Computer games, threat for the future?

There is no minute that slots on computer rentals and café are vacated. I an n dire need to finish my home work. The place was filled with students that instead of entering the gates of wisdom and occupy their respective seats in the academe are molding and sharpening their expertise on different skills laid by games on computer arcades. Are these cyber sports considerably a threat for the future of the fair hope of our fatherland?

Most f the students nowadays will better choose to enter computer shop not for learning inside its vast library but to surf and battle with their online foes. As a proof, many students are caught in the act, in their school uniform attire, standing by and waiting for their turn over a crowd of pupils desiring to showcase their wit and proficiency in e-games.

And also an important thing we must take our focus on is the depreciating quality of students toward academics but progressing level on cyber games. It is true that it slowly engulfs our youth intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Computer games truly supplies satisfaction and entertainment youth could not help to resist and we could not set aside the fact that the new generation would better choose it than to face the boring and stressful life of a student, getting worse because of hard-time reviews, making home works, reading books, etc.

The fulfillment generated from those technologies continues to devour the youth from the things which are much more important; things that are essential for the future, in building their dreams.

In short, addiction with these games serves as an attempting threat for the construction of our youth’s future. It seizes the attention of their young minds away from the things that they must focus their eyes on. And this must not happen.

The parents and the schools hopefully must see the threat coming close to their children. I hope that it is not yet too late to refocus and to bring back the sympathy and interest of the youth that we often connoted as the fulfillment of the country’s aspiration in the near future.

Automation 2013: Success or still an epic fail?

Amidst current reports on the altering of the election process from the use of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine last year to a much modern method by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), it made me think if the shift is timely and much cost- effective or is it better to stay and just improve on what we have now?

“It’s normal.” That was what SMARTMATIC, country’s supplier of PCOS machine, replied toward inquisitions brought by widespread glitches caused by the machine last May 13, 2013 midterm elections. It is considerably a déjà vu for most Filipinos to experience automation again and for the second time around was it perfect unlike before or still an epic failing?

Missing names in the voter’s list, PCOS breakdowns, switching of ballots, vote-buying, Board of Election Inspectors(BEI) Scare, widespread sabotage attempts and long queues brought by unexpected disruptions augmented by hot rays of summer causing grouches and disenfranchisement by few to exercise their right to suffrage.

It seems like everyone prodded automation, being one of the 10- point agenda of the former administration and paid by taxpayers by an amount of P 1.8 billion, as the main reason for our own difficulty in conducting this important ritual of democracy. “This must be the last time we will use that machine!” exclaimed by a private election watchdog.

But despite all of those hassles, COMELEC proudly says that the election last year was smooth. The Armed Forces of the Philippine (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP described it as “generally peaceful”, SmartMatic says “its normal”, and even PNoy express his own appreciation for his wonderful election experience. The National Government thinks optimistic with this advancement and we could seemingly notice in their eyes, it was and is really better than before.

Development and change, these are what our leaders dream for having an automated election. Though it requires effort, money, and dedication, the commission pushes it through for they believe that this is what the country need and of what time requires. A change that will stretch us out of our limitations, will ring us out of the traditional and moreover, will reward us the success we could never get from the manual method.

Dramatical change, this is what we really experiences. A change that requires a process in a span of time, a process we can never obtain in just a blink. What SmartMatic had said is true, “It’s normal”. Having glitches are part of that change. If I’m going to decide whether to alter it or not, I bet to stick with what we have now and just improve it.

Failures are part of this walk, stepping stones toward perfection. I believe that we are on our way towards it.