At his commencement speech over the weekend at Hampton University, President Obama took some time out from inspiring a generation to lay the presidential slam down on video games, iPads and other "distractions."
"With iPods and iPads; Xboxes and PlayStations -- none of which I know how to work -- information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation," Obama said. "All of this is not only putting new pressures on you. It is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy," he added.
Obama also said an education can help people make sense of the different viewpoints and voices "clamoring for attention on blogs, on cable, on talk radio."
It's hard to argue with the characterization of video games as distractions -- that's the whole point -- but the iPad? That seems to me to be more of a tool than anything else. My doctor uses an iPad to quickly reference medical information before he writes prescriptions. Also, it's hard to take someone seriously after he says he doesn't know how to work the things he's putting down.
What do you guys think? Are you having trouble making sense of all the media voices out there? Are you being distracted right now, by these very words?
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EccentricSage
I thought gaffes were Biden's job.
magicky123
obama i love you but what is wrong with you
WerdSmyth
I think his "--none of which I know how to work--" quote, was in reference to the fact that he's now the President of the United States. It's an arguably /successful/ position and he's managed to get there without the knowledge of how to use the devices he mentioned. By that logic, if you use any of these said devices, you won't be President --> you won't be successful.
Then again, I might (most likely am) be giving him/hiz ritin' staph a bit too much credit.
That being said, I don't agree with him on... anything.
He's had a funky way of presiding thus far. Even when looking past his glaring mistakes, something just seems 'off' about it to me.
someone-special
lol, Obama sounds like a communist, to me it sounds like he's saying "take away video games because people like them" lolz, why not make T.V. illegal eh Obama?
T.V. distracts people too, so does freedom and happiness, why not take that away too Obama?
Shadowhawk4735
Why did the Republicans all of a sudden become the Red States and the Democrats the Blue, under Bush, anyway? I thought the Reds were supposed to be Soviet-style Communists or were the Republican leaders of that period revealing their true colors (hmm, massive spending on Military and conquests - check, massive debt - check, spying on U.S. citizens - check, detention without due process - check, removal of the requirement to Mirandize suspects - check, official authorization to torture officially-held prisoners - check. Am I missing something? Who were these people, in reality?
Shadowhawk4735
The only potential problem with all the various sources of information is that everyone inevitably ends up with a different perspective on everything, unless their tastes are exactly the same and they reference each source the same way, during the same time period, and comprehend each piece of information or stimuli exactly the same way. Yes, this can lead to a more abundant variety of viewpoints, but sometimes only a few of those are actually close to being correct. Plus, the airwaves can end up cluttered with nonsense, trash talk, and completely useless garbage, or people become conditioned to always "need" the next, latest thing on the market, the epitome of consumerism. This leads to people having no savings for the future, living month-to-month, and using up immense levels of energy and material, which hurts everyone eventually, probably sooner than most people think it will.
This type of action has already occurred in many areas of our society over the past several decades, probably starting in the era of the 1950s. As more and more people become conditioned to this kind of thinking, especially if based on an intention of supporting this or that iconic company, individual, or IP, people end up losing themselves to an illusion of supporting their economy. What really creates a healthy economy is not simply an abundance of transactions, but an abundance of real utility of goods and services.
Chiron723
I think he just worded it Wrong. What he ment to say is that they can be a distraction, and we should focus on what is importent and not what is hip or cool at the moment. Though it annoys me that video games and social networking is always seen as a negative, while no mention is ever brought up about music, movies and TV. They can be just as distracting if not more so, yet because it is ingrained in the culture they get a pass.
FuzzofPekinopolis
Darkstorn,
Socialism is when private property, funds, are distributed bye the government (healthcare, social security, foodstamps, medicare, etc.). Also the term can be used for the group that facilitates a socialistic act.
This country has been heading in that direction for a while now. It's not just Obama it's the entire system that has been so utterly corrupted by the lust for wealth and power. The president is only in office for 4yrs. at a time. Who do you think has the real power??? I don't know either.
