I have been considering getting an Xbox 360 since I've sort of missed playing it since I was in undergrad. I especially miss Halo 2 with its live multiplayer. I've been thinking throughout the day today if I should get an xbox 360. Another law student mentioned to me today that Xbox 4GB is functionally equivalent to the 250GB version and you can get the hard drive separately. I could order it right now if I wanted to.
This brings up the issue of the TV. I don't have a TV and consider it quite a big achievement that I never watch television. I would prefer to get rid of the computer too but it's pretty much a must-have in law school.
I told my law school buddy that I probably shouldn't get the xbox at this time considering we only have 3 weeks left before finals. But I am not sure I would want to get one at all.
An Xbox 360 (or gaming/entertainment in the broader sense) does NOT raise one's survival value. Even one minute of playing a game is not OK. It's escapism. For an illustration do this exercise. In your mind picture the thing you want the most in this world, something that you would consider the goal of your entire life. My guess would be that this something takes some effort to achieve. Unfortunately (for most people) in the developed world people set goals and rarely put too much effort into achieving them. They spend more time planning grocery trip than planning out their life. Then they forget about their plan. They just dive into the world of television/videogames/entertainment and the next time they remember their goal they realize it's been a month since they even thought about it last. And this is the goal of their life, the thing they treasure the most in their existence!
Therein lies the danger of modern entertainment. The more time you spend developing your virtual character the crappier your real-life "character" becomes. You end up being a loser that has not achieved the goal of his life.
Having purged my life of a television I should not get one again even for playing one Xbox 360 game. Images are unnatural, they are a human made virtual non-existent motivator that in the case of games does not only motivate us with happy colors but also affects our happiness levels and our innate sense of achievement when we are bumped up to the next level in the game. This in turn affects our dopamine levels in the brain, making us feel happy. Therefore it could be concluded that videogames are a drug. It is an unnatural thing that affects human dopamine levels making them feel good and making them want more.
This motivation is something sacred. It should not be wasted on videogame achievements. It should be spent on real-world achievements no matter how tedious the work might seem initially. That way when you are done with the task at hand and think about what just happened - you will not discover an unshaved smelly loser with a high-level character on the screen.
Xbox 360/gaming is inconsistent with a leader's lifestyle.
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I am a law student, not a lawyer. This website is composed as a personal study aid for myself as I study law, it does not contain legal advice and I am not your lawyer. Please seek legal advice from a lawyer, not a blog.
