Reflections from Week 5

Dr. Bolger presented three very interesting cultures in class last week.  The first subculture was “gaming” culture.  This is a huge culture—more video games are sold than DVD’s.  Also, despite common perception, the average age of a gamer is 35 years old.  This culture was created in part as a response to a culture that is fearful and stripped of time.  Children are no longer free to walk home from school or run around town unsupervised these days.  Also, with school, sports and all the other time demands they have it is hard to get together with their friends in the real world.  So, online gaming presents a way for children, and as they grow into adults, to interact with their friends without leaving their own homes.  The other interesting thing about this culture is that the different games present complex narrative worlds that players fully immerse themselves into.  The gamer actually learns a tremendous amount about this other world and how to navigate the challenges faced in this world.  Schools are actually trying to figure out how they could integrate video games into the classroom because children can learn so much from these alternative narratives.

A second culture was that of “second life.”  I confess that I do not really get the appeal of this culture.  Nonetheless here are some interesting facts.  First, there are several hundred churches in Second Life—many of which have real services.  Second, it’s a very sexual world.  50% of the places are night clubs or adult clothing stores and apparently your avatars can “hook-up” although to be honest I’m not entirely sure how Dr. Bolger understands this word. 

A third culture—really a cultural trend—is the “do it yourself” DIY culture.  A host of technologies now allow for consumers to have tremendous power over what media they consume—for instance, RSSV technology, TIVO, and music programs that allow for creating one’s favorite lists.  Consumers have tremendous freedom to choose when and what they want to consume.  This is actually having effect both at Fuller Seminary and in local churches.  In the seminary more and more students are requesting highly personalized, inter-institutional degree programs (something that Fuller does not offer right now).  In the church world people are going to one place to hear preaching, another place for small groups, and a third place to have their kids go to youth group.