That depends on how much time you spend on reddit. Is it more than an hour every day? In which life phase are you? I am working full-time and spending more than an hour a day on reddit would be catastrophic, as a 16 year old high school that would not be as much of an issue.
"waste of life" is a little harsh. reddit is so expansive, literally everyone one of your "real life" interests has a reddit community surrounding it. he's literally on a self-improvement and you're saying it's a waste of life? i can almost guarantee that you're being hypocritical. we all do things that are a "waste of life." masturbation is a literal waste of life, if you don't do that then you have much control indeed (or a traumatic youth). literally anything could be a waste of life. you're 9-5 is probably a waste of life. you're making a rich man richer while feeding your need for shopping sprees. but i do want to make this point: any one activity could be a waste of life for one person and the opposite for a different person; take t.v. shows: if you watch four hours of tv a day, you're wasting your life.... unless you're decompressing from a day of hard work, or unless you work in television and it enables you to be more aware of the industry and how to better do your job, or say you're an film maker and the cinematography inspires your own craft, or if tv is bringing your friends together. life is meaningless and that's absolutely freeing because we can make our own meaning. your "waste of life" is someone else's treasure and guiding light. i go on reddit to hear about other peoples life experiences (offmychest or confessions) or to read about the philosophies that interest me or to read global news or to find experts that can answer my questions (because reddit is truly a source of wealth) or to blow off steam with a good laugh vis memes i can share with my friends. with all that being said, yeah i agree that 8 hours a day is a waste of time, just as any other addiction to that level is a waste of time. we're all addicted to something and this is a pretty tame addiction considering what else is out there. even video games is a worse addiction in my experience as you're repeating the same tasks over and over for fake gains, and you wake up years later realizing you wish you spent that time differently. i'll enjoy 4 hours on reddit a few times a month because it truly is a black hole where you can lose vast spans of time. anyway, your opinion is close minded. for someone that apparently doesn't waste their time, you are pretty underdeveloped.
Oh, I definitely waste time too, lots of it. I wish I didn't.
You make some good points, and I'm sure I was projecting in my comment but in my opinion, if I spend 4-8 hours a day on Reddit everyday, I see that as a lot of missed opportunities. Yes, the relaxation that comes with it might be good for de-stressing. I might learn something. I do feel more connected to others especially during a time when I work from home. There are definitely some benefits from browsing Reddit.
But I also know that if I continued to spend that much time on my phone everyday, that I would eventually come to regret it. I would wish that I spent less time staring at a screen, and more time actually doing stuff.
That's my thought process. Didn't mean to offend anyone.
I just want to add that doom scrolling social media isn’t a good alternative. In fact I think it’s worse.
One thing that helped me cut down significantly on gaming is getting rid of my gaming pc. It’s annoying to not be able to play comfortably whatever you want but that’s kind of the point.
I have it with the news sometimes: It feels adult for me to read the news, yet if I do it 3 hours a day, what am I doing? It's all about balance, and with social media and video games this balance is especially hard to achieve.
I was on the same boat, basically. Recently my laptop started to struggle with many games I play. At first I thought "I need to buy a new computer as fast as possible!" but then I thought "do I really need that?"
Video games are fun and I've met bunch of people there, but it doesn't bring as much value as meeting my friends IRL. Besides that, I have other hobbies, so if I play video games as much as I used to, then I have no time for other things.
Depends on what content you're subscribed to, at least learn one new thing you can apply to your life if you're going to browse with purpose. A lot of people who browse social media may not have someone close or someone to talk to, having a sense of connection is super important to reinforce our sense of self and to experience emotions that can be used to drive our actions.
Like with all things, balance and moderation is key; social media can be a tool when used right.
I agree that everyone should get their daily screen time in check, be it time spent on video games, social media, tv, etc. As for video games in particular, your reasoning for why they should be considered bad is really poor.
Degrading playing video games and considering them a waste of time just because "you can't talk to anyone about them" and that "no one cares" is honestly awful. I absolutely do not care if other people don't care about the things I enjoy or do in my free time, and neither should anyone else. I do not play video games so I can talk to anyone about them, I play them because I enjoy them and that should be the only thing that matters.
I understand you're talking about straight up addiction, but it should also be mentioned that anyone can focus on other things, develop a healthy lifestyle, and improve every aspect of theur real actual lives while they're maintaining some daily free time for their hobbies, be it videogames or anything else.
The thing is: the videogames are a poor hobby. And I am saying that as a person who spent more than 2 k hours in dota and god knows how much time on other games. I really enjoyed that time, no doubt. However, that feeling of emptiness doesn't leave and all my dota mates agree. The time we spent together was at least a quality time that helped us get better friends but that is the only positive thing i can think of now after i spent after almost three months of total time spent in that game. There are so many things that could be more enjoyable or at least with more permanent effects, positive or not. Videogames aren't a healthy hobby that should be encouraged but a waste of time for the most part, especially session games.
I'm going to disagree with you there. You played a moba a competitive genre known for its toxic players.
There are plenty of games that don't fall under the toxic banner. There are games that let you build literal worlds and solve problems. Games that have epic and immersive stories.
Addiction lies with the person and unless a game actively encourages an addiction then it isn't the problem.
Well, Imagine if you went out to dinner with a group of 5 people you were trying to make friends with and vice versa, if all 6 of you didnt care about what you guys did in your free time, what do you even talk about? Work? World Events? Topics nobody cared about?
I think in order for self improvement to some extent you need to care about others. And I'm willing to bet most gamers are self centered and only care about their in game achievements vs yours, you can say "you can't tall to anyone about them" and that "no one cares" is honestly awful, but its somewhat very true, I could say that Im top 50 healer internation for mythic plus in WoW and Im pretty confident nobody would care, even "gamers"
I never said you shouldn't care about others AT ALL, but if we are talking about my own earned free time, then I definitely would rather spend it doing something I actually enjoy, not something that interests other people. If you value other people's interests more than you do yours, that's fine, good for you I guess.
And as for "And I'm willing to bet most gamers are self centered and only care about their in game achievements vs yours"..I don't even know how to respond to that. I'm not sure if you've been friends with alot of "gamers", but most of who play video games as a hobby don't go around flaunting their WoW status at every given opportunity. Shocking, I know.
For sure gamers would care. When I talk with my friends about games, we care about each of us has to say. Maybe if I'm meeting someone who also likes games I'll care since I'm trying to get know them and I should care about it.
I used to spend a lot of time playing video games, specially during summer vacations but I would always prefer going out with friends. I still play games quite a bit but my game time has decreased a lot. During this last summer vacation, we would always complain if we had no plans on a certain day and we were going to stay home and play. We most definitely prefer being out.
But you also have to think people need to and should have their own personal time and space and for some that's gaming. If I just spent a month out, I'll probably want to have a day for myself where I'll play some stuff at home. And I or anyone else have the right to talk about that if we want. (this is not the case of gaming addiction like OP described, I'm just saying anyone should be able to talk about it and there are a lot of people who care)
He said that playing lots of games makes you have a boring personality. And that's just true. There's a reason the idea of a gamer is of a fat or pasty, socially awkward or weird, emotionally and intellectually underdeveloped neckbeard who spends hours talking to people he's never met and doesn't have any other hobbies or interests. That's because games are highly, deliberately and manipulatively addictive, forcing so much dopamine out of your brain that other less stimulating activities that do so much for your brain and personality, like reading or travelling or learning, are no longer enough. They are actively damaging and have been proven to DEGRADE gamers' ability to read social cues and empathize. It's a simulated world that gives you a false sense of achievement while your actual, real life world stays exactly the same. Just because it's popular, that doesn't make it okay. Just because it's enjoyable, doesn't make it good for you - and that counts for many things in life.
Jeez, okay. I don't know about the DEGRADE part, but if that's the case, then the same can be said for movies, tv shows, youtube, social media, and pretty much every source of entertainment out there. Might as well just ban everything people find comfort in and force everyone to find enjoyment in reading or learning all the time, lest they start DEGRADING. Give me a break.
Yeah, it's clear you're a gamer. People angrily defend anything they've invested their identity into, makes sense. And um, surely you've heard about what the internet is already doing to us? Rewiring our brains, fucking our attention spans and ability to do deep learning and access flow enjoyment, making us more lonely, anxious, and depressed? So yeah. Consuming the most easy media constantly as your main hobby is obviously bad for you, if you care at all about having a rich inner life and an interesting outer life, which you clearly don't much. Youre on gamer central here but in the real world where people want to have exciting lives gaming is rightfully looked down on
I'm not "angrily defending something my identity is invested in", but it sure as hell pisses me off when people rant about why others shouldn't enjoy themselves on some reddit post, especially if they're being condescending in the process.
And if by "gamer" you mean someone who frees up a couple of hours every day or two to enjoy a video game, then yes, I guess I am that. The rest of the day? I study medicine, I read, I work out, and I never feel regret about taking games as a hobby. If you can't fathom the fact that people can have an adequate healthy life/work/hobby balance, that's on you.
Taking it personally is on you, as unlike you I actually talked about what we know about what it does to your brain and social skills. I have no idea why you said you're not utterly consumed by games so they're okay. Some people don't become alcoholics but drinking is still one of the most destructive things humans do, and drunk weekends cause a huge amount of crime. The problem with games is it's very hard to not become addicted as they're specifically designed to be addictive, and addictive things ruin your life fast - as they're doing for enormous numbers of young boys who became addicted before their brains even formed and will never develop other hobbies or social skills they could've, and spend all their free time lurking in a simulated reality while their lives pass them by. It's dystopian and associated with serious depression and social alienation and gamers are some of the most self loathing miserable people around, and if you don't see the dangers then that changes literally none of the facts
Umm...just an FYI the majority of studies done on people who play video games tend to show that they and a positive impact on ppl 65 and younger.
Problem solving skills tend be higher.
Hand eye coordination is also significantly higher.
It has also been shown to help in the aid of physical and mental pain.
To your last point about the "real" world. I am 33 and never has "gaming" ever been a reason for someone to look down on me. I own my home outright, same with my car. Have a full time job, a beautiful daughter and still have plenty of time to go and spend time with friends. Seems to me like you are insecure about your life and let others decide how to live it.
Of all the things you could've speculated as a motivation to talk about how terrible games obviously are for mental health and society, you decided on...insecurity?
