The Blurry Line Between Minecraft and Reality
A whole series of posts could be done about our family’s interactions with Minecraft. It has brought the children closer friendships with beloveds, allowed them to create fantastic, imaginative structures that amaze Buds and me, and exponentially increased their understanding of computer frameworks. The olders each have their own server which they administrate, and the typing and spelling necessary to orchestrate all these interactions has brought much growth.
There are a host of other benefits as well, but also a funny set of wrinkles that is totally new for this generation.
They don’t always know if something from Minecraft is really in real life. At least once a week or so, one of them will ask me a question like, “Is such and so from real life?”
“Is obsidian in real life?”
Off we go to the computer to learn about the “real life” thing that has bled over into Minecraft.
Did you know that obsidian is so sharp it is used in scalpel blades? Neither did we, until we researched it.
“Is the Nether in real life?”
This question lead to a discussion about Hell and what the Nether represents, and does that apply to real life.
Buster, Yessa, and Cousin O generally are online skyping together to play Minecraft every morning before Cousin leaves for school. When they first started playing, The Buster was the most advanced player, and he “spoke softly and carried a big stick.” At least once each morning you could hear Yessa or O shrieking, “No, Bumbram! Don’t do that.” Or, “No, Bumbram, don’t ban me!” Buster had to learn to be a benevolent dictator since his skill in Minecraft surpassed the other two. If he didn’t heed them, it was two against one, which isn’t sustainable if you want to have someone to play with. Lesson learned.
Oh, and the online names: Buster thought up “Bumbram” many years ago as a name for himself, and it has carried through as his online persona. Now it carries over into real life as well. Yessa is just as likely to call him, “Bum” during the day as she is his “real” name. Not sure what other people think because for our family it doesn’t even register as any different from his other names. Of course, he also gets called “Doodles,” so it will be no surprise if the child develops a split personality somewhere down the pike.
So, a toast to online interaction that is healthy, respectful, thoughtful, and supportive, and a toast to real life interaction that is the same. May we all be blessed with friends online and in real life that care for us with love.
