~Reality check
Games. A waste of time?

Just wrote this up on GGnet. I think it's worth sharing.

A spontaneous realisation I had this morning will change my lifestyle for better. I'll use this entry to summarise my thoughts on computer games and how they affected my life in the past couple of years. Why am I posting it? Because I hope that this entry will help you reconsider how much computer games mean to you.

Playing DotA/Dota 2 and other online games such as WoW has been by far the most fun activity in my freetime. I've made several friends who were just as passionate as me in enjoying the games.

I realise now that I've been spending from 2 to 6 hours a day playing video games for the past 4 years. Just thinking back I wonder what I would/could have done in all that time. It is easy to say that you can always self regulate and be conscious about the time you spend playing but I will disagree and say that I was probably spending more time doing it than I should have.

Would I have been better of not playing video-games? Probably yes, now that I look back at my exam grades at the end of school it is obvious that If I were to study, instead of playing Dota/WoW I would have scored enough points in my exam to achieve the expectations of those aroud me (my parents, teachers). In the end, I didn't (I still went to a decent uni thought). You could say that playing video games makes my guilty in front of my parents, who spend their money for me to study abroad (School in Switzerland, university in UK) and ultimately expected me to perform up to my best standards.

So, this morning I was planning to complete my university paper but instead, I chose to play a couple of Dota 2 games. Upon finishing several matches after I realised just how stupid it is, to spend time playing computer games rather than doing something useful. It's not that I was not going to be able finish my paper, and get a good grade, but rather that getting stuff done before I chose to waste my time doing something that's fun, yet completely unproductive and not relevant to my future. Next thing I did was to uninstall all my games: WoW, Diablo 3, DotA and Dota 2.

Will this decision result in being more productive? I hope so. One could that that if a person is not responsible in meeting deadlines; immature/procrastines & doesn't give all he can will still find a way not do so in different cirmustances, but I think that the problem lies in being self-concious about it.

Essentially, this is a new beginning. It has been an enjoyable couple of years, but it's time to move on.

Well yes I agree about using this time for being more productive and I do regret partly for being foolish to be just playing all the time. Gaming is a big part of my life with a big meaning but it has denied me of many oppurtunities in life and is making me fall behind in my hopes and dreams. So I too have come to the conclusion that games may in part be a waste of time but not fully because if I did not game I would not meet people who eventually became one of my closest friends. For school my teachers say if I didn't waste all my time doing unproductive work I could of allready advanced 2 years ahead. There is a big plus and minus in my life from gaming.

If I could go back in time would I stop my self from getting into gaming? No. Will I stop gaming now? No. I will simply reduce this amount I play games highly and focus on stuff more important in life. Will it leave an empty void reducing those countless hours a day playing video games? At start probably yes but I will fill those voids and gaps with more productive work and aim for my goals.

My end conclusion is this. Tp completly quit gaming might be an overreaction and unnecessary but I think the motivation is right and I wish you good luck in your life and may it be a more productive life than before

remind me with this part = 1:18


vGozu k i know

^There is the full released version... if you don't know.

Learn to manage your own time. Anything done in excess is not good be it eating, studying, gaming, etc.

If this is difficult for you then yes you have a problem. Saying what good you could have done if you're not gaming is the equivalent to saying if I didn't smoke for the past 15 years, I could buy a ferrari with that money.

Time-management, son.

Well do you believe that playing video games didnt trained your brain enough?Didnt you learned things from video games?Did you spent productive your time creating something from it?You said you were playing WoW.WoW is an MMORPG,MMO means massive multiplayer online,your bonds that you create with people in game is real bonds you can even speak for real life or even speak for the game,even so a bond create between people even infront of a screen is a real bond.

About the productive that i said.Gearing up your character,searching the forums calculating the numbers.and spending hours and hours trying to succesfully pick up the item that you need.And even picking it up trying to find a better for it,or even thinking what is the BIS for you is just the process.Yes but that process makes you more inteligent passing this time.Exercises your brain,makes you think more wide.You might eve ndiscuss what is your BIS with your friends.Speking with them makes you more sociable,expands your bonds between them.You might even lead a group of people at a raid or expanding your politics at your guild.Doesnt that makes your leadership even better.Expanding your thoguhts and teaches your how to infuelt people?Even at real life?When you where studying the tactics at raids do you think that synergy that flows through a 10man or 25mans raid (dont know at which 1 you attended) doesnt makes you a better people at working with others???

