LDS General Conference

I always love conference weekend because it is a time when I have an excuse to get away from my responsibilities so that I can listen to the leaders of our church. I also love the feeling that members around the world are all watching the same thing and are sustaining the leaders of the church at the same time. I always get a bittersweet feeling at the end of conference because on the one hand, I’m glad that I enjoyed a spiritually uplifting weekend, but on the other hand I know that it is over for the next six months. I’ve decided that I am going to be better about listening and reading talks between this conference and next conference so that I can feel like I am getting the most out of the talks. Here is a picture of the conference center during conference, for those of you who are unfamiliar with the LDS General Conference. The talks are given by church leaders and broadcasted over TV.

Media Letter

So this week in my media class we had to write a letter to someone with some influence in the media. I decided to write to Nicholas Sparks. Here is what I said:

Dear Nicholas Sparks,

            I am studying Human Development at Brigham Young University and would like to say thank you for keeping your books so clean. You probably get a lot of pressure to do otherwise, but I personally am glad that I can pick up one of your books without worrying about the kind of romantic detail that might be inside. The movie industry is definitely not concerned about this kind of thing when they uses your stories, but I think it really says something that you are able to make popular clean stories before the movie industry even gets a hold of them. I feel like you are a pretty influential figure in a lot of teen girls’ lives, and your books teach girls that they do not need to have sex to have a successful romantic relationship with someone. I think that your books also teach girls that they do not need to settle for someone who is only interested in them for sex because your books show them that there are guys out there that could be more interested in their personality than their body.

            The only thing that I noticed in your last book was that there was quite a bit of violence. I can’t blame you because violence sells books and is very realistic in the story you depicted, but it still has an influence on the way teen readers perceive reality after reading your books. Safe Haven obviously teaches teen girls not to tolerate abusive situations and teaches guys to avoid becoming abusive, but readers are exposed to a lot of violence in the process. This may lead teen girls to think that there is a good chance that they will become involved in an abusive relationship and to fear relationships and men as a result. Obviously the effects of this would not be life changing, but could add to other life experiences they’ve had to create a stronger cumulative affect. This is just a small thing that it might be nice to take into consideration. I am a HUGE fan though and I appreciate all you’ve done to help girls better understand romantic relationships.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                Jessica Morrell

Need for Sound

I got to thinking today about my need for constant sound from some kind of media, usually the TV. I think this is something I’ve developed in the past few years because I don’t remember feeling this way when I was a kid. It’s almost as though I need the TV to distract me from the stress of things I need to do, but in the end it just makes me feel anxious about putting things off. I keep telling myself that I don’t want to have one of those families that report that they have the TV on during the majority of the time, but it is so easy to fall into that! My goal this week is to do homework without the TV on and to do more enjoyable things than TV in my free time.

Rediscovering Worms (It's an old video game...)

My family came to visit this weekend and my brothers were glued to this video game called “Worms Battle Islands.” They were pretty much rediscovering this game, as we used to play it about ten years ago. I was torn in classifying it in my mind as to whether this was a good game to be playing. It’s a little violent because each person has a team of worms (sounds weird, I know…) and they try to kill all of the worms on other teams, but it was also so ridiculous that I wondered if this countered the aggressive aspects of the game. At any rate, I thought it was funny that these teenage boys were so attached to a game about worms.

Once Upon A Time: Strong Female Character

So I’ve been waiting for a lull in the semester to post about one of my favorite shows, Once Upon A Time (there isn’t really a lull… I finally just decided to post about it). There have been a few big revelations in the show the past few episodes, so I’ve been really into this show lately. After the first season I didn’t think they would be able to continue the show with interesting and original ideas, but they have certainly surpassed my expectations.

There are a few things I love about this show. The first is that it is family friendly for the most part and the star of the show is a cute young boy. I had my doubts about it during the first season when the focus of the show was an affair between two of the main characters, and the affair was presented as justified because it was true love. However, they managed to straighten this out with a little drama and magic eventually (insert faint sarcasm here). Aside from this though, the show has pretty much been family friendly.

