From No One Asked

I have superpowers. Not the typical laser-vision-flying telekinesis powers. Those are useless, and frankly, overdone. What I possess contributes so much more to society than saving lives and stopping villains. I have Block Blast telepathy.

I can: 

• See through phone cases when I smell Block Blast is near
• Watch the way someone swipes on their phone and use my hyper senses to detect Block Blast on the end of their fingers. 
• Sense when someone wants to play Block Blast, just by their posture and the disjointed trajectory of their pupils. 

Instead of keeping my powers to myself, I have nobly chosen to bless and nourish the minds and souls of our student body to present shocking research that will have us all reconsidering why we pick up our phones, and play Block Blast. This article is like Thor’s hammer, if you wish to read, you must be worthy of the information. 

I could be normal and say this games’ success is aided by its colorful palettes, puzzles, and stimulation. However, who cares about that. I have to take this too far and talk about the physiological reasons teenagers in particular are drawn to this game. Nothing happens without reason. 

On September 23, 2022 “Block Blast” was born. A game similar to Tetris, where the player tries to get various pieces to fit together in order to clear them and increase their score. Now it may seem like a lame, desperate attempt at relatability to cover a phone game, but this has become no game. It’s an epidemic. And we’re being programmed to love it as a result of staggering societal expectations and the overwhelming mass consumerism this world provides. 

“Block blast soothes me and replaces my urge to do methamphetamine,” junior Jaya Kelly joked, summing up the entire article with one sentence.

Don’t be offended, I am no better than anyone else. I play block blast with inexplicable haste. I come back to the game after every failure, feeling like Sisyphus pushing his rock up a hill. I crane my neck over my phone placing blocks as my favorite show drones in the background. I escape to the world of mindless block placing in between classes. I was playing it five minutes before I started writing this. Block blast has a chokehold on me, and has dug its nails into the prefrontal lobe of my half rotted brain. My weekly screen time for block blast is over seven hours.

Something truly astounding about this game is how long it has ruled phone screens. Usually, when I download a mobile game, the lifespan of my interest for the game lasts at most a couple weeks. It will stay dormant in the game section of my phone until I eventually delete it. But this was something different. No matter how long I played, or how often I used it, I never got tired of it. Instead, it seeped into my routine and became a staple of certain signals in my day. Class ending, class starting, school ending, school starting. All of these moments trigger me to open my phone and play block blast. Sometimes I feel like a dog being trained to bark at the same time every day. 

 So, believe me I love stupid games just as much as the next guy. But I like analyzing society’s behaviors and infatuations more. If you thought this article would be a simple review, you’re in for a treat. 

“It’s Tetris,” the 40 something year old engineer (my father) said. “It’s addicting, people have always loved puzzles. It feels good when you clear a row, and you’re trying to beat your high score. S*** I messed up.” He said, while losing at Block Blast.

“Addicting,” he says. Well, are we addicted? According to Mayo Clinic Health System, “Addiction is an inability to control a certain substance or behavior despite the negative consequences.” I intend to argue that an affiliation with a game, and the prolonged use of it, would fall under this category. Now I can’t speak for everyone, but on several occasions I see students playing Block Blast with a laptop screen slowly dimming in front of them. 

So what does this tell me? Block blast is used in intense environments, in this case, school. And it seems to be used whenever the player has a few moments unobserved. I see it used like a vice, jammed into as many dull moments in the day as possible. With these pieces of information I can draw the obvious conclusion that block blast is used as an escape from school. So, it’s not only a game, it’s a channel for relief and relaxation, it’s a pacifier for teenagers. A comfort. 

However, proving we’re all addicted and dependent on a phone game would be both a laborious task and something that would get me on an Instagram page, so I won’t do that. 

Instead, let’s do my favorite thing. Blame society.

Me, while researching this.

Over the past couple decades the world has changed drastically and started churning out devices, systems, communicators, entertainment, shoot, even a robot that can clean your floors and do your laundry. As a teenager thrown into this chaotic pit of technology and advancements beyond my comprehension and understanding, I find myself tangled in the fabric of this new innovative world. To explore technology is a delicate detangling that can trap you in its knots.

But we’ve tugged at the ropes.  