Since world war 2 the people of this country have been in a circus Smoke & Mirrors sideshow etc. The British did not have a parliament until the serfs, servants stood up for themselves. It took some time but eventually their was no need for monarchy rule.
Those serfs became the middle class. As our own middle class fails so does our control of government. When middle class fails government tries to take over, middle class revolts, REVOLUTION!!!
MaceMan2091
Basically, Obama can't trust you to run your own life so he's telling you how to live it. It's called choice, just in case you didn't know Obama. In Americas society people choose what to do with their time. Big brother wants to be your Big Daddy! xp
G4HERP
Yet another reason why I hate Obama. First of all, he can't even run the country properly!! And now he is slamming something he knows nothing about! He should just keep his big mouth shut next time! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he realizes that he lost the election! That will be priceless!
MasterChug
wow our president doesn't know how to use an ipod, ipad, xbox or playstation this is a sad day in the gamer world viva revolution i say maybe we should ask candidates next year there opinions on games cause i dont need my fun first peron shooter games getting banded or anything from xboxlive or anything just think of the horrible possibilities we need a videogame association like the nra but with paid assasins
soujirohasegawa18
well first of all he should be worrying about the big problems like our economy going down hill,and the oil spill in the gulf. instead of complaining how video games and other electronic devices are bad.
Soalreaper90
these distractions are doing a better job at uniting the world than he ever will
Doc_Kelley
I think the point the president is trying to make here has been missed. By his own admission Obama doesn't understand the use of the devices he listed. Gaming systems were lumped in with MP3 players. Nowhere does he decry gaming.
What the president is warning us about is information/ news being experienced as entertainment independent of its content. This is incredibly dangerous to our democracy and out society as a whole. The great bulk of this entertainment news is so irrelevant that it cripples our ability to evaluate news and make informed decisions due to excesses of information and the horrible reality of the 24 hour news cycle.
Kingofscarecrows
Really, people are so mad because Obama said something they don't agree with, that's brand new and original. Listen, did you read his speech did you see it was aimed towards young adults who might be spending more time screwing around and wasting the government and their parent's money when they were there to study? I don't think Obama has anything against the machines per say just waste, and I agree if a PS3 is keeping you from writing a term paper you need to do it's time to turn the thing off and get to work. This is exactly what's wrong with the country, no body wants to do the work they're assigned unless they enjoy it... no body wants to work but we all come to inevitable realization that we MUST work to survive. I think anyone seriously taking this as OBAMA HATES TECHNOLOGY needs to look at the whole of the picture and not just the clips and parts of a speech, doesn't anyone remember the information system and government wi fi he promised on his campaign platform? Seriously guys, give Obama a break he's just a man
TheFeedMack
the blog thing i agree with though
TheFeedMack
HOW CAN U BLAME A VIDEOGAME ON HURTING DEMOCRACY PLZ thats pathetic and weak i know his daughtes probably have a wii or something
eamercenary
screw (because I can't use swear words) Obama he is definitly the worst president the US has ever had even worse than hoover because what obama does is intentional it's bad when the best thing you've done is called "cash for clunkers"
Plus why is he coming down on Ipods and video games? is it because he doesn't use those to spread his propaganda. How many hours do Americans waste on TV compaired to video games
Seriously what is the approval rate of the Health care bill 30% (or less)last I checked 30% is not a majority
Finally Obama's first six months put more pressure on our democracy than the entire history of video games has
MacPhisto
Anything you do in life that's enjoyable can become detrimental to your life if you take it to excess - that's what addiction therapists (like Dr. Drew) are for. What this boils down to is yet another politician trying to blame society's problems on something that they don't even understand (which he even admitted himself).
k_killa
he mentioned something about "It is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy"
Sadly, democracy doesn't exist anymore so why tell us how to live our lives
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