Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

AFP: Obama bemoans 'diversions' of IPod, Xbox era

HAMPTON, Virginia — US President Barack Obama lamented Sunday that in the iPad and Xbox era, information had become a diversion that was imposing new strains on democracy, in his latest critique of modern media.

Obama, who often chides journalists and cable news outlets for obsessing with political horse race coverage rather than serious issues, told a class of graduating university students that education was the key to progress.

"You're coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don't always rank all that high on the truth meter," Obama said at Hampton University, Virginia.

"With iPods and iPads and 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.

He bemoaned the fact that "some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction," in the clamor of certain blogs and talk radio outlets.
"All of this is not only putting new pressures on you, it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy."

Obama, who uses the handful of Commencement addresses that he delivers each year to meditate on societal developments broader than the minutiae of everyday politics, warned the world was at a moment of "breathtaking change."

"We can't stop these changes... but we can adapt to them," Obama said, adding that US workers were in a battle with well-educated foreign workers.

"Education... can fortify you, as it did earlier generations, to meet the tests of your own time," he said.

Hampton University is a historically black college, and Obama noted the huge disparity in educational achievement between African Americans and other racial groups in the United States and the world.

But he urged the graduates to take inspiration from the example of Dorothy Height, a civil and women's rights icon who died, aged 98, last month, who fought racial prejudice to secure a college education.

"A black woman, in 1929, refusing to be denied her dream of a college education," Obama said, reprising Height's life story.

"Refusing to be denied her rights, refusing to be denied her dignity, refusing to be denied... her piece of America's promise."

Obama argued that from the days of the pioneer politicians who founded the United States, until the modern day, education and knowledge had been the key to progress and US democracy.

He drew a line between Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and today's challenges.

"What Jefferson recognized... that in the long run, their improbable experiment -- called America -- wouldn't work if its citizens were uninformed, if its citizens were apathetic, if its citizens checked out, and left democracy to those who didn't have the best interests of all the people at heart.
"It could only work if each of us stayed informed and engaged, if we held our government accountable, if we fulfilled the obligations of citizenship.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fyp74H3kMdI"]YouTube- Bleach: Never Meant to Belong (Sad Violin Solo)[/nomedia]

He had a similar speech a few days before, suggesting students digest their media in a balanced way.

I don't disagree, but I do think that a lot of people can and do get news from multiple sources and that, if anything, we live in an age where the populace is more well- informed than career politicians actually realize. They're used to the old media and hamming it up for the press, a press that's losing its influence because technology has outpaced them.

All I can say is welcome to 2010, really. This isn't the 90s where the best we had was 56k connections, AOL and people still planned their lives around television. The people have more control over what media they consume than they ever have had before.

Gaming a distraction? Well, no shit. No, I will not put down my "Game Boy" sir.

I realize all this "distraction" makes it harder for a guy to get his message out there. I remember when Regan, Bush and Clinton could do a TV address on all the major news outlets. When I was a kid that actually struck me as how important the president was - he could come in and interrupt the A-Team or Knight Rider. And it didn't matter if you changed the channel or even went to the radio instead - there he was, everywhere like Santa Claus

Still, tough shit.Things change. TV can be really contained now and websites and blogs are replacing newspapers. Just the way it is now. Bush Jr. didn't have it any better.

That aside, what could be so intimidating about an iPad? Seems pretty straight-forward as gadgets go. I set up my Wii today and didn't even look at the instructions.

[Feba]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

I don't disagree, but I do think that a lot of people can and do get news from multiple sources and that, if anything, we live in an age where the populace is more well- informed than career politicians actually realize.

I think it goes both ways-- people are quicker to pick up on fuckups, but not on their side. People are more informed about the mistakes of politicians on the other team, but other than that it's become much less informative in general.

I do find the quote kinda hilarious though. I have to imagine he's simply never bothered with anything related to video games, considering he's so clearly in love with his blackberry. He does come off as somewhat of a "you kids with your iPod Walkmen and your Nintendo 360" bit, but then it's not his job to be hip.

[DakAttack]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

Damn these x machines and game lads. what is a halo???

[cidbahamut]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

Feba beat me to it. This is hilarious coming from the man who's addicted to his Blackberry.

[Durahansolo]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

what is a halo???

A song by Beyonce.

[Nandito]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

Just as long as he doesn't touch my 360 and lets me game whenever the hell I want, we're cool, Mr. Pres.

