The virtual world, despite its potential for good, is ruining people’s lives as never before in history. One of the tragic, recent victims of Internet addiction is the Japanese family.

One 2014 statistic claims that one third of Japanese under-30-year-olds have never been on a date … ever! A survey by the Japan Family Planning Association reported that 49 percent of single women and 61 percent of men aged 18-34 are not in any kind of romantic relationship.

More surprising still, 45 percent of Japanese single women and 25 percent of Japanese single men aged 16-24 claim they aren’t even interested in sexual contact.

Guardian writer Abigail Haworth cites a “flight from human intimacy” as Japanese youth lose themselves in a virtual world of pornography, anime cartoons, Twitter, Instagram, texting, video games and Facebook romances. Indeed, there’s even a Japanese word used to describe young Japanese men who have chosen to tune out, abandon traditional relationships, and immerse themselves in their own fantasy worlds. Known as Otaku, these young men are increasingly choosing virtual girlfriends over real relationships.

Two such Otaku, interviewed by bbc correspondent Anita Rani, are dating Nintendo computer game avatars named Rinko and Ne-ne. Both these men take the video consoles containing Rinko and Ne-ne on bike rides to the park. They take photos together with their virtual “girlfriends” and buy them birthday cakes.

“At high school you can have relationships without having to think about marriage,” said one of these men. “With real girlfriends, you have to consider marriage. So I think twice about going out with a 3D woman.”

In other words, technology has progressed to the point where individuals like this man can at least superficially fulfill their social and sexual desires without having to give anything back to a “3D woman.”

This is a sad state of affairs that is destroying individuals, families and nations. Even setting aside moral and spiritual ramifications, Japan is being destroyed by a demographic crisis. So few children are being born, that by the year 2060, about 40 percent of the nation’s population will be senior citizens. An economy cannot support that many elderly when there are so few working age individuals.

God created humans as social beings. He created the institutions of marriage and family to teach mankind how to live the give way of life. Of course, not everyone has to get married, but everyone does have an obligation to give of themselves to other human beings. One reason sins like pornography, fornication, adultery and Internet addiction are so grievous is that they focus people on their carnal lusts, pulling them away from truly serving others. Isolating yourself from normal human relationships to date a virtual “girlfriend” falls into this same category.

To learn more about the give way of life and God’s family plan, read Herbert W. Armstrong’s classic, Why Marriage—Soon Obsolete?