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10/27/2007: "Media expert suggests anti-consumerist values"

"Why wouldn't a personal paradise become addictive?" he asked the audience, but pointed out that he was old enough to remember similar worries over movies, video games, and the web. Though just about any human activity can give rise to addictive behavior, Puttnam doesn't see why virtual worlds would prove to be any more harmful than other forms of media, but he wants to see more research done in this area.

"Do we really want them to think of themselves as not that much more than consumers?" His alternative was using virtual worlds to "encourage [kids] to exercise those same values and skills we wish to see them exercise in the real world."

[ We're training kids to become obedient little conquerors or slaves, all for money. Does this select the best? Evidence says no. Yet we persist, because it's easy and just maybe we'll get really rich from it, or the lottery. ]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071025-british-lord-virtual-worlds-should-teach-real-world-values.html