Wastes of Time

In class on Tuesday there was a discussion surrounding the use of comic books and video games and society's perception of these two forms of media being a waste of time.  Some argued that comic books are not seen as a worthy form of reading or media in society, but that they actually held worthwhile content.  Although I understand that graphic novels and comic books can be a worthwhile read for some, many people in society do not.  I believe that this aversion to comic books and not thinking of them as worthwhile is created in many people because of their understanding of what a comic book is.  Many people see comic books as on pretty low level when it comes to content and meaning, and dismiss them as fluff. This may be because the average person's normal interaction with anything close to a comic book is a lighthearted strip about nothing every Sunday in the local newspaper. Many people do not understand that comic books have evolved into a meaningful form of media, a form of media that is engaging and deeper than the fluff commonly found in the comics section of the newspaper. The same goes for society's common perception of video games and their regular users.  Most people who do not play video games see that they are a waste of time, an activity that has no worth or positive effect.  Mindless hand movements in response to visuals on a screen. Perhaps this is because a person who does not play video games and is not around them very much interacts with actual video games very little.  The "non-gamer" interacts much more with trivial studies about video game users or lighthearted news stories about excessive Playstation use leading to sores on the hands of users. This information fed into the heads of non users of video games shapes their ideas about the worth of spending time clicking buttons in front of a screen.  Perhaps these trivial studies and stories have shaped my perception of video games; because as someone who does not play video games, the only worth I can see in playing them is the slight relaxation a person gains from sitting down.  My understanding that video games are a waste of time probably is fostered by growing up in a society that values work. Looking at the very end of the spectrum of video game users I can understand more about why I see little worth in playing them.  

A teenage girl plays World of Warcraft for extended periods of time without eating, drinking, sleeping or taking care of her body until the point of death.

A man dies in an accident while working on the construction of a dam.

Which is a waste of time? 

Maybe it is both a waste of time, work or play, but I have a heard time believing that the time that girl spent in front of the computer all day was worthwhile.