1 – I would suggest that most video game playing is eating into time previously spent watching TV. If anything that’s an improvement (active vs. passive), but it’s certainly not making anything worse.

2 – What’s the alternative? Mandate that every citizen read at least two chapters of Nietzsche each month? You can’t force people to spend their free time in productive and life-improving activities.

3 – Games are only going to get more social, rather than less. I’ve made more friends more easily online than I ever did in real life. It’s simply easier to find people with similar interests on the internet, especially when those interests lie outside the mainstream.