'The Demise of Guys': How video games and porn are ruining a generation

Video games are OK in moderation

Porn must be absolutely eschewed

They are designed to be addictive, and tend to become all-consuming for many young men, just as Facebook games are designed to be addictive for women. While I am sure there are some who can enjoy gaming without much detriment, the incredible consumption of time and energy for many is very real, and quite alarming.

Well, Jay, I am not sure which statement you want evidence for...that games are designed to be addictive? Or that they are? Both are true.

I am including MMORPGs in my comments, but single-player games are certainly addictive for too many young men to their detriment in terms of wasted time, neglected responsibilities, lack of exercise, wrong priorities, loss of enthusiasm for self-improvement in areas more critical than gaming, etc.

My lines of evidence are several-fold.

1) I know a number of people who work for gaming companies here locally, making them and selling them. They are absolutely designed to be addictive. It is not an industry secret.

2) Testimonies: plenty of people admit to wasting untold hours gaming, to the neglect of better things. You don't know any?

3) Observation: I know many young men whose lives are diminished by them. Ask young women.

4) I have had to deal with several marriages imperiled by them.

5) While science is still arguing about the addictive nature of games, that is usually about the definition of addiction. I would say it is addictive in the sense that shopping is for some people, only with games it is being encouraged by a lucrative industry. Plenty of research shows a compulsion to play that interferes with more worthwhile aspects of life for a certain number of people...not an insignificant number.

Worthwhile reads:

[url ]http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/video-game-addiction-no-fun

[url ]http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/08/magazine/angry-birds-farmville-and-other-hyperaddictive-stupid-games.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

I can personally attest that, yes, video games are addictive. A few years ago I went through a phase, where I became addicted to a game called Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. At my low point, I was spending over 8 hours a day on the game(in my defense i was unemployed at the time). Fortunately, it lasted less than a year, as I had to sell my Xbox 360 for financial reasons. But yes, it took me a long time to get over my longings to play the game again, and to forget the friends that I had made during my online playing experiences.

Looking back, I see that those months were a waste of time for me. Although I did make friends online, and I learned a lot about myself and about others while competing to be the best player. I won't lie. I was pretty skilled at the game. And that was part of the attraction about the game. Inside the game I was able to become what I couldn't be in real life- a leader, respected by everyone. Inside the game, I was a faceless character and a voice, that was judged purely by my skills and achievements. Basically, in a game, everyone is equal. Everyone starts off with the same character and the same choice of weapons. And anyone has a chance to be #1, if they put in the effort. Unlike in real life- where you are judged by your appearance, or your social status, or your personality; things we often have no control over- in the game, a 20 year old student from Compton could be better than a 40 year old Wall Street tycoon from Manhattan.

But it's not only guys that are being hypnotized by technology. You should see how many women are addicted to their phones. Everywhere I go, I see women who can't stop texting on their phones, or checking their facebook accounts. Not to mention how many are addicted to Television. Let's face it. Technology has messed us all up. I was thinking about that last night, as I walked my dog- how isolated we have all become from one another. As you walk by people's houses, you can hear the noise from the TV sets, and the people walking by listening to their iPods, or talking on their cellphones.

Any given individual can make an addiction out of anything. Don't believe it? Search the reality programs on Direct TV and become a believer.

However, most things are not characteristically addictive. But there are some things that are. Nicotine; narcotics; alcohol; gambling; porn; etc. fall into the intrinsic category. That their inherently addictive nature is there, and that nature is fundamentally antagonistic to the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer to bring forth fruit (Christ-likeness) it is easy for me to state that they have no place in the life of the believer whose motive is a sanctification and holiness.

Frankly, video games (since "Space Invaders" in the local pizza parlor) hold practically no interest to me. Never have, and I doubt ever will. So games are not my issue. But they are significant issues to many, many. And in my relatively narrow sphere I can point to several marriages that have broken down or are on the verge in which video games are a major contributing factor.

So it is important to determine the nature of this issue. If it is intrinsically addictive, it must be approached one way. If it is not, it falls under the category of liberty and is addressed differently.