The Blame Game: Games Made me Fail my Drivers Test

                There are few things more exciting to a 15 year old than the prospect of getting your license. There are also few things less exciting than sitting in driver’s Ed every Saturday and Sunday for six weeks. Drivers Ed consisted of cheesy driving movies that were at least 20 years old, an impossibly boring driving instructor, and 40 teenagers who just wanted their weekends back. It was a struggle not to fall asleep during class, and so I turned to about the only possible thing that was interesting to me back then: my iPhone and its’ games. I quickly downloaded all the top games at the app store, buying everything from Cooking Mama to Doodle Jump. I would spend hours during class playing these games, not paying attention to our teacher, but constantly achieving a new high score. Blocking out the boring old man talking about speed limits was easy when I was engaged by the small screen in the palm of my hands. I guess the joke was on me when six months later I didn’t pass my driver’s test. I’ll never know if my obsession with my iPhone and all its games can be blamed for my failure, or perhaps it was something else, but I know that because of drivers Ed I beat the whole entire game of Cooking Mama in six weeks.

               The number of games available on the iPhone is constantly expanding, and the iPhone is the perfect delivery system for games that were previously only available through other gaming consoles. If you think about it, it makes perfect sense.  Most people are glued to their smartphones, and if you have your phone with you 24/7 then in theory you would always be able to play the games you’ve downloaded from the App store. Currently gamesare the most popular category in the App store, with approximately 130,804active applications available for downloading. If you can imagine a game, it probably exists in the app store, ready for you to download it with the tap of your finger. There is literally an app for anything and everything. In addition to the game category in the app store, there is also an education category thatcontains 74,032 apps available for download, that’s almost half of the amount of games in the apps store.  When faced with the choice of playing a game or an educational app, most people would pick fun filled games any day. While good educational games may be out there, they will never be utilized enough for them to become effective.

                Fast forward from 15 year old me playing on my iPhone in driving class, to 17 year old me preparing to take the SAT. For any high school junior the SAT is what consumes you, it is essentially the most important test one will ever have to take. Yet again I saw my weekends booked, with SAT prep classes for hours on Saturdays and Sundays. And, yet again, rather than listening to my teacher I found myself distracted by my IPhone, playing Angry Birds and not listening to SAT “testing strategies”.  How could I possibly pay attention to math problems and reading passages when my IPhone and all its grandeur was literally an arm’s length away? I didn’t fail the SAT, but I’ll always wonder what my score would’ve been had I actually paid attention during prep class. These games, while some argument could be made for their educational properties, were by far a detriment to my learning in class. And I’m not alone in my in-class gaming addiction, with one-third of high school students owningan iPhone; the number of those who are distracted during school is larger than ever.

                Asking a Kid who has an IPhone to not play games during class is like putting a drink in front of a recovering alcoholic. These games are designed to be engaging and addicting, and sitting in a boring class is the perfect time to try and beat the next level or perfect your high score. There is no question that there are some educational aspects of a few select educational games. However, I cannot in my right mind agree with someone who says that there are educational benefits from playing Fruit Ninja. Games for me will always be a distraction, a way to escape from the prospect of learning. Whether it is during a lecture in college or listening during algebra class in high school, if I didn’t force myself to pay attention, I would always rather be playing on my iPhone. 

This September's Issue: How the Digital Age has Changed the Fashion Industry

          Strolling up to Lincoln Center, after changing from the most comfortable of ballet flats to the highest of heels, I reveled at the array of outfits in the sea of incredibly well dressed people around me. Two weeks off the plane from Texas, I was going to my first fashion show…and I was shaking in my grey suede wedge boots. Photographers were swarming outside Lincoln Center, the location of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, snapping photos of anyone who exuded an edgy and original sense of style. Celebrities, Socialites, and Editors weren’t the only ones getting their trendy get up’s documented- well known bloggers posed for the cameras and were some of the best dressed attendees. Fashion Week is a chance for designers to showcase their collections for the upcoming season, and in the past was reserved only for the elite- the crème de la crème of the fashion world. Fashion Week is the pinnacle of the fashion industry; Think of it as a fashion junkie’s Birthday, Christmas and Thanksgiving all rolled in to one hectic week. Formerly, tickets to these shows were exclusive and only a select few were bestowed with the privilege to attend. However, now with the introduction of technology such as Smartphones, Blogging and the Internet, the hoi polloi can be fashionistas with the click of a few buttons.

