Why video games work

One of the biggest challenges in business today – especially when it comes to the younger crowd – is engagement.  “Young kids today have serious attention deficiency problems.”  I have heard parents say this, I have heard teachers whine about this, and I surely have heard business executives complain about this.  And then there are the books. Some authors say that when information is overly abundant, attention will become a scarcity.

I am a little skeptical when it comes to this.  If kids do not have the ability to focus, then try to explain why you cannot pry them away from their video games, and why they would stay for hours in front of the screen with fixed and full attention.

I was invited to speak to all the high school students of a prestigious school.  I spoke to them for an hour and 15 minutes, moving my way through the thousands of kids sitting on the floor of their gymnasium.  I had their attention, and they did not want me to stop.  I had to stop, because I was exhausted.  I had to tell stories, move around a lot, show video clips, make them laugh, make them think, and engage them to participate in movements so I could have their attention.  The use of PowerPoint slides at that moment would have been suicide.  In other words, I had to be like a character in their video games, presenting lessons through storytelling and also engaging them so they participate in the entire presentation process.

Video games are big serious business.  The video game industry is bigger than Hollywood.  The reason why video games are so popular and effective is because they engage players in an open-ended fashion, and they create an experience.  Video games also invite gamers into the creative process – which is the main reason the players stay engaged.

Here is a question that has bugged me over the years: Students are not machines, yet why do many schools still behave like factories straight out of the industrial era?

Kids today are extremely creative, and schools have the tools to make them creative.  But do educators, parents and business executives know how to engage today’s generation?

I attended a lecture presented by Tim Elmore in Atlanta a few months ago, and he was right on spot when he said that parents and educators need to deal with a generation of kids who:

• Grow up with touch screens – unlike their older siblings who started with keypads.

• Expect to use portable devices in the classroom.

• Will not be conditioned to merely sit and watch or listen, but will want participation and interaction.

• Are less patient than older generations and are comfortable learning from screens (in some cases more than from real people).

As a trainer I notice that my younger participants behave differently from those who are older.  This is why I have to constantly revise and try out new things to make my presentations relevant and engaging.

It’s a brand new world out there, and we all have to learn how to adjust to the young.  The future belongs to them, and it is my responsibility to pass on my values and knowledge as I train them, but this would not be possible if I do not know how to engage them first.

I have to change, and I have to learn from them.  It is a very humbling experience but one that is extremely rewarding.  God has a wonderful way of balancing the energy of the young with the experience and patience of the old.

Video games?  Social networks?  Digital stuff?  They are not going away, and I have the young to teach me how to teach them.  We keep on learning, we keep on reinventing, and we keep on innovating.

Albert Einstein was right all along when he said that: “Education is what remains when one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”  So keep on learning.

(Spend two inspiring days learning leadership and life skills with Francis Kong as he presents Level Up Leadership this January 21-22 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel.  For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 for details.)