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How Gaming Can Be a Force for Good | Noah Raford | TED

If you think social media is powerful, keep an eye on immersive video games, says futurist Noah Raford. As more and more people are drawn into gaming and virtual worlds, the communities they forge are spawning real-world social movements. Raford urges us to recognize what’s really going on — and then harness those forces to…

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If you think social media is powerful, keep an eye on immersive video games, says futurist Noah Raford. As more and more people are drawn into gaming and virtual worlds, the communities they forge are spawning real-world social movements. Raford urges us to recognize what’s really going on — and then harness those forces to build the future we want.

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62 Comments

62 Comments

  1. Steven Kraft

    October 20, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    TED talk starts with “video games never drive violence”. TED talk ends with “But video games do drive joining cults and militant political organizations”. Huh??

  2. The DJ

    October 20, 2022 at 2:49 pm

    What he says is true. There is clearly a growth in extremist beliefs in the gaming culture, from sexism to racism to homophobia.

    • Sam

      October 20, 2022 at 4:39 pm

      Have you ever had a conversation with someone who plays video games? Have you ever even played a video game?

    • The DJ

      October 20, 2022 at 4:47 pm

      @Sam Are you literally blind? pay attention the next time a gay or black person is featured in a video game and watch the response. And nowhere does this claim make that 100% are behaving this way or going to. “Clearly a growth in extremist beliefs” is exactly as it suggests, a growth…

    • Sam

      October 20, 2022 at 5:22 pm

      @The DJ I’ll restate my original question, have you ever played a videogame or ever talked to an actual gamer because there is no evidence that even suggests that gaming leads to extremism.

  3. La S

    October 20, 2022 at 2:50 pm

    These people infiltrate and ruin everything.

  4. Frances Bernard

    October 20, 2022 at 3:00 pm

    The world needs gamer digital artists with morals and noble values too.

  5. Wild Fire

    October 20, 2022 at 3:17 pm

    We should worry about Netflix more

  6. Wild Fire

    October 20, 2022 at 3:23 pm

    I would look for what scientific data would say and artificial intelligence would say..

  7. Trevor B.

    October 20, 2022 at 3:24 pm

    cant wait for my hard earned skills of gaming will finally come to peak, when they need the top gamers to use drones or robots to fight in wars and not use human lives, just like star wars. One day people, one day.

  8. Trevor B.

    October 20, 2022 at 3:32 pm

    need a game with more angels and goodness, rather than Diablo, demons, and devils. its been overplayed long enough.

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    October 20, 2022 at 3:34 pm

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  10. Tim in Ashton

    October 20, 2022 at 4:28 pm

    I didn’t know that Gaming was ever a force for bad?

  11. Qua Phik

    October 20, 2022 at 5:00 pm

    Games can educate as well

  12. sutale

    October 20, 2022 at 5:13 pm

    well said sir.

  13. Baraz

    October 20, 2022 at 6:09 pm

    As a gamer myself, I do not see any of this right now. The general gaming communities do not talk about nor support games that are linked to real extreme movements, racist game, whacky Qanon game, so-called “Christian” (ultra-conservative) game, etc. I follow gaming news and Youtubers everyday: never heard of those. BUT there are social norms that are bolstered, and they are rather positive, against discrimination and even *against* the political or ideological divisions we see in real-life. To be followed, but I see mostly positive values currently and the gaming community does fight back against predatory behavior, discrimination, sexism, exploitation, money-grabbing game design, critical of the micro-transactions you spoke of and seem to support (albeit there are sadly many who spend more than they should), etc.

  14. Pitchyy

    October 20, 2022 at 6:31 pm

    Pizzagate is real

  15. Alianger

    October 20, 2022 at 7:20 pm

    They might not make you violent, but they might make you storm the capitol. Beware and be wary

  16. Jacques Laflame

    October 20, 2022 at 7:32 pm

    Gamers rise up

  17. Dave

    October 20, 2022 at 8:28 pm

    These types of people are going to ruin gaming for all of us. I already stopped gaming because I know at the end it’s all gonna become a business shithole where there is no fun to have. Spend your time on games you actually enjoy people and just go to school.

  18. Areola Dan

    October 20, 2022 at 8:48 pm

    Wtf is this guy talking about? “It’s proven that video games don’t cause violence buuuuut except it definitely will, and you’ll also join a cult. Oh also METAVERSE. and NFTS!!!”

    He’s straight up fear-mongering.

  19. Areola Dan

    October 20, 2022 at 8:49 pm

    “Pray to win” 😭😭😭 man this guy is off his rocker

  20. NOYCE

    October 20, 2022 at 9:36 pm

    11:30 if that’s the case then jobs like plumbing or gardening or house renovation or farming will be paying 100x basic wage?
    Somebody gotta do those. You can’t spend 24/7 in virtual reality or do those online, you still need to eat and your daily necessities.