I also enjoy this show because of the strong female lead character. My husband was joking the other night about what a pansy Prince Charming is because he always manages to get knocked out during the action scenes. While I agree that this is a little silly, I think it’s also nice to see a strong feminine character. This has been on my mind lately because we have been talking about feminine portrayal in the media in my Media class this week. Women are often portrayed as ditsy, catty, love obsessed sex objects in the media, so I feel like it is refreshing to see a level headed and independent female character. Here is a picture of this character, Emma, with her new-found son, Henry (I'll admit, their relationship is a little strange...)

Wreck It Ralph: Prosocial Bad Guy

So I recently saw Wreck It Ralph and am just getting around to blogging about it. At first it was just slightly strange to wrap my mind around the idea of a movie of a video game, but I really think it was a unique and clever idea.

I really liked the idea of the guy who was programmed to be the bad guy wanting to be one of the good guys. I think it gave the movie an overall prosocial feel to it. My favorite quote from the movie was when one of the other bad guys at Bad-Anon, a bad guy support group, said: “Ralph, you are bad guy, but this does not mean you are bad… guy.” It was just kinda funny because it showed that the bad guys in video games and movies are programmed to be bad, but could really be nice people (similar to the idea of actors).

My husband particularly enjoyed this movie because it reminded him of his childhood and presented videogames in a family friendly way. He actually downloaded the game “Fix It Felix Jr.” (it was made after the movie, not before it…) on his ipod touch after seeing the movie, so we are now experiencing this movie through other methods of media.

Oscar Award Dress Nonsense

So I watched the Oscars Awards last week and I just wanted to blog about how silly the interviews about the outfits were before the awards actually started (I’m not sure what this is officially called… the pre-ceremony? The red carpet ceremony?). It just seemed so strange to me that there was nothing else to talk about and that people love the stars so much that they enjoy hearing them talk on national television about the clothes they chose to wear to the event, as if it were a substantial subject. Maybe clothing is something that you have to appreciate as an art and I just don’t understand it enough to appreciate it. To me, most of the dresses looked nice but did not look unusual enough to deserve multiple interviews. Can anyone explain this to me? Or is it something that can’t really be explained?

Jessica Chastain won one of the best dressed awards this year. I like the dress but I'm still not so sure about the concept.

Video Games: What is the verdict?

I’ve always been curious about the short and long term affects of gaming. I’m pretty bad at the traditional gaming experience, but I spend a lot of time playing games on my iPod touch, and these are definitely considered video games. We just covered video games this week in my Media, Family, and Human Development class so I though I would post about it for those of you that are interested in this as well. It won't be quite the same as hearing from a PhD., like I had the opportunity to do, but hopefully I will get most of my facts right and keep this bias-free. Also, there will be a main take home message posted at the very bottom, in case you just want to skip to that.

 

So, to start out with, here are some stats about video gaming: (Remember, these are averages…)

Children/Adolescents: 1 hour per day (Kaiser, 2010)

Boys: 13 hours/week (Gentile et al., 2004)

Girls: 6 hours/week (Gentile et al., 2004)

Emerging Adults (ages 18-25): 22% males and 5% females play at least once a week (Padilla-Walker, et al., 2010)

Boys with authoritarian parents: more likely to develop a video game addiction.

There are 5 video game dimensions to keep in mind when considering the effects of video games (Gentile, 2011). These are:

            1. Amount

            2. Content

            3. Structure

            4. Context

            5. Mechanics

AMOUNT:

•  The overall amount is most related to school performance. (This is because kids that play a larger amount of video games have less time to spend on homework.)
•  Amount is also related to health outcomes. Studies have found that an increase in gaming is correlated to obesity, and less commonly, seizures and tendinitis.
•  Learning outcomes through video games: Video games teach in a very effective way. People will typically spend a large amount of time defeating a new game. This is what we call Mass Practice. After defeating the game, people usually switch to distributed practice, which means that they play the game for a more reasonable amount of time (maybe an hour) every day. This is the ideal way to learn, and because of this, video games are very effective teachers. 

