Digital Commons Network^™

The Dark Side Of Online Gaming, Katherine Albrecht, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Horror stories in the media abound in relation to online gaming addiction- of parents disregarding their kids to the point of starvation spouses quarreling or divorcing, students flunking out of school, young men and women dying from heart attacks, even kids poisoning their parents to get online in order to play their favorite game spending copious time away from their family responsibilities. We shake our heads at these previously unimaginable stories of excess, but lately they've begun hitting closer to home. How many readers have seen close friends, even family members seduced away from their meaningful relationships by the promise …

We Got To Do Better, Katherine Albrecht, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Each year, thousands of film buffs gather at the Sundance International Film Festival in park City, UT, U.S.A., to see the offerings of the world’s brightest filmmakers. If it’s true that movies reflect the preoccupations and obsessions of the larger culture, it’s eye opening that three of the twelve contenders for international documentary film this year address the dark side of screen technology.

Love Child, looks at the tragic 2010 death by neglect of a three-month-old baby named “Sarang” (“Love” in Korean), when her parents spent up to twelve hours a day playing the game Prius, caring for their avatar …