Mobile Games Are Shrinking My Brain

I love video games. Puzzles, mostly. I was that kid that always had a book of crossword and logic puzzle books in my purse, on my nightstand, in my carry-on luggage. I suppose that need for accessible entertainment carried over into video games, because I couldn’t be happier with the improvement of mobile gaming in the past few years. But maybe it’s becoming a detrimental aspect of my life.

I mean, my phone is always with me. There’s no longer a need to have multiple versions of the same game on multiple devices for multiple places. One little cell phone packs in all the entertainment I need, whether I’m in the car or in the bed. It sometimes takes me hours to fall asleep, and believe me; Backgammon on my cell phone has been my saving grace.

But that right there could be the problem. Maybe it takes me hours to fall asleep because I’m so busy playing Backgammon on my phone. I’ve found myself pulling out my cell phone while in the car with my boyfriend, or at the dinner table. Waiting in line or waiting for a movie to start, I just can’t seem to help myself.

I constantly need to be mentally stimulated and occupied at all times. I can’t even simply watch television. I’ll start playing a game, even in the midst of the most enthralling History channel program. Sure, I think it’s awesome that I can multitask, but I also know there’s no such thing as true and absolute multitasking. Just because I’m doing more than one thing at one time doesn’t mean I’m doing any one thing particularly well.
I think my brain is shrinking. I should probably delete all the games off my cell phone. It’s too damn handy. It’s like My Buddy, or more like Kid Sister. I am a girl, after all. And I’m fearful of the future of mobile devices, because I know how much I’ll always love them and their game-playing capabilities.

Ah, games.

I try to make myself feel better by noting the types of games I’m playing–brain teasers and board games that keep the mind astute. But then I recall my days of high school, and lugging around a book bag before they came with wheels. The front pocket was always full of tiny toys and cutesy trinkets that fit atop my pencil erasers and surely distracted my fellow students and teachers alike. So I guess I’ve always been this way. Always in need of some mental stimulation.

Yet this is the world we live in. There are a lot of businesses that are going to take advantage of people like me, always needing to indulge myself in constant cerebral tinkering. Our culture is full of instant gratification and the mobile phone has brought such joy straight to our pockets. And as I sit back and witness this trend in all its wonder, I’ll be playing Backgammon on my cell phone all the while.