During the quarantine time, many kids started to play online video games.
We had personal experience with this ourselves and so my oldest daughter and I did some research, engaged in some of these games, and talked with people who played them. I felt I needed to share this information.
Let’s start with Roblox. This game is actually a platform that includes thousands of games made by thousands of people. Some are harmless and fun, while others are incredibly witchy, cultish and violent. Roblox can go in any direction. This is extremely popular.
In researching, we found that several of these online games were either leading into sexualization or had the opportunity for predators to sneak in and get involved with the kids (like Roblox and VR Chat).
Genshin Impact is an anime game pushing idolatry – I mean straight up worshipping idols to get powers – along with the characters being named after Old Testament idols like Baal. He was offered sacrificed children in the Old Testament. In the game, however, players are led to sympathize with the Baal character.
Then there was 5 Nights at Freddy’s which is completely demonic and can even be modified to look like your personal house with “possessed robots” appearing on your phone screen and the background being whatever your camera sees. The process of blending animation with real life through video is called augmented reality or AR. In this case, it makes your house appear “haunted” to your kids. There are also subtle sexual messages in the game that many people don’t realize.
Even Minecraft has enchantment options to create potions to kill your enemies. You brew them yourself and follow the recipes of the in-game witches.
Back to VR Chat. This one is really troubling because it’s not filtered, and kids can get equipment to put on their bodies to make the experience more “real.” On roller coaster rides and dragon adventures it’s great, but they can then go to places to meet people and have virtual sex. They can become so saturated in this fake world that kids have been known to sleep in their helmet and gear and simply stay there for days, barely leaving to go to the bathroom or eat.
I heard an interview from a leftist globalist who admitted they want “unproductive” people to stay online. The addictions are planned, and a great deal of money goes into ensuring this. Most games will even contact the players with updates and suggestions to come back and play more, keeping them hooked through the notification process. This can be disabled.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Adults can more easily overcome these tricks and handle fake worlds and virtual games, keeping them compartmentalized in our thoughts. But a young child accessing the same games, especially if they have no Christian upbringing or parental support, can be overcome, harmed, victimized and definitely spiritually endangered by playing certain games. They can easily access these games through their cell phone.
Based on my experience, I would recommend parents play these games with their kids so they can see exactly what they’re involved in. Then, if the parents notice their child is becoming addicted or they are playing games involving secret rooms, virtual sex, demonic or witchy levels or other sick and twisted garbage, they can intervene and stop it. Involvement is the key!
Finally, keep in mind that, like Netflix shows, some games seem sweet and innocent at first with cute characters and fun challenges, but after the player gets more involved, it can evolve into something darker down the road.
This is what’s going into the hearts and minds of the current generation of gamers.
The views expressed here are those of the author, who was assisted in this column by Angelica Samash.
9 Comments
Mrs. Samash makes interesting points but they are heavily influenced by her sex. Mothering has a vital place in appropriate circumstances; care of an infant or invalid, for example, but when scaled up to town, state or national level… mothering is as dangerous as any tyranny.
When I was young, my buddies and I would group up and go on adventures which consisted, alarmingly often as I look back, of dodging the mean cow of the herd contained in the pasture between us and a very, very cool pond. I wonder if the pond would have been as ‘cool’ if it had not been guarded by the mean cow?
Today, kids very often aren’t allowed to go outside and often when they do, they’re heavily supervised. So what do boys do today? They group up in online games and go on adventures. It’s somewhat saddening to me but I think it’s better than the alternative; loneliness and neglect are very, very hard on kids.
The difference is that your fond childhood memories consisted of real experiences with real people. Video games only temporarily trick the mind into thinking that the body has lived; as soon as the screen is turned off the fulfillment is gone. I think the real problem today is that so many boys are growing up without involved fathers; mothers haven’t changed but without the balancing effect of the father their overprotective nature is allowed to stop boys from being boys.
I agree, life in zuckerberg’s ‘metaverse’ & online multiplayer games is a pale facsimile of life but it appears it may be better than nothing for far too many kids.
Mothers have changed, too. If they’re not helicoptering, they’re working outside the home convinced that a fulfilling life is found in the workplace rather than within the family and/or they may have no choice in the matter due to the divorce rate and the acceptance, even lauding, of single parenting.
I would disagree with the instant loss of fulfillment from video games. I personally have played many a video game over the year that was puzzle, logic, or critical thinking based. The real thought in my mind is instead of playing the smothering game why do we not directly target the games that are designed to attract children. Don’t blame a child. Blame the predator.
Having present parents would make a wonderful change. I do agree with better parenting these issues would be much less dangerous.
I doubt the mean cow dodging to get to the pond was addictive . Research is now proving that there is an addictive component to online gaming. Parents should be very careful and vigilant, monitoring time and also the selected games. There are games that are not occultic, sexually explicit, or pathologically violent. Choose wisely and involve your kids in the decision. It was wise for Pamala to involve her daughter in the investigation, as it shows respect for her daughter and sends a message to younger siblings that they are in this together and that vigilance is worthy. Great parenting!
The further away our kids are from the blue screens the better.
Kids need to get outside and play like we did.
Eating dirt, building forts having fun. Growing up means respecting your parents, eating your vegetables lol and saying excuse me and thank you.
Today we’re raising weak and afraid children
I wonder if in Alaska there are good christian excorcism people who could look into these games and get behind them where the people are so they demon or demons can be gotten ride of.
I am so glad the author wrote this article. My kids come home regularly with new references to games I’ve never heard of. They have very strict restrictions on their gaming, but other kids at school apparently don’t. My son came home several months ago talking about “Friday Night at Freddy’s.” When he told me about the game it sounded pretty childish. Since it’s an online game (vs. a game card you plug in and can take away permanently if you want to), I told him “too bad, we’re not getting that because it’s an online game.” I never looked into it until I read this article. I sat my boys down after I look at the game myself and said, “This game takes pictures and video of the inside of your house, using the camera on your phone, and inserts demons and possessed toys into your home to make you feel like there’s really a demon there. Do you really want to invite that kind of thing into your home and your head?” My boys are 6 and 9 years old, respectively. They both were horrified and said, “no way!” Honesty is the best policy when it comes to bringing your kids into these decisions. Also, I’m hopeful that they can rebuke the Gamer kid at school a little bit… he shouldn’t be glorifying evil crap at a Catholic school. He obviously doesn’t know he’s doing it…or how dangerous that is, poor guy. I’m glad my boys will be able to recognize — and confront–evil when they meet it. I hope!