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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MasterKiller64
This is another reason for me to hate him as president. I can't wait til next election when I will be 20 years old and get my chance to vote him out of office.
drewlipps
Obama is an contradicting hypocritical idiot, i wish i never voted for him after these obscene comments....The man has a blackberry and has appeared on YouTube!!! Technology is the way of the world, with out it we'd be lost, VERY LOST!!! I own a blackberry, an iPad, an iPod, a Macbook, & a Playstation 3, does this make me distracted or does it emancipate me, I THINK NOT! I am a college student, a hard working employee, a husband & a father of a 1 year old...The only thing emancipating me is having a president talking about BS when There are 0 Jobs on the market and our economy is completely diminished.....HEY OBAMA FOCUS ON THE REAL ISSUES AT HAND!!!!
linc77
Just lost my vote! jk
mogjubei18
I think what Obama is trying to say is that people shouldn't play video games and indulge in new technological media to the exclusion of everything. What I don't get is why we need to be told this. If you're the kind of person who throws their entire life into blogs or World of Warcraft I don't think that a speech from Obama is going to change things. I play video games all the time and I can still interpret information. I think we proved that when all the young people came out to vote for him!
doug619
this show that he is a dum dum. stay out of my games and out of the stuff I like
bcmoore
I think it's amusing that anyone pretends the iPad is primarily a "tool."
It's a shiny toy for which some people have found useful purposes.
ezeraeze
Calm down people! That is just Stephen Johnson. He exagerates for effect! Remember miss america?
blueboykc
obamas a dick and were all screwed...
M6000
I have a hard time believing Obama don't know how to work an Ipad
faithfracture
I don't see how these electronic devices are adding to the pressures currently on or country and our democracy. PS3s and iPads are the least of our worries in that department.
"With iPods and iPads; Xboxes and PlayStations ... information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment".
Aside from maybe the iPad, aren't all of these devices SUPPOSED to be forms of entertainment? I never use my Xbox or PlayStation as a source for information.
TheColdOne
I will agree with him if he removes "video games" as a generalization from that list.
AMDFreak
This from the man who argued with the secret service because they wanted to take his Blackberry away... welcome to the hypocrite section Mr Obama you have some great company.
lowkevmic
It amazes me how many people are more outraged, that he would dare speak ill of our beloved video games. Yet no one has mentioned that this is the first invited president to ever actually speak at any HBCU ever!! It's real obvious where America's priorities are.
Grimparrot
These power brokers on both sides of the isle hate information technology because it IS empowering. It doesn't allow them to craft the message as they would like. Obama has failed to get a lot of his agenda through largely due to people getting out there and finding stuff out for themselves. He would rather we just be a bunch of good sheeple and graze at his and the power brokers in Washington's feet , allowing them to tell us what is good for us and what is not.
The dude didn't realize the technology he used to get elected is a two edged sword. And now he's desperately hoping we don't notice he has failed at nearly every promise he made the people who got him elected.
rGrayMiller
"Slams Video Games, Blogs, iPads"? Come on, really? Seems to me he's "slamming" the misuse of such things.
And "the whole point" of video games is "distraction"?
This whole entry needs to be re-written or deleted...
ceedz
Easy mister President, I didn't vote for you so you could trash my beliefs. We have the freedom of belie and speech in this country and we have the right to remain silent. Even though we might not have the ability at times. I respect you and think your doing a great job. Keep messing with video games or medical marijuana on the other hand and I will vote for the other Jack Ass. Take care of the natural disasters and protecting everyones rights as US citizens. Let "parents" control the media and content that their child is watching. Maybe education doesn't need improved for children, just maybe they need better educated parents.
lowkevmic
This is what happens when you give Americans a little bit of the information. First of all he was making a joke to a bunch of students he was speaking to at Hampton University. So the joke he made was relevant to what he was speaking to them about. He was basically letting them know how important the power of information is, how we need to educate ourselves, and not confuse it with all of these new forms of media that we are subject to follow in hordes. Twitter, Facebook, Video games, Ipods, and ipads are distractions. Imagine how much more intelligent our nation will be if we spent as much time keeping up with current affairs and our economy, as we do with news of the latest gadget, or newest game hitting the market!! Instead of researching the information given to us in the media. We walk away from our computers and tv's reciting what we heard on Real Time with Bill Maher, or any Fox News program like it was law!! All you guys read is two or three quotes from the man's speech, and already you're ready to defend you red and blue states from the clutches of socialism. Which is another word half of you guys never knew the meaning of until you looked it up on wikipedia.
JDarkley
Hey guys, here's an idea! Let's stop blaming our "Socialist Muslim" president for everything that his predecessors put into motion! Wouldn't that be swell?
schreiter
Obama is a failure of a president..
Ian528
"My experience is that as soon as people are old enough to know better, they don't know anything at all."
-Oscar Wilde
We live in an age were you can get the information on anything at any time of day. This does not lead to knowledge or make people better. It leads to a laziness of thought that is endemic of our culture today. The ease with which we can find varied and multiplying viewpoints makes it harder for each individual to truly distinguish their own thoughts. Information is a commodity and the ease of accessing it and processing it has gotten made us sometimes forget what it means to struggle to come to grips with some topic. The struggle has often helped the thinkers of the time define better what it is they have thought and come to a more nuanced and difficult answer then some random ideological stake post that a group of people can rally behind.
That being said. There is no problem with the flow of information. A critically thinking mind can begin to sift through that flow and find the truth and develop their own opinions. Historically, the best way to gain a critically thinking mind was through education. Obama was stressing the importance of education in the unending flow of information present today. He did say that the information could be a distraction and he is right. It is a distraction that can replace your ability to easily develop your own opinions and thoughts.
Understanding comes from looking at something in context. The context for this quote of his speech is at commencement for a historically black college and he is stressing the importance of education in a world filled with information. That does not only seem wise and supportable remark but makes me wonder as to the purpose of posting a small section without putting the appropriate context there. Isn't this what he should be saying?
I do not believe
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