One commentator argues that video games have sucked the life out of his kids. He concludes: “In the meantime, what is to be done? I’m not suggesting making the games illegal–we don’t need a multibillion-dollar black market in video games. But I am pleading that parents take this social problem seriously and intervene, as my wife and I wish we had done much earlier. November sales for the Xbox 360, Wii, PlayStation 3, and the games that go with them, were up a gaudy 52 percent over last year. In my neck of the woods, Wii’s were such hot sellers that they weren’t available in the stores at any price. I’m proud to report that we rejected our youngest son’s pleas for a PlayStation for Christmas. He pouts that we’re the meanest parents in the world. Someday he’ll thank us. A mind really is a terrible thing to waste.
It turns out that we’re not alone in our predicament. A parent down the street confided to us that his 12-year-old son was so obsessed with video games that he wouldn’t take even a three-minute break from gaming to go to the bathroom–with unfortunate results. The other day we saw a kid at church, in a semi-trance, going down the aisle to Holy Communion while clicking on a hand-held Game Boy. Talk about worshiping a false god.”
