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> if you are a gamer, immediately stop Hard disagree there. Yes, gaming can be addicting, but that is also the case with basically all habits. If you easily ge

by Cyph0n 5y ago

> if you are a gamer, immediately stop Hard disagree there. Yes, gaming can be addicting, but that is also the case with basically all habits. If you easily get addicted to games, then I would suggest sticking to shorter single-player games. I would add reading (fiction or non-programming books) and traveling to the list of things to spend more time and money on.

SkyMarshal 5y ago
Gaming can have positive and negative effects. On the positive side, it can sometimes provide people with a needed social outlet, at least if it's an online social game. It can also sometimes stimulate a mind that's depressed and lethargic, giving it a much needed jump-start so to speak which carries over into other productive tasks. Conversely, it can get you addicted to and dependent on quick and easy dopamine hits, killing your ability to focus for extended durations needed for any kind of productive work. It can also cause mental fatigue that makes committing to or completing non-trivial tasks difficult or impossible. Gamers have to be aware of both effects, and honest with themselves about which are occurring, and willing to change their behavior if they observe the negative ones. And I /second reading and traveling as better uses of time and money.
- CTDOCodebases 5y ago
  10 "Reality sucks Im going to escape it via gaming." 20 "Gaming is fun but it isn't improving my reality." 30 "Improving my reality doesn't feel fun at all." 40 GOTO 10 This cycle was all too real for me. But like you said it is neither positive or negative. It depends entirely on the individual.
  - imvetri 5y ago
    Nope. Reality sucks - then step forward and face it.
  - dlsa 5y ago
    The hard branch back to the start is a perfect indicator of dysfunction. I think the best way to sum up the very negative aspects of gaming is their fake progress. To use the 4 quadrant model, gaming usually belongs in the not-important quadrant with mostly not-urgent. But most game environments create their own 4 quadrant sub world. The issue then appears because those urgent and important and the various combinations thereof then mess with the real reward systems. The game world is temporarily real enough due to immersion so it becomes real. Your real reward systems light up and take action: More! Do this! So you do. So the game gives your brain all sorts of these varied set ups where the quadrants apply and you have to prioritise. You make successful decisions and your reward systems kick in. The game says, "here is a problem that exists". You solve it and your brain, unable to really tell the difference says "ok we need to do more of that". So it allocates resources to improve. And you do. But its all fake. Fake progress. Fake accomplishments. Because its all fake, the reward centers get messed up. You know its fake. But your brain isn't great at really knowing fully that its fake. Regardless, you're now spending resources solving the game instead of the real world. The rewards become twisted as weak form punishments. Every time you realise that in the real world you arent progressing as much as you could you are effectively punished again. None of this says you cannot play games or that they are not helpful. But like all escapes, its important to not close the door back to reality. Otherwise they become prisons.
    - CTDOCodebases 5y ago
      The really pernicious part is after a while the constant and immediate reward cycles in games mess with the ability to focus on a real world tasks for extended periods of time and hence real world tasks no longer feel rewarding at all compared to gaming.
  - thatsnotmepls 5y ago
    Exactly how I feel, been through the loop at least 5 times now.
- infinityplus1 5y ago
  I usually download new games on my phone whenever I'm feeling bored. If the game turns out to be too good and addicting, I unintsall it after playing for 2-3 hours.
  - the_only_law 5y ago
    For me games are often just a more interactive version of YouTube or social media. Something to mindless do to occupy time when I don’t feel like putting in any effort. I’ve scaled back on that quite a bit and it ofc just got replaced with items I compared it to in the prior paragraph. I still play games sometimes though, mostly because it’s a good way to keep in touch with some of my siblings who scattered across the country.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
armatav 5y ago
Yes; if you're not rich and/or happy, stay the fuck away from addictive shit like video games. Truly an industry that causes WAY more harm than good, by several orders of magnitude.

by Cyph0n 5y ago

SkyMarshal 5y ago

Gaming can have positive and negative effects. On the positive side, it can sometimes provide people with a needed social outlet, at least if it's an online social game. It can also sometimes stimulate a mind that's depressed and lethargic, giving it a much needed jump-start so to speak which carries over into other productive tasks. Conversely, it can get you addicted to and dependent on quick and easy dopamine hits, killing your ability to focus for extended durations needed for any kind of productive work. It can also cause mental fatigue that makes committing to or completing non-trivial tasks difficult or impossible. Gamers have to be aware of both effects, and honest with themselves about which are occurring, and willing to change their behavior if they observe the negative ones. And I /second reading and traveling as better uses of time and money.

CTDOCodebases 5y ago
10 "Reality sucks Im going to escape it via gaming." 20 "Gaming is fun but it isn't improving my reality." 30 "Improving my reality doesn't feel fun at all." 40 GOTO 10 This cycle was all too real for me. But like you said it is neither positive or negative. It depends entirely on the individual.
- imvetri 5y ago
  Nope. Reality sucks - then step forward and face it.
- dlsa 5y ago
  The hard branch back to the start is a perfect indicator of dysfunction. I think the best way to sum up the very negative aspects of gaming is their fake progress. To use the 4 quadrant model, gaming usually belongs in the not-important quadrant with mostly not-urgent. But most game environments create their own 4 quadrant sub world. The issue then appears because those urgent and important and the various combinations thereof then mess with the real reward systems. The game world is temporarily real enough due to immersion so it becomes real. Your real reward systems light up and take action: More! Do this! So you do. So the game gives your brain all sorts of these varied set ups where the quadrants apply and you have to prioritise. You make successful decisions and your reward systems kick in. The game says, "here is a problem that exists". You solve it and your brain, unable to really tell the difference says "ok we need to do more of that". So it allocates resources to improve. And you do. But its all fake. Fake progress. Fake accomplishments. Because its all fake, the reward centers get messed up. You know its fake. But your brain isn't great at really knowing fully that its fake. Regardless, you're now spending resources solving the game instead of the real world. The rewards become twisted as weak form punishments. Every time you realise that in the real world you arent progressing as much as you could you are effectively punished again. None of this says you cannot play games or that they are not helpful. But like all escapes, its important to not close the door back to reality. Otherwise they become prisons.
  - CTDOCodebases 5y ago
    The really pernicious part is after a while the constant and immediate reward cycles in games mess with the ability to focus on a real world tasks for extended periods of time and hence real world tasks no longer feel rewarding at all compared to gaming.
- thatsnotmepls 5y ago
  Exactly how I feel, been through the loop at least 5 times now.
infinityplus1 5y ago
I usually download new games on my phone whenever I'm feeling bored. If the game turns out to be too good and addicting, I unintsall it after playing for 2-3 hours.
- the_only_law 5y ago
  For me games are often just a more interactive version of YouTube or social media. Something to mindless do to occupy time when I don’t feel like putting in any effort. I’ve scaled back on that quite a bit and it ofc just got replaced with items I compared it to in the prior paragraph. I still play games sometimes though, mostly because it’s a good way to keep in touch with some of my siblings who scattered across the country.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

armatav 5y ago

Yes; if you're not rich and/or happy, stay the fuck away from addictive shit like video games. Truly an industry that causes WAY more harm than good, by several orders of magnitude.