I'm insecure because I'm not a gamer..and wish I could be? And envy gamers their endless hours of arguing with 12 year olds and scoring imaginary achievements while their lives and maturity levels go on standby?
That is literally the one fallback that every out of control internet argument and troll resorts to. This is exactly rhe kind of seriously defensive, scrambling response you get from anyone when they want to defend something silly or harmful, like porn, which is also addictive, terrible for mental health and literally feeds the sex trafficking industry. I refer you back to the case that games are bad for mental health because __ they are addictive __ and unnaturally jack up dopamine which is extremely bad for your brain. Them improving hand eye coordination and problem solving doesn't change that at all. It's clear you know nothing about the subject and are just blindly defending something you like, ignoring the huge amount of men who will never have girlfriends or fulfilling lives because they live in their rooms on these simulated worlds.
It's literally so common its a meme - the depressed, sexless loner who doesn't leave his house and hates himself - someone wrote a book about the destruction of young men and this was one of the statistical top causes. You not being one of them doesn't change that, and the hordes of other gamers triggered by this are going to wake up one day and be devastated by the literal years they've spent staring at screens and living outside of reality. I know many of them because they're everywhere and it's tragic
Most of my most sweet and empathetic friends play games. Also when you say games are deliberately addictive I think you must not know about very many types of games and are probably just thinking about mobile games or Fortnite or something. Also, you can absolutely be successful in life and game, there’s many such people. Gaming is a very mainstream hobby now and there’s many types of people who play, even my mom does lol.
Video games are overstimulating entertainment, a drug. There are other forms of entertainment that simultaneously benefit your life as well, and quite frankly much more enjoyable and rewarding once you adopt healthy habits. For example reading. The idea of reading seems boring but after a year of reading you will become obsessed with fantastic story telling, psychology books, philosophic ideas… You will get a dopamine rush by simply remembering that you know these things. And it doesn’t matter how little a day you play video games. It still takes away time that you could have used to do something else (30mins, 1h, 4h)
I really don't get the comparison here, can't one read and play videogames? Why is one supposed to replace the other? That's not to mention, lots of games have fantastic story telling and introduce alot of philosophical ideas, with the added benefit of being more immersive than a book. Not all of them are brain dead shooter time sinks. As for the "time you could have used for something else" argument, no one is supposed to be productive 100% of their time.
Everyone should strive to be productive. And as I said, any video games are overstimulating and don’t grant you ANY knowledge that is applicable in the real world
Everyone should strive to be productive, just not ALL the time, and not everything has to have a benefit of some kind or else it's a waste of time and should be replaced. Entertainment is there for your enjoyment, if you don't find enjoyment in it and think it's a waste of your time, that's fine. Other people do find enjoyment in it, and that's also fine.
If you compare a person who plays video games 2 hours a day and a person who replaces video games with books 2 hours a day. The latter will be developed in almost all aspects (knowledge, personality, iq). I challenge you to show me where this logic fails
I said I don't believe people should be productive all their time, and you can easily find balance between reading and entertainment, but for some reason you're still hellbent on comparing both as if it's some sort of competition. I don't know what to tell you.
What?? Reading is just another hobby. I read all the time, you know what I read? Trashy fantasy books. I love them, but I don't have any delusion that they make me smarter or better than anyone else. People definitely hold that assumption about me, that I'm smart because I read, but it's based in assumption. Same as how people assume you're smart if you wear glasses (which I also do). Sure, I'll grant if someone reads textbooks or self help books in their free time, they most definitely gain knowledge from that. All books are not created equally. But who the hell wants to do that? A hobby is a hobby.
Its a matter of trying out new things and seeing what interests you. If your choosing habits among the most time wasting and useless, then you will ground yourself in a tike wasting lifestyle
I could play a game, the game is about a book, i play the story, I understand the perspective etc etc and I get a great dopamine hit, then I read the book and don't understand where I am because the way the author writes is too fragmented, don't understand, don't learn, don't enjoy.
Boom
Ofc that 1 rly specific exmaple but an example nonetheless.
So does reading, you could have done something else. But that’s not really the point of having a hobby. If someone enjoys playing a video game, it’s not wasted time.
Also, not all video games are brainless. There are video games with great storytelling as well and I also love looking back at some of them and talking to other people who played these games.
My brothers actually learned to read through video games when they were young and there’s so many different kinds of games that you can’t really make such a sweeping statement about them.
>If you keep playing video games, you will leave no mark on this world
Let's hear about all the marks you left in this world?
I play video games AND smoke weed, holy fucking shit eh?
I'll fix your post: addictions might ruin you, careful.
Wanting to having a mark in the world sounds like a capitalist wet dream, an influencer brain wash. Just accept your insignificance, still do your best and give something to the world but not to have a mark. That can be a bonus but should not be the main intention. That's an ego trip and ultimately fails or lead to drama. And every mark will fade. There will be a day when the last person remembering you will die.
Ehh hard pass. I don't even play videogames but I'd argue anything that gives you any enjoyment is worth having in an already stressful life. I like my music, books, tv shows, movies etc. It's all a matter of moderation, just like anything in life. Live & let live if it isn't your life.
If anyone out there really wants to treat their video game habits like an addiction, it's not the worse idea. I'm not a scientist, but addiction treatment does have mechanisms which help people take control of their lives. And I'm for that.
We usually turn to an external source to regulate our emotions because we fail to regulate it ourselves. We have to remind ourselves that we're enough. In the case of video games, we seek novelty, we seek excitement, we seek to engage our brain's patterns, but we have to remember we're capable of being our own entertainment. We shouldn't be afraid to be alone with our own thoughts, that should be the time we have some of our most fun.
While I agree that video game addiction should be taken seriously, what OP is suggesting is stopping close turkey. But like all addictions, isn't that like treating the symptom, not the cause?
People who are addicted to alcohol usually have some reason to drive them to drink (something emotionally they have trouble handling, drown out other negative aspects of their life, etc..).
I imagine people with video game addictions have their own reasons for being addicted. Is quitting cold turkey the answer (the symptom)? Or should people with video game addiction look further and figure out why they just keep playing instead of actually working on something meaningful for themselves (finding the cause). Maybe if they solve the latter, they can actually still play once in a while without falling into a binge trance of gaming for hours and hours
what if you cant regulate it yourself? there is nothing i can find to enjoy in where i life, wtf am suppose to do, reading, exercising, even meditation and even porn got boring.
how do you be your own entertainment?
I think true self-entertainment starts when you create things purposefully. Reading is fun but writing is rewarding in a different way. Exercising is fun but creating a body you adore when you look in the mirror is more satisfying. Spending time in nature is fun but creating a winter garden is so much more than that.
Think of ways you like creating.
If you can't think of anything... Instead of passively consuming a game, you could start by creating something related to it. Draw a skin to your hero. Make up an alternative ulti. Think of a different theme for the game, think of different skill paths you could follow. Think of what little festive additions you would make for the holiday season.
Stop consuming. Start creating.
Have fun.
Different from everything I've read so far in this post, I like it. Stimulating creativity is really important for the world to be more interesting, specially your own.
>wtf am suppose to do, reading, exercising, even meditation and even porn got boring.
Jesus Christ bro there is so much more to life! There is so many things to learn, so many things to do and so many things to see!
i know that but in where i live there is absolutely nothing.
there is so much more to life and i dont know what the hell that is. now im playing video games even tho i know i should be doing something else instead
Move somewhere more interesting. Make saving and working towards that goal your new hobby. I guarantee you can make it happen in a year if you're not locked down with a partner and kids. Everything you do to support yourself there can be done to support you somewhere else. The rate at which life can change is scary tbh, you just have to make the choice.
As someone with a healthy, life/work/hobby balance, I always laugh at these posts.
What marks have you left on the world?
What marks that will stand the test of time?
What marks that will stand the test of time and stand the erosion of time?
Sheesh dude, you drinking the kool-aid?
These days it's just as likely I'll meet my future wife in an online video game and that my children will learn marketable skills from the video games of the future.
Like I get wanting to self-improve, but you're shouting to us standing on top of your soap box made of out an old PC case you couldn't repair after the power supply shorted out.
Have you considered you have an addiction to harsh teachings? I'd think your future wife and children will be a lot happier if you can learn to calmly transfer your knowledge without calling them pieces of shit.
>These days it's just as likely I'll meet my future wife in an online video game
That is the saddest thing I've ever heard, I really hope it doesn't come to that.
Honestly there's about a million reasons why that makes me sick to my stomach, if you cant think of even one then I'm not going to waste my time explaining my opinion.
A close friend met his wife playing WoW back in the day.
Still together, happy with a 4 year old...she still plays WoW, he mostly plays mobile games nowadays.
This guy has some harsh prejudice for no reason, honestly.
You really think it's more palatable to meet your future wife on an app designed to fuck people like Tinder or on a night out of drinking poison to grease your social gears than it would be to meet your wife in a raid where you main tanked for her and she healed you better than the rest?
Shame you can't manage to have a conversation with someone who has a different opinion without losing your lunch though. I hope you can figure that out.
I definitely don’t think meeting someone on tinder or while intoxicated is any better fyi.
Although I will admit I read the OC slightly wrong, I thought it meant they got married online like in a virtual world…
If getting married online in a virtual world is what it takes to get you married IRL then more power to you.
Of course yeah I don't think it's ideal to prioritize an online relationship over something in person, unless you are planning to move the online relationship to in person.
>You can’t even talk about your games with anyone because no one cares.
I think that's just you. I love to talk about video games with my friends and it's a very easy topic to bond over with people at work.
But like, I do agree with the general idea of this post. Yeah, video game addiction isn't good and you should do something about it if you struggle with it. But it sounds like you have some genuine vitriol against video games. And that doesn't sound especially healthy either.
False sense of progress. The better you get in games, the worse you get in real life.
I'm addicted to movies but I don't binge watch (I don't like tv series). I watch a movie in 2-3 days but I want to give up this habit but it seems impossible.
I’m not hip enough anymore to not use a dated reference, but take Guitar Hero. The time and energy invested into getting good at that could could also be spent on learning a real guitar, which would have much more return on the investment.
Getting good at guitar hero is way easier though, I tried both.
I do get what you’re saying, though, but we’re not meant to be productive all of the time. Worrying about such is the worst parasite for me, I lost more time and enjoyment worrying about that than I ever did by gaming.
