Should Kids Play Video Games?
A Response to Biblical Man
I was scrolling Substack recently and came across a note by a fellow Substacker I look up to, Biblical Man. However, what the note said was very interesting.
Kids don’t read books.
They don’t go outside.
They have no attention spans.
They have no muscle.
They are more overweight.
They can’t look people in the eye.
They don’t have a desire to get their license or date.
Horrible communicators.
Video games are a disaster.
If you know me well, I am a HUGE gamer. So this post will be my response to this note.
Before we continue, however, I need to make myself clear: I do not have any vendetta against Biblical Man, unlike others. I look up to him highly. This is not a hate post, nor is it a post to try and prove him wrong and feed my pride. It is simply my attempt at finding a middle ground on this issue.
Kids don’t read books.
Unfortunately, I find this to become more and more true. I myself, who is 16, am an avid reader of all kinds of books. Recently I’ve been getting into a book titled “Kingdom of the Cults”, which explains various cults such as Mormons and JWs. There are still kids like myself who read, but I do admit like he said that the number is dwindling.
However, this isn’t entirely related to video games. Sure, I’ve found myself to turn on my Xbox rather than turn another page, and I admit that. However, a major reason why kids might not be reading could be because they are not educated enough. I’m sure you’ve heard the stories of middle schoolers reading at elementary school levels. If kids can’t read then clearly they won’t.
Another reason, and I’m sure he will agree with me on this, is that TV and movies are just better books at this point. It’s like reading without your mind. And while I do love myself a good movie, I love reading books a lot more.
Kids don’t go outside
I’d say this is half and half. As a high schooler if we split the athlete guys from the non-athlete guys, it’s be close to an even split. Of course, that’s just athletics. I do agree that the number of kids going outside willingly has also dwindled. I have no say against this because if I did I would be baised due to Texas heat.
Kids have no attention spans
This is true because of screens in general.
Kids have no muscle
True, but only for kids. Teens (at lest teen guys) more likely than not make working out a big part of their routine as well. My best friend who LOVES video games also goes to the gym 3 days a week.
Kids are more overweight
Fair, but how does this relate to video games? One match of Call of Duty ≠ one pound gained. This is just a result of bad eating habits. With commercialism and advertising everywhere, kids are driven to eat unhealthy. However, being overweight has nothing to do with kids playing video games.
Kids can’t look people in the eye
Interesting observation. This also isn’t because of video games. This is more of an anxiety issue, with puberty and social media being more prevalent forces than video games. Video games may have a small part in it, but a large part is just digital communication in general. Kids, alongside adults, get used to texting and such that they can’t look people in the eye. However, texting is wayyyy different than video games.
Kids don’t have a desire to get their license
Not at all because of video games. If anything, video games encourage us to want to drive. We just have serious road anxiety because drivers consistently get worse and worse, and we hear more and more stories of crashes and accidents and people dying. So maybe that’s why we don’t want to get our license, because we don’t want to die.
Kids don’t want to date
Good. Save dating for adulthood. Date for marriage.
Kids are horrible communicators
See “Kids can’t look people in the eye”.
Video Games are a disaster
This is false, and true. Depends on your perspective.
It’s false because video games tell stories that books and movies never could. Not only do we get to visualize the story, but we’re a part of it. We make choices, feel like heroes, and get to do things unheard of in real life. They also present fun moments with friends and family. Imagine hopping on Fortnite with your dad and playing some fun matches together, or playing Split Fiction with your girlfriend/boyfriend. You can make memories. People take time and effort to make these good games (well, depending on who we’re talking about. cough Activision cough cough). Video games are not a disaster, but I will say they can be disastrous.
How? Well, it’s all about time and balance. If all you do is play video games all day then you won’t get anywhere in life. If you can work hard then play hard, then you’ll advance in life and still be able to enjoy some entertainment. In the end it’s about balance between instant and delayed gratification (more on that in another post). Proverbs talks about this:
“Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.”
Proverbs 19:15 ESV
So if you play video games, make sure you spend just as much time building something for the Lord as you do building something on your Xbox.
Hey I thought I’d leave a comment bc this was a very interesting post lol. I like a lot of what you said (I am NOT a gamer but a lot of my friends and brothers are) and you did an awesome job of putting it together realistically. I also liked what you said about kids being overweight and their diet (I think if you wanted, you could probably make that it’s own post; it’s an amazing topic) bc kids not eating well is very true and def not talked about enough, coming from someone who’s from a pretty strict healthy family.
This post was rlly good bc many people think that the “younger generation” is useless and do nothing but eat, complain, and game (*spoilers, not true😂) and it’s a relief to see someone actually talk about it and point out the facts.
Ok that was longer than I thought but anyways those my thoughts! Have a great day y’all!
I concur! Great post