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Thank goodness we have science, to provide such brilliant insights: porn, video games leading to ‘masculinity crisis’ May 11, 2015

Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, disaster, error, foolishness, General Catholic, manhood, paganism, persecution, sadness, scandals, sexual depravity, Society, unadulterated evil.
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Well, yes they are, but they are also symptoms of an already extant crisis that predate the internet or video games by many years.  The broader problem or “crisis” – one largely deliberately caused – has to do with the culture rejecting the proper (Catholic) understanding of roles and duties for men and women and healthy approaches to the God-given natures as man and woman, masculine and feminine.  We have had generations of man-boys now, a phenomenon that got its start as part of the broader attack on the family.  If you take out the father, you can in most cases take out the entire family.  And if you take away traditional, I would say divinely-instilled conceptions of masculinity, you will take out the father, or so neuter him that even if physically present his impact will be minimal.

So file this in the water is wet category of breakthrough scientific research – porn and video games are destroying boys and young men’s virtue, film at 11:

A leading psychologist has warned that young men are facing a crisis of masculinity due to excessive use of video games and pornography.

Psychologist and professor emeritus at Stanford UniversityPhillip Zimbardo has made the warnings, which form a major part of his latest book, Man (Dis)Connected…….

……Zimbardo says there is a “crisis” amongst young men, a high number of whom are experiencing a “new form of addiction” to excessive use of pornography and video games……….

[The following explains why science almost always fails to address, or even measurably improve, the very crises it has helped visit on the culture……]…….In his opinion, the solution is to accept that the problem is serious – parents must become aware of the number of hours a child is spending alone in their room playing games and watching porn at the expense of other activities. [You mean parents should have close relationships with their kids?  That’s impossible, right?!?  The TV told me so, over and over again!]

He also blamed negative images of men in the American media, which show men as being “slobs, undesirable, only wanting to get laid and being inadequate in doing that.” [Well, he got that part right.  That pretty much nails the cultural image of “dad” conveyed by the mass media for the past 20 years or so]

He also called for better sex education in schools – which should focus not only on biology and safety, but also on emotions, physical contact and romantic relationships.

It is amazing how resilient these scientists are to identifying and recommending the things that have been proven to prevent kids from getting lost in porn and all the other vices – close relationship with parents, strong involvement in a Christian, especially Catholic church, being encouraged to participate in outdoor activities and sports, etc.  No, it always has to be a plan or program that tends to benefit their clan.  The ONE thing that can lead a soul out of the nightmare of addiction over the long haul – faith in Jesus Christ – is of course totally ignored.  To introduce Him would be to surrender one’s credibility as a scientist at the start.

I want to make clear, video games are not, like pornography, intrinsically evil.  There is no problem with many games that do not introduce immoral themes and do not feature excessive gore or other disordered matter.  Video games can be a decent recreation if kept within due limits.  But video games, especially the more modern immersive types, have been shown to have a strong potential for abuse/addition and many contain material that is morally toxic (Grand Theft Auto series, for instance).  So strong caution and parental monitoring is most definitely called for, but I am not one to think there has to be a blanket ban.

 

 

Comments

1. Michael - May 11, 2015

It doesn’t get much better than a little recreational Mario Kart 8 on Saturday mornings with the kids… 😉

Tantumblogo - May 11, 2015

Yeah I’m good with that. There are a bunch of games that are fine.

2. FiliusPastori - May 11, 2015

I play plenty of games, and on the whole I agree with you. Playing GTA 4 for example, was sickening, and made me feel like a psychopath. Other games run the gamut between being more or less harmless and being morally damaging. As with many such distractions, moderation is important.

3. Baseballmom - May 11, 2015

MLB 2010…11…12….13….14….15…. Yup…

4. LaGallina - May 11, 2015

I have kept video games out of my house during all of my parenting years so far. (Oldest is 17, youngest is 3.) And I am so glad I have. Since I wasn’t at all religious when my oldest was little, my reasoning wasn’t so much a morality issue, although it was starting to bother me that everything seemed so dark, violent and sexual.

For me it really had everything to do with wanting my kids to have a real, authentic childhood playing in the dirt, climbing trees, building forts, etc. I wanted them to learn to fix a bike, cook a meal, sew, do carpentry, and all the things that kids weren’t doing anymore. And I didn’t want to have to drag them away from their video games. It just seemed like such a waste of time. (TV too.)

And so far so good. My kids play video games once in a while at somebody’s house. Or maybe I’ll let my oldest play a game on my phone — occasionally. (No, they don’t have phones either.) The amazing thing is that my kids have never complained. I never made it a big forbidden ‘No-No.” I just gently gave them more creative opportunities instead, and it’s just never been a big deal. I figured they’ve got their whole lives to find ways to waste time, but I wasn’t going to be the one to encourage them to waste it.

This decision was very hard for me to make in the beginning because I felt like a freak. Or people get very offended, as if I am criticizing them for their video game playing. But as I realized that my kids really didn’t care if we played video games or not, and as I realized that they were amazing at all those skills I was hoping they’d learn, I have been thrilled with my decision.

Baseballmom - May 11, 2015

Sounds like you have done a great job…. We’ve been up and down with the games…. Oldest is 37, baby is 15…. Once when the 3 oldest boys were fighting over some system (Nintendo I think?) their dad ripped it out of the TV and tossed it in the garage… The oldest (then about 15) took it apart in the garage and was fascinated by the guts of the thing…. Ended up an engineer…. (Chemical…. Go figure….)


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