Today’s post is about mobile gaming, mobile devices, our time, and sanity.  Inappropriate content isn’t too much of an issue in mobile gaming unlike the last several posts about video games, television, and streaming media.  The main issues for parents to consider, for themselves and for their children, is the amount of time spent playing these games and also potential access for strangers.

Explosive Growth

A 2012 article on DigitaTrends.com details the explosive growth of the mobile gaming industry.  Many industry experts feel that the growth of mobile gaming and free-to-play gaming spell the end of the console industry.  A 2013 Forbes article even suggested that the soon to be released Xbox One and Playstation 4 could be the last of the consoles as we know them.  The new frontier for gaming, advertising, and revenue is mobile gaming.

Can you guess which demographic is the most interested in mobile gaming?  A 2012 study revealed that women over 30 are the most engaged mobile gamers, with 27% of that group playing more than three hours a day.  That is a lot of Words with Friends!

My Gaming Habits

I measured my mobile game playtime this past week, trying to be uninhibited knowing I would be writing about it this week.  Over the course of the last week I played 6 hours of gaming on the iPad and 0 minutes on my phone.  After a recent update, a game I used to play captured my attention again on the iPad.  The game is broken into 5-10 minute levels and it is amazing how quickly an hour can get away.

In all honesty I wonder how mobile gaming is impacting the parent / child / spouse relationship.  Most of the time I play after everyone else in the house has gone to bed, usually tapping away at the screen while in bed giving my wife a chance to get soundly asleep before my snore-fest begins.  Sometimes I will play an occasional game when my children are awake and they instantly know I’m having fun and want to come join in.  Even our 22 month-old toddler will emulate playing games on her plastic toy phone.

Can You Go Without?

The average smartphone owner checks their device 150 times a day.  I haven’t kept count but I would say that is about right.  Rarely do you wait in line anymore and see people just standing there, 80% will have their smartphone out doing something.  The question for adults is – Can you go without your smartphone?  We can’t expect young, impressionable, learning children to do something that their parents are incapable or unwilling to do.

I have had vacations where I stay off of my devices to avoid distraction.  I have read about families with teens taking “unplugged” vacations.  Our summer church camp doesn’t allow phones, iPods, etc. to allow the kids to disconnect from the virtual world and fully connect with the world around them and the spiritual world.  This policy is also in place to prevent accidental or purposed inappropriate photos or interactions while away at camp.  Let’s consider this for a moment….

Power Without Knowledge

Kids are being given smart phones at younger and younger ages.  This technology gives them an amazing amount of power without knowledge of the full implications of their actions.  I can’t imagine what trouble I would have gotten into if I had ‘always on’ access to my friends, games, and the internet in my pocket 24 hours a day.  Honestly, I sometimes worry about it as an adult.

Mobile gaming is a new frontier for parents and children, from young kids who have spent hundreds of dollars with in-game purchases to teenagers who have been solicited by strangers in the chat portion of mobile games.  Young minds can sometimes have a challenging time processing the implications of opportunities presented by technology.

Guiding Principles Guide Good Decisions

At a recent minister’s luncheon, a colleague asked the group if they knew of anyone who could do a presentation on the latest apps and social media trends for the parents at the church where he works.  After a bit of discussion I chimed in with my opinion.  Parents will drive themselves crazy trying to keep up with the latest technology, app, and social media site.  Teaching guiding principles to our parents and children give them the best framework and foundation for making decisions that hold true to our family values.

As an example, earlier this year Tumblr was all the rage among the preteen scene.  Parents became alarmed when they found out that graphic sexual content was not regulated on the micro-blogging service.  A few months later the fad has already worn off and kids are dropping off Tumblr for the next big thing.

If you allow your child to have access to a mobile device or a computer they will be exposed to things that probably don’t mesh with your family values.  Technology is a part of our lives and the best idea is to provide a set of guiding principles to our children.  A set of filters, if you will, that they can use to quickly filter out things that don’t fit within the standards of the family.  I have been using Philippians 4:8 with our family and for this series of posts.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

True, honorable and just have already been covered in previous posts.  Pure is the perfect guiding principle when talking about mobile gaming and mobile technology as a whole.  The vast majority of mobile games are pure, simple fun.  Purity in the content of the game isn’t really an issue like it might be in some of the console based games that I wrote about last week.

Purity in a world of mobile technology is the bigger issue.  The family must have a clear understanding of expectations about purity among the children and between spouses.  Things that are impure abound and we really can’t block them out unless we move out to a shack in the woods and completely disconnect from all of society.  As annoying as it might be to kids, parents must directly address purity issues with children at age appropriate intervals.  Spouses must also openly talk with each other about expectations of purity and struggles that might be occurring.

The words of Jesus, spoken thousands of years before mobile technology, ring absolutely true today.  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” – Matthew 5:27-30

Of course Jesus is not literally telling us to gouge out our eyes, we need those.  But we don’t need smart phones.  If a smart phone is causing you to sin then you should sell it and get a dumb phone.  If you can’t control yourself on the internet, then get rid of it.  A fair majority of Americans still survive without it.  The better option of course is to learn to deal with your struggles, get help when needed, and guide your decisions with enduring principles.  It is also interesting to note that the next topic in Matthew 5 is divorce, for those who can’t get a grip on their lust.  An important message for spouses and a reminder about purity for our marriages and families.

Family Worship Guide

Thanks to all of you who have been following along all year with the family worship guide series.  Don’t think for a minute that I am perfect about getting these done with my own family.  Life happens and it can be crazy sometimes.  And I was reminded last night as we tried to do our study that sometimes it just doesn’t work out.  Our youngest wanted nothing to do with our study and our oldest was in about the same mindset.  Keep up the good effort friends and we’ll keep trying with our family too! Week 39 – The Queen of Sheba