[KingOfZeal]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

Personally, I like this alternative headline:

Obama bemoans "diversions" of iPod, Xbox, and iPads. At least I think that's what he said, I was updating my Twitter and Facebook and really paying OMG is that a bunny over there?

I love Fark.

[Feba]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

I had to stop using fark a long time ago. Took way too much time out of my day on it.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

I do find the quote kinda hilarious though. I have to imagine he's simply never bothered with anything related to video games, considering he's so clearly in love with his blackberry. He does come off as somewhat of a "you kids with your iPod Walkmen and your Nintendo 360" bit, but then it's not his job to be hip.

He says those things that make all gamers roll their eyes because we've heard it from family for years. He's of the mindshare that brain activity ceases the moment the console is switched on and that if there is anything going on upstairs, its a violent streak or a hankering for flesh and brains. It is funny in that way, and a little sad because the rest of his generation seems a bit more hip that he is now.

[Feba]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

He's of the mindshare that brain activity ceases the moment the console is switched on

No, he's not. He clearly recognizes that it's an over-abundance of information and apathy in general, not tied to video games or pop culture specifically. He obviously allows his daughters to play Wii, listen to Jonas Brothers, if he thought these things were killing the mind do you really think he wouldn't be stricter about it?

[Mhurron]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

I had to stop using fark a long time ago. Took way too much time out of my day on it.

Just read the headlines, and maybe the linked article, but stay away from the forums.

Unless you think 'the populace is more well- informed.' In which case read the forums. The general population is not more informed then any other, but they think they are. You could always find information, just as you can now. However finding good information has always been difficult. The only thing that has changed is where you would start looking for good information. In general, people now have a computer with internet access and have cable news shows and think they are more informed, even though they may never use the computer to search or read news that isn't from CNN or what not, even though they never question what they saw on FOX or CBS.

Taken as a whole, people aren't better informed but they have deluded themselves into thinking they are.

---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 PM ----------

... listen to Jonas Brothers ...

Just as long as they keep their grubby hands off his daughters.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

No, he's not. He clearly recognizes that it's an over-abundance of information and apathy in general, not tied to video games or pop culture specifically. He obviously allows his daughters to play Wii, listen to Jonas Brothers, if he thought these things were killing the mind do you really think he wouldn't be stricter about it?

You can think Playstations produce zombies and still think the Wii is OK. My family is of that mindset. They see the Wii and they see social activity, they see exercise and movement, they see a lifestyle gadget. I mean, this did get the elderly and women more interested in gaming, after all. Some people are able to grow beyond the cliche, but my family is not among them.

Probably didn't help that I was rather fixated with my NES when they gave it to me, but I was actually introverted the second they came home from the hospital and placed me in the crib.

[Feba]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

Just read the headlines, and maybe the linked article, but stay away from the forums.

It's the photoshop contests what really get me.

Just as long as they keep their grubby hands off his daughters.

If you knew half the things about the Disney company that the President probably knows, you'd make sure they kept their distance too.

My family is of that mindset.

That's very interesting, BBQ! Here, why don't you try playing with these crayons. You don't have to color inside the lines if you don't want to!

[Malacite]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

I don't see anything wrong with that Speech. In fact he made a number of valid points; The Cable news networks are a bag of dirt and with everyone blogging these days a lot of people wind of misinformed (hi2u tea baggers).


That doesn't mean it's all necessarily a bad thing - Like BBQ said, things change, people adapt, and we all move on. I think we're all still in a transitional period personally. Once most of the older (current, lol?) politicians retire or die, the face of Politics will change dramatically as we will see more and more people taking office who are actually familiar with the new tech trends like twitter etc. Sure some of them are starting to use it now, but not that many, and we still have far too many people in power, how shall I put it... Set in the old ways?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Your iPads and Xboxes frustrate the president o,o

That's very interesting, BBQ! Here, why don't you try playing with these crayons. You don't have to color inside the lines if you don't want to!

Do I really have to point out Wii's success is based upon not pandering to the hardcore market and how successful that approach as been? Do I have to point and Sony and MS playing catch-up with Move and Natal about four years later? They could stick to making "hardcore" games, but they seem to be interested in the money they could make reproducing the concepts Nintendo put out there.

My case here is hardly an anecdotal one. When motion control came in, game consoles stopped looking like abstract toys to the older generations and women. They see motion, they see something they understand. They didn't make the Wii to appeal to people about spreadsheets and huddling around after school to play Magic: The Gathering.