EileenSoccer Momage and I were at the Marin Farmer’s Market this morning having breakfast, and while waiting in line for a crepe at the crepe stand and I overheard a soccer mom-looking woman talking to another couple about a “game that took over his[her son’s] life.” I assumed she was probably talking about Runescape at first but after listening a bit more it became clear it was WoW she was on about.

I was mildly amused to hear someone talking about an MMO at the farmer’s market (hardly a hotbed for techies as far as I can tell) but quickly became irritated as I heard the woman launch into a completely ill-informed rant about how “these games” are ruining childrens’ lives. She proceeded to, in an authoritative tone, launch into a bullshit explanation of just how (in her view) the games triggered dopamine reactions that lead to addiction just like “drugs” do (her explanation, not mine).

Part of me wanted to interrupt their conversation and point out that her dopamine assertion is hardly scientific gospel (I’m assuming she read an article about the researcher discussed here recently and translated that into The Truth in her mind) but decided to focus on what kind of crepe to get instead. Raph mentioned a zeitgeist moment he had in Times Square in NYC recently and this felt very much the same thing to me. The Marin farmer’s market filled, as it is, mainly with hippies, wanna-be hippies, and rich older folk, is not at all where I expect to hear discussions about virtual worlds. Wish it had been a discussion casting them in a more positive light.
For the record, we went for chicken, tomato slices, pesto, and mozzarella, and it was even better than usual as the crepe guy left it on the crepe griddle longer than he typically does, resulting in a pleasing almost-crispness to it.