DLC Blog

Videogames: Changing Lives

Our society is currently plagued with a plethora of disturbing things. Famine, global warming, climate change, poverty, war, these are all things that as a society we have come to hear about and learn about in our everyday lives. Another one of the issues that so heavily pervades our society is childhood diseases.

While the number of cases of cancer and other life threatening diseases has indisputably risen drastically within the last 50 years, so have the number of childhood cases. Today children can be diagnosed as toddlers, or younger, with cancer and other diseases. So how do you explain to children at tender ages whose minds cannot yet fully grasp what their body is battling? You let them play online videogames.

With education moving more towards online services, as seen in the Digital Learning Commons, television moving to online streaming, and music being shared via podcasting and filesharing, it is only natural that our healthcare system follows the technological trend as well. The Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation has set up multiple online games for children to better understand their disease. Video games range from Bens Game, which allows young players to fight off mutant cancer cells, to Slime-O-Rama, part trivia game, part adventure where gamers take on sickle cell anemia trivia. These games give children a kind friendly and interactive format to learn about their disease. That knowledge and understanding, many say, is more powerful than any pamphlet or sit down lesson with a doctor you could possibly give a child.

*Courtesy of Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation

Since most online gamers are under 18, what better way to present life changing information in an informative and also fun way. At pivotal and incredibly crucial times in children's lives, things such as life threatening diseases greatly affect one's childhood. That is why organizations such as SSCF are attempting to give kids the knowledge about their disease, but presenting it in memorable and engaging formats. For a child to listen to a doctor go on and on about white blood cells, it is rare that much of that information will be retained. But put it in a format where a child can earn T-Cell points by destroying bad cells in a game, now that's memorable.

While there are only a few online distributors and manufacturers of these types of games out right now, it is clear that Internet games are no longer just a waste of time. While it may just be a game, to these kids the knowledge of their own disease gives them some power in what could otherwise be seen as a powerless situation.

More information on other educational videogames can be found here

Posted by Mia at November 7, 2006 05:18 PM in .