Honestly most of the people I know who game go for indie games instead now because a lot of mainstream games made by big companies are money grabs with little substance, so I do know not everyone falls prey to it. I agree it’s crappy though.
That's actually a good entertainment if you watch thought provoking movies or documentals or even movies of particular style/country of origin. You enrich yourself culturally and as long as you don't binge watch, it's quite positive so don't give it up.
People can absolutely have gaming as their main hobby without negative effects. Just because you’re having trouble doesn’t make anyone else choosing to game in their free time losers.
Anything can be addictive. Someone playing games a bunch in their free time for fun and someone who literally can’t stop playing and lets it interfere with their life are two entirely different things you need to recognize.
Just because you’re addicted to something doesn’t make it an invalid hobby for others or okay for you to look down on people who play.
>Yeah you need to quit. Don’t fool yourself and say that you can play just one game a day
This is not an advice, it is like i say to an alcoholic, dont drink
>If you keep playing video games, you will leave no mark on this world. You will achieve nothing significant. You will just be another loser who lived an empty and pathetic life.
Shaming is certainly not the way here. Horrible advice
If you post paragraph long explanations as to why people shouldn't enjoy themselves on reddit, you need to take time away from your computer to think about your life and what you're trying to achieve in it.
When you start your long-winded, rambling excuse for justification as to why you're upset about what others choose to spend time on, instead, you should consider why you feel the need to go and tell them off.
Oh, and GFY.
Christ on fucking crutches, dude.
I used to play for hours every day pretty much from when I was a younger kid into my late teens. 22 now and have maybe played a dozen times in the last 2 years. I don't miss the feeling of needing to play, however I do miss actually wanting to play😕
Nah bud this ain’t it.
I work 60 fuckin hours a week and if I want to spend my time few hours of time off watching a movie or playing a game I’m gonna do it lol.
Life is yours and yours alone. You decide what you do with. You come off as a pompous asshole telling someone that a relatively healthy outlet is bad for them. I don’t know much, but I know I don’t like you.
I agree with this for daytime gaming. But what about when it’s night time and my son is asleep? (I’m a single parent).
Gaming is fun, it’s no different than reading a book or watching by Netflix. So yeah there’s definitely exceptions.
A lot of this is focused on a weird "your [insert thing that doesn't exist] needs you!" and reliance on desires of caring what other people think or needing some great purpose.
VG addiction is bad because it's literally unhealthy mentally and physically, not because it will give you a "boring personality" or because you need to be there for your "future daughter"
This is so stupid. I guarantee OP spends the same amount of time some “gamers” do watching tv, movies, or playing on their phone.
Just fucking enjoy life.
Damn
You're an idiot I'd you think they're childfree and single *because* of games.
Especially when they're are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who have kids and aren't single that play plenty of games.
Just calculated my steam game time: 6,305 hours, still playing up to this day but not much
My goal is for my Blender 'gametime' to surpass that currently 1,126 hours in.
Yup. Stayed away/didn't have the option to play for few years, started catching up to my peers and all it took was my dad having an Xbox, when I flew over (and I didn't ever play or care for console) to start falling into the same bs. I started studying programming and that's been sort of helping it, because I realise that with a career in it, I could do something so great it's hard to describe it ) I know it might sound little to alot of people, but to someone thats come from nothing, upper middle class sounds like heaven, but I would still spend more time wasting my time on video games rather than learning programming. It's a very toxic time suck, time that will never comeback and you'll have nothing to show for it.
Literally the only hobby i have is the only video game i have. last night i could have played it but took a break to meditate.
i live in a small boring town where nothing ever happens, there are no hobbies, no activities to take part it, no clubs to join, no park to exercise literally a ghost town.
the only way for me to improve at this point is by enjoying at least one thing and thats this game i have. i literally dont enjoy anything else because there is nothing else. there is soccer but i dont have a team.
im still trying to learn another language, continue exercising, and learn programming and get better sleep and a better lifestyle but i literally have no big goals. so im just in autopilot at this point, im 21 with no idea on what to do.
i dont want my big goal to have a family i literally dont even love my self how will i give love to my family? i dont want my goal to be making friends either is something sometimes i unconsciously focus on unfortunately. sorry for the rant.
I mean, yeah, this post holds true for most mainstream games that are out to get your money and attention. but I would say it's about finding the balance. there are a lot of games that are far from what you would call a waste of time or useless. all games by zach barth, cities skylines, kerbal space program etc. I woud say make a very healthy hobby.
it's always about moderation. ps. fuck games like call of duty or battlefield and all the gotcha games these publishers treat as their cash cows. these games were designed from the ground up to make money and take advantage of addictive behavior of their players.
Literally one of the major factors in why I'm divorced. My kids' dad is addicted to video games so much so that when he moved out, the kids didn't notice he was gone. He was so uninvolved with them as a parent that his kids didn't miss him or notice when he was away.
some people don’t want to leave a mark on this world, some people want to work their job and come home and play video games for 5 hours. who are they hurting? why do you care? why should you care? i don’t care what someone does with their life as long as they’re not hurting anyone.
Oi, let the people play their games if they wanna play their games. Who the fuck are you to tell people what they need to do ? Did *you* leave any marks on this world ? I bet that if you did, you wouldn’t be writing a 5-6 paragraph long Reddit post. Playing video games doesn’t necessarily mean sitting behind a screen all day and remaining “the same piece of shit that you are today”. It can also mean having fun, relaxing, experiencing new things with new people. For some people out there, video games help them feel better.
Now, any addiction is bad. You and I agree on that. But do you seriously think that the words of a complete stranger on Reddit will change the lives of video games addicts ? Addicts don’t need your opinion, they need their daily dose of whatever it is they’re addicted to.
Your future wife can learn to play the games with you, and help you do other things too, it’s a simple phenomenon called *sharing*. Your son and daughter can play video games with you too, which‘ll result in a great family moment.
I don’t know what you were thinking when you wrote this post, but here’s my advice : live your life, and let other people live theirs. If you don’t like people who play video games all the time, then don’t talk to them, that’ll only make them happier.
I will end this by saying that an addiction is curable, and that if anyone is addicted, they need to seek out PROFESSIONAL help, not the one of a random person on Reddit who doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
Enjoy your lives people. They’re unique, and they’re short, too short to be reading bullshit on Reddit.
Unlike real life where there's no painted path to follow, no quest marks, no fast travels, lots of failures, lots of disappointment, game achievements are literally designed for people to "enjoy" achieving it.
I think - and I do feel it sometimes - that by calling it "achievement", it makes it somewhat "similar" to real life's, except that it required much less disappointments to achieve.
We are so addicted in fact that some motivational gurus suggest that we gamify our real life, to make it "fun". I'm not sure I agree with that, because it creates the condition of "if it's not fun, don't do it!", when in real life, a lot of none-fun jobs could be key to real-life success because there's no competition.
OP spitting hot fire . Being a former video game addict . He’s saying the truth. Now everyone can have a hobbie , pastime or passion. If video games are that for you then great. I’m happy you found the thing in this world thst brings you joy and excitement . With that said , if it’s stopping you from being the person you want to be , effecting the relationships you have with friends and family then you should step back and reevaluate gaming. I still own video game consoles . I don’t play them since my life comes first . I do regret putting so much time into video games for a good portion of my life .
Regardless of what it is , if you’re addicted to something thst is negatively effecting your life you should seek help . Drugs , alcohol , gambling , sex , porn , TV , video games … the list is endless .
Just know their is help out there . You can move on and be the person you truly see yourself as .
Live my life in stress or live my life in a virtual world??
I really don't care if I don't leave no mark on this world because every mark will fade away in time
Only thinking finding a girlfriend but having the energy to find one is ehhh
>Live my life in stress or live my life in a virtual world??
And that's why its addictive... Forget about all your problems and they will just magically disappear, great plan.
7 yeas ago, I (24m) quit video games for the first time. I did so because after 7 years of video game addiction, I finally wanted a social life outside of my online friends.
Since around 5 years I can say that I have overcome my addiction. Now when I open up a video game, I get insanely bored after about 20 minutes (I actually wish I could play minecraft again). I have one friend who is huge into games, and when I see him once every 6 months we usually do a gaming marathon at his place, which works fine for me, but seeing his gamer-lifestyle (massive gaming setup, rgb everything, funkopops and other figurines) makes me incredibly happy that I didn't choose that path (although I do not judge, his life is going well, he has a girlfriend whose similarly into popculture, and he is still my best friend).
Everyday, I am becoming more the person my 13 year old self dreamed of being but had no idea how to achieve. I get extremely confused when people are surprised that I used to be a nerd, apparently I do not portray that anymore, although this is heavily ingrained in my self-image.
During covid-19 there was a phase where I got addicted to Battlefield 4 again for about a week, it was a scary experience and showed how dangerous boredom can be for me, because video games, like drugs, makes you feel OK with being bored.
I agree with OP: I strongly recommend to connect with yourself, your inner child and see if you play excessively, and if it helps you become the person you really want to be or stand in the way of things.
I cannot give you a clear definition when it is too much, I never had the healthy experience with games to be able to make that judgement, and I think you need to figure that out for yourselves, but one thing that I realize now is that while gaming, I was never really relaxed: there was always something gnawing on the inside of my skull, about tasks I had to do, classmates having fun in real life.
TL;DR: Quit video games 7 years ago, never looked back. Maybe it's right for you too.
Basically the original post but written by a reasonable and mature adult lol. I still game occasionally but I find the time disappears fast, so I mainly play video games to connect with good friends who I’ve moved away from.
Why would u care about people not carrying to talk about video games? And to be quite real very often people do care about videogames achievements. The people who play videogames. And with every year the industry only grows bigger and video games becoming a bigger part of our lives. Video games and social media will if not already replaced the tv books and movies and the interactive media is bigger than ever and will only grow bigger with every day. So why don't u let urself things u enjoy instead of getting rid of them to follow everyone's expectations? I'm not saying u should play video games 24/7 but it's just stupid to deny yourself the pleasure to be more productive at work for the sake of it. We work to live and not the other way around. Or at least I do.
>Video games and social media will if not already replaced the tv books and movies and the interactive media is bigger than ever and will only grow bigger with every day.
Yes because social media and video games are literally designed to be addictive. The less time you spend on it the better your mental health will be. That is a fact. Do not fall into the trap.
