Ministry for Mass Hysteria
Nature officially undesirable...
In these times of seeming social discord it could perhaps be argued that the one thing most people have in common is the desire to escape from it all. A quick look at the high street will tell you that our appetite for escapism has perhaps gotten a little out of hand, be it in the form of the ubiquitous white iPod headphones locking everybody in their movie soundtrack little bubbles, the drones congesting the roads in their cells on wheels, or the disturbing amount of 'fantasy' that has infiltrated our culture in the form of Star Wars or Harry Potter or whatever else it is that has managed to speak to our inner child this week. But have we taken it too far?
According to research carried out by the hippies at the National Trust, television obsessed kids in the UK have become so drawn into the realities contrived by George Lucas and Co. that their skills at distinguishing characters or creatures within these worlds is far superior to their ability to name things within the 'real' world. For example, whereas nine out of ten children were able to specify who Yoda was, only one in three could identify a magpie, and less than half could distinguish a bee from a wasp.
The poll, conducted by the National Trust, studied the opinions of 1,600 children aged between 10 and 12, and concluded that they spend so much time playing computer games or watching TV that they no longer know they're part of nature. Their knowledge of Daleks and Jedi and laser beams surpasses their understanding of the real world.
“The more distanced we become from nature, the more difficult it will be for us to survive on this planet", said Matthew Oates of the National Trust. And perhaps he has a point. But can our true reality ever compete with the worlds that technology allows us to live in?
Whereas the mundane nature of trees and butterflies may once have been enough for us, the high-octane world of movies and computer games offers a certain excitement that our suburban version of reality can never match. In a culture that demands every day to provide some sort of an event or special occasion, high tension, or drama, it should only be expected that we rebel against the real world which, for the majority of us, doesn't offer anything along these lines. It's a sad state, indeed.
But at least the future should be interesting...
del.icio.us
digg
Facebook
Newsvine
reddit
2 Comments
"A quick look at the high street will tell you that our appetite for escapism has perhaps GOTTEN a little out of hand, "
Will you please return to correct English, or return the the land where English has been bastardised.
There is no room in this country for more permanent foreign muck.
Welcome to the MTV generation.