Technology has made for the mass distribution of fashion culture: Designers are now making their runway shows available for live streaming, Websites like Pinterest allow anyone with internet access to create their own personal dream closet and inspiration board with images from fashion shows, stores, and street style, and anyone with a keen eye and artful writing can start a fashion blog in the hopes that it will pave their way to a high fashion career. As fashion is undoubtedly becoming more accessible, it is safe to question if the glamour and allure of the industry is somehow becoming lost?

Increasingly evident this past New York Fashion Week was the presence of smartphones and social media. As models graced the runways, social media addicts took pics with their iPhones and Androids to upload them on Instagram and Twitter. With a reported 100 million users, Instagram is one of the most popular smartphone apps out there and has become a way for publications, designers and bloggers to reach their fans. Designers like Rebecca Minkoff, Alice and Olivia, Rachel Zoe and Charlotte Ronson uploaded backstage photos of models getting their makeup done and sneak peaks of their collections to Instagram. For the first time in history those who worship at the altar of clothing get backstage access and front row seats without ever having to take a trip to Lincoln Center. Other notable fashion Instagram accounts include: nytimesfashion, nylonmag, and teenvogue. The veil of secrecy has been lifted and as pictures are posted instantly, the fashion world becomes increasingly accessible.

In 2010, fashion housessuch as Dolce & Gabanna, Louis Vuitton, and Oscar de la Renta beganstreaming their fashion shows live on Facebook and Livestream. For a world that previously adored its’ exclusivity and celebrity, allowing consumers to view collections at the same time as editors and buyers is a huge leap forward, and technology gets all the credit. Live streaming of shows means that bloggers have the same front row seats as the fashion critics for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Instead of going to the New York Times style section to read the review for Diane Von Furstenberg’s Spring/Summer 2013 collection, a blogger can now watch the show live at home, write a personal review and upload it to their blog in no time. With almost unlimited accessibility, the fashion blog could now be considered as reliable as any review in Cosmopolitan. According to Uri Minkoff, CEO of Rebecca Minkoff, “The moment the designer or the brands shows their goods, not only do you have editors and buyers there, but through major platforms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest you're getting real time critiques. You've added another layer on the editorial side.” Through blogging, information on trends can be dispersed at a speed like never before. In the pre-social media era, consumers would be forced to read a magazine to become aware of the trends before they hit stores. Because fashion shows are shown six months before a season, and therefore six months before the clothes in said fashion show will become available, knowledge of a certain seasons trends would be limited to only those who attended the show. Now that shows are being streamed, and photos of clothes are available instantly, consumers become aware of popular trends at the same time as those in attendance at shows.

I will be one to admit there is no other feeling than being in attendance at a fashion show, the lights dim and as the music blasts and the first model struts out onto the runway the lights come back up, energy can be felt buzzing throughout the room. However I am eternally grateful to the acceptance of social media by the fashion industry. The insider information made available to one simply by checking one’s Instagram and Twitter feeds is almost uncanny. By ‘pinning’ my favorite runway looks from recent shows I feel like Anna Wintour, choosing the best of Fashion Week. While I am attracted to the exclusivity of the industry, and I think that in some respects the fashion world will always be somewhat reserved for the insiders, the way that technology has bridged the gap and brought fashion week to the common man is commendable. I am still a fashion magazine connoisseur, but one must adapt to the rapidly changing ways of our digital society, and as the fashion world has showed us the embracing of technology is a great thing.

my personal Pinterest clothing inspiration

 Bibliography:

Cutler, Kim-Mai. "Zuckerberg On Instagram (Now 100M Users Strong): “No Agenda” Except Supporting App’s Growth." TechCrunch. 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/11/zuckerberg-instagram/>.

Indvik, Lauren. "Oscar De La Renta to Stream Runway Show Live on Facebook." Mashable. 7 June 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2010/06/07/oscar-de-la-renta-live-facebook/>.

Grinberg, Emanuella. "Social Media Bring Fashion to the Masses - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/09/living/fashion-week-social-media-technology/index.html>.