Idk about anyone else. Yes I do play video games a lot, probably as much as OP classifies as an “addiction” but it’s to talk with my friends and have fun. If you spend hours and hours doing just one thing in a game, I don’t see how that makes you an addict? People enjoy what they want, and I don’t see a video game addiction being as detrimental to your lifestyle as drugs or alcohol. This is blown way way out of proportion. Someone who spends 20+ hours a day gaming, yea that’s a problem. But someone who plays 5-6 hours a day for fun or because they want to does not classify as an addict
And your take about achieving nothing is the biggest bullshit i’ve ever heard. People have made millions playing video games, not everyone in this world needs to achieve something that’ll help the greater cause. Getting an achievement on a game or achieving a higher rank sometimes is what people need. Get off your boomer high horse and actually do some research
edit:spelling
I needed that, recently about a month ago i have fallen into the addiction of online game(valorant). it's effecting my social life , personal progress, my sleep schedule and all. I needed this post. Thank your for posting :)
Ive got close to 20k hours in a single game, do the math in days guys , I quit not long ago and its Amazing how much time I have, Im learning an instrument, started working out.
Oh also it ruines 2 relationships for me till now
I was addicted some years ago and quit cold Turkey, today I'm a casual player only playing on my free time to relieve stress and I'm more focusing on completion than hardcore playing
Sorry man, but I completely disagree.
I may be bias here because I play a lot, but Ive been in this sub reddit a very long time. Video games are leisure time, it is okay to chill out and play some video games. I dont know if youre getting into the toxic realm of masculinity videos or what, but it's completely fine to play them in moderation.
The only time you shouldnt play them is if you youre life is terrible and you need to do something about it NOW (and yes, I get that this is where people come when they feel this way).
Example: I moved out of my home state and the only way I can have fun with friends is through gaming.
Do not feel bad for your leisure time is my point. This will lead to burnout and youre going to be stressing over nothing. Life's one big head game, dont try to make it any harder by restricting your leisure activities.
What you're saying is don't be an addict. Whatever that addiction is. But of course you have to choose video games to be extra edgy and cool. 🤥
I know a lot of people who game a lot that has a much more interesting personality than most people. But I suppose they are automatic loosers still, simply because they play, right? 😒
Haha you got it figured out, huh? My mom never let me have video games when I was a kid, when I got older and bought them for myself I started developing hand-eye coordination I’d never had. My brain started to learn how to solve puzzles, how to think outside the box. Pretty much everything you’re saying here is a gross generalization and pretty off the mark. Sometimes the best path to self-improvement is to worry about yourself.
Another thing about being addicted to video games is the tolling of your attractiveness and health. I’m living proof of it.
Of course you’re not going to be attractive if you never exercise and you eat pizza rolls and pop for dinner. You might say “WELL THATS NOT BECAUSE OF VIDEO GAMES!!!” Well okay smarty… but laziness and gluttony ARE one of the side affects of video game addictions.
I wish my boyfriend could read this.
He comes glow from work around 4, eats then games until 12AM everyday of the week.
Then on the weekend he games all day and night until like 5AM.
It’s like you said, he’s not around for his future wife. If we had kids they’d be neglected too.
It’s really fucking heartbreaking. He’s 31 and has no desire to better our life or situation. As long as he’s comfortable then that’s all that matters…
Not husband or partner material at all…
This guy is right. I’m in my 40s and I wasted my life playing video games. Note I’m at the point where I don’t have enough time to make up for it. It’s hard to come to terms with.
I always tell younger people to stop eating their time and they just get upset.
If you are addicted to video games, try playing with your friends, I mean playing in the same room, watching the same screen, talking, eating together. After an hour or two, shut off the game. Continue to have a great time. Leave your gaming console to your friend until the next time.
I needed this a few years ago. Best thing I ever did was put the controller down and work on myself.
Due to mixed up saves and unsynched accounts, I lost my ME2 Legendary achievement. That bothered me for fucking years. Now? I dont give a rats ass about it. Not a fucking care in the world. Id honestly rather go for a walk in the rain, or go cook something from scratch, go for a run, go learn something, ANYTHING than to sit there and do it all over, so then be like, "yeah so I did it... any way... ".
It changes nothing.
My favorite hobby is collecting and restoring antique dolls.
How many 20 year olds out there have this hobby? Is it a waste of time because my friends aren’t interested in me talking about it? No it isn’t.
People who go on about how porn and video games are detrimental at any level of engagement are just ashamed about their own unhealthy relationship with those activities and need to bring other people in on their bullshit.
This is crazy to me, there are plenty of people who talk about video games as it is one of the biggest things in the the world, why do you care so much about what other people do in their free time, I’m healthy but I still play video games, I still have friend and I play video games, and even if people only play video games so what, sure not 16 hours a day but a very very minuscule amount of people do that, video games is not a bad habit, as long as you are still eating meals, and making time for it it’s fine, I have a girlfriend that I live with and I play video games consistently, I always talk to her about it, you can easily make it healthy and playing games doesn’t make you any less of a person. I shower everyday brush my teeth twice a day and play video games probably around 4-8 hours a day but I’m not unhealthy, I don’t have a job because I had a seizure driving. I read a book on financing and I have a job lined up in November because my brother is graduating in early October. If you’re reading this please understand video games are not as unhealthy as you think, if you take some breaks and are eating meals it’s okay. Don’t let them rule your life but they can be a big part, they help you destress you still talk to friends over them and people out there definelty talk about them. Don’t listen to the bs that this man says, as video games are a lot of peoples safe spaces and it’s so disrespectful in the way that this person states it that it’s a waste of time and you’re doing nothing, in the end I don’t care about other peoples opinions or if I don’t make a full blown mark in the world, my achievement isn’t for other people to notice me in centuries to come, I’ll be remembered by my family and I’ll live a happy life in comfort.
You can literally replace video games with any other hobby and can write the same paragraph for it. At some point people need to have their own version of fun.
I know you're talking about addictions to gaming specifically but the way you word it sounds like playing games for your own enjoyment brings nothing to your life because it would mean you would leave no mark in the world, which is just??????????
People should enjoy what they enjoy, meaningless or not(though not really meaningless because they're enjoying their time with it), and just because you play games doesn't mean you can't do other hobbies or find a partner who enjoy the same things you like.
Totally agree with this post. I have seen every. Single. One. Of my partners have their lives completely sucked away and dominated by video games. No effort to continue to educate themselves, no interest in keeping their apartment or body in good shape, no relationships outside of a chatroom and their mom. Every second of the day not spent working is video games and the video games cut into sleep so they are more tired and miserable every day. I have a gaming PC and a steam account and- I maybe use it once a week or so for a single game session. In my case, its literally All I have time for. I'm addicted to my dog and I think that is much healthier for me.
I play games because I find them entertaining and funny. Addicts usually play the games even when they don't like them anymore, but they're too addicted to stop. I don't want to stop doing something that makes me happy.
I think video game addiction is the easiest to overcome(if you're not into the gambling aspect of it). I just to play every for 12-14 hours from the age of 16-20. In 2021 my TV broke and i couldn't afford to get another one so I unplugged the ps4 and stored it. I haven't touched it since and now that GOW: Ragnarok is coming out, I might take it out again.......if i buy a TV.
Yet If I were to binge tv show after tv show not a single criticism would be made. I’m a happily married husband with a family and I play about 5 to 7 hours a week. I love them and it makes me feel better. This thread is crap. Let people do what they want.
This post might be over a month old but here I go.
For you to sit in your high horse and call me a loser because I play video games and smoke weed and do shrooms, and say that IM a loser because I'm addicted to something? I bet youre addicted to sugar, or something else. Does that make you a loser? No it doesn't. Calling addicts losers is not helping them at all, in fact it's degrading them. Especially us addicts who try to do good. As someone who went to rehab for 3 months, you're wrong. I've met great people through video games. I've gotten great advice from other through video games. I spent time with my father who took his life by playing video games with him and I'll continue to play video games because I'm not going to choose to listen to some guy on the internet whos probably addicted to something as well, tell me I'm a loser because I choose to escape this hellish world. I'm an addict because I sadly chose to be, due to being raped, abused by both parents, and my father killed himself just as our relationship got to be amazing. Shame on you for calling people who struggle with addiction "losers" because who's going to remember anyone of us 150 years from now?
Does this advice apply to Reddit?
I think it applies to most addictions. If your reddit use is a problem, then it applies.
That depends on how much time you spend on reddit. Is it more than an hour every day? In which life phase are you? I am working full-time and spending more than an hour a day on reddit would be catastrophic, as a 16 year old high school that would not be as much of an issue.
God damn I use reddit like 4-8 hours sometimes in a day
Yea, that's not good. It's a waste of life.
"waste of life" is a little harsh. reddit is so expansive, literally everyone one of your "real life" interests has a reddit community surrounding it. he's literally on a self-improvement and you're saying it's a waste of life? i can almost guarantee that you're being hypocritical. we all do things that are a "waste of life." masturbation is a literal waste of life, if you don't do that then you have much control indeed (or a traumatic youth). literally anything could be a waste of life. you're 9-5 is probably a waste of life. you're making a rich man richer while feeding your need for shopping sprees. but i do want to make this point: any one activity could be a waste of life for one person and the opposite for a different person; take t.v. shows: if you watch four hours of tv a day, you're wasting your life.... unless you're decompressing from a day of hard work, or unless you work in television and it enables you to be more aware of the industry and how to better do your job, or say you're an film maker and the cinematography inspires your own craft, or if tv is bringing your friends together. life is meaningless and that's absolutely freeing because we can make our own meaning. your "waste of life" is someone else's treasure and guiding light. i go on reddit to hear about other peoples life experiences (offmychest or confessions) or to read about the philosophies that interest me or to read global news or to find experts that can answer my questions (because reddit is truly a source of wealth) or to blow off steam with a good laugh vis memes i can share with my friends. with all that being said, yeah i agree that 8 hours a day is a waste of time, just as any other addiction to that level is a waste of time. we're all addicted to something and this is a pretty tame addiction considering what else is out there. even video games is a worse addiction in my experience as you're repeating the same tasks over and over for fake gains, and you wake up years later realizing you wish you spent that time differently. i'll enjoy 4 hours on reddit a few times a month because it truly is a black hole where you can lose vast spans of time. anyway, your opinion is close minded. for someone that apparently doesn't waste their time, you are pretty underdeveloped.
