Video Games...

I have been thinking a lot lately about a certain thing called video games. What I have to say I don’t expect anyone to agree with or think it is right, it is simply my opinion. 

What got me thinking about video games happened earlier today when I was feeding Gabriel his breakfast. I thought, ‘what if something happened to Josh and I and someone else was to raise and take care of Gabriel’. Josh and I have had this conversation before about who would we want to raise our children and I had always thought about what I would tell the people who were going to be raising my child/children. So this morning this thought crossed my mind again. It’s not something that I like to think about, it’s honestly extremely difficult, but I do think that every parent should have a will or write some sort of letter in regards to what they would want to happen to their children if the parents were to pass away. Josh and I still have yet to write this letter or make a will because honestly it is an extremely hard thing to do and to even think about.

So what would I put in a letter to the person(s) that were to raise my kids? I have come up with a few conclusions. The main thing that I would ask is that they would raise our children to know God. To teach the children how God works and all about who he is, to teach them about the Spirit and about worship, to teach them about having a relationship with God. That would be the one thing that I would want my children to learn. I would also put in the letter to please raise my children as if they were their own, to love them unconditionally, to discipline them and teach them about the world. I would also ask that they make sure to tell our children who their mother and father was, to not forget us and to make sure that our children know that we love them very much. Ok, I’m getting all misty eyed now, hence why we still have not actually written the letter.

Where does video games have to fit into all of this? Well it got me thinking this morning, I think I would put in my letter to please not let my children get addicted to video games. I know, I know, it sounds silly right? But I do feel very strongly about them, let me explain.

I won’t lie, I have a problem with video games. Most people who know me know this to be true. I will admit that there are some that are fun and can be great if you want to get together with your friends and it can be a fun game to play. I will also admit that I myself have gotten addicted to a video game or two and have wanted to play them, but honestly I think that fact alone feeds my disdain for them.

I strongly believe that video games can be an addiction. I know that many people do not, they simply think of it as a game and there is nothing addictive or wrong about it. Because I know many people feel that they are ok it is why I think I would feel the need to place such an odd topic in my letter. Just like any other addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling, food ect) it is what consumes your mind the majority of the day. You day dream about it, you spend countless amounts of money on it, you talk about it to almost everyone you meet, it is all you can think about, you have a hard time focusing on other things that are important and you have a unexplainable desire to play constantly. The more you play, the more it gets programmed into your mind, the more it becomes you. 

I have known many people who, I believe, are addicted to video games. They talk about it constantly, they can ignore life as it is and lose themselves in the world of cars, wars, killing, mystical kingdoms, or trying to save the princess. Yes, it can be fun to get lost in another world, but when you get lost in another world, that is precisely what you are... lost. You could be doing so many other things, things that are productive, good, and thoughtful, but you’re not, you are lost in a fantasy world where nothing is real. 

Instead of playing video games you could be taking the thousands of dollars spent on video equipment and games and help a needy family or support a child, or many children for that matter, in a different country. If you didn’t feel like helping other people you could be spending the money on your family, or at the very least saving it for your children's or future children's college funds. You could take the time your spend playing the games and spend it with your family, spend it volunteering at a soup kitchen or go hang out with your friends, get to know what is bothering them lately, pray with them or just chill. Take all the brain energy it takes to play the games and learn something new, something that will actually improve your life or help you understand people better. 

I want my children to have the childhood memories of playing outside or discovering how the world works, I want them to play ball with friends and be involved in sports, or if not sports then dance or music, whatever they enjoy... I don’t want them to have memories of sitting in front the TV  trying to save the princess that doesn’t exist. 

Some of you reading this are probably thinking ‘why the heck did you marry Josh then, he likes video games, you could even say he is addicted!’ I will admit, my husband does not feel as strongly about video games as I do, but I can tell you that he is not addicted. He did grow up with them, he had a lot of fun playing the games too and I would say that at one point he was addicted.  He may used to have been addicted, but now the only time he plays is when he goes over to friends homes. It’s not that I ‘won’t’ let him or anything, I’m not going to tell my husband he can’t do something, I’ve even told him that since people have bought him games he should try to play them, but he just doesn’t, he would rather spend time with Gabriel and I or do something that we all like to do and I love that about him. I have even bought him a game before but we’ve played it maybe 10 times in two years. 

I have also seen first hand what being addicted to video games can do to a person. That person being my husband. He has played it so much that it seems to be programmed into his mind, he still dreams about it to this day even though he hasn’t played in months. He rarely gets a good night sleep, and myself for that matter, because he has dreams of ceilings falling on top of him, lasers trying to get him or someone trying to attack us. He can wake up in the middle of the night with his heart racing and is completely frantic about something, in which cases I need to calm him down and tell him everything is ok and he needs to climb back into bed. I have had water splashed in my face, him frantically trying to climb over me in the middle of the night and having a pillow thrown at me... if not him freaking out in his sleep he will usually, at the very least, talk in his sleep. Some people may argue that it doesn’t come from playing video games for 25 years, but where else do you experience those things so vividly that you dream about them? I know not everybody will experience what my husband does, but why would I want to take the chance of subjecting my children to that and there is a chance they will never get good sleep or have peaceful dreams. Heavens, I myself, if I play a video game for awhile before bed or really any time during the day it is usually what I dream about that night and I never get a good night sleep when that happens because I jerk awake from something trying to get me or me trying to get it. 

I am not saying that people who play video games are bad people or even what they are doing is per say bad. I am not saying that people who let their kids play video games are bad parents. I am simply saying this is how I feel about it and I do not want my kids to be, in my opinion, addicted to video games. I would hope that if something ever happened to Josh and I, whomever did raise our children would respect Josh and I’s wishes, whatever they may be.