In every year of every decade of every century of every millennium, someone states that the world is going to the dogs. But the world has been going in that direction since the first person thought it, but never has it, nor will it be in grasp of the dogs.
The world is always changing, and humanity always adapts to those changes. To maintain a nihilistic outlook while pursuing a positivist lifestyle will only ferment bitter fruits as the world around continues to change, develop and spring forth new challenges for individuals to face.
One could argue that kids no longer enjoy going to films anymore, preferring to sit in front of the computer or TV playing games. The understanding here is that the gaming console (Playstation, Xbox, etc.) provides a far greater interactive experience than any film could – remember when you use to sit down and play marbles/knucklebones/hopscotch? These are genuinely interactive games, but they don’t however provide the escapist entertainment that video games provide. Children do not lose imagination, nor lack the use of imagination, in the playing of these games, for it takes a genuine imagination to suspend disbelief and launch the self into role-playing, just as an actor must imagine their role in a film. I felt this experience recently while playing Prince of Persia I & II. I genuinely felt that no Hollywood film could ever live up to the experience of actually playing the game with all its highs and lows, of having control over your character and the struggle to pass each level.
People who are born with great imaginations are the ones who create these experiences for the rest of us to participate in. There will never be a world where people’s imaginations are lacking, unless we already live in it, and if that were the case then it has always been the case and always will be.
Would you want to live in a world where outdoor sports were your only option? Because of the digital world, we now have a new field of interest where people who don’t enjoy the outdoors will find fulfilment indoors. This is no more a danger than your child getting their back broken in an outdoor sport.
So what world is going to the dogs?