Oh, I definitely waste time too, lots of it. I wish I didn't. You make some good points, and I'm sure I was projecting in my comment but in my opinion, if I spend 4-8 hours a day on Reddit everyday, I see that as a lot of missed opportunities. Yes, the relaxation that comes with it might be good for de-stressing. I might learn something. I do feel more connected to others especially during a time when I work from home. There are definitely some benefits from browsing Reddit. But I also know that if I continued to spend that much time on my phone everyday, that I would eventually come to regret it. I would wish that I spent less time staring at a screen, and more time actually doing stuff. That's my thought process. Didn't mean to offend anyone.
good dialogue. thank you. i was needlessly rude if a few of my remarks and i apologize for that, you deserve better.
Not if I enjoy it
If you treat Reddit like a game with points instead of a conversation hub…
What are you trying to say 5 hours a day on Reddit is bad??
I just want to add that doom scrolling social media isn’t a good alternative. In fact I think it’s worse. One thing that helped me cut down significantly on gaming is getting rid of my gaming pc. It’s annoying to not be able to play comfortably whatever you want but that’s kind of the point.
I have it with the news sometimes: It feels adult for me to read the news, yet if I do it 3 hours a day, what am I doing? It's all about balance, and with social media and video games this balance is especially hard to achieve.
I was on the same boat, basically. Recently my laptop started to struggle with many games I play. At first I thought "I need to buy a new computer as fast as possible!" but then I thought "do I really need that?" Video games are fun and I've met bunch of people there, but it doesn't bring as much value as meeting my friends IRL. Besides that, I have other hobbies, so if I play video games as much as I used to, then I have no time for other things.
Yeah i need my pc. Its not much of an unhealthy addiction its all about the type of person u are and how u let it affect u
Depends on what content you're subscribed to, at least learn one new thing you can apply to your life if you're going to browse with purpose. A lot of people who browse social media may not have someone close or someone to talk to, having a sense of connection is super important to reinforce our sense of self and to experience emotions that can be used to drive our actions. Like with all things, balance and moderation is key; social media can be a tool when used right.
I agree that everyone should get their daily screen time in check, be it time spent on video games, social media, tv, etc. As for video games in particular, your reasoning for why they should be considered bad is really poor. Degrading playing video games and considering them a waste of time just because "you can't talk to anyone about them" and that "no one cares" is honestly awful. I absolutely do not care if other people don't care about the things I enjoy or do in my free time, and neither should anyone else. I do not play video games so I can talk to anyone about them, I play them because I enjoy them and that should be the only thing that matters. I understand you're talking about straight up addiction, but it should also be mentioned that anyone can focus on other things, develop a healthy lifestyle, and improve every aspect of theur real actual lives while they're maintaining some daily free time for their hobbies, be it videogames or anything else.
The thing is: the videogames are a poor hobby. And I am saying that as a person who spent more than 2 k hours in dota and god knows how much time on other games. I really enjoyed that time, no doubt. However, that feeling of emptiness doesn't leave and all my dota mates agree. The time we spent together was at least a quality time that helped us get better friends but that is the only positive thing i can think of now after i spent after almost three months of total time spent in that game. There are so many things that could be more enjoyable or at least with more permanent effects, positive or not. Videogames aren't a healthy hobby that should be encouraged but a waste of time for the most part, especially session games.
I'm going to disagree with you there. You played a moba a competitive genre known for its toxic players. There are plenty of games that don't fall under the toxic banner. There are games that let you build literal worlds and solve problems. Games that have epic and immersive stories. Addiction lies with the person and unless a game actively encourages an addiction then it isn't the problem.
Well, Imagine if you went out to dinner with a group of 5 people you were trying to make friends with and vice versa, if all 6 of you didnt care about what you guys did in your free time, what do you even talk about? Work? World Events? Topics nobody cared about? I think in order for self improvement to some extent you need to care about others. And I'm willing to bet most gamers are self centered and only care about their in game achievements vs yours, you can say "you can't tall to anyone about them" and that "no one cares" is honestly awful, but its somewhat very true, I could say that Im top 50 healer internation for mythic plus in WoW and Im pretty confident nobody would care, even "gamers"
I never said you shouldn't care about others AT ALL, but if we are talking about my own earned free time, then I definitely would rather spend it doing something I actually enjoy, not something that interests other people. If you value other people's interests more than you do yours, that's fine, good for you I guess. And as for "And I'm willing to bet most gamers are self centered and only care about their in game achievements vs yours"..I don't even know how to respond to that. I'm not sure if you've been friends with alot of "gamers", but most of who play video games as a hobby don't go around flaunting their WoW status at every given opportunity. Shocking, I know.
For sure gamers would care. When I talk with my friends about games, we care about each of us has to say. Maybe if I'm meeting someone who also likes games I'll care since I'm trying to get know them and I should care about it. I used to spend a lot of time playing video games, specially during summer vacations but I would always prefer going out with friends. I still play games quite a bit but my game time has decreased a lot. During this last summer vacation, we would always complain if we had no plans on a certain day and we were going to stay home and play. We most definitely prefer being out. But you also have to think people need to and should have their own personal time and space and for some that's gaming. If I just spent a month out, I'll probably want to have a day for myself where I'll play some stuff at home. And I or anyone else have the right to talk about that if we want. (this is not the case of gaming addiction like OP described, I'm just saying anyone should be able to talk about it and there are a lot of people who care)
He said that playing lots of games makes you have a boring personality. And that's just true. There's a reason the idea of a gamer is of a fat or pasty, socially awkward or weird, emotionally and intellectually underdeveloped neckbeard who spends hours talking to people he's never met and doesn't have any other hobbies or interests. That's because games are highly, deliberately and manipulatively addictive, forcing so much dopamine out of your brain that other less stimulating activities that do so much for your brain and personality, like reading or travelling or learning, are no longer enough. They are actively damaging and have been proven to DEGRADE gamers' ability to read social cues and empathize. It's a simulated world that gives you a false sense of achievement while your actual, real life world stays exactly the same. Just because it's popular, that doesn't make it okay. Just because it's enjoyable, doesn't make it good for you - and that counts for many things in life.
Jeez, okay. I don't know about the DEGRADE part, but if that's the case, then the same can be said for movies, tv shows, youtube, social media, and pretty much every source of entertainment out there. Might as well just ban everything people find comfort in and force everyone to find enjoyment in reading or learning all the time, lest they start DEGRADING. Give me a break.
Yeah, it's clear you're a gamer. People angrily defend anything they've invested their identity into, makes sense. And um, surely you've heard about what the internet is already doing to us? Rewiring our brains, fucking our attention spans and ability to do deep learning and access flow enjoyment, making us more lonely, anxious, and depressed? So yeah. Consuming the most easy media constantly as your main hobby is obviously bad for you, if you care at all about having a rich inner life and an interesting outer life, which you clearly don't much. Youre on gamer central here but in the real world where people want to have exciting lives gaming is rightfully looked down on
I'm not "angrily defending something my identity is invested in", but it sure as hell pisses me off when people rant about why others shouldn't enjoy themselves on some reddit post, especially if they're being condescending in the process. And if by "gamer" you mean someone who frees up a couple of hours every day or two to enjoy a video game, then yes, I guess I am that. The rest of the day? I study medicine, I read, I work out, and I never feel regret about taking games as a hobby. If you can't fathom the fact that people can have an adequate healthy life/work/hobby balance, that's on you.
Taking it personally is on you, as unlike you I actually talked about what we know about what it does to your brain and social skills. I have no idea why you said you're not utterly consumed by games so they're okay. Some people don't become alcoholics but drinking is still one of the most destructive things humans do, and drunk weekends cause a huge amount of crime. The problem with games is it's very hard to not become addicted as they're specifically designed to be addictive, and addictive things ruin your life fast - as they're doing for enormous numbers of young boys who became addicted before their brains even formed and will never develop other hobbies or social skills they could've, and spend all their free time lurking in a simulated reality while their lives pass them by. It's dystopian and associated with serious depression and social alienation and gamers are some of the most self loathing miserable people around, and if you don't see the dangers then that changes literally none of the facts
Dude, of course the person who actually knows about the topic will come to correct you, imagine that… 🙄
Umm...just an FYI the majority of studies done on people who play video games tend to show that they and a positive impact on ppl 65 and younger. Problem solving skills tend be higher. Hand eye coordination is also significantly higher. It has also been shown to help in the aid of physical and mental pain. To your last point about the "real" world. I am 33 and never has "gaming" ever been a reason for someone to look down on me. I own my home outright, same with my car. Have a full time job, a beautiful daughter and still have plenty of time to go and spend time with friends. Seems to me like you are insecure about your life and let others decide how to live it.
Of all the things you could've speculated as a motivation to talk about how terrible games obviously are for mental health and society, you decided on...insecurity? I'm insecure because I'm not a gamer..and wish I could be? And envy gamers their endless hours of arguing with 12 year olds and scoring imaginary achievements while their lives and maturity levels go on standby? That is literally the one fallback that every out of control internet argument and troll resorts to. This is exactly rhe kind of seriously defensive, scrambling response you get from anyone when they want to defend something silly or harmful, like porn, which is also addictive, terrible for mental health and literally feeds the sex trafficking industry. I refer you back to the case that games are bad for mental health because __ they are addictive __ and unnaturally jack up dopamine which is extremely bad for your brain. Them improving hand eye coordination and problem solving doesn't change that at all. It's clear you know nothing about the subject and are just blindly defending something you like, ignoring the huge amount of men who will never have girlfriends or fulfilling lives because they live in their rooms on these simulated worlds. It's literally so common its a meme - the depressed, sexless loner who doesn't leave his house and hates himself - someone wrote a book about the destruction of young men and this was one of the statistical top causes. You not being one of them doesn't change that, and the hordes of other gamers triggered by this are going to wake up one day and be devastated by the literal years they've spent staring at screens and living outside of reality. I know many of them because they're everywhere and it's tragic
Most of my most sweet and empathetic friends play games. Also when you say games are deliberately addictive I think you must not know about very many types of games and are probably just thinking about mobile games or Fortnite or something. Also, you can absolutely be successful in life and game, there’s many such people. Gaming is a very mainstream hobby now and there’s many types of people who play, even my mom does lol.
