8 yr old thinking we are living in a computer programme

[GoodReazons]

would be grateful for advice please! My 8 yr old is really worried we are living in a computer simulation. He has basically described the matrix or something. It is causing him quite a lot of distress "what if this is all not real / what if it's a computer programme". Serious replies only please... I know it sounds kinda funny but he is genuinely really upset and scared about it 😔 he is a deep little thinker but I am finding it hard to explain how he isn't. It is hard to prove a negative!! I am especially worried as schizophrenia runs in his dad's side of the family and when his aunt got sick she basically thought the same. So that is making it even harder for me to form coherent sentences as I am panicking a bit. Thanks xx

It could be a phase triggered by something he’s seen or read about.

Mine is obsessed with the crucifixion after school have taught them the gory story in all detail. It’s really bothered him.

I don't disbelieve that theory, but as an adult I'm able to rationalise that it doesn't matter if we are or not.

Incidentally I "found God" at about 9, I am no longer a Christian but I think it's something about that age that sends you on the hunt for answers. Something to do with understanding death and that the world doesn't revolve around you, the loss of the solipsistic (is that the word) sense of self which is standard for younger kids.

I also became vegetarian at 10 when I developed ethics of my own, rather than just following what my parents said and did.

It's a common thing for deep, perceptive, philosophically minded people to wonder about. What is reality, is this a dream, is this a simulation? How do we know? I wouldn't be worried about that per say. I'd actually be pretty proud of my child for thinking along those lines.

But the problem is that it's distressing him. Let me think if there are any resources that might help.

I think the first thing id do is read up on it more yourself and get comfortable with it. Thinking this way is not any cause for alarm or indicative of mental illness, it's just an interesting thing to think about . Eg

www.nbcnews.com/mach/amp/ncna913926

I wouldn't try to brush him off or divert him from talking about it. Try to frame it for him as a positive thing, which it is!

And I wouldn't go all out trying g to prove that it's not a simulation, because actually when it comes down to it, it could be! Maybe you could ask him if he notices any differences between computer games and our reality, or dreams and our reality, and investigate that.

You/ later he might be interested to look into the philosophy of Rupert Spira and/or quantum physics experiments such as the double slit experiment, which allow us to reflect deeply on consciousness and tge nature of reality. Your DS sounds fab, please don't worry!

To anyone interested in this stuff (although not OP's DS) I'd recommend the film 'A Glitch in the Matrix'.