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Is it really pissing time away if you're enjoying your time spent playing video games? While it's great that you found an opportunity to go RVing with your wif

by rdudek 4y ago

Is it really pissing time away if you're enjoying your time spent playing video games? While it's great that you found an opportunity to go RVing with your wife. Because such a feat is not really possible for everyone to do, less people do it so less congestion and you can make it enjoyable. Imagine if 100 million people in the US decided to all at once go RVing around the country. All the areas would be full of RVs and I bet it would not be as enjoyable anymore.

izzydata 4y ago
"Is it really pissing time away if you're enjoying your time spent playing video games?" It depends on if you ever think you will regret it or not. I thought the same thing 10 years ago when I was spending years playing games and having fun. Now it feels like I wasted a colossal amount of time no matter how much fun it was at the time. I'd never made that choice knowing what I know now.
- orobinson 4y ago
  Interesting. I was very into PC gaming in my teens and look back on that time quite fondly. Certainly not with any regret or a feeling that I wasted my time.
  - whiplash451 4y ago
    Same here. If you're saying "that time I spend gaming was wasted time", you'd better have a really good story about what you would have done instead, excluding any kind of hindsight magic.
    - april_22 4y ago
      I don't think there's anything bad with gaming in your free time - at any age. In the end, why shouldn't one just enjoy whatever life's possibilities are? It's obviously important to keep all other areas of life under control, but what's bad about enjoying doing something - even if it's not productive - especially when you're young. This is quite philosphical, but I've found the idea of optimistic nihilism very helpful for having an overall more relaxed view on life https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism
      - agent008t 4y ago
        Why "especially when you're young"? Arguably, any consumption activities are better done when old, and investment activities when young. Effort when young pays off with tons of compounding over your lifespan. Effort when old is not as important, and so pure consumption non-productive activities are probably better enjoyed when old, are they not? Especially if it is something like videogames that doesn't exactly require some great physical abilities.
    - ajmurmann 4y ago
      There are a ton of low-effort forms of entertainment available today. It's easy for them to dominate choice. If you take those away, other things will emerge and grab your interest. If you are even a remotely interested person you'll find stuff. A few months ago I was at the beach without as much technology access and enjoyed it so much that I put myself on a media diet after. I suddenly felt more excitement about programming projects I had started but not finished, reading books, cello practice, little projects around my house and garden. One thing all these things had in common is that they left be feeling better when I was done with them. That just doesn't happen for me with most video games and movies. But it's just so much easier to fall into the couch and watch Netflix or grab the controller.
      - wruza 4y ago
        I really think this thread has to specify the types of video games it speaks about. Because games range from CoD-like X-to-Win shooters with endless changing backgrounds to something more elaborate and harder than real life activities, while being relatively short.
        ajmurmann 4y ago
        You are right that this makes a difference. I think the difference might be relatively small though. At best the experience can be comparable to having read a great fiction book (Disco Elysium, Life is Strange) or a good social experience like playing with your friends online while using voice chat. Online games with total strangers can be challenging and fun, but also a blur. I've spent way too much time playing Rocket League for example and my experience in hindsight would have been the same off I had only played for like 5-10 hours. And then there are pretend-work games like Factorio, Kerbal Space Program or even more obvious Zachtronic games like Shenzhen IO. The latter might be great exercise for non-programmers, but you don't actually accomplish anything and still exhausted the same parts of your brain.
      - throwaway2037 4y ago
        I like this post. It rings a bell with me when you wrote: <<But it's just so much easier to fall into the couch and watch Netflix or grab the controller.>> I cannot put a finger on it, but what is the difference between (a) reading a newspaper, magazine, book (fiction or non-fiction) and (b) playing video games or streaming films / TV shows? I cannot put a finger on it, but (a) reading activates some part of my brain that (b) streaming does not. Why? I'm not sure. I never read any research about it. One thing I can say: Watching documentaries is different than other stuff. Again: Not sure why. It might only be me and my brain that feels this way. Also, this part: <<I suddenly felt more excitement about programming projects I had started but not finished, reading books, cello practice, little projects around my house and garden.>> Again, I cannot put a finger on it, but what really is the difference between these activities and playing video games or streaming films / TV shows? On the surface, not much, but the emotional satisfaction is so different when finishing a cello piece or novel versus a streamed season of a TV show.