Except if you actualy believe that geting out with friends and drink a beer and talk about how you will use your pennis tonight actualy makes you a better
person than playing video games co-oping with other persons and spending your time productive.

(I know that the condition at wow after wotlk changed a lot and the game got even worse and worse.But i still talk for high level groups that i attended and over 90-100 days played.I dont know how much you played or even how many hours per day played and with what people you played.the following WOT contains some of my experiences and my prespective of the issue over to MMOs.)


PS:: since i dont have enough time to preview this and edit the mistakes from it.Some lines may not make sense.I sincerely apologise from it

GravedamN wrote:

Time-management, son.

+++

psykhagogos wrote:

GravedamN wrote:

Time-management, son.

+++

agreed

You have half of the concept correct, but not entirely. Video gaming is not a "Waste of time" as many would so eloquently put it, it is a leisure activity, much the same as reading, watching television or movies, sports, or whatever else you do for fun. There is one element of gaming that makes it particularly dangerous as compared to other things however: it has highly addictive properties. What you choose to do with your free time is never a waste so long as you enjoy it, what you could, or would have done is quite irrelevant, as only what you have done and how you feel about it actually matters.. It's difficult to keep yourself from thinking things like "Hey, if I weren't sitting here I could be climbing a mountain, or learning an instrument, or some other skill", but in truth you enjoy gaming, it is a skill, and who says that it provides any less entertainment than some other activity.

The half of your point that I would agree with however, is that it's quite a negative thing when your hobby interferes with your responsibilities. Gaming is an activity that you should save for when you have what needs to be done, done. But as I pointed out before, gaming has a very strong addictive element to it, and it can be difficult to limit yourself at times. My point as a whole though is as such: Don't hate on yourself for gaming, if it's something that you really love it would be a shame to come to resent it; just learn to limit yourself, take breaks and days off from gaming now and then, and always make sure that your responsibilities are accomplished before you even turn on your computer.

If you are displeased with something, then change it. But don't start by throwing everything out the window and starting from scratch, just make modifications.

*Edit: Oh, and I'm not trying to be all judgmental or psychiatrist-y here. It's just that I've dealt with this exact same problem for even longer, and I've had the same sorts of thoughts. Just trying to weigh in my opinion and the conclusions that I've come to that have helped me to manage my gaming habit a bit better

u mad ? bro

game is not a waste bro, it just about time management, and how you put it in.
even game can teach u a lesson

Yes, only playing game for fun (mine) not looking into competitive play

I'm very impressed with your level of self control. I do not think I will ever give it up, even though I know it's probably in my best interest.
do let us know if you relapse, or whether you've actually become more productive as a result of quitting.

GravedamN wrote:

Time-management, son.

agreed

Awesome topic :lol!:

we just need to control ourselves

oPLAYo wrote:

we just need to control ourselves

That didn't stop the spread of HIV.

If you know manage your time, it's not waste of time

mmm not really a waste of time its more like a hobby thing u really like to do in your spare time that u cant get out or what ever

It's a waste to read a book? It is a wate to watch a movie? You'll probably say no, the key is not spending too much time. ie more than4 hours a day.

Look you do what you like to do. I play about 6 hours of gaming per day (I only sleep for 2 hours). I still go out and live a life outside of my PC but the world is changing everything is becoming more and more PC-orientated. People tell me gaming is a waste of time but yet it learns you a lot more than people think, typing for one, noticing small changes in your environment, and sometimes even how different cultures act to curtain things. Gaming just keeps the "good kids" from getting mixed up in dangers things.

So doing things you like are waste of time? Well if you can't manage your time, then yes

All i can read in that text is "If".

Decide for your own what you wanna do, if you enjoy it then do it.
There's a difference between an addict and someone doing it for fun.

game are time waster when you have nothing to do like movies etc.
that is why you manage your time