Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Social Apps vs. Games
Smart phones have become very popular among adults and children as Apple and Android come out with new and improved phones often. In the article Social Apps Pass Games for Top Spot on Mobile Devices, written by Dan Rowinski on May 1, 2012, it is said that these phones are mainly used for gaming purposes over the past few years. Games such as Angry Birds, Words with Friends, Draw Something, etc have created a huge buzz among teens for the past years. Lately, however, social networking apps have become popular, surpassing the amount of time spent playing games. I admit that when I first bought my iPhone I sat and played Angry Birds and Words with Friends for hours, it seemed. Now, I notice that I sit and look on Facebook or Pinterest (procrastinating of course) instead of playing games. Most of the top games in the App Store and the Android Market cost a small fee, whereas the social networking apps are free of charge. It was noted in the article that the amount of time spent playing games is not decreasing, but the amount of time spent on social apps is increasing at a faster rate. Being that I am teaching in a middle school right now I hear conversations about my students using Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites. I realize this is a growing trend for younger students, but makes me nervous about the increase of cyber-bullying. We've talked a lot about bullying at school, so I hope my students are smart about what they do on the Internet!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to agree with you about worrying about cyber-bullying with the increased use of social apps in the younger grades. I too teach middle school, but I teach computers and we try to find time to talk about digital citizenship and whats right and wrong. If the parents don't follow through at home then there is little we can do. I also spend too much time on my phone playing either angry birds, pocket frogs or on facebook. I think this is just where the world is going and we all need to adjust with it as we need to.
ReplyDelete