    - watwut 4y ago
      > you'd better have a really good story about what you would have done instead, excluding any kind of hindsight magic. Nah, that is not how it works. Effectively, you want people to tell you about some grand plan they would executed it, if they did not played. The way it works when you stop gaming/reading too much facebook etc is that you start being more active in other areas. You get more fit, you suddenly read more about history without planning to, you do crafts here and there, learn to draw or play music instrument on and off. And overall you feel calmer, more creative, sleep better. And after after months/years it accumulate and you look back happy. It does not feel wasted, cause you have that picture on the wall, your dad has your the thing you created, you are really proud about that song you can play.
  - xhrpost 4y ago
    Same. If anything, my teen gaming years may have helped get me through school.
  - SoftTalker 4y ago
    Because there isn't that much else to do as a teen. The opportunity cost of spending time on gaming is low. You could get a job and start saving or investing, or study harder and advance your education more quickly, but it's not the expectation that teens will do this in a significant way. An adult who is free to do anything and chooses to spend a lot of time gaming has a higher opportunity cost and a higher likelyhood of regret later.
    - FalconSensei 4y ago
      > You could get a job and start saving or investing, or study harder and advance your education more quickly I see this more of a waste of teenage years time than playing videogames with friends
      - WoodenChair 4y ago
        Learning responsibility? Learning how an organization functions? Perhaps learning a skill at the job (customer service, mental math, cooking, etc)? A waste?
        pharrington 4y ago
        > Learning responsibility? Learning how an organization functions? Perhaps learning a skill at the job (customer service, mental math, cooking, etc)? A waste? but enough about being in an MMO guild
        ElemenoPicuares 4y ago
        I see people argue for the real-world skills gaming affords— but when the biggest risk is embarrassment among people you’ll never meet, and the primary real world reward is inadvertently exercising a few organizational muscles in a vastly different context from the real world, I just don’t see it. Not saying there’s no benefit, but it’s not even in the same ballpark as actual work experience.
      - meowtimemania 4y ago
  - chrischen 4y ago
    I think the key here is the regret. Is playing games alone, or with friends really that much different from some other activity, such as traveling, alone, or with friends? Sure you learn while traveling, but also get good at gaming the more you do it. You can even substitute traveling with some other hobby (playing the guitar, building legos, etc). Some may argue that the guitar is a "useful" skill but I'd argue that gaming can be a useful skill in the same sense.
- ge96 4y ago
  There is also that aspect where doing the same thing everyday makes time seem short. Versus doing something new, which yeah do you have the money to take a vacation. Everytime I finish a project I ask myself was it worth it. It's like buying a new device, you want it until you have it.
- 888666 4y ago
  Could that possibly be a failure on the part of your future self rather than on your past self?
  - izzydata 4y ago
    I think I am correct in my judgement that playing World of Warcraft for 300+ days of playtime was not a good use of my time. It is a failure of my past self for thinking that was a good idea. People make mistakes all the time. I don't believe anyone who says they have no regrets at all. You live with them though.
- qwertox 4y ago
  Before I started with my daily sports routine, at least one hour of biking outside every day (unless it's impossible due to health or schedule, but laziness, tiredness or season/temperature is not an excuse), I noticed that I have wasted the possibly best years of my life in front of a screen. Now I get to pick up what's left over and make the best out of it. I really wish I had started with it when I was in my 20s, ideally as an early teenager or even kid, when breaking some bones is not something which keeps you concerned for many weeks. I wish I could drive into the alps and ride the trails, but I'm currently "recovering" from a crash which ripped a tendon. In quotes because it can't really be fixed and I have to see if the system is still usable enough. But it is enough for having a lot of fun outside. Today at 17:00 I was completely tired laying in my bed after watching hours of a TV series, half asleep and feeling badly rested, was struggling to motivate me to ride. But at 18:00 I pulled myself up and went, and I had a blast during those 1:30 hours, was even making screams of joy (I ride alone, so it's no show, but a feedback expression to myself). I was congratulating me for making the decision to go and ride, had super beautiful views of the nature at wonderful 27°C (80°F). Dry but planted fields, juicy green forests, sounds of birds and insects, breathable, clean air, warm wind being felt by the hairs on the legs and arms, what an experience. I have a lavalier mic attached to my backpack's breast strap and an app where I can press record, to record notes of 1 minute length. I will quote you one of the recordings from today: rec60s--1656265743723--19-49-03.q128.mp3: "Well, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you that you overcame yourself to then get up, go out and ride the bike, because it was really, really nice! Thank you very much! It was good, it was worth it, you have to do this, always, always. Always force you to do this. Regardless of how weary, how tired, how uninspired, you rode extra. Extra, because it was so nice. Other ways, new ways, new trails" With "extra" I meant that I had initially decided to ride my minimum of 23 km in a relatively dull track which I know I will be able to complete under any circumstances (except when I have migraine), but then decided to leave the asphalt, ride up a hill through a forest into some fields, where I then took this photo. https://imgur.com/a/HGQ55kQ https://imgur.com/a/HGQ55kQ Maybe I'm a psycho for talking to me like that, but I know that I switch contexts very hard so that I'm a different person when I do different things and tend to forget the experiences. So this was a "thank you" and reminder from the biking me to the baseline me. Usually I only record new ideas or things I get reminded of which I forgot. I wasn't really sure if I was going to ride today, I didn't yesterday, because I rode so hard and long distances last week that by butt was really hurting, and no amount deer tallow cream (Xenofit Second Skin) seemed to be helping. But it turned out that I had zero issues with it today. Most of the riding time is a relatively hard exercise with heavy breathing and lots of sweating. No video game will ever be a replacement for such a thing. But I know that I very likely already have my best years behind me (and lost them to a screen).