    12:20 old man thinking, nobody play games to do all those.. they play game to get away from “real-life” and do stuff they can’t do online.
    You’re gonna argue like farming games or simulator games. They’re an escape of reality, you don’t necessity break a sweat planting fruits and vegetables. You’re chasing instant gratifications by completing achievements etc and not worrying about anything.

    Old heads always got these thinking especially in the 90s 00s where they say gaming is bad, gaming creates violence etc. Now they’re thinking the future is gonna be “that”?
    Has this dude even play any video game or he’s just name dropping Rust and that his kids plays Roblox.

    Let’s say the top few games on Steam, CS and Dota 2.. It’s not even possible to “play” that irl,
    Sprinting from spawn to Site A would probably made 90% of gamers breathless. Don’t even get me started on Dota 2.

    Also there’s a huge huge rise in single-player games because a ton of people doesn’t wanna deal with the toxicity online.
    Plus not having to compete with countries where people grind like crazy sweatshops and sell in-game currencies. (Because it pays better than their basic wage due to currency)

    Most gamers aren’t really interested in “real-life” activities, “cults” and what not activities? They’ll probably just ignore and “go next”.

    NFT/Metaverse etc aren’t even what make games good, people been playing them for decades before it was a thing. NFT/Metaverse is what’s killing games infact.

    HE feels more like THE “cult”-type of person and those motivational speaker/presenter to start random movements.
    Dude probably never play any game in his life, playing 2-3 minutes of super mario doesn’t make you a “gamer”. He doesn’t even seem to understand the aspect of why people ENJOY playing game.

    Mr. “Futurist” here trying to give all the “Vegan-Cyclist-Feminism” a run for their money.

    Non-gamer talking about gaming? Whats next? Non-health practitioner?

    The only useful/postive thing from this 14minutes video (I wish I could get it back).. is to play games with your kids.

    Quality of TED talks really tanking. This is too much of a reach.

  21. RD 202

    October 20, 2022 at 9:49 pm

    He’s just talking about Ready Player One

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  23. ikkedansk

    October 20, 2022 at 10:23 pm

    lol he falls flat on his face for viewbotters

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    October 20, 2022 at 11:03 pm

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  25. CreationTribe

    October 21, 2022 at 12:56 am

    Oh neat – another metaverse commercial …

  26. garyvinh tran

    October 21, 2022 at 2:22 am

    well dang yes i agree

  27. For An Angel

    October 21, 2022 at 2:22 am

    Nobody is ever going to use a video game to “pray”.

  28. Ben Ruby

    October 21, 2022 at 3:00 am

    Lol the United States government has spies in all radical movements. These movements only get as far as our government allows it. The idea of any group going up against the United States dollar backed by the United States military is absurd. All this constant civil war talk is just fantasy based clickbait. People going against our government will be destroyed financially and if they don’t give up after that they will be wiped out as our government sees fit. Don’t kid yourselves, Jan. 6th attack was known about before it happened and then they let it happen to discourage more people from doing the same. Some of us have friends and family in certain government organizations. Anyone who compromises national security will suffer and more than likely are already being monitored now. Gaming environments will make it easy to spy on them.

  29. 迷走狸

    October 21, 2022 at 4:18 am

    Since we human are still animal , there are pulse to pursue connections and believes —— especially when u only can get struggle and hopeless from reality, like u said – the real world sucks . What I see – as a gamer deeply dived into internet for so many years …. I am sure most gamer knows what they are doing and thinking of ,and they know why and how . Games are design to make ppl thinking and solving “Quest” ,so there are no cult in game , just dreamers .The real cult are on tik tok or some channel…. those which only receive with no reason or why … people follow without critical thinkings and questions , that’s real brain wash and where cult grows.

  30. Mark Panya Wienands

    October 21, 2022 at 11:39 am

    He sounds like he’s trying to sell me an Apple Watch

  31. M.Ibrahim VIP

    October 21, 2022 at 3:09 pm

    I think this era has had the greatest impact on our minds. I mean we see its effects everywhere, the way little kids are so friendly when young, and the moment they start playing violent games really makes them very aggressive, like exaggerating small things in a negative way. Such behaviors really affect humanity globally. All I think is that there is going to be a very big collapse right at the start of 2030. We need to do research and save as many as possible because by 2030 95% of people will become metally ill.

  32. RAJAN SAHU

    October 21, 2022 at 4:58 pm

    Nice video 📹 👍

  33. RhaskaFyraska

    October 21, 2022 at 5:31 pm

    This guy’s credibility went out the window when he started talking about NFTs, crypto, and the metaverse as the future of gaming. It’s so clear he has zero experience with gaming and didn’t even bother to look at the general sentiment about those things within the gaming community.