Now every show is fast paced, loud sound effects, unfathomable CGI effects, soundtracks that envelop my mind and pull me into its grasp. Ads are everywhere, loud women screaming into my damaged ear drums telling me what I NEED. Doordash makes literal consumption so much easier as well. Mindless content is constantly being regurgitated into my environment. Yes, I may be clicking on Bob’s Burgers but I’m also subject to celebrity guest stars telling me to watch their show, shampoo products, McDonald’s deals, smoother and brighter razors, and “Get rid of your old phone! Buy Apple’s iPhone 31! Completely free and only costs the sacrifice of your newborn!”  

So maybe I’ll log onto one of my video games. But the game is so extensive. Thousands of characters, endless storylines, perpetual missions to complete, with so many hidden purchases begging you to ELEVATE your experience. It’s all too much. And I’m not the only one experiencing this. This stuff is global. Companies, industries, corporations that want money exist everywhere. So close your laptop. Oh wait, what’s that? 13 viruses? Well better buy a new laptop! Is it just broken or was it all planned obsolescence? Who cares man! Buy more! And more and more and more and- 

Are we even real? Not to lose my mind on a school newspaper, but is anything original anymore? Anything you know that is successful and popular got there because it had to appease everyone who would make it. It had to change to be susceptible to the entire public. It had to strategize and manipulate everyone’s attention to get the popularity it needed. These companies studied you. Yeah YOU. They know what you’ll click on. They know when you want stimulation and when you want relaxation. They know that when you scrolled on instagram today, you hovered over a sunglasses ad for a little too long. Of course, why demonize technology. It helps us right? But how can we know if everything isn’t just an exploitation of society’s likes and dislikes, morals and resentments? And most horrifying of all, are we helpless to stop it? Have we all become gears and cogs in the machine of corporate greed and power lust? And would unplugging from the system mean having to become completely ignorant to the world? 

Oh, you think you’re immune to it? Immune to companies trying to get something from you? You’re immune to having your interests manipulated and exploited? You think you’re the exception? 

Wrong. 

Guess what, I’m trying to get you to read this article right now. This whole thing is just me using tactics to grab your attention. I can’t even begin to down talk ‘the system’ when I’m contributing to it right now. Welcome to the 21st century. Either get on the train or get left behind at the station. 

We can’t avoid technology. And we can’t avoid growing its influence. And it has its effects. The average screen time for teens has increased by 1 hour and 59 minutes since 2015 (Compass Health Center). Also, suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in teenagers aged 15 to 19 (Compass Health Center). 55% of the public believes there is a youth mental health problem in the U.S. (KFF). The common denominator? It’s what your dads been telling you your whole life.

It’s that darn phone.

But can you blame us?

The world is throwing so much into teen’s paths, so many people telling us what we need to do. We’re constantly told if we mess school up, we’ll become homeless and loveless. 

Adults, teachers, friends, colleagues tell us: “College is life, you might as well die if you don’t go to one of the ivies!” “So do good in school.”, “Do even better.” “Compete with millions of students who are smarter, happier and younger than you.” or, “Forget school and start a new business!” 

So we go on our phones. 

Things get worse. 

“I think students should have fun while they’re young. I’m 50 and I wish I didn’t waste my time” Someone pleads you on Instagram. You scroll. Then, “Please study hard in school, I didn’t and now I’m a drug addict stuck on the streets.” Scroll. Someone else says. “Please donate to my family, they’re dying in war and no one cares.” Scroll. “Do you have split ends? Ew! Don’t be caught walking around with messy hair when you can just use this brand new hair con-“ Scroll. “We only have 5 years to stop the world from dying of pollution” Scroll. “5 bodies found dead after a freak accident” Scroll, scroll, scroll-

Stop.

It’s so much thrown at the consumer at once. And it’s all so draining. So yes, it’s hard for teens to figure out what we need to do when we can’t even sort out everything people tell us. The world is so broken. And the expectations are so heavy. We just want a break.

So don’t blame us. We did not create this system, and we didn’t change it. Sorry, older generations, but you built this system. We’re just trying to live in it. 

So a game becomes popular. A game so simple it’s beautiful. No in game purchases. No misinformation. No overstimulation. It’s a game. And that’s all it needs to be. 

 “Block Blast” only offers one task. Place these blocks together.

 Allow it to be relaxing for a while. Ignore those other distractions. Calm the mind. let go of all that pressure. All those voices and expectations. Those harrowing assignments. Play block blast. Let the incessant noises turn into a soft drone in the background. 

Or maybe figure out how to quiet the overwhelming mass consumerism that plagues this world. Try to control what’s making youth crazy. Or not. Just play Block Blast instead.