- eikenberry 4y ago
  Regret isn't an problem with your past, it is a problem with your current self's opinion of the past. You are judging your past self based on your current self but that is unfair and you might want to think how that impacts your life going forward. Making decisions based on what you think your future self will approve of doesn't seem like it'd have the best results.
  - rowanG077 4y ago
    I vehemently disagree. Making decisions based on your future self would like is most generally the best thing you can do. Maybe you should really go out for a run even though you don't want to. Your future self will thank you. Maybe you should start working on that thing that is due soon. Your future self will thank you. And there are countless more examples. The practically write themselves.
    - cgriswald 4y ago
      The examples you've given here are both extremely short term and are presumably things that help you achieve goals now-you wants. I know what I want for myself in five years. I don't and to large degree can't know what me-in-five-years will wish I had wanted. My approach is to go for the things I want for myself now, while always being cognizant of providing options and opportunities for the future. It's not perfect, and it never will be because I don't have perfect foresight. But it works well enough.
    - eikenberry 4y ago
      None of those are future in a planning sense. They are immediate goals with immediate impacts. Getting exercise regularly pays off almost immediately and continues to pay of day to day. Finishing a project today has the immediate reward of finishing it and not having to worry about it anymore. The example was your 10 year from now self. And while you might come up with some 10-year span anecdotes, I don't see it being a good heuristic for living your life in general.
      - rowanG077 4y ago
- Aeolun 4y ago
  > I thought the same thing 10 years ago when I was spending years playing games and having fun. Now it feels like I wasted a colossal amount of time no matter how much fun it was at the time. I don’t think you should blame yourself for ‘wasting’ that time. I’m sure past you would have considered it a waste to do what you do now. There’s many things I may wanted to do differently, but I’d never actually do so since they brought me where I am now.
- cortic 4y ago
  In my thirties i regret not working more in my twenties, and in my forties i regret not working more in my thirties. However upon introspection, i realize that this regret is always based on not wanting to work more now. edit; to quote "The Idler" from the RT-11 operation system kernel source code (and my new favorite quote).."To be idle is the ultimate purpose of the busy"
  - vwcx 4y ago
    That quote parallels something that sticks with me from Umair Haque about how "the point of capitalism is to escape capitalism": https://kottke.org/18/10/if-the-point-of-capitalism-is-to-escape-capitalism-then-whats-the-point-of-capitalism https://kottke.org/18/10/if-the-point-of-capitalism-is-to-es...
- arvinsim 4y ago
  Felt the same. I felt that if I poured that time to my other passion, music, I would be much more fulfilled now.
hungryforcodes 4y ago
Though to be fair the economy would adapt to 100 million people RVing. Services would pop up, new taxes would be created I'm sure for driving x number of kilometres per year, etc, etc. I agree with your first point though. Perhaps the OP doesn't think playing COD is a great way to pass the time -- but video games are certainly not a waste of your life if you really enjoy them. This applies to any hobby. Ultimately we have a short time here and it's up to us personally to decide what is a waste of our time and then act accordingly. Judgement on these efforts is hardly effective. RVing with my wife sounds like an incredibly suffocating experience -- trapped with another person in such a small space -- akin to buying a boat and spending 3 years "sailing", without seeing land for many days on end -- just figuring out what to do with the day when you wake up. But some people yearn for it, and that's great.
