I would disagree with this on two counts. First, with the quality of story-telling in modern video games, they are quite capable of having the same problems as films or literature. Although I feel like avoiding all non-Christian media is extreme, there are definitely some video games that I would not and do not play because of their anti-Christian content.
It's important to be discerning in what we take in from the media. Sometimes, this can be as simple as filtering the information we receive from a source, and sometimes we have to cut that source out entirely. The dividing line is sometimes not clear cut.
The second reason why I would disagree with this, though, is that modern adult gaming is not only just as capable of carrying a message as film is, it's also as much a part of the daily lives of most young adults as watching movies or reading books is for older individuals.
Most young adults do not try to escape the realities of day to day life through playing video games, even if some do. Games like Halo are so ubiquitous that playing them online is now a form of social interaction with friends, many of whom the player knows in the real world. Others can serve as a form of interactive story-telling just like movies, but with a more involved component. As long as this doesn't interfere with the day to day life of the player (and it usually doesn't), it's just as acceptable as any other form of entertainment.
Hi, GW,
I'm not sure what you are disagreeing with. I do agree that the stories in video games can have problems just as in literature or art. I also agree that we need to discern. I further agree that it is a large part of the daily lives of many young adults. I even agree (and thought I said clearly enough) that these games and stories carry messages.
But to say that most young adults do not try to escape from the realities of day to day life (please note that I try address your exact words, rather than only my own interpretation of them) is debatable, to say the least. I think we could agree that a great many people do. But to address your thought, what exactly is "social interaction"? What qualifies? Does an e-mail qualify? If not, why not? What is the difference in quality between reading an IM from a friend in an online game, and sitting across the table from him? And what does "acceptable" mean? Who does the accepting, and on what basis? (Reminds me of CS Lewis recounting his first teenage encounter with his tutor, Kirkpatrick, where the latter poses a similar question to Lewis.)
What I would try to say is that the minimum result is degradation of social interaction, an indisputably inferior quality to the interaction, as well as a practical distancing of ourselves from our neighbors. There are reasons why we are told to love our neighbors - those close to us. So I think this a rather difficult point for the serious Christian to defend. I would certainly grant that there are exceptions and justifiable situations - but they would be exceptional, and not the rule.
The other thing I have already tried (and evidently failed) to say is that an excessive focus on entertainment is definitely bad, especially when it becomes a daily requirement, when the person sits down for hours in front of a computer screen instead of socially interacting with the people physically near him, when he does it, not for work or ministry, but to be entertained. Entertainment as such should occupy a rather small place in our lives, which generally turn out to be shorter than we think.
Again, all of that is distinct from valid consideration of the fairy-tale, of fantasy as a vehicle for truth.
