Digital Humanities Exhibit Reactions

One of the exhibits that caught my eye was entitled "Rated E for Everyone", which was focused around the subject of video games. It starts off with the Fortune 500 report that the total revenues for the video game industry in the United States hit $25.3 billion last year. He then adds that most rumors have been dispelled about links of video games to violence and obesity. In fact, video games can benefit people of all ages. A study found that compared to non-players, children that were moderate gamers "showed higher levels of pro-social behavior and life satisfaction and lower levels of conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems, and emotional symptoms." Moving on to teens and young adults, apparently playing video games could make them better surgeons, help overcome dyslexia, improve vision, ease pain, help them to make quicker decisions, and reduce stress. He also mentions in his presentation that senior gaming is on the rise. Neuroracer, which is a game created by neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley, is a simple driving game that causes players to take fast turns and make quick decisons, that has also dramatically increased memory and multitasking in seniors.

Another exhibit that I enjoyed was Angelina's topic about social media, mentioning many aspects it it. She talked about the challenges that social media poses to society, such as making it very easy to hide behind technology. She also brings up how people tend to voice their controversial opinions about things that they wouldn't normally do in person, and even that many social media accounts are false. Another topic she tackles is how social media impacts different generations. Baby boomers tend to not understand social media very well, Generation X finds it a bit easier to get used to and navigate, and Millennials are extremely social media savvy because they have practically grown up with it. She then moves onto a more important issue regarding the potential addictive qualities of social media. In 2016, 78 percent of Americans had a social media profile, which is a 5 percent growth compared to 2015. She concludes with results from a survey conducted by Tianjin-based Nankai University, that 68 percent of young people spent over six hours a day surfing the web during they summer break.