- Hellbanevil 4y ago
  Recreational Vechile occupants do pay direct, and indirect taxes. 1. It's not cheap to park a RV anywhere. Pretty much every road is off limits to overnight parking. Those fines are very pricy too. (Watch Something about Schmidt.) 2. Living out of an RV is a pain. Stuff breaks down, and I don't know of one public street, or parking lot, that allows the owner to repair their disabled vechicle. 3. They get horrid gas mileage, and their are state/federal taxes on gas. Registration, Insurance. Plus because they are on the road, they are more likely to get one of those ever increasing traffic tickets. A parking ticket in SF is 80.00. Crazy! (Neusome has a bill on his desk that would do away with late fees on parking tickets. I hope he signs it.) 4. RV-ing is fine, but they pay in indirect ways. 5. I worked with a guy who tried to live cheap in a small camper truck. Every other night he would get a knock, and flashlight shined into his eyes. It was always, "move along, or I will ticket you!". He tried the shower thing at 24 hour Whatever gym. Once the manager figured he was just using the showers, he was told he needed to workout. (Yea--I can't believe how petty some people are.). We worked construction, and the last thing he needed was a workout before 7:00 am. Another guy I knew tried the RV lifestyle. He too was harrsssed by cops. Cops would tell him straight up he was not breaking any laws, but if he didn't move along he would get another ticket. Oh yea, the next sentance I'm about to write still gets my blood pressure up. One night my friend was sound asleep on a rural county road. He tried to hide. He knew the drill. He did have a 25 lb dog. This cop pounded on the side of his camper. He opened the door, and the dog growled. The officer took out his side arm and shot the dog. I have so little respect for some of these cops. The last time I looked at what it would cost to park/sleep in a private RV park it was $79 a night. This is in the Bay Area though. Their is a pilot program in the Bay Area for low income RV'ers. I believe it's near the bay? It basically a lot that RV'ers can park for free. It's only available to county residents though. My point is uless you have money, that whole RV lifestyle can be a nightmare. Walmart used to let RVers park overnight. I have a feeling that privilege is gone. America the great? Our biggest concern is finding a place to sleep. Off topic, but the one thing Russia did well under Communism is build apartments. I didn't realize just how many units they built until I saw pictures of Ukraine.
NikolaNovak 4y ago
It depends on the game. Not facetious - for me it's all about whether you build memories,and whether you'll regret time later. Mass effect, deus ex, back in the day Another World or Sierra's space quest and Rama etc - these are important memories and experiences to me. Overwatch (nearest call of duty analog I played, maybe), let alone all the phone games, are just time killers in the sense I do them to pass the time. They are games I actively regret playing moments, not even years after I'm done.
- progman32 4y ago
  Precisely this. Mass Effect in particular triggered some deep introspection that measurably improved my life. I suppose it's just like other forms of media. Some books are just time wasters, while others are deeply meaningful to their readers. And there's overlap in those groups.
- broodbucket 4y ago
  Agree with this, though it's not necessarily about the game and it's more about what you put in and get out. If you worked hard to improve at Overwatch and your goal was to make it to top 500 on the ladder, or join an amateur team and play in tournaments, etc - it's no longer the same time waster, you have goals to work towards. Does any of that matter once you stop playing and do something else? Not really, but you can be proud of yourself, or thankful that you learned something about yourself, etc. I suppose it's about being active vs passive.
- earth_walker 4y ago
  I don't have much time for gaming these days, and so when I do I want it to be good. So I browse the local buy-and-sell and pick up the classics every now and then. This winter I picked up all three Mass Effects and played the first two through for the first time. Loved them, and will definitely get to the third when the snows come around again. I think Deus Ex is one of those games every gamer should play through - it's like reading a classic - so what if the graphics and gameplay are a bit outdated, the philosophical debates with psychotic AI alone are worth it!
  - 4y ago
kingkawn 4y ago
Yes, it is.
whiplash451 4y ago
I don't think his/her point is that we should all live an RV life. I think the point is that we should all try to live a fullfilling life. For some of us, it's going to be in an RV. For a lot of us, it could be in a very classical apartment building. However, what you do in this apartment building is (almost) entirely up to you.
oneoff786 4y ago
I suspect a lot of competitive multiplayer games are pyrrhic in retrospect. That is, not necessarily fun to get there but with a promise of fun when you’re at the top, but most people never really get there and so it was just kind of a waste. Especially games where you mostly play strangers and never really see them again.
