Many changes to our lifestyles have come about because of the use of digital technology. I want to emphasize the complexity of our lives today compared to that of our recent past when we had but a mere interest in digital things. Our interests, aided by an explosion in technology, have evolved into a full-blown dependency upon computers. Computers are great utilitarian tools that free us from many mundane tasks, but I’m concerned when I see that they have become more than just useful aids. What concerns me most is that they are dividing our families from within as family members seclude themselves to participate in their own private on-line worlds. Quality family time and togetherness have been reduced to a minimum. I’m especially concerned for the young when I see that their personal digital devices are fast becoming more than just tools of access for them - they are practically becoming their demigods. The young are spending more and more time on line using their PC’s, cell phones and game boxes to escape into their worlds. These devices have, in essence, become surrogate parents to them and it’s not all good because real parental wisdom has been taken out of the loop and replaced by the wisdom of our children’s contemporaries and the Internet. Who’s training up our children in the way they should go? What’s happening to transparency and accountability? The technical hardware itself is not the main problem; but rather its application and utilization are. It will be nearly impossible for me to show the intricacy of the tangled web that the digital domain has become. (It’s like an inch deep ocean covering our entire planet in which we all have our feet wet and - be warned - the water’s rising.)
Our commerce, banking, and daily sustenance now fully depend upon how well millions of computers carry out the trillions of tasks they were programmed to do on a continuous basis. If for any reason we should have massive failures of key systems we would have chaos beyond compare. We are dependent upon computers and are at the mercy of those who control them legitimately, or illegitimately. Computers are making it easier for some people to lord their selfish ways over others, even our children are suffering at the hands of other children. Our dependency upon technology is leading both us and our children in directions we should not go. (And some parents have relegated their children into cyberspace exile by default, out of ignorance.)
Many parents are being negligent by not being more responsible in checking out certain web sites their children frequent. Parents need to have some knowledge of what their children are doing on-line. And children should not be embarrassed to make their web activity known in general; if they are, they should ask themselves why they are. Parents need to unselfishly look out for their children’s best interest and safety by taking time to become better informed about where their kids hang out on the Internet because it has become a significant part of their lives. What our young are exposed to on-line today comes to them, in a large part, from self-regulated sites. I could also mention to you the ill effects of what technology offers to all of us these days including cable and satellite TV, but I think you already get the picture. If it sounds like I’m saying, “we are all out of touch with old fashioned family responsibility today” then I have made my point. But regardless of what adults do, good or bad, adults still need to better understand what the young are experiencing to more effectively influence their children’s moral outcomes. And indeed, some parents are not far enough removed from the problem themselves to get the clearest picture of it. The complications are a bit more obvious to the grandparents who are pouring out their hearts for the young more and more each day and not fully understanding why things have changed. They are expressing sorrow for their children and sorrow for their children’s children. They have a clearer view about the ill effects of declining moral values, because they have witnessed less complicated times. (Times before so many of our children felt pressured to surrender their pre-pubescent innocence to in-your-face worldly influence.) Most young people today are so close to the problem that they have no real moral perspective unless they have been taught the Word of God. Now take old fuddy-duddies my age, especially your pastor and the Church elders, what could we know? Well let me tell you a little story. It goes something like this: The Internet? That’s something you catch big fish with – right? (I think I just offended some of the young and old alike.) Too bad. But all joking aside my point is: We “ancients” don’t need to be familiar with every detail of the Internet to recognize its dangers. We only need to see what the results are. Wisdom has taught us that. So “wisdom” wants to seriously warn some of the young who say, “To better understand and fight against evil, we need to have some immersion into evil’s ways.” And wisdom says: “That’s a dangerous lie,” which can be likened to your jumping into a stream full of piranhas just to see if they really are nasty little critters. The results could be disastrous! This especially applies to many of the chat rooms – so let your involvement in them be limited, civil, and morally sound.
I’M NOT PICKING ON THE YOUNG ALONE FOR YOU ARE THE TRUE VICTIMS.
The Internet lets us represent ourselves in any way we want. We can represent ourselves as we really are or totally misrepresent ourselves. In this way we are able to mislead others into believing we are something we are not. It is a form of role-playing that discounts our conscience. It’s rationalizing at its worst. It’s a form of make-believe mixed with reality and devoid of responsibility, therefore anything goes. “It’s not real” so how can there be any harm done, or why should there be any imputed responsibility or accountability? Who could possibly squelch all this free expression anyway? Also it’s a world separated from parental supervision, and parents’ knowledge of what’s going on is almost nil. Now the trite old expression “I don’t know what kids are into these days” has taken on entirely new significance.
Hardware including cell phones like the iPhone, PC’s, XBox, PS-3, Wii, etc, let us to do many exciting things, but they are also great enablers that allow us to escape the mundane realities of everyday life and hook directly into some of the evil places in Cyberspace. Cyberspace consists of thousands of servers and databanks interconnected mostly through the WWW. Different web sites have very powerful search engines that allow us to find things fast, and I’m sorry to say that things can also find us fast. (And possibly lure us into uncomfortable situations.) Popular sites let us enter chat rooms and RPG’s (Role Playing Games) and MMORPG’s (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) to make real time connections with others. We can text-message, role-play, and talk to our hearts content in lifestyles that can become very addictive and overly selfish.
Actually computer hardware only does what it is told to do from the imaginations of men. And therefore, “Houston we have a problem.” It enables our selfish intentions to be carried out more easily and clandestinely. Technology’s influences are affecting every aspect of our lives, as we go about our day using our cell phones, sitting in our classrooms text messaging, or sitting “alone” in our rooms with our laptop companions. We don’t need to leave our homes to escape into our own little worlds. We can now hide out on line and conceal or reveal everything by a single click of the mouse. This is fast becoming a way of life that ought not to be, a way of life that not only steals away our time but can also take our morals along for the ride into places of hidden darkness and little accountability.
