Bill O’Reilly doesn’t get gamers

Bill doesn’t get it. In his latest get-off-my-lawn-you kids blog entry, Bill panders to the popular myth that people who use the Internet, particularly, gamers, are addicted zombies who care little for the outside world. “Now, kids and many adults,” extols Bill,  “are becoming hypnotized by a technological world that requires little accountability and massive escape possibilities.”

I don’t really care for politics much, so I really don’t pay much attention to talking heads like Bill O’Reilly. Everyone has opinions, and when I share mine, I found that it is better to have discourse with people who are attentive, have thoughtful opinions and will let you get a word in edgewise. Such discussions don’t seem to happen much on Bill’s show (I admit I haven’t watched it much), and his show seems more of a vehicle for his political opinions as opposed to a real forum for meaningful dialogue.  Apparently, though, this sort of show appeals to many, many people as Bill’s show is popular. But I suspect that many tune in just to watch his cantankerousness as opposed to actually listening to his diatribes.

However, Bill’s latest post hints at a crack in the foundation. Bill, by his own admission, doesn’t understand kids and young people nowadays. That’s unsurprising since young people probably make up a very small portion of the demographic that watches his show. There’s no reason for Bill to pay attention to a group of people that doesn’t comprise a significant portion of his customer base.  With a lack of understanding often comes ignorance.

How else can you explain observations like this one:

But even if parents closely monitor what their children see on the Internet, the lives of younger Americans are changing drastically because of machines. It used to be that you’d see kids playing sports in the streets and on the playgrounds. I don’t see too much of that anymore. Instead, many kids are playing sports games on the net, where they can experience the thrill of victory without getting sweaty or bloody. They are playing a game, not the game.

Sorry Bill, but just because the younger generation feels comfortable in a medium that you do not, doesn’t necessarily mean that they are not interacting with society or moving on with their lives. Paying attention to the new digital world makes sense.  Your playground isn’t just the neighborhood playground that Bill reminesces about, but a playground composed of millions of people around the world. Young people today are more aware of things that are happening in Japan or Germany than just things that happen in their backyards. That’s a good thing.

Further, many of America’s future careers are in the very digital world Bill doesn’t understand. Yahoo, Microsoft, eBay, Google, Youtube and  MySpace are just a few of the companies that have helped maintain America’s reputation for economic prowess in the digital realm.  Newer companies like FaceBook, LinkedIn, Flickr and Twitter represent some of America’s best economic bright spots. Young people who want a career in an America that is increasingly dependent on digital companies pay attention to the Internet and seek to understand its capabilities.

Bill finishes his post with an uninspired critique of the younger generation:

Some old-timers tell me they fear for America, that is has become a place of individual pursuits and selfish short-term desires. They say there is little sense of patriotism or civic responsibility anymore.

That fear is worth thinking about as machines become more and more vital to our lives—because succeeding in the real world requires a lot more skill and determination than flipping a switch.

Almost every generation before has feared the supposed moral decay and selfishness of the younger generation. That critique has been around since before even Bill was born. They despaired of the flappers of the 1920s, the greasers of the 1950s, the hippies of the 60s and 70s, the yuppies of the 80s and generation X of the 90s. Each generation turned out just fine, though each generation seems to forget the critiques made by the generation before them.

Unlike Bill, I hope I never lose the ability to understand the younger generation. It’s playing games and interacting on the Internet with people of all ages and backgrounds that make me feel young at heart. When I start sounding like Bill O’Reilly, I will have officially turned old.

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