FollowingTheDao 4y ago
> Imagine if 100 million people in the US decided to all at once go RVing around the country. All the areas would be full of RVs and I bet it would not be as enjoyable anymore. Yes, I call this the "Dave Ramsey Syndrome". You know, he wants everyone to save money and not spend it so they can be debt free and have millions of dollars in the bank. But if everyone did that the economy, our consumer economy, would crash. And you are right. I have been living in my Van since before the pandemic. It is impossible to find camping spaces now in national parks and even the Wal Marts are starting to get pissed at all the RVs again. These people too, these rich people, sit out on BLM lands longer then allowed, because it is free and they could most likely afford an RV park.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  > I have been living in my Van since before the pandemic. It is impossible to find camping spaces now in national parks and even the Wal Marts are starting to get pissed at all the RVs again I've been doing #vanlife on and off since 2012. Camping spaces in most national parks were already hard to find most of the time. Municipalities and Walmarts made overnight parking illegal in their lots in many places years or even decades before the pandemic. What you're describing is real, but not new.
- JKCalhoun 4y ago
  Come on, who would choose an RV park over BLM land? It's not about the money.
- et-al 4y ago
  #vanlife definitely has a tragedy of the commons problem.
Xeronate 4y ago
I'm going to add a second data point of deep regret over time spent gaming and playing sports in high school and college. They contributed negatively to my life and put me so far behind where I could have been socially and intellectually which are things older me cares about immensely and it is unfortunate that I wasn't able to consider the future when I was younger. The idea that all leisure activities are equally valuable is a fallacy in my opinion.
- kirso 4y ago
  You just described a hindsight bias. They key point here which has already been discussed above is “older you”. You didnt have that information when you were young and your worldview is fluid. The idea that you can operate with the same amount of information when you were young with your brain and social circles still in development is a fallacy in itself. I did think the same way as you only to realize that my caring for intellectual and social stimulation was sparked due to its lack in the past. You have no guarantee that you would develop it in the first place if you would have taken a different path.
- Jensson 4y ago
  > They contributed negatively to my life and put me so far behind where I could have been socially and intellectually which are things older me cares about immensely And even older you likely wont care much at all about those things and think you wasted your life away pursuing those goals instead of enjoying it.
hinkley 4y ago
It is. Or at least it is for a lot of us. In working through some things a few years back I realized that when I’m worn out I do certain activities to recharge myself, and some of them aren’t actually recharging, they’re just running down the clock and Time is doing the recharging. Gaming was very much a pastime rather than a recharging time. Worse, with games it’s too easy to get sucked into a thread that keeps me up well past bedtime, in which case I’m more tired then next day, not less. Other hobbies accumulate progress, and are sometimes more open to participation by friends and family. Now I spend a lot of time gardening or doing other hobbies, and more of my screen time comes when I’m resting or trying to limit my skin cancer risks (1 pm instead of 7 pm).
- theptip 4y ago
  I like your phrasing here a lot. I have come to a pretty similar realization recently. For me a small about of gaming does recharge me, but as you say it’s really easy to get sucked into spending too much time and ending up tired or sacrificing other recharging activities like exercise and socialization. I think it’s possible to weave socialization and accumulated progress into the gaming experience and have it be a fully enriching hobby. But many (most?) single player experiences are just a pastime for me, as you say.
  - hinkley 4y ago
    When I was young I realized I was escaping into games and damaging my life and relationships (one of the tests for addiction) and so I’m always going to hold them at arm’s length. When I realized I needed a change I latched onto the fact that most people wouldn’t understand my excitement for an accomplishment in a video game, it wasn’t something I could bond with people over. But if I stopped fucking around and put that energy into programming, I could have accomplishments people understood (that turned out to only be only partly true. I still have programming accomplishments that my peers and communities don’t understand). Bonding over games has shifted a bit since then. I know a hard of hearing kid who socializes online because conference calls make everyone have the same problem: differentiating two speakers is difficult. Everything sounds like hearing aids sound. But it’s still easier for people to comment on my garden than whether I have finished the Thieves guild or stormcloak quest line in Skyrim, as an elf.
theptip 4y ago
I don’t think the point of the parent comment or the OP is that everyone should RV instead of gaming. It’s that each individual should do what they find fulfilling, now not later because there might not be a later. I think the reply would be: If you get joy and fulfillment from gaming, do that instead of working really hard to earn money that you don’t need. If you think you’d rather RV than work & play games, go RV now instead of putting it off for later/retirement.
