Is the Popularity of Gaming Evidence of the Conversion of Humans into Homo-Ludens?
In Johan Huizinga’s book, Homo Ludens, published in 1938, Huizinga discusses the importance of play, which he believes is human nature and important as an element of flourishing civilizations and cultures.
Huizinga begins his book with,
“Play is older than culture, for culture, however inadequately defined, always presupposes human society, and animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing”
Humans naturally have homo-luden characteristics. One can compare this to a scenario of a human growing up. As a child, they like to play, once they learn how to read and go to school, they get a job, then they are old, and end up the same way they were as a child, due to loss of brain power, will be doing activities like puzzles and play.
Humans are scientifically classified as “homo-sapien-sapiens”, which translates to “big brain”. This complex brain means for the search for advancements and productivity. However, humans do not seem to embody this concept as commonly, in the modern age.
Due to technological advancements, humans now work less as a result of such. This indicates that humans have more time and ability to play, so we do as such.
Video games were invented as a way to demonstrate that science and technology did not only have to be about war and destruction (Plarium, 2022). William Higginbotham created Tennis for Two, the world’s first video game, in 1958. A.S. Douglas made a video game named OXO, a tic-tac-toe simulator. Ever since then, there have been over 830,000 video games produced.
“Problem gamers” play video games between 80 and 100 hours per week; at more than double full-time employment or school, this is indisputably too much (King, 2010). There are 3.24 billion gamers, and the average gamer is 35 years of age. The sole fact that humans, 35-year-old humans, are playing video games for enjoyment, and winning in a fake world, instead of contributing to the economy through working in an office, or researching stem cells, is surprising. We are beginning to prioritize efficiency, which is human nature, but also, enjoyment. Diving further into the stats, more than 214 million Americans play video games, and People aged 18 to 34 make up 38% of the US gaming population. The age range 18–34 is the working age, and is meant to be the “younger generation” in jobs like at banks and hospitals.
The prime example of humans being homo-ludens is our overuse of video games, slightly contradicting the scientific definition of “human”. We are becoming more involved in a world that entirely does not exist as opposed to the world right in front our us, which can always be advanced.
Would you say that humans are somewhat homo-ludens?
