Game for Change - Popular Vote
Thinking of a concept for this project was fairly difficult at first because I wanted to choose a social issue that I personally related to, and there are plenty of those! But the one I chose to bring attention to is that of the influence media has on people - particularly the millennial generation. To do this, I created a game inquiring about which political party the gamer believes they are a part of. Each decision led to a few options that were encouraging, but basic. Each option was just that - an option. Any sort of outside opinion wasn't available because that is not how media portrays politics at all. It's either that you are one way or the other. An article found in the Nieman Lab by Jonathan Stray suggests that "usually the complaints have to do with what the media is saying about a candidate. But another theory says that it's the attention that matters. Good news or bad - maybe the important thing is just to be talked about." Perhaps this is true, but then does that mean all I have to do is mention a candidate by name enough times and that person will win? This chart was provided on the website as evidence.
So sure, "any publicity is good publicity," but mentioning anything about any candidate is simply taken as fact! People don't often question what is said anymore, so the fact that they don't have as many options, or opportunities to think of solutions for themselves, doesn't even phase them! That's "just how things are" now. An article from a few years ago on U.S. News articulates some of the ways that we have hindered ourselves when it comes to getting accurate information on social media. First, we can choose which media to actually watch or read which affects what reporters choose to display in order to grab our attention. Next, we can share things instantly which provides opportunity for people to see only opinion on one side more frequently than learning both opinions. We can "like" things instantly, which brings up new material based on what we have liked, creating our own circle of bias. We can connect with others by planning events on media rather than handing out fliers, and we can donate money to a cause at the push of a button, which influences who we think is more supported by the general public and, unfortunately, we are easily swayed by peer pressure. The biggest way we are swayed is by the fact that media focuses on each candidates "'watchdog' role: by unfettered scrutiny and discussion of the successes of candidates, governments, and electoral management bodies," etc. (Ace Project).
Overall, I thought that the best way to portray this issue was to provide minimal options, and conclude with statements that left the gamer feeling uncertain about their choices now that they see that there is ONLY an absolute way to be portrayed. Each answer to their selected option is based solely off of what has been found on the media, NOT what the absolute truth about the party is. This has a similar effect to games such as "Thoughts and Prayers" where you are timed, except the lack of options is the real anxiety in this version. With each result, there's no wiggle room, and if there is, it is presented with shame. "Haters" are a real thing, and in today's world, if you don't have a solid opinion based off of popular/hot topics, then you are uneducated and clearly don't really know much about what's going on. This doesn't encourage us to educate ourselves on the subject, but just pushes us to seek more media that represents it in a dramatic enough way that it will grab the attention of others. My game only mentions media in the beginning, because that is the only time one realizes they are being influenced by it. After that, most are ignorant of the subtle yet HUGE impact it is having on them. This is ridiculous, and will never solve the problem of receiving and accepting false information as fact. Hopefully this game will provide the users with a new sense of desire to learn things for themselves and seek out truth in all aspects of life, not just the facts about political parties.
Citations:
Nieman Lab: http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/01/how-much-influence-does-the-media-really-have-over-elections-digging-into-the-data/
U.S. News: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/02/04/5-ways-new-media-are-changing-politics
Ace Project: http://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/me/onePage
Overall, I thought that the best way to portray this issue was to provide minimal options, and conclude with statements that left the gamer feeling uncertain about their choices now that they see that there is ONLY an absolute way to be portrayed. Each answer to their selected option is based solely off of what has been found on the media, NOT what the absolute truth about the party is. This has a similar effect to games such as "Thoughts and Prayers" where you are timed, except the lack of options is the real anxiety in this version. With each result, there's no wiggle room, and if there is, it is presented with shame. "Haters" are a real thing, and in today's world, if you don't have a solid opinion based off of popular/hot topics, then you are uneducated and clearly don't really know much about what's going on. This doesn't encourage us to educate ourselves on the subject, but just pushes us to seek more media that represents it in a dramatic enough way that it will grab the attention of others. My game only mentions media in the beginning, because that is the only time one realizes they are being influenced by it. After that, most are ignorant of the subtle yet HUGE impact it is having on them. This is ridiculous, and will never solve the problem of receiving and accepting false information as fact. Hopefully this game will provide the users with a new sense of desire to learn things for themselves and seek out truth in all aspects of life, not just the facts about political parties.
Citations:
Nieman Lab: http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/01/how-much-influence-does-the-media-really-have-over-elections-digging-into-the-data/
U.S. News: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2010/02/04/5-ways-new-media-are-changing-politics
Ace Project: http://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/me/onePage
Comments
Post a Comment