UweSchmidt 4y ago
The video game argument represents some kind of fallacy: A rational actor picks the best form of entertainment which turns out to be video games - how can that be wrong? However, there are many local minima in entertainment and life and many great things require going through a learning curve and preparation. Even the greatest couch enthusiast can remember, say, a magical moment during a pickup basketball game, and surely those kinds of moments are happening in this city right now...
- jnovek 4y ago
  Yeah, no. I would see a pickup basketball game as “pissing my time away”. I don’t like basketball and loathe playing competitive sports. Further, I really enjoy doing things by myself. I often play video games to challenge myself — it’s me versus a previous version of me. Just goes to show ya — those “magical moments” are highly personal and defined by the things that give a person joy. And for some folks — like me — that includes video games!
somenameforme 4y ago
I'd say there's two elements to fun - how you view it in the immediate, and how you view it further down the road. And given that the further down the road part is something that sticks with you on the order of decades, while the immediate part tends to be on the order of hours, it seems clear to me which should be given priority. For instance that's why I quit social media (excepting intermittent HN). I really enjoyed it in the shortrun, but I wasn't happy with what I was getting out of it in the longrun. We all convince ourselves we're making an "impact" by expressing ourselves, but I think that's something we all know is just a self delusion - we're just one voice ranting alongside a billion others doing the same. By contrast I've also spent tens of thousands of hours dedicated to chess, and it feels extremely good in both the short and longrun.
philosopher1234 4y ago
Is drinking? It’s easy to delude yourself.
paulpauper 4y ago
Playing video games and surfing the web for fun, living with friends and family instead of having a large family and a consumerist lifestyle, would have a smaller footprint
havblue 4y ago
Frankl at least talks about life in terms of the responsibility you take on in your decisions. So in that sense video games are less likely to be meaningful than RVing with your main squeeze.
ta988 4y ago
This sounds like a fallacy to me. If everybody wanted to go see a concert, most people wouldn't get a seat. If everybody wanted to fly tomorrow etc. The good thing in the world is also that bit everyone dreams of the same thing.
magicroot75 4y ago
This is the exact thing that happened to remote work.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
kirso 4y ago
Indeed! A food for thought: https://twitter.com/khemaridh/status/1538899517629640704?s=21&t=f-TX8_5A1uwtuYs9dx5WfQ https://twitter.com/khemaridh/status/1538899517629640704?s=2...
kromem 4y ago
I can't disagree more with many comments on here in response to if it's pissing away time playing video games. I mean, I guess I don't really play CoD vs more narrative games, so I can't speak to that specifically, but I greatly credit my time in virtual worlds with a lot of my intellectual flexibility. In my experience there's a palpable benefit to exploring impossible worlds and carrying out a personal story shaped by my actions within them. Making hard decisions that I would never be faced with in reality informs me about myself, and encountering stimuli well beyond what reality has on tap conditions me to look beyond the box in what reality does throw at me. I can't really say that any other medium or activity offers the same mental exercise as an engrossing game. To each their own, and people are welcome to decide that they found a greater purpose in a national park vs a spaceship exploring unknown worlds. But people are also welcome to find greater purpose in the other. As someone who does (though I find variety the spice of life and also do enjoy national parks - just not as much), it's interesting the ways in which people pass judgment on each other, and themselves. I'd value a gamer spending decades in video games over a monk spending decades mediating and in a vow of silence, and yet I suspect given the general fetishizing of traditionalism and demonizing of modernism many would disagree and see one as pursuit of a higher truth and the other as a pursuit of nihilism. It's useful to check in with oneself as to if our choices are actually giving us value or are an escape from things that would give us greater value. But if they really do give you value, then value them. And if they do not, don't make the mistake of thinking that equation would hold true for others as well.
