in a white T-shirt . The photo was taken in his room , which makes sense because Ikuo hadn ’ t left his room in seven years . The photo was published on the National Geographic website as part of a story on a growing trend in Japan .
Known as hikikomori , these are people , mainly men , who haven ’ t participated in society or shown a desire to do so for at least a year . They rely instead on their parents to take care of them . In 2016 , the Japanese government census put the figure at 540,000 for people aged fifteen to thirty-nine . But it could easily be double that number . Since many prefer to stay entirely hidden , they remain uncounted . The hikikomori phenomenon isn ’ t limited to Japan . People are increasingly shutting themselves out of real life and choosing to live their entire lives online . I ’ m convinced that as technology advances , this is a trend that will only increase .
( Movie idea : a dystopian future where only a few people resist living virtual lives out of a conviction that living in truth inherently matters . I ’ m sure it ’ s been done . My other movie idea is a reboot of Gladiator , starring Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus , with all the other roles filled by Muppets . Ridley Scott , if you ’ re reading this , call me .)
Back to the point . Please don ’ t reduce this chapter to a simple rule : “ He says don ’ t play video games ” or “ He says video games are evil .” That sort of reductionism can provide us an excuse , a justification to keep the status quo , but I ’ m challenging you to question what ’ s really at stake .
As someone who loves gaming , I ’ ve had to wrestle with these questions :
If God created me , he had a purpose in mind . Was it for me to spend my days in unreality ?
If the unnatural dopamine hits are altering my brain , rendering the rest of life bland and colorless in comparison to games , is that a problem ?
If God has placed me in a certain context with certain people and certain abilities , shouldn ’ t I be fully present in that context ?
If God created me to be the answer to others ’ problems and a blessing to the vulnerable , how tragic would it be if I was too busy playing a character ?
So I ’ m not giving you ( or me ) a no-games rule . That ’ s not how this works . Instead , I ’ m trying to show you that the God of the Bible is unique . He is looking to go through life with you . There ’ s a friendship aspect to this . He wants you and me to grow up so our desires will start to change . Then he can trust us to want the right things .
The hurting world and our hurting communities need us to solve real-world problems , protect real-world people , and fight real-world injustice . Actually , let me rephrase that a bit . The hurting world and your hurting community need you to solve real-world problems , protect real-world people , and fight real-world injustice . Please don ’ t waste your God- given desire for adventure and accomplishment by
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