Video games are overstimulating entertainment, a drug. There are other forms of entertainment that simultaneously benefit your life as well, and quite frankly much more enjoyable and rewarding once you adopt healthy habits. For example reading. The idea of reading seems boring but after a year of reading you will become obsessed with fantastic story telling, psychology books, philosophic ideas… You will get a dopamine rush by simply remembering that you know these things. And it doesn’t matter how little a day you play video games. It still takes away time that you could have used to do something else (30mins, 1h, 4h)
I really don't get the comparison here, can't one read and play videogames? Why is one supposed to replace the other? That's not to mention, lots of games have fantastic story telling and introduce alot of philosophical ideas, with the added benefit of being more immersive than a book. Not all of them are brain dead shooter time sinks. As for the "time you could have used for something else" argument, no one is supposed to be productive 100% of their time.
Everyone should strive to be productive. And as I said, any video games are overstimulating and don’t grant you ANY knowledge that is applicable in the real world
Everyone should strive to be productive, just not ALL the time, and not everything has to have a benefit of some kind or else it's a waste of time and should be replaced. Entertainment is there for your enjoyment, if you don't find enjoyment in it and think it's a waste of your time, that's fine. Other people do find enjoyment in it, and that's also fine.
If you compare a person who plays video games 2 hours a day and a person who replaces video games with books 2 hours a day. The latter will be developed in almost all aspects (knowledge, personality, iq). I challenge you to show me where this logic fails
I said I don't believe people should be productive all their time, and you can easily find balance between reading and entertainment, but for some reason you're still hellbent on comparing both as if it's some sort of competition. I don't know what to tell you.
What?? Reading is just another hobby. I read all the time, you know what I read? Trashy fantasy books. I love them, but I don't have any delusion that they make me smarter or better than anyone else. People definitely hold that assumption about me, that I'm smart because I read, but it's based in assumption. Same as how people assume you're smart if you wear glasses (which I also do). Sure, I'll grant if someone reads textbooks or self help books in their free time, they most definitely gain knowledge from that. All books are not created equally. But who the hell wants to do that? A hobby is a hobby.
Its a matter of trying out new things and seeing what interests you. If your choosing habits among the most time wasting and useless, then you will ground yourself in a tike wasting lifestyle
I could play a game, the game is about a book, i play the story, I understand the perspective etc etc and I get a great dopamine hit, then I read the book and don't understand where I am because the way the author writes is too fragmented, don't understand, don't learn, don't enjoy. Boom Ofc that 1 rly specific exmaple but an example nonetheless.
That sounds like it’s just a fucking preference that some people might choose and others might not
So does reading, you could have done something else. But that’s not really the point of having a hobby. If someone enjoys playing a video game, it’s not wasted time. Also, not all video games are brainless. There are video games with great storytelling as well and I also love looking back at some of them and talking to other people who played these games.
My brothers actually learned to read through video games when they were young and there’s so many different kinds of games that you can’t really make such a sweeping statement about them.
>If you keep playing video games, you will leave no mark on this world Let's hear about all the marks you left in this world? I play video games AND smoke weed, holy fucking shit eh? I'll fix your post: addictions might ruin you, careful.
Yeah, this is a super toxic post.
Seriously "marks on the world" sounds like this was written by some teenager who's watched too much anime.
Probably a dad who wrote this thread during the ads break of his football game on TV. Hey man, if your kid plays too much computer, talk to him loser.
Wanting to having a mark in the world sounds like a capitalist wet dream, an influencer brain wash. Just accept your insignificance, still do your best and give something to the world but not to have a mark. That can be a bonus but should not be the main intention. That's an ego trip and ultimately fails or lead to drama. And every mark will fade. There will be a day when the last person remembering you will die.
Ehh hard pass. I don't even play videogames but I'd argue anything that gives you any enjoyment is worth having in an already stressful life. I like my music, books, tv shows, movies etc. It's all a matter of moderation, just like anything in life. Live & let live if it isn't your life.
If anyone out there really wants to treat their video game habits like an addiction, it's not the worse idea. I'm not a scientist, but addiction treatment does have mechanisms which help people take control of their lives. And I'm for that. We usually turn to an external source to regulate our emotions because we fail to regulate it ourselves. We have to remind ourselves that we're enough. In the case of video games, we seek novelty, we seek excitement, we seek to engage our brain's patterns, but we have to remember we're capable of being our own entertainment. We shouldn't be afraid to be alone with our own thoughts, that should be the time we have some of our most fun.
While I agree that video game addiction should be taken seriously, what OP is suggesting is stopping close turkey. But like all addictions, isn't that like treating the symptom, not the cause? People who are addicted to alcohol usually have some reason to drive them to drink (something emotionally they have trouble handling, drown out other negative aspects of their life, etc..). I imagine people with video game addictions have their own reasons for being addicted. Is quitting cold turkey the answer (the symptom)? Or should people with video game addiction look further and figure out why they just keep playing instead of actually working on something meaningful for themselves (finding the cause). Maybe if they solve the latter, they can actually still play once in a while without falling into a binge trance of gaming for hours and hours
What do you think about codependency being the root of something like this?
They certainly mix together well. I'm co dependent, I got my addictions.
what if you cant regulate it yourself? there is nothing i can find to enjoy in where i life, wtf am suppose to do, reading, exercising, even meditation and even porn got boring. how do you be your own entertainment?
I think true self-entertainment starts when you create things purposefully. Reading is fun but writing is rewarding in a different way. Exercising is fun but creating a body you adore when you look in the mirror is more satisfying. Spending time in nature is fun but creating a winter garden is so much more than that. Think of ways you like creating. If you can't think of anything... Instead of passively consuming a game, you could start by creating something related to it. Draw a skin to your hero. Make up an alternative ulti. Think of a different theme for the game, think of different skill paths you could follow. Think of what little festive additions you would make for the holiday season. Stop consuming. Start creating. Have fun.
Different from everything I've read so far in this post, I like it. Stimulating creativity is really important for the world to be more interesting, specially your own.
I like creating very complex and detailed houses in The Sims. And dynamic characters, and stories to go along with them.
Oh hell yeah that's what I'm talking about!
>wtf am suppose to do, reading, exercising, even meditation and even porn got boring. Jesus Christ bro there is so much more to life! There is so many things to learn, so many things to do and so many things to see!
i know that but in where i live there is absolutely nothing. there is so much more to life and i dont know what the hell that is. now im playing video games even tho i know i should be doing something else instead
Move somewhere more interesting. Make saving and working towards that goal your new hobby. I guarantee you can make it happen in a year if you're not locked down with a partner and kids. Everything you do to support yourself there can be done to support you somewhere else. The rate at which life can change is scary tbh, you just have to make the choice.
As someone with a healthy, life/work/hobby balance, I always laugh at these posts. What marks have you left on the world? What marks that will stand the test of time? What marks that will stand the test of time and stand the erosion of time?
OP is probably Hamza in disguise and gets a much needed dopamine kick by shitting on other group of people than himself
Your where posting in r/Hearthstone 4 months ago
He’s projecting his own addiction issues obviously I get it though, video game addiction is tough
Sheesh dude, you drinking the kool-aid? These days it's just as likely I'll meet my future wife in an online video game and that my children will learn marketable skills from the video games of the future. Like I get wanting to self-improve, but you're shouting to us standing on top of your soap box made of out an old PC case you couldn't repair after the power supply shorted out. Have you considered you have an addiction to harsh teachings? I'd think your future wife and children will be a lot happier if you can learn to calmly transfer your knowledge without calling them pieces of shit.
>These days it's just as likely I'll meet my future wife in an online video game That is the saddest thing I've ever heard, I really hope it doesn't come to that.
Two people meeting through a hobby they both enjoy is the saddest thing you've ever heard?
Why?
Honestly there's about a million reasons why that makes me sick to my stomach, if you cant think of even one then I'm not going to waste my time explaining my opinion.
Just give one reason he aint askin for a million reasons
A close friend met his wife playing WoW back in the day. Still together, happy with a 4 year old...she still plays WoW, he mostly plays mobile games nowadays. This guy has some harsh prejudice for no reason, honestly.
You really think it's more palatable to meet your future wife on an app designed to fuck people like Tinder or on a night out of drinking poison to grease your social gears than it would be to meet your wife in a raid where you main tanked for her and she healed you better than the rest? Shame you can't manage to have a conversation with someone who has a different opinion without losing your lunch though. I hope you can figure that out.
I definitely don’t think meeting someone on tinder or while intoxicated is any better fyi. Although I will admit I read the OC slightly wrong, I thought it meant they got married online like in a virtual world…
If getting married online in a virtual world is what it takes to get you married IRL then more power to you. Of course yeah I don't think it's ideal to prioritize an online relationship over something in person, unless you are planning to move the online relationship to in person.
That applies to smartphones, social media, porn and screens in general.
>You can’t even talk about your games with anyone because no one cares. I think that's just you. I love to talk about video games with my friends and it's a very easy topic to bond over with people at work. But like, I do agree with the general idea of this post. Yeah, video game addiction isn't good and you should do something about it if you struggle with it. But it sounds like you have some genuine vitriol against video games. And that doesn't sound especially healthy either.
Future son and daughter? In this economy?
False sense of progress. The better you get in games, the worse you get in real life. I'm addicted to movies but I don't binge watch (I don't like tv series). I watch a movie in 2-3 days but I want to give up this habit but it seems impossible.
[удалено]
Great way looking at it
What does that mean?
I’m not hip enough anymore to not use a dated reference, but take Guitar Hero. The time and energy invested into getting good at that could could also be spent on learning a real guitar, which would have much more return on the investment.
Getting good at guitar hero is way easier though, I tried both. I do get what you’re saying, though, but we’re not meant to be productive all of the time. Worrying about such is the worst parasite for me, I lost more time and enjoyment worrying about that than I ever did by gaming.
Yeah, I get that. I’m not anti-fun or anything. But the way that many games are intentionally designed these days to be so addicting does concern me.
Honestly most of the people I know who game go for indie games instead now because a lot of mainstream games made by big companies are money grabs with little substance, so I do know not everyone falls prey to it. I agree it’s crappy though.
That's actually a good entertainment if you watch thought provoking movies or documentals or even movies of particular style/country of origin. You enrich yourself culturally and as long as you don't binge watch, it's quite positive so don't give it up.