Pathological Video Game use (aka Video Game Addiction):

            There are six characteristics of an addiction (Brown)

                        1) Salience (dominates life)

                        2) Euphoria or relief (provides a “high” or reduction of unpleasant feelings)

                        3) Tolerance (over time need more to achieve the same “high”)

4) Withdrawal (unpleasant physical effects or negative emotions when unable to engage in the activity)

                        5) Conflict (with people at work, friends, self, family)

                        6) Relapse and reinstatement (continues despite attempts to abstain)       

            

            Characteristics of pathological gamers:

•  Higher impulsivity, physical and relational aggression and victimization, HAB, ADHD, anxiety, social phobia, and depression.
•  Lower social competence, emotion regulation, empathy, school performance, goal setting, and worse parent/child relationships.
•  These show LONG term effects.

LDS For The Strength of Youth’s stand on video gaming:

Take care that your use of media does not dull your sensitivity to the Spirit or interfere with your personal relationships with others. Spending long periods of time using the Internet or a mobile device, playing video games, or watching television or other media can keep you from valuable interactions with other people. (My professor got to add the bolded line… cool, huh!)

LDS stand on video games: (New Era, July, 2011)

•  There are many video games that are clean, challenging, and fun, and some multiplayer games can be an enjoyable social activity. The Church is not against video games, but youth are urged to be smart in their selection of games and the amount of time they spend with them. We have been commanded to use our time wisely (see D&C 60:13). Just because something is clean and fun does not mean it is worth doing.
•  It is all right to spend some of your time playing video games that adhere to the media standards found in For the Strength of Youth. But be willing to set down the controllers or turn off the computer and move on to something else. Don’t let video games keep you from worthwhile activities like exercising, studying the gospel, doing schoolwork, or spending time with your family.

CONTENT:

Prosocial games (Greitemeyer, et al., 2011)

            Increased empathy, decreased aggression after playing these games

            Game Example: Lemmings

Math/reading games (Din, 2001)

            Increased scores in math and reading

Sexual Games (Yao et al., 2010)

More likely to be accepting of rape myths (rape myths are the idea that a woman deserved to be raped because she dressed or acted a certain way).

Violence (Anderson et al., 2010)

Increased aggression, decreased empathy and decreased prosocial behavior after playing these games.

*Content of game is very predictive of behavior and attitudes after playing the game.

STRUCTURE:

•  Games that require constant scanning of the screen and require you to maneuver the view are correlated with improved visual attention skills.
• Games that require use of 2D representations to provide 3D information and navigation are correlated with improved ability to use and understand 2D and 3D.
• Games that are more realistic are better teachers. Learning and transfer happen faster in these games.
• Laparoscopic surgeons study (Rosser et al 2007)
•  Found that video game play (particularly of games that require you to maneuver and manipulate the view) was related to advanced laparoscopic skills. These doctors were 27% faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37% fewer errors.

CONTEXT:

Playing video games with parents is good for adolescent girls (Coyne et al., 2011)

•  This is probably because the parents (particularly fathers) are able to bond with daughters in an activity that they both enjoy without a lot of pressure.
• Correlated with less depression, less anxiety, feeling more connected with parents.
• These positive outcomes disappear if playing an M rated games together.

Male Bonding experience?

• Studies are yet to be done in this area, but many boys claim that video gaming is a bonding experience.

Intergenerational studies (Grandparents playing with grandkids) (Aarsand, 2007)

•           GOOD for the relationship because the child is able to feel like the expert and can teach the skill to the grandparents.

Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) (Smyth, 2007)

•  People feel more socially connected as a result of these games – can chat with people.
•  Study found that after 6 months of playing these games people reported making the most friends through these kinds of games. However, participants did worse in school and got less sleep.
•   It is important to remember that virtual friendships cannot replace the benefits of relationships in the real world.

MECHANICS:

Mechanical devices that are closer to reality are better teachers. These games allow for faster transfer into the brain.

•  Examples: using a steering wheel as opposed to the traditional controller, or dance games that use your body as the controller, or wii games that use body motions in place of buttons.
•  Making punching motions to fight someone in a wii game is associated with higher aggression than pushing buttons.

