I have millions of funny Customer Service stories that I come across while working at Barnes and Noble. The majority of my tweets are ones that I text from my phone after I come across a funny customer service story. This one happened before I started tweeting, but it's one that I'll never forget and it's relevant to video games and I think it'll make a good blog.
So a while ago, I was working and I decided to do my job while on the floor and help answer the phone. Gotta, of course, start the conversation with: "Barnes and Noble, Lauren speaking, how can I help you?" which is my condensed version of the preferred pitch: "Thank you for calling Barnes and Noble, this is Lauren speaking, how can I help you today?", which I have a tendency to stutter over so I don't even bother. So the customer on the phone, a guy who's probably my age, goes: "Yeah.. I got a store credit the other day for returning a book and I was wondering if I could return it and get cash back instead?" and I'm like: "No..." So he goes on to say that he had no use for a store credit, and doesn't want to buy books. So I try to be patient and suggest that he get something for someone else, like a gift since Christmas is coming up. He of course did not want to hear that. So then he goes, "Well, do you guys sell video games?" "No." "But you do online, but it won't let me use the store credit online." "Yeah, 'cause you gotta use it in the store." ['cause you know how on gift cards they have the 4-digit security code? It didn't have that on the store credit so he couldn't use it at all online.] So by then he was very frustrated, and said something about how he has no desire to buy books and hung up. Whatever.
So that got me to thinking: how many people, teens especially read for pleasure anymore? Besides the Twilight phenomenon, and miscellaneous other popular teen or fiction books we get in like the Sookie Stackhouse Series or other books that were made into movies like The Time Traveler's Wife, I hardly see kids come in asking for a good book to read. I mostly get asked for recommendations from adults. But what are the majority of kids doing instead of reading? Reading isn't so much the most fun recreational hobby and more. I think kids have more fun with other forms of entertainment, like going to the movies or playing video games. Who reads books anymore?
I think there's several reasons for this. It's rare that kids are required to play video games, if anything they have to play typing exercises in school. However, for books, kids are required to read at most six books in one summer. Doesn't shed the most positive light on reading, right? I feel that when people are forced to do something, they feel obligated to do it and aren't enthusiastic about doing it, or possibly don't want to do it at all or would rather rebel against it. That theory can apply to anything, but I feel like it applies to kids reading books: many kids today would only pick up a book because it's required for class, not so much for themselves. But for video games, kids aren't generally required to play and society tends to look down on gameplay so video games have become an excellent source of recreation.
But is that so bad? Video games have proven to be more beneficial for development that people once thought. I found a really good article on Books vs. Video Games that I pretty much agree with, written by Richard Clarke:
"I would say reading encourages people with active personalities to be thoughtful, realistic, and careful about the way they solve problems and deal with obstacles – but neither games nor books really offer both benefits. I’m convinced that books can allow for a passive acceptance on the part of the reader. Note those who devote themselves to genre fiction – the typical romance novel fan, science fiction nut, reader of books found in Barnes and Noble’s humor section, and Oprah Book Club Member. These are often unhealthy and passive personalities who simply read and accept words on a page. They are not asked to act on these words, nor are they asked to quibble with them. Meanwhile, the gamer questions everything. Game developers can vouch for the fact that gamers are a quibbling bunch, finding constant fault with design and gameplay decisions. Meanwhile, in the game world, they are asked to make choices about everything from how they win a race, to how they overcome a boss. They are asked to decide what is right and wrong, and whether that even matters. Here’s the difference between games and books: games ask questions, while books give answers. Games present an opportunity to devise our own solutions, while books sit us down and explain what we should have done."
I agree that games overall are very interactive, where the player chooses what to do and either wins or loses based on that decision; whereas, in books, the reader reads what's on the page and makes analysis and draws conclusions just from that. I don't know if I agree with the "books give answers" part, because books usually call for critical thinking and analysis, depending on what's being read.
For me, books and video games are a good source of recreational activity for me. It all depends on my mood, which I would prefer doing. If I feel like being alone and just relaxing and do something to pass the time, I'd rather read. If I feel like being alone while still being in control and have fun, I would rather play video games.
As for other people, I feel like video games are the preferred form of recreational activity. But will the day come when books are no longer required and books become obsolete? Who knows..
