10 priests were asked to write 4 sentences on the topic of video games. Here's what they said…

[jimmy]

Not necessarily.

There are such things as book clubs; I am in several.

For that matter, many video games are played solo. Also, online gaming played against disembodied names is hardly (unlike a meeting of a book club) really social interaction, which takes place in bodyspace, IMNAAHO.

ICXC NIKA.

People often play online with or against friends they know in the real world. They can talk while playing.

The way it should be put is: all things in moderation. Play is good, even when it includes fantasy and alternate realities. But isn’t good if you are neglecting your responsibilities or spending all your time doing it. This goes for everything, including praying and reading your bible. They can also become distractions from reality.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

Never been to the Philippines, sadly…

You’ll find the concept of solo playing to be virtually alien, if not non-existent.

People often play online with or against friends they know in the real world. They can talk while playing.

Pretty loudly too if I might add.

This goes for everything, including praying and reading your bible. They can also become distractions from reality.

One can even argue that worse scruples arise from not praying or reading the Bible. Few things create deadlier obsessions than higher stakes.

It’s pretty condescending when religious people say ‘give it up, it’s just a game’ but suddenly are horrified at the thought of forgetting to say the 3 'clock prayer or the Angelus before dinner time.

Unlike games, which have no clear consequence from not playing, any controlling authority figure can easily use the consequences of less prayer to keep the faithful locked in their routines. At least gamers can actually see nothing ‘bad’ will happen to them if they stop playing.

 

[C794]

As a gamer I take issue with most of the views expressed by those priests. Many games are story driven and actually have complex plots and great characters. They are no different than reading books or watching movies. I know that can be hard to believe, but seriously video games deserve far more respect. So the idea that virtual reality making them bad is a false premise, they are nor different than any other fiction story.

Then there was the argument that they take too much time. They can; I know many people who allowed them to do that, but I also know people who play them very respsonibly. The problem is that any hobby can take too much time and be addictive. Just like I wouldn’t play a video game when I have aot of work to do, I wouldn’t read a good book or go for a long run on such a day. And yes, I’ve played games that have a reputation for being addictive. I played a game very similar to World of Warcraft (among story droven RPGs which are also very addictive) through High School and my first year of college. This didn’t get in the way of maintaining a high GPA or going to RCIA, or going to Mass. Many other people do this, and do it successfully.

The reason video games get such a bad reputation is because the people who play them irresponsibly receive the most attention. These would be the students who don’t study or do their homework or the adults who neglect work for video games. Of course these situations will get the most attention, but most people don’t treat video games like this. Also, Call of Duty gives games a reputation for immaturity; it’s a mindless game devoid of creativity. There are many other games that handle mature themes and have creative plots that far exceed most modern movies. Video Games are a real and efficient form of story telling, but many people don’t realize this and assume they are for kids.

 

[VeritasLuxMea]

Is it fair that everybody else seemingly gets a pass for their pleasures? No, but life isn’t fair. Take their advice to heart and use it to grow as a better person. The priests are probably giving other people grief for their pleasures and they similarly write it off. If other people want to act like everything they do is just peachy, then so much the worse for them because they could become better people by doing some introspection on what is really important to them.

I don’t follow. The problem with bad advice and fallacious reasoning isn’t that the listener isn’t taking it to heart and using it to grow as a better person. It isn’t that the listener isn’t doing enough introspection. The problem with bad advice and fallacious reasoning is that it’s bad advice and fallacious reasoning.

Cat:

If you can honestly say, “I will lie in that deathbed and be GLAD that I played video games,” then everything’s fine.

The 30 year old version of me wishes he had budgeted something like $10 a week for entertainment, optional purchases, luxuries, etc. throughout his 20’s. I’m not sure why he’s more important than all of the 20-29 year old versions of me who wish he had budgeted $250 a week for the same purpose.

 

[john1513]

Why do you say that attachments to TV, etc. outweigh the harm from video games?..

