Cut the Rope and other nonsense I spend hours doing

This past week I came across a game that has me transfixed.  Cut the Rope.  Its an app for my phone and I know it's been out for a while, but I randomly came across it while goofing around in the app store and I LOVE it.  For anyone who isn"t familiar with the game, theres a frog thing that you have to feed.  It eats candy but the candy is suspended by ropes and other obstacles and you have to figure out how to feed the frog in the least time possible without losing the candy.  Conceptually its pretty simple but as you progress through the levels more obstacles pop up and it can be pretty challenging.  I'm impressed not just with the game but with the ingenuity that went into creating it.  each level brings a new puzzle and I really have to think outside the box in the upper levels to get the frog his candy!!  I think I like it so much because its not just a mindless game.  I have to think and be engaged in the activity thats going on to do well and since I can spend 2-3 hours straight just playing the game, its nice to feel like i didn't waste all that time doing nothing.  I feel like my brain gets a workout every time I sit down to play.

There are tons of other games that I've come across that do the same thing; Angry Birds, UnblockMe, Words With Friends, and also Hanging with Friends are just some of the games I've come across.  They force me to be creative and at the very least put some thought into what I'm doing when I play them.  And the funny thing is, I can't get enough of them.  I play all the time and I never get tired of it.  They really get my creative juices flowing so to speak.  I feel like I always have to approach the games, like the ones I've mentioned, differently and constantly change my strategy.

My point in bringing up these games is that technology like apps and online games have changed the way we think and we don't even realize it.  It's really cliche, but when we play games like the ones I've mentioned and even video games like COD or Dead Space, our generation is learning new skills like critical thinking and effective strategizing.  We may be the "laziest generation yet" but we're also the smartest and most cunning and ironically its thanks to the games and programs that are supposedly corrupting us the most.