Using video games in nursing homes:

•  Wii is easier than other games and is very successful in nursing homes. Allows the elderly to be active and to have fun.
• World of Warcraft: studies show that it can improve cognitive ability in the elderly.

Take Home Message:

Video games are excellent teachers. Video games will “teach” you whatever skill is necessary to play the game. Video games can teach anything from aggression to prosocial behavior, and can be useful in helping kids learn math and reading. While some games can teach positive skills, it is important to avoid the mindset that these “good” video games will teach your kids in your place. Nothing can replace human interaction in this respect. However, research shows that video games are associated with both positive and negative outcomes.

Parenthood: Eye-Opening Media

I started watching parenthood a while ago and just finished the third season last night. I’ve really enjoyed the way this show emphasizes the importance of family above all else. In the show, there are family challenges and conflicts between characters like in everyday life, but the family is always able to overcome these things and become stronger together. I’ve thought a lot about the way this family interacts, both consciously and subconsciously, and I’ve found that this has influenced the way that I act and feel around family and the way I want my family to be in the future.

I’ve mentioned this in previous blog posts, but I really enjoy media that focuses on family. I personally feel like this is one of the better shows to watch because it sparks a lot of introspection and perspective taking. One of the families in the show has a boy with Asperger’s and watching this family handle his situation has opened my eyes to challenges that a lot of families face. Each of the families seems to have a unique challenge (or several), and I’ve found that it’s really interesting to watch them deal with it and overcome it. I wouldn’t recommend watching this show with children because there is some sexual content, as is typical of a lot of TV shows, but on the whole I really like this show and would recommend it.

Safe Haven: The Book

So I just read Safe Haven and I thought it was pretty good! A lot of the book was pretty much your average chick flick, but there was also a flare (the whole second half of the book actually) of mystery and suspense that I wasn’t expecting. There was quite a bit of violence, which grossed me out, but the book was surprisingly clean aside from that. I really enjoyed the family themes in this story that aren't usually typical in love stories. One of the main characters was a father of two young children and the way that the characters interacted with the kids in the book was really sweet.

While reading it, I became so sucked in that I couldn’t get anything done. This is pretty typical of my reading habits, which is why I usually try to steer clear of books during the semester. Sometimes I wonder how people are able to read for just an hour or two before bed every night, because I would be up all night reading if I tried that. Any thoughts out there? Because I could really use some tips in this area. I’m pretty sure that I won’t be able to read on a regular basis until I’m 75 years old.

BYU's Phantom of the Opera

BYU recently put on The Phantom of the Opera and I was lucky enough to get a ticket before it sold out. I had never seen The Phantom live before, so it was a really amazing experience and the production was put together really well. My favorite scene was the opening scene when they uncovered the chandelier with the organ playing the phantom theme. They rigged the chandelier so that it slowly rose from the ground and came to hang directly over the audience in the center of the de Jong hall. As the chandelier made it’s way to the ceiling, the cloth covering the theater on stage fell off piece by piece in the foggy, flashing light, creating a really cool effect of rippling cloth in the air.

It’s amazing to see how producers can affect the audience by using scenes like this. It was exciting to be a part of the audience as this scene took place and I don’t think I could have left the theater hall at that moment if I had to. I think it was just the combination of the music that we all know so well, the visual affect of the rippling cloth and the beautiful theater behind it, the adrenaline of going to the show, and, of course, the excitement at knowing what is coming next. It was basically just an amazing experience.

The Forgotten Queen

So it’s about time that I post about a book. I loved reading all growing up, but over the past couple of years I’ve had less time to read and started watching more TV in my reading withdrawals. However, I read a really good book over Christmas break that I am still getting over. It’s called The Forgotten Queen and, strangely enough, was written by my mom (it sounds a little weird, I know, but she is a really great writer!).

The story throws a creative twist on King Arthur’s downfall by turning Avalon (the resting place of Arthur) into a character. In the book, Avalon is Arthur’s safe haven after his bad marriage with Guinevere. While Arthur’s fate is already set in motion, he is able to experience happiness for a short time with his new queen before his death. (SPOILER ALERT) After Arthur’s death, Avalon gives birth to his son, who she names Arthur, and raises him in secrecy to keep him safe. When Arthur turns 16, she takes him to the past King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, which is struck in stone. Basically, Arthur pulls the sword from the stone and becomes the King Arthur that all of the happy legends are based off of.

