Distinguished Speaker Series- Jane McGonigal

This evening, I went to the Distinguished Speaker Series to learn about how gaming can change the world. First off let me say that I am in no way what I'd call a "gammer" (unless you count the Sims) however, I found the lecture to be interesting and eye-opening. I found out that the average person spends 10,000 hours playing games by the time they turn 21 and just slightly more (I want to say 10,024 hours) time in middle and high school. There have also been studies that suggest that playing games can put the players in better moods, bring about more confidence to them, and influence them to help out others. Although there hasn't been much evidence to suggest that violent videogames causes people to be violent, there is evidence that videogames can have positive effects. The point of Jane's lecture was to persuade us that games are good and can possibly be used to make real and positive changes in society today. She was funny and entertaining. Overall, a good evening.