  34. L. B.

    October 21, 2022 at 7:24 pm

    So he was talking about “using the gaming community for the good in the world” while advocating NFTs and being proud about his son dealing with them? I’m a little sad, that they didn’t boo him right of the stage at that point. Most of the time I enjoy Ted talks even when they differ from my personal opinion, because they tend to be at least informative and based on real facts. This one is just a bunch of personal opinions and crooked statistics bound together by someone who clearly is far from being an expert in his field and frankly speaking seems to know very little about the gaming industry or community. Don’t know why Ted is bothering us with a video like that. Also, if your kids don’t want to do anything else anymore than buying microtransactions in games and using it to escape reality 24/7 (unlike just having fun with it for some portion of the day or once in a while) that’s not “the world changing”, it’s your questionable parenting.
    Friendly greetings from someone who actually worked in the gaming industry recently and thinks that most of what he says is a bunch of baloney.

  35. Kevin Wells

    October 22, 2022 at 2:42 am

    Sorry, you could have just ask Eric Cartman. Sorry again, but I could not resist. I’ve been wanting to conduct my own survey, as I’m retired and really have no one to call – at least not from the road. But, how many people around you are using their cell phones in their cars when you observe them? Look around when you are at a stoplight or sign. I bet it’s a large percentage. I see it every day, and it’s got to be at least 50%. I’m in a large city now, for hopefully not too long, and it’s ridiculous. To me this ties in, because adults are addicted to tech and on-demand entertainment as much as the kids.* one more thing – thanks for this video *

  36. MD D

    October 22, 2022 at 6:08 am

    Use to be a Ted Talk junkie, haven’t watched one in years. Glad they finally fixed the ear piercing intro video. Man it was wild that they had that insane intro for so many years. Phew…might watch more now.

  37. MRSketch09

    October 22, 2022 at 2:06 pm

    “Hey guys… video games are NOT linked to violence, its been proven”… I felt like he “alluded” to not sh*tting on games.. but then he took the worst steaming pile of crap right on top of the WHOLE genre. He linked it to something pretty bad. *Sighs heavily*

    I watched the whole thing waiting for the turn around point, & I don’t think it ever came.

  38. Ash Pragasam

    October 22, 2022 at 9:11 pm

    Getting strong vibes of Justin Timberlake from The Social Network

  39. RhaskaFyraska

    October 23, 2022 at 12:05 am

    Remember that executives are not your friends, and this guy is an executive. NFTs and the Metaverse are incredibly anti-consumer, and are not what the majority of the gaming community want in their games. The stuff about the “Gaming cults” is also not based in any sort of research, and this guy has no evidence for it. All of the “cult games” that he showed are not widespread games by any means, and I would be surprised if the amount of people that had played them were in the double digits. He’s largely fearmongering in order to try and encourage the adoption of anti-consumer practices and to encourage the politicization of games. It’s honestly really unethical and I can’t believe that TED allowed this guy to speak on games like this when he clearly has no experience or actual interest in games or the gaming community.

  40. Kobe Bryant

    October 23, 2022 at 10:03 am

    Just one thing, it’s not vaccine, it’s experimental vaccine

  41. Akhila

    October 23, 2022 at 6:38 pm

    Games should inspire to good.

  42. Samuel Edison

    October 24, 2022 at 1:24 am

    By “force for good”, he means used to spread leftist propaganda, which they already are. It’s also ridiculous that he would be dismissive of people being convinced that the world is run by pedophiles, when Jeffery Epstein and his “suicide” and other “elite” pedophile rings being revealed pretty much confirm it. What’s even more hilarious and ridiculous is how he kept trying to demonize right wing people throughout this propaganda speech, when it’s leftist trash that have been rioting, looting, attacking people and even killing them, for over five years because of a literal hoax saying that the president was elected by colluding with Russia, and other ridiculous claims pushed forth by democrats and other liberals/leftists. This is nothing other than leftist gaslighting and demagoguery.

  43. QSar

    October 24, 2022 at 7:46 am

    Is it story about the videogames or religions?

  44. QSar

    October 24, 2022 at 8:08 am

    Author mixed everything up and connected it with videogames. Nice work, I thing, author have never play videogames before.

  45. QSar

    October 24, 2022 at 8:10 am

    Today you’re playing minecraft, tomorrow you’re building communism!

  46. John Patterson

    October 24, 2022 at 1:50 pm

    Gme – The single most, greatest movement the world has ever seen playing out in real time. Gaming is bigger than movies and sports combined…. Buy, Hold, DRS….. Gamestopped

  47. Zulu

    October 25, 2022 at 8:32 am

    I fear that everyone disagreeing with this video has never heard of the alt-right pipeline, or is actively within it.

  48. Paul Harris

    October 25, 2022 at 6:21 pm

    I bet this guy would rather play a video game where you fly a shrunken down space fighter through a uterus and blast any fetus you see. What a disgusting use of a platform to try and push your anti conservative ideas. TED is suppose to be about real science and thought, not a rerun of The View.

  49. The Rogue of Space

    October 25, 2022 at 7:17 pm

    Awesome presentation, Noah! I play ESO & am a Templar Tank. Essentially I use light-magic to enhance my Knight skills and partner with other players to defeat evil demons in order to save the common folk. There are also crafting skills & sharing involved + it’s entertaining 😄

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