I loved this book because of the family themes in the book. I am just gonna admit it… I cried a lot! I felt so attached to the characters and experiencing their lives was a bittersweet experience. In case anyone is curious, the book is probably going to be released in February on Amazon, kindle, and nook. 

White Collar

My husband and I really enjoy White Collar. I think that part of the reason that I like it so much is because I know it’s a show that we can both appreciate. There’s action for my husband, drama for me, and intrigue for both of us. I also like that this show seems to focus on family issues, especially in the newer seasons. For example, the forth and current season (which resumed last night after a six-month hiatus. So excited about that!) is focused on finding one of the main character’s dad, who disappeared when the character was 3 years old. This picture is of the character wearing his dad's police hat before his dad disappeared.

I also enjoy the relationship that one of the main characters has with his wife. To me, this couple is an example of a model couple and I have actually found myself thinking “how would Elizabeth handle this situation?” on occasion (this is totally an example of the Info Processing Model in action, I know… But it’s improving my behavior so that’s good!). I like to tell myself that these nice themes cancel out some of the violent aspects of the show, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work that way. Here is a picture of my "model couple" in action :)

Merlin

So most of you probably haven’t heard of Merlin, and if you have you probably think it’s a little weird. But for some reason I just LOVE it! Ok, well I shouldn’t say “for some reason” because I really do know the reasons. I like to watch this series is because it is entertaining, because I feel like I have a relationship with the characters, and because this show seems to share my sense of humor. Curiosity also really draws me in when the plot gets a little intense. And, of course, the secret identity thing gets me every time. In addition to all of these reasons, I like this show because the characters seem so much more real than those on the more dramatic shows (sorry, but I really can’t stand reality TV. It’s SO fake!). There are a few cheesy things in Merlin, like the dragon, but the story and the relationship between the characters are totally worth it.

Anyhow, so the season just started airing in the U.S. three weeks ago and I just watched the third episode last night. It was so good! I can’t tell you the plot because it would sound a little weird out of context. As far as the potential effects go, this show probably gets me a little too attached to the characters, and also puts me about 1400 years behind the times. But at least it's clean, right?

Gilmore Girls

I’ve never considered myself to be the blogging type, but this semester I am taking a media class and am required to post twice a week about the media I view. I’ll probably make blatant attempts to be witty as I learn the art of blogging, but what can I say? It’s been a while since I’ve tried to write anything other than college papers. Anyhow, the important thing is that, hopefully, we will both become more active consumers of the media through this blog.

I feel like I my first post should be about Gilmore Girls, since I’ve probably had more exposure to that show than to any other show. I bought the entire series in Junior High (my collection reflects a lot of babysitting…) and have watched the entire series multiple times over the years. I am currently going through the series for probably the fifth time and I just started the seventh and final season.

Despite the fact that I remember every episode and have a significant portion of the lines memorized, I still feel driven to continue on to the next episode. I think the reason for this is partially because I know that things are either going to get better for the characters, or continue to be great, or because I know something bad is coming up and I just can’t stay in happy land while the characters continue to their doom (okay that is pretty dramatic…. This is a chick flick, after all). However, I think the more significant reason that I continue to watch this show is because the characters are good friends that keep me company while I am home alone (which is pretty often). I know the show well enough that I can eat lunch and do a little homework while it is on, but at the same time enjoy the characters’ personalities and their relationship with each other and with me.

I consider the characters to be good friends, and to be honest, I feel a little strange when other people say that exact same thing about this characters. It’s as if the characters are my friends and they can’t possibly be friends with you too because they’ve never mentioned being friends with you, and I would know if they had mentioned it! See, it just gets me riled up…. But, deep down, I really do know that this is just a parasocial relationship. It just takes me a minute to remember it sometimes. And then some therapy…. Anyhow, here’s a picture of these girls:

(Don’t they look happy? And cute? Can you see why I want to be friends with them?)