
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