While watching them watch these videos, it struck me: “They are watching the play that they no longer do themselves.”
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Video games are an obvious replacement for real life experiences, this goes without saying. Yet there are some people now who enjoy watching others play games more than playing themselves. Twitch channels and game streamers are evidence of this.
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Play itself was originally a simulacra of real adult activities but made safe for small children. Play is a rehearsal for the real thing. But we’ve moved from real play to virtual play to now passively watching virtual play. What is next?
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It’s not just games, it’s existing passive entertainment too. One of the most popular shows in the U.K. is Gogglebox - a TV show where you can watch others watch TV shows.
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Websites post “recaps” of TV episodes so that you don’t have to invest 45 minutes in actually watching an episode of Game of Thrones but still know the talking points to highlight on your Twitter feed.
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At every level, at every age, at every step, we are removing ourselves from reality step by step. Creating ever more layers between ourselves and anything that might cause actual joy or pain.
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I believe that this is one of the reasons why we are seeing a rise in autism numbers. As we distance ourselves from anything of real substance, we lose our ability to understand it, like an autist who can’t understand the emotions of others.
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The reverse is true too. The overly emotional don’t know when to stop because they are increasingly removed from real life lessons that would teach them when their sympathy, empathy and emotion reaches dangerous extents.
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I don’t know where this will end, but I do know that we are unlikely to advance much as a species if we continue in this way.
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There is a theory about The Great Filter: that theory about why we don’t see the universe teeming with alien life despite its infinity. Maybe it is due to rogue AI. Maybe it’s energy entropy. Some believe it is because of innate destructively warlike tendencies.
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Perhaps though the reason for our future doom is something closer. Perhaps it is introspection. Perhaps it is narcissism. Perhaps it is the barriers you create between yourself and reality - and thus the path to learning. Perhaps it’s in the palm of your hand right now.
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At some point, children are dragged away from their iPads by their parents so that they can sleep & exercise. But in a godless world, who will step in & drag us away when we’ve spent too long staring at our screens? When we’ve forgotten to eat and rest? Who watches the watchmen?
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End of conversation
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