The Gaming Connection | Angela Roseboro | TEDxSonomaCounty
URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkQdT2TptA8 Video ID: ZkQdT2TptA8 ============================================================ [Music] foreign [Music] on April 20th 2021 Dante Wright was pulled over for a traffic stop and he never returned home he was shot and killed by a police officer Dante was 20 years old now this is the first time that an unarmed black man has been shot by the police and tragically it won't be the last but every time it happens I feel like it's happening to my family and I mourn that loss and although we're not connected by Blood we are connected by this common reality that that could be my father my brother or my uncle I have nephews who range between the ages of 5 and 48. and every time that comes up on the news I am almost Paralyzed by fear and with the exception of my five-year-old it is not uncommon that they get a call from their Auntie to have what I call the talk and during the pandemic I felt like I had that talk so many times that my message was getting lost I mean how many times can I tell them that if you are stopped by police call your mom put it on on speakerphone put the phone on the floor or on the seat next to you put your hands on the steering wheel at the 10 and 12 position only speak when you're spoken to and by all that is Holy just comply the hardest part for me of having that conversation with them is that I have to tell my nephews these young black men to act like they are less than so they have the best chance of getting home it is a heavy conversation and if you add to that I'm almost 3 000 miles away I am always in fear that my words won't connect and it is so important that they do because it could be the very thing that saved their life three days after Dante was killed my nephew called and asked me to play a game now at the time I was the chief diversity officer for the leading game publisher so I'm like the cool aunt and I have to tell you it is a title that I wear proudly he's asked me to play before but I've always said no I told him I was too busy which was partly true but the reality is he's really good I'm not and you know I'm sitting here going uh I don't want to lose not even to the person I love like my nephew but on this day I readily accept it and so we play well let me be clear he's playing I'm just kind of hanging out we're laughing we're joking we're competing and in this moment we're not auntie and nephew we're two Gamers playing a game connecting bonding the game is over I would love to tell you that I won but we all know that's not true and then we have the talk but this time instead of his eyes glazing over saying yeah Auntie opportunity to hear you he looked at me and I felt relief and a little bit of sadness that he said auntie I know what to do I just wish I didn't have to do it it reminded me that games have always been how we've connected as a family so think about this is the audience participation raise your hand if you just remember playing games with your family and friends just having fun and hanging out me too as a matter of fact my Fondest Memories was playing games with my family going to the arcade to play centipede maybe family Spade night or even playing double dutch with my cousins that camaraderie built bonds that I still hold dear today but on this day I'm 3000 miles away I can't hug him I can't sit across the kitchen table from him it was a game that connected us it was a game that allowed him to feel my presence and for me to feel his it was a game that bonded us it was a game that gave us joy and it was a game that allowed me to break through even though I wasn't there now gameplay spiked during the pandemic according to the entertainment software Association over 227 million Americans played games during that time it was a way to relieve stress and a much needed distraction for what was going on in the world not only were we stuck in our houses probably away from extended family and friends we're losing some of our loved ones to the virus and we were going through some really heavy social cultural and geopolitical issues that we have never experienced before it is no doubt that the pandemic changed the way we saw the world we were isolated disconnected lonely agitated and I was so afraid I was becoming apathetic because there was so much coming at us that you had to shut down I heard from so many gamers that it was the love of play that kept them grounded and connected to their communities and gave them a much needed Outlet and you know what I believe them because it happened for me that day with my nephew and parents started playing games with their children in the pandemic and I could so see that as a way to connect because I remember one daughter was watching television the other one's on her phone and Mom on my computer it brought us together in the house to connect which is a good thing another interesting fact is that there are studies that suggest that children who play video games get this parents have higher cognitive performance if all that is not enough to convince you that games could really be a way to bridge gaps you can do what this mother did go into the game and tell your daughter to do some chores and I am so feeling that lasagna I love it right when we think of Gamers there's this image that may come to our mind a person that is disconnected a loner someone who has low social skills but I have a different definition of gamers I think a gamer is anyone who has a love of play including you think about it again think about when you're with your family and friends the laugh the joy that you get well that happens in today's games too I don't suggest that toxicity doesn't exist in a game as a matter of fact I know that it does but I also know that it bonds and when you're in a space where you want to bond and when you're in a place where we have to rethink about how gamers are visualized we have to interpret that they are great and that we have to expand that definition so that we can influence what new games can be created so I suggest to you that this is a gamer this is a gamer these are gamers and my family across that kitchen table we are gamers this is my nephew so what if games facilitate the bonds and the connection that we've been missing according to new so there are 3.2 billion gamers in the world I am such a big believer that one person one act of kindness can make a difference 3.2 billion we got a movement and that's what we need to be thinking about so we're going to test this for a minute I want the next time that you want to connect you want to bond do it through game play I'm not suggesting that a video game can change the world but I'm not saying that it can't I invite each of you to join me and imagine a world that when we play together This Is Us being kind and making the world a better place my name is Angela Roseboro and I'm a gamer thank you [Music] foreign