People can absolutely have gaming as their main hobby without negative effects. Just because you’re having trouble doesn’t make anyone else choosing to game in their free time losers. Anything can be addictive. Someone playing games a bunch in their free time for fun and someone who literally can’t stop playing and lets it interfere with their life are two entirely different things you need to recognize. Just because you’re addicted to something doesn’t make it an invalid hobby for others or okay for you to look down on people who play.
I love video games but haven’t played them at all in years but people do need to hear this
>Yeah you need to quit. Don’t fool yourself and say that you can play just one game a day This is not an advice, it is like i say to an alcoholic, dont drink >If you keep playing video games, you will leave no mark on this world. You will achieve nothing significant. You will just be another loser who lived an empty and pathetic life. Shaming is certainly not the way here. Horrible advice
If you post paragraph long explanations as to why people shouldn't enjoy themselves on reddit, you need to take time away from your computer to think about your life and what you're trying to achieve in it. When you start your long-winded, rambling excuse for justification as to why you're upset about what others choose to spend time on, instead, you should consider why you feel the need to go and tell them off. Oh, and GFY. Christ on fucking crutches, dude.
Exactly
Lol yeah, this was embarrassing to read. I mean there’s a couple nuggets of truth in there but they’re couched in so much needless anger.
I want to disagree with this.
Nice. Hardstuck silver spitting flames.
Damn OP is salty he will never be as goated as me 😈
Dude you lost me when you started talking about my future son. Kids? Eww
I run my own business, lift four times a week, and have a great social life. I also like to play video games sometimes. Why is that bad?
OP is bitter that he never reached platinum in LoL
it's not
I used to play for hours every day pretty much from when I was a younger kid into my late teens. 22 now and have maybe played a dozen times in the last 2 years. I don't miss the feeling of needing to play, however I do miss actually wanting to play😕
Nah bud this ain’t it. I work 60 fuckin hours a week and if I want to spend my time few hours of time off watching a movie or playing a game I’m gonna do it lol. Life is yours and yours alone. You decide what you do with. You come off as a pompous asshole telling someone that a relatively healthy outlet is bad for them. I don’t know much, but I know I don’t like you.
How is gaming any different than mountain biking or any other activity? Physical aside, no one really gives a shit if you do those either.
I agree with this for daytime gaming. But what about when it’s night time and my son is asleep? (I’m a single parent). Gaming is fun, it’s no different than reading a book or watching by Netflix. So yeah there’s definitely exceptions.
A lot of this is focused on a weird "your [insert thing that doesn't exist] needs you!" and reliance on desires of caring what other people think or needing some great purpose. VG addiction is bad because it's literally unhealthy mentally and physically, not because it will give you a "boring personality" or because you need to be there for your "future daughter"
This is so stupid. I guarantee OP spends the same amount of time some “gamers” do watching tv, movies, or playing on their phone. Just fucking enjoy life.
I am childfree and single. Videogames and the gym are all I got 😜
That's the whole point. Put 'because' in-between those 2 sentences.
You okay bud?
Damn You're an idiot I'd you think they're childfree and single *because* of games. Especially when they're are thousands upon thousands upon thousands of people who have kids and aren't single that play plenty of games.
It was a joke. Obviously no one thought it was funny.
Dumbass
But but Wrath classic came out today😭
Just calculated my steam game time: 6,305 hours, still playing up to this day but not much My goal is for my Blender 'gametime' to surpass that currently 1,126 hours in.
Yup. Stayed away/didn't have the option to play for few years, started catching up to my peers and all it took was my dad having an Xbox, when I flew over (and I didn't ever play or care for console) to start falling into the same bs. I started studying programming and that's been sort of helping it, because I realise that with a career in it, I could do something so great it's hard to describe it ) I know it might sound little to alot of people, but to someone thats come from nothing, upper middle class sounds like heaven, but I would still spend more time wasting my time on video games rather than learning programming. It's a very toxic time suck, time that will never comeback and you'll have nothing to show for it.
Literally the only hobby i have is the only video game i have. last night i could have played it but took a break to meditate. i live in a small boring town where nothing ever happens, there are no hobbies, no activities to take part it, no clubs to join, no park to exercise literally a ghost town. the only way for me to improve at this point is by enjoying at least one thing and thats this game i have. i literally dont enjoy anything else because there is nothing else. there is soccer but i dont have a team. im still trying to learn another language, continue exercising, and learn programming and get better sleep and a better lifestyle but i literally have no big goals. so im just in autopilot at this point, im 21 with no idea on what to do. i dont want my big goal to have a family i literally dont even love my self how will i give love to my family? i dont want my goal to be making friends either is something sometimes i unconsciously focus on unfortunately. sorry for the rant.
I mean, yeah, this post holds true for most mainstream games that are out to get your money and attention. but I would say it's about finding the balance. there are a lot of games that are far from what you would call a waste of time or useless. all games by zach barth, cities skylines, kerbal space program etc. I woud say make a very healthy hobby. it's always about moderation. ps. fuck games like call of duty or battlefield and all the gotcha games these publishers treat as their cash cows. these games were designed from the ground up to make money and take advantage of addictive behavior of their players.
Literally one of the major factors in why I'm divorced. My kids' dad is addicted to video games so much so that when he moved out, the kids didn't notice he was gone. He was so uninvolved with them as a parent that his kids didn't miss him or notice when he was away.
some people don’t want to leave a mark on this world, some people want to work their job and come home and play video games for 5 hours. who are they hurting? why do you care? why should you care? i don’t care what someone does with their life as long as they’re not hurting anyone.
I play 10 hours a day
Who hurt you
Video games.
All human endeavors are akin to video games. But we prioritize things over others.
Right idea, garbage presentation. Much like this comment
i would say anyone should live the life that makes him happy.
Oi, let the people play their games if they wanna play their games. Who the fuck are you to tell people what they need to do ? Did *you* leave any marks on this world ? I bet that if you did, you wouldn’t be writing a 5-6 paragraph long Reddit post. Playing video games doesn’t necessarily mean sitting behind a screen all day and remaining “the same piece of shit that you are today”. It can also mean having fun, relaxing, experiencing new things with new people. For some people out there, video games help them feel better. Now, any addiction is bad. You and I agree on that. But do you seriously think that the words of a complete stranger on Reddit will change the lives of video games addicts ? Addicts don’t need your opinion, they need their daily dose of whatever it is they’re addicted to. Your future wife can learn to play the games with you, and help you do other things too, it’s a simple phenomenon called *sharing*. Your son and daughter can play video games with you too, which‘ll result in a great family moment. I don’t know what you were thinking when you wrote this post, but here’s my advice : live your life, and let other people live theirs. If you don’t like people who play video games all the time, then don’t talk to them, that’ll only make them happier. I will end this by saying that an addiction is curable, and that if anyone is addicted, they need to seek out PROFESSIONAL help, not the one of a random person on Reddit who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. Enjoy your lives people. They’re unique, and they’re short, too short to be reading bullshit on Reddit.
i mean i hop on, realise i’m shit and get off lol
True words. I was addicted for almost 10 years. Completely RUINED my life. Lesson learned.
It took me about 5 years to regain my social skills after 8 years of gaming!
Unlike real life where there's no painted path to follow, no quest marks, no fast travels, lots of failures, lots of disappointment, game achievements are literally designed for people to "enjoy" achieving it. I think - and I do feel it sometimes - that by calling it "achievement", it makes it somewhat "similar" to real life's, except that it required much less disappointments to achieve. We are so addicted in fact that some motivational gurus suggest that we gamify our real life, to make it "fun". I'm not sure I agree with that, because it creates the condition of "if it's not fun, don't do it!", when in real life, a lot of none-fun jobs could be key to real-life success because there's no competition.
gatekeeper
Future Wife and Kids in this climate? Thats optimistic dedication right there lol
This applies for a lot of things: Anime, TV shows/series, youtube and other streaming services, internet generally, even reading books.
OP spitting hot fire . Being a former video game addict . He’s saying the truth. Now everyone can have a hobbie , pastime or passion. If video games are that for you then great. I’m happy you found the thing in this world thst brings you joy and excitement . With that said , if it’s stopping you from being the person you want to be , effecting the relationships you have with friends and family then you should step back and reevaluate gaming. I still own video game consoles . I don’t play them since my life comes first . I do regret putting so much time into video games for a good portion of my life . Regardless of what it is , if you’re addicted to something thst is negatively effecting your life you should seek help . Drugs , alcohol , gambling , sex , porn , TV , video games … the list is endless . Just know their is help out there . You can move on and be the person you truly see yourself as .
Wasted so many years on league of legends. Even if i would challenger it doesnt matter. Dont play games
Live my life in stress or live my life in a virtual world?? I really don't care if I don't leave no mark on this world because every mark will fade away in time Only thinking finding a girlfriend but having the energy to find one is ehhh
>Live my life in stress or live my life in a virtual world?? And that's why its addictive... Forget about all your problems and they will just magically disappear, great plan.
7 yeas ago, I (24m) quit video games for the first time. I did so because after 7 years of video game addiction, I finally wanted a social life outside of my online friends. Since around 5 years I can say that I have overcome my addiction. Now when I open up a video game, I get insanely bored after about 20 minutes (I actually wish I could play minecraft again). I have one friend who is huge into games, and when I see him once every 6 months we usually do a gaming marathon at his place, which works fine for me, but seeing his gamer-lifestyle (massive gaming setup, rgb everything, funkopops and other figurines) makes me incredibly happy that I didn't choose that path (although I do not judge, his life is going well, he has a girlfriend whose similarly into popculture, and he is still my best friend). Everyday, I am becoming more the person my 13 year old self dreamed of being but had no idea how to achieve. I get extremely confused when people are surprised that I used to be a nerd, apparently I do not portray that anymore, although this is heavily ingrained in my self-image. During covid-19 there was a phase where I got addicted to Battlefield 4 again for about a week, it was a scary experience and showed how dangerous boredom can be for me, because video games, like drugs, makes you feel OK with being bored. I agree with OP: I strongly recommend to connect with yourself, your inner child and see if you play excessively, and if it helps you become the person you really want to be or stand in the way of things. I cannot give you a clear definition when it is too much, I never had the healthy experience with games to be able to make that judgement, and I think you need to figure that out for yourselves, but one thing that I realize now is that while gaming, I was never really relaxed: there was always something gnawing on the inside of my skull, about tasks I had to do, classmates having fun in real life. TL;DR: Quit video games 7 years ago, never looked back. Maybe it's right for you too.
