These days kids have easy access to a million entertainment options. The exploding popularity of video games, for example, has largely distracted young people from other pursuits, including reading. But innovative authors are taking advantage of this trend by designing video games that encourage an interest in reading.
Many experts argue that playing video games teaches its own kind of “literacy.” This digital literacy, according to some experts, is as important for success in the world today as reading skills. While this theory is controversial, that hasn’t stopped many publishing houses and public libraries from taking advantage of the immense popularity of video games to encourage reading.
Libraries are now hosting video game tournaments, for example, and public schools around the country are increasing the use of video games in classrooms to help teach subjects ranging from social studies to algebra. The New York Times reports that the MacArthur Foundation is creating a new public school in New York that will use video game principles, including 3-D images and instant feedback mechanisms to teach school subjects.
Traditional print publishers are also keen to associate their books with popular video games, in hopes of attracting new readers. Both Random House and Scholastic have recently published mystery book series’ that are connected to online video games. The concept is to make the books and integral part of the game, so that game players must read in order to unlock puzzles and progress through the game.
While there is no denying that these tactics are clever marketing, and could help bolster the sales of many struggling book publishers, they are also encouraging literacy at a time when reading for pleasure among teens has fallen to an all-time low.
But not everyone agrees that tying video games to books is a good idea. Skeptical schoolteachers and learning experts question the effectiveness of using a predominantly visual medium (videogames) to encourage greater literacy and command of the language. Other critics point out that connecting video games to books essentially undermines the experience of being completely immersed in a book — one of the great joys of reading in the first place.
They also point out the gimmicky practice of pairing video games with made-for-teen novels, which offer little in the way of improving literacy, or introducing young people to the power of the written word in any meaningful way.
According to the New York Times, 97% of all children between the ages of 12 and 17 regularly play video games — very close to 100% market saturation. Video game defenders point out that when playing games, teens become more than simply a spectator to a great adventure — but actually a character in the story itself. The interactive nature of video games put kids at the heart of the story in a way few novels can.
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