Of Cyber Cafes & PC games...

Lately parents are very concerned with their kids spending too much time on the PC, in cyber cafes, playing games with friends... & some are talking about how the devil is stealing away our youths through this means & are calling cyber cafes evil. I would like to address this issue here.

First of all, let me say that I'm now blogging from a cyber cafe near my house. The glass doors are so dark that you can't see anything from the outside; the lights inside are rather dim too, the only things bright enough are the computer screens. This cyber cafe uses headphones, so the only noise come mostly from the gamers shouting to each other - sure they are shouting profanities at one another, but I hate the sub-woffers & high volume speakers more.

The absence of internet connection from my house is causing me to make frequent trips to this particular cyber cafe. I see students coming in right after school to play their favourite games. I hear them shout profanities at each other, it's part of their daily lingo - that's really troubling. It's almost as if they don't have parents, so it's ok to say those things they say. & of course the fact that they spend so much time & money on playing in a cyber cafe is no doubt worrying.

But suppose there is no cyber cafe anymore - where would these youths be? A mamak stall, karaoke, a pub, or maybe a back alley somewhere? So we remove all these things just so that they stay home - will they stay home? If a kid spends too much time alone in the room, shall we remove his / her room? Suppose you remove all distractions, will they stay at home? & even so, will they be turn out good, or okay? The fact is that moral decline in our world has always existed - way before there were video games & mamak stalls. To pin this on where your kid spends most time in or what he does is to be totally missing the mark. Cyber cafe, like most things, money for example, are neutral things. It's what you do with these things that separate good from evil.

Oh, have you ever noticed how many people die from road accidents every year? Cars are EVIL. No Christian should ever use a car. EVER. Walk to the nearest church & attend there. Quit your job & work for the bookshop near your house. So many people die of accidents, so surely we must remove cars...

I think what parents want from their children are simple. Obedience, spend more time at home, make effort in their studies, have more healthy activities... Don't fight something negative with a negative action. You're only making things worse. Go to the root & make positive changes, don't just touch the surface & think you can solve everything.

Will write more (and better) after more thought...