First, all of the “attachments” that you mention are often sociable…

ALL that we do should be done to the glory of God, including all our time with video games and other leisure-time activities. There is no such thing as “activities that we give to God” and “activities that we don’t give to God.” We should give ALL to God.

Based on my experience more people watch TV, listen to the radio, and surf the internet than play video games. It’s also my experience that much of what is on TV, radio, and internet is not beneficial to the soul but rather created to keep you watching, consuming media, or consuming materials being advertised. Video games/games can at least be interactive and involve problem solving.

Consuming media can be sociable but it is often not. I would benefit more from a dance class than watching a season of DWTS (the pro dancers do not watch DWTS and probably little TV at all). I can get to know someone better in 10 minutes over a beer, doing a non-media activity together, or even watching good film together and purposefully discussing afterward, than sharing an observation in between football plays of a televised game.

Media can be beautiful but it is often supplemented with things that are not. For example, DWTS will show you one good dance, but you’ll have to sit through promotional statements, pointless commentary meant to entertain or create drama instead of critiquing the dance, plus frequent commercials. What’s more is these things tend to promote the culture of death, worldliness, consumerism, materialism, etc.

By “attachment” I mean something that turns us away from God. Given the popularity of media consumption compared to the disinterest of western culture, and Catholics in particular, in faith or religion, I think there’s a correlation. We tend to worship what we spend the most time on. Media is not evil, but spending more time on media than prayer or service can be and often is. Unhealthy attachments to video games are a danger but it’s far less prevalent than unhealthy attachments to TV, internet, and radio for leisure.

I’d much rather hear a homily on healthy amounts of TV consumption than the dangers of video games. One priest did this during his homily and asked our entire parish to write down how much time we spend daily and weekly on TV/internet and multiply it out for the year. We then did the same for prayer. It was pitiful but enlightening.

This is interesting:

Sociologist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone (2000) reported that in 1950, about 10 percent of American homes had television sets, but this had grown to more than 99 percent. Putnam also reported that the number of TVs in the average U.S. household had grown to 2.24 sets, with 66 percent of households having three or more sets; the TV set is turned on in the average U.S. home for seven hours a day; two-thirds of Americans regularly watch TV during dinner; and about 40 percent of Americans’ leisure time is spent on television. And Putnam also reported that spouses spend three to four times more time watching television together than they do talking to each other.

salon.com/2012/10/30/does_tv_actually_brainwash_americans/

 

[meltzerboy]

Based on my experience more people watch TV, listen to the radio, and surf the internet than play video games. It’s also my experience that much of what is on TV, radio, and internet is not beneficial to the soul but rather created to keep you watching, consuming media, or consuming materials being advertised. Video games/games can at least be interactive and involve problem solving.

Consuming media can be sociable but it is often not. I would benefit more from a dance class than watching a season of DWTS (the pro dancers do not watch DWTS and probably little TV at all). I can get to know someone better in 10 minutes over a beer, doing a non-media activity together, or even watching good film together and purposefully discussing afterward, than sharing an observation in between football plays of a televised game.

Media can be beautiful but it is often supplemented with things that are not. For example, DWTS will show you one good dance, but you’ll have to sit through promotional statements, pointless commentary meant to entertain or create drama instead of critiquing the dance, plus frequent commercials. What’s more is these things tend to promote the culture of death, worldliness, consumerism, materialism, etc.

By “attachment” I mean something that turns us away from God. Given the popularity of media consumption compared to the disinterest of western culture, and Catholics in particular, in faith or religion, I think there’s a correlation. We tend to worship what we spend the most time on. Media is not evil, but spending more time on media than prayer or service can be and often is. Unhealthy attachments to video games are a danger but it’s far less prevalent than unhealthy attachments to TV, internet, and radio for leisure.

I’d much rather hear a homily on healthy amounts of TV consumption than the dangers of video games. One priest did this during his homily and asked our entire parish to write down how much time we spend daily and weekly on TV/internet and multiply it out for the year. We then did the same for prayer. It was pitiful but enlightening.

This is interesting:

An astute commentary!

 

[john1513]

An astute commentary!

Thanks! I have a lot of experience with television.