The spiritual risks of online role-playing games

PROVO, Utah — Dr. Charles D. Knutson tells the story of a man who was worried about his son.

The father said his 20-year-old had blown off the idea of serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Well, he would have served a mission — under two circumstances.

The young man wanted to take a laptop computer with him and keep playing "World of Warcraft," an online role-playing game, while serving his mission. That wasn't an option, so the young man didn't go.

Knutson, an associate professor of computer science, spoke on "Online Gaming — Being Aware of the Dangers and Establishing Safety Guidelines" at BYU Campus Education Week on Aug. 21.

He said he would not allow his children to play online role-playing games before going on LDS missions. "The spiritual risks are phenomenal," he said.

Online gaming strikes at the heart of many issues facing families. Technology intersects with our lives and drives business and entertainment, he said. The biggest issues are wasting time and compulsive behaviors.

The danger zone is when you come into contact with people you don't know in real life, because the social impact is real, he said. On the Internet, you're dealing with real people — and "the good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods are all next to you."

Some gaming consoles will connect to the Internet, and user-uploadable content has the potential for harm, he said.

He explained the ratings standards for games, established by the Entertainment Software Rating Board: early childhood, everyone, everyone 10+, teen, mature and adults only. He said he allows no M-rated games to be played in his house.

So at what point does playing become an addiction?

He confessed that when he worked at Novell, he and a few friends would play "Doom," a first-person shooter game, after hours. The lights would be dim, they would put each other on a speaker phone conference call and have at it.

"It was a bizarre virtual experience," he said, and "intoxicating." But some days at 3 p.m., he found himself thinking, "Only two more hours until I get to play 'Doom,' " instead of "Only two more hours until I get to go home and see my family."

Knutson also related a story that a bishop told him.