SPECIFICALLY TO THE YOUNG
On the Internet you can choose to be secretive, irresponsible, or downright deceptive. You can pretty much do as you wish with little fear of being held responsible. The Internet lets you be a free spirit without the normal restrictions. You can delve into things exciting and forbidden and things proper or improper. You can escape the realities of life and expand your horizons beyond the moral restraints normally tendered under watchful eyes in real-life encounters with real people. The Internet can be a place of fantasy or a place for selfish fulfillment. As a matter of fact the Internet can bring you all the realities of life plus much more; that’s why it’s so exciting. You can dream and escape, or multiply reality there. You can have alter egos as Avatars (In a virtual body) like those in “Second Life.” You can misrepresent your age or gender when you go there. There’s no end to what you can do and that’s exactly why it can be so dangerous, especially for the unwary. Many parents would be shocked at what their children say or do with their friends on line, and a few of you have even shocked yourselves at what you’ve done. (Would you care to share all your text or video with anyone?) In essence you already have because every time you put something out, it’s gone into cyberspace where it can be copied, forwarded, and filed for someone else’s personal use. (Often to your detriment)
YES, THE INTERNET IS EXCITING - BUT DANGEROUS.
Fast-paced video mimics the extreme situations that you could, but may not want to, experience in real life; and it’s a reason some hearken to game sites in the first place. You are also drawn to some sites out of a desire to experience things unknown, supposing that because they’re not real, they’re harmless. (Which is far from the truth.) Technology is serving well those who wish to unleash their selfish and immoral ideas upon the rest of society, especially upon the young. Much of their objectionable material is being presented as visual imagery, so let’s take a look at how this affects the psyche of the participants. Your minds process things in the visual mode many times faster than in any other way and special effects can present you with a barrage of images so fast that it can put you into mental overload and overwhelm you. Yes it is exciting, but very deceptive. Therefore you must be very concerned about what you allow into your mind through your eyes, especially you men, because if you are alive and breathing, you’re extremely susceptible to visual imagery, sexual and otherwise. These effects are producing some exciting inter-active video imagery for the eye, which is not only a window to the conscious mind but also to the subconscious mind and imagination. Nothing could be potentially more dangerous for you than your participation in the ever-increasing realism of virtual, Cyberspace worlds where you kill, maim, and have sex with virtual strangers thinking it’s all some kind of game. It is - and the joke’s on you. You are totally at the mercy of those who present their material to you. In many ways virtual worlds become real worlds because their effects are the same. No, they’re worse, much worse, because they come to you under the guise of something not done to, or with, real people. You are therefore likely to dismiss them as something that didn’t really happen. But their effects on your psyche can be real. Faulty rationalization may seemingly free you from the guilt of actual involvement in these situations when you try to convince yourself saying, “its only make-believe”, but nothing could be further from the truth. Those worlds are a lie and a perversion of reality. You may think I’m out of touch with reality myself for saying so; and I can understand that, but the truth is I’m only speaking to you from learned wisdom because I really do care about what’s happening to you. Think about what you do when you enter into evil games. Do you use nice words there?
Does your character dishonor God during game play? Then maybe you shouldn’t be there. Tell me, do you ever really get into those games, or perhaps, do you suppose those games really get into you? Think about it the next time you’re still up playing at two in the morning on a school or work night.
Again, be warned, many video sites are also extremely addictive especially the high end, inter-active, on-line communities such as: Second Life or, heaven forbid RLC. And the addiction to some of the games (discounting their obvious moral problems) can be devastating. Examples to those just a little bit older are: World of Warcraft and Ever-Quest (Ever-Crack to some). Just like gambling, alcohol, drugs, perverted sex and pornography, immersion into this type of lifestyle can steal away your desires to do little else. You might also find yourself not wanting to stop to eat and drink. That should be a warning sign to you. This even applies somewhat to text messaging – (ever heard anyone say Crack-berry?) Also PS 3, X-box and other cartridge games can be nearly as bad, even when not used online. This is especially true for the pre-teens whose psyches are being assaulted with excessively violent video bordering on the truly evil. They should still be wearing their “halos” instead of participating in Halo games endlessly, not to mention GTA and Manhunt.
NOW, LET’S COME BACK DOWN TO EARTH FOR A WHILE.
Meeting people face to face in real life allows you to interact with them and make better judgments of them. You can do this best in a social environment by making eye contact with them and by listening to the tone of their voice. You can also read their body language and watch how they treat others during demanding situations. You can then choose to give them the loyalty and respect they have earned based on the character you see in them, or not. All these things are important tools in helping you select your friends, and they allow you to make wise choices about people based on what you see. In real life, what you see is what you get; but that’s not always the case on line where people can go forth with anonymity to selfishly seek that which would normally be inappropriate in real one-on-one responsible relationships. On the Internet it’s possible to get drawn into uncomfortable situations with people in chat rooms such as MySpace or other sites that are dangerous to your moral well-being. Some there may chose to misrepresent themselves and slander you based on lies. Chat rooms can be cruel places for many teens and they are contributing factors in why teen depression and suicide rates have risen so much. It may look like I’m trying to blame everything bad on the Internet, but I’m not. It has only become a symbol that expresses the time in which you live, a time where the selfishly evil intentions of men are being aided and multiplied beyond compare. Please limit your time hanging out on line to unselfishly give something back to your caring family. And may God’s peaceful transparent ways aid you in putting the veiled evil side of Cyberspace to rest.
Thank you,
Grandpa Rose.
If you found this letter interesting you may also want to read the “EXCERPTS” from my Oct. 28, 2007 KIT class on Video game addiction.