Personal thoughts on the article, “Why games studies now? Gamers don’t bowl alone”

For my first blog post I just wanted to discuss some of my personal thoughts that came to mind as I was reading “Why games studies now? Gamers don’t bowl alone” by Dmitri Williams. While reading the article, the first thing that came to my mind was my little brother. He’s sixteen years old and spends his life attached to the computer.  I think the name of the game he currently plays 24/7 is called League of Legend. I don’t know much about the game but I think it is a game where you game together with other players or as the article called it “social game play”. In the article they stated, “The transition of public life from common spaces to private life is exemplified in the move of game play from arcades to home. As our real-world civic and social institutions experience steady decay, what is the impact of transferring our social networks and communities into virtual spaces?” After reading the article I immediately thought of my brother and how his social interactions have changed completely. Instead of going outside, hanging out with friends and meeting new people, he spends most of his time meeting new people through League of Legends. My first thought about him meeting people online wasn’t much, but then as time passed my family started to notice that he had become socially awkward with friends he interacted with in person. The article questioned what impact of transferring our social networks and communities into virtual spaces would have on our social lives and I think my brother is a good example. One impact that virtual space social networking  has is the hindrance of our interactions with people one on one.