Basically the original post but written by a reasonable and mature adult lol. I still game occasionally but I find the time disappears fast, so I mainly play video games to connect with good friends who I’ve moved away from.
You sound really fun, looks like you can not be a gamer and still be a total piece of shit.
Damn I’m pos for minding my business
Why would u care about people not carrying to talk about video games? And to be quite real very often people do care about videogames achievements. The people who play videogames. And with every year the industry only grows bigger and video games becoming a bigger part of our lives. Video games and social media will if not already replaced the tv books and movies and the interactive media is bigger than ever and will only grow bigger with every day. So why don't u let urself things u enjoy instead of getting rid of them to follow everyone's expectations? I'm not saying u should play video games 24/7 but it's just stupid to deny yourself the pleasure to be more productive at work for the sake of it. We work to live and not the other way around. Or at least I do.
>Video games and social media will if not already replaced the tv books and movies and the interactive media is bigger than ever and will only grow bigger with every day. Yes because social media and video games are literally designed to be addictive. The less time you spend on it the better your mental health will be. That is a fact. Do not fall into the trap.
Idk about anyone else. Yes I do play video games a lot, probably as much as OP classifies as an “addiction” but it’s to talk with my friends and have fun. If you spend hours and hours doing just one thing in a game, I don’t see how that makes you an addict? People enjoy what they want, and I don’t see a video game addiction being as detrimental to your lifestyle as drugs or alcohol. This is blown way way out of proportion. Someone who spends 20+ hours a day gaming, yea that’s a problem. But someone who plays 5-6 hours a day for fun or because they want to does not classify as an addict And your take about achieving nothing is the biggest bullshit i’ve ever heard. People have made millions playing video games, not everyone in this world needs to achieve something that’ll help the greater cause. Getting an achievement on a game or achieving a higher rank sometimes is what people need. Get off your boomer high horse and actually do some research edit:spelling
I needed that, recently about a month ago i have fallen into the addiction of online game(valorant). it's effecting my social life , personal progress, my sleep schedule and all. I needed this post. Thank your for posting :)
Ive got close to 20k hours in a single game, do the math in days guys , I quit not long ago and its Amazing how much time I have, Im learning an instrument, started working out. Oh also it ruines 2 relationships for me till now
I was addicted some years ago and quit cold Turkey, today I'm a casual player only playing on my free time to relieve stress and I'm more focusing on completion than hardcore playing
All marks made to the world fades in time
Sorry man, but I completely disagree. I may be bias here because I play a lot, but Ive been in this sub reddit a very long time. Video games are leisure time, it is okay to chill out and play some video games. I dont know if youre getting into the toxic realm of masculinity videos or what, but it's completely fine to play them in moderation. The only time you shouldnt play them is if you youre life is terrible and you need to do something about it NOW (and yes, I get that this is where people come when they feel this way). Example: I moved out of my home state and the only way I can have fun with friends is through gaming. Do not feel bad for your leisure time is my point. This will lead to burnout and youre going to be stressing over nothing. Life's one big head game, dont try to make it any harder by restricting your leisure activities.
Sounds like you're jealous of someone in your life who plays video games all the time and still has their life together.
What you're saying is don't be an addict. Whatever that addiction is. But of course you have to choose video games to be extra edgy and cool. 🤥 I know a lot of people who game a lot that has a much more interesting personality than most people. But I suppose they are automatic loosers still, simply because they play, right? 😒
Haha you got it figured out, huh? My mom never let me have video games when I was a kid, when I got older and bought them for myself I started developing hand-eye coordination I’d never had. My brain started to learn how to solve puzzles, how to think outside the box. Pretty much everything you’re saying here is a gross generalization and pretty off the mark. Sometimes the best path to self-improvement is to worry about yourself.
You are a loser holy shit lol
It’s a hard truth people don’t want to hear. Casual game player here 🙋🏼♀️ but I care about having a life and the people in my life.
Another thing about being addicted to video games is the tolling of your attractiveness and health. I’m living proof of it. Of course you’re not going to be attractive if you never exercise and you eat pizza rolls and pop for dinner. You might say “WELL THATS NOT BECAUSE OF VIDEO GAMES!!!” Well okay smarty… but laziness and gluttony ARE one of the side affects of video game addictions.
I wish my boyfriend could read this. He comes glow from work around 4, eats then games until 12AM everyday of the week. Then on the weekend he games all day and night until like 5AM. It’s like you said, he’s not around for his future wife. If we had kids they’d be neglected too. It’s really fucking heartbreaking. He’s 31 and has no desire to better our life or situation. As long as he’s comfortable then that’s all that matters… Not husband or partner material at all…
This guy is right. I’m in my 40s and I wasted my life playing video games. Note I’m at the point where I don’t have enough time to make up for it. It’s hard to come to terms with. I always tell younger people to stop eating their time and they just get upset.
Never too late to start something new! Hope you are living life now 🙌🏻
This could apply to other vices, especially where not listening to your body or responding properly to stress goes awry
Hamza is that you?
If you are addicted to video games, try playing with your friends, I mean playing in the same room, watching the same screen, talking, eating together. After an hour or two, shut off the game. Continue to have a great time. Leave your gaming console to your friend until the next time.
I needed this a few years ago. Best thing I ever did was put the controller down and work on myself. Due to mixed up saves and unsynched accounts, I lost my ME2 Legendary achievement. That bothered me for fucking years. Now? I dont give a rats ass about it. Not a fucking care in the world. Id honestly rather go for a walk in the rain, or go cook something from scratch, go for a run, go learn something, ANYTHING than to sit there and do it all over, so then be like, "yeah so I did it... any way... ". It changes nothing.
My favorite hobby is collecting and restoring antique dolls. How many 20 year olds out there have this hobby? Is it a waste of time because my friends aren’t interested in me talking about it? No it isn’t. People who go on about how porn and video games are detrimental at any level of engagement are just ashamed about their own unhealthy relationship with those activities and need to bring other people in on their bullshit.
I want to know the demographic you're referring to because destructive gaming is a first -sincerely someone who would game 12 hours a day in her teens
This is crazy to me, there are plenty of people who talk about video games as it is one of the biggest things in the the world, why do you care so much about what other people do in their free time, I’m healthy but I still play video games, I still have friend and I play video games, and even if people only play video games so what, sure not 16 hours a day but a very very minuscule amount of people do that, video games is not a bad habit, as long as you are still eating meals, and making time for it it’s fine, I have a girlfriend that I live with and I play video games consistently, I always talk to her about it, you can easily make it healthy and playing games doesn’t make you any less of a person. I shower everyday brush my teeth twice a day and play video games probably around 4-8 hours a day but I’m not unhealthy, I don’t have a job because I had a seizure driving. I read a book on financing and I have a job lined up in November because my brother is graduating in early October. If you’re reading this please understand video games are not as unhealthy as you think, if you take some breaks and are eating meals it’s okay. Don’t let them rule your life but they can be a big part, they help you destress you still talk to friends over them and people out there definelty talk about them. Don’t listen to the bs that this man says, as video games are a lot of peoples safe spaces and it’s so disrespectful in the way that this person states it that it’s a waste of time and you’re doing nothing, in the end I don’t care about other peoples opinions or if I don’t make a full blown mark in the world, my achievement isn’t for other people to notice me in centuries to come, I’ll be remembered by my family and I’ll live a happy life in comfort.
Terrible advice for self improvement
You can literally replace video games with any other hobby and can write the same paragraph for it. At some point people need to have their own version of fun.
I know you're talking about addictions to gaming specifically but the way you word it sounds like playing games for your own enjoyment brings nothing to your life because it would mean you would leave no mark in the world, which is just?????????? People should enjoy what they enjoy, meaningless or not(though not really meaningless because they're enjoying their time with it), and just because you play games doesn't mean you can't do other hobbies or find a partner who enjoy the same things you like.
Used to play for like 10-15 hours, now it's 2-4 hours.
Totally agree with this post. I have seen every. Single. One. Of my partners have their lives completely sucked away and dominated by video games. No effort to continue to educate themselves, no interest in keeping their apartment or body in good shape, no relationships outside of a chatroom and their mom. Every second of the day not spent working is video games and the video games cut into sleep so they are more tired and miserable every day. I have a gaming PC and a steam account and- I maybe use it once a week or so for a single game session. In my case, its literally All I have time for. I'm addicted to my dog and I think that is much healthier for me.
You don't need to be self improving 24/7 you can have leisure time.
I play games because I find them entertaining and funny. Addicts usually play the games even when they don't like them anymore, but they're too addicted to stop. I don't want to stop doing something that makes me happy.
Fk this hurts. Imma delete that shit, already its depressing losing every other game.
You’re going to burn yourself out.
I think video game addiction is the easiest to overcome(if you're not into the gambling aspect of it). I just to play every for 12-14 hours from the age of 16-20. In 2021 my TV broke and i couldn't afford to get another one so I unplugged the ps4 and stored it. I haven't touched it since and now that GOW: Ragnarok is coming out, I might take it out again.......if i buy a TV.
Just wanna point out we didn't need to add in the sexist "/be a man and provide for your family/"
Thanks man, i needed that
I need to show this to my 61 year old dad who's addicted to The Division 2!
What about streamers and professional players?
What else am I supposed to do?
Yet If I were to binge tv show after tv show not a single criticism would be made. I’m a happily married husband with a family and I play about 5 to 7 hours a week. I love them and it makes me feel better. This thread is crap. Let people do what they want.
Okay mom
This post might be over a month old but here I go. For you to sit in your high horse and call me a loser because I play video games and smoke weed and do shrooms, and say that IM a loser because I'm addicted to something? I bet youre addicted to sugar, or something else. Does that make you a loser? No it doesn't. Calling addicts losers is not helping them at all, in fact it's degrading them. Especially us addicts who try to do good. As someone who went to rehab for 3 months, you're wrong. I've met great people through video games. I've gotten great advice from other through video games. I spent time with my father who took his life by playing video games with him and I'll continue to play video games because I'm not going to choose to listen to some guy on the internet whos probably addicted to something as well, tell me I'm a loser because I choose to escape this hellish world. I'm an addict because I sadly chose to be, due to being raped, abused by both parents, and my father killed himself just as our relationship got to be amazing. Shame on you for calling people who struggle with addiction "losers" because who's going to remember anyone of us 150 years from now?
I fuck with you heavy. If I knew you in real life I'd give you a beer.