- watwut 4y ago
  > Making hard decisions that I would never be faced with in reality informs me about myself, This irks me wrong, because it does not distinguishes between reality and fantasy. None of the in-game decisions is hard the way real life decisions are hard. Just like, murder on TV is not the same thing as real life one. Real life combat situations frequently changes people, makes them bitter and forever angry or give them PTSD. People regret their real life decisions till the end of their lives - that is why those decisions are said to be "hard". Video games dont do the same thing. You are not facing equivalent of real-life decisions. None of the decisions you made in game had any real consequences to the outside world and you know it.
ospzfmbbzr 4y ago
Yes! When I worked on FB games the internal running joke was our business was stealing people's life a second at a time and monetizing that stolen time. Our game was 'free' like in bait. GAMES ARE FOR CHILDREN AND A WASTE OF YOUR LIFE :) Getting outside is the best thing you can do for your health and the dog park next to a busy city street is not going to cut it. Thinking like "But what if everyone did that?" or "is it fair that not everyone can do that?" are just ways to get you to 'agree' to take away other people's freedom or yours.
criveros 4y ago
primax 4y ago
It's depressing that this question even had to be asked

by rdudek 4y ago

izzydata 4y ago

"Is it really pissing time away if you're enjoying your time spent playing video games?" It depends on if you ever think you will regret it or not. I thought the same thing 10 years ago when I was spending years playing games and having fun. Now it feels like I wasted a colossal amount of time no matter how much fun it was at the time. I'd never made that choice knowing what I know now.

orobinson 4y ago
Interesting. I was very into PC gaming in my teens and look back on that time quite fondly. Certainly not with any regret or a feeling that I wasted my time.
- whiplash451 4y ago
  Same here. If you're saying "that time I spend gaming was wasted time", you'd better have a really good story about what you would have done instead, excluding any kind of hindsight magic.
  - april_22 4y ago
    I don't think there's anything bad with gaming in your free time - at any age. In the end, why shouldn't one just enjoy whatever life's possibilities are? It's obviously important to keep all other areas of life under control, but what's bad about enjoying doing something - even if it's not productive - especially when you're young. This is quite philosphical, but I've found the idea of optimistic nihilism very helpful for having an overall more relaxed view on life https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism https://you.com/search?q=optimistic+nihilism
    - agent008t 4y ago
      Why "especially when you're young"? Arguably, any consumption activities are better done when old, and investment activities when young. Effort when young pays off with tons of compounding over your lifespan. Effort when old is not as important, and so pure consumption non-productive activities are probably better enjoyed when old, are they not? Especially if it is something like videogames that doesn't exactly require some great physical abilities.
  - ajmurmann 4y ago
    There are a ton of low-effort forms of entertainment available today. It's easy for them to dominate choice. If you take those away, other things will emerge and grab your interest. If you are even a remotely interested person you'll find stuff. A few months ago I was at the beach without as much technology access and enjoyed it so much that I put myself on a media diet after. I suddenly felt more excitement about programming projects I had started but not finished, reading books, cello practice, little projects around my house and garden. One thing all these things had in common is that they left be feeling better when I was done with them. That just doesn't happen for me with most video games and movies. But it's just so much easier to fall into the couch and watch Netflix or grab the controller.
    - wruza 4y ago
      I really think this thread has to specify the types of video games it speaks about. Because games range from CoD-like X-to-Win shooters with endless changing backgrounds to something more elaborate and harder than real life activities, while being relatively short.
      - ajmurmann 4y ago
        You are right that this makes a difference. I think the difference might be relatively small though. At best the experience can be comparable to having read a great fiction book (Disco Elysium, Life is Strange) or a good social experience like playing with your friends online while using voice chat. Online games with total strangers can be challenging and fun, but also a blur. I've spent way too much time playing Rocket League for example and my experience in hindsight would have been the same off I had only played for like 5-10 hours. And then there are pretend-work games like Factorio, Kerbal Space Program or even more obvious Zachtronic games like Shenzhen IO. The latter might be great exercise for non-programmers, but you don't actually accomplish anything and still exhausted the same parts of your brain.
    - throwaway2037 4y ago
      I like this post. It rings a bell with me when you wrote: <<But it's just so much easier to fall into the couch and watch Netflix or grab the controller.>> I cannot put a finger on it, but what is the difference between (a) reading a newspaper, magazine, book (fiction or non-fiction) and (b) playing video games or streaming films / TV shows? I cannot put a finger on it, but (a) reading activates some part of my brain that (b) streaming does not. Why? I'm not sure. I never read any research about it. One thing I can say: Watching documentaries is different than other stuff. Again: Not sure why. It might only be me and my brain that feels this way. Also, this part: <<I suddenly felt more excitement about programming projects I had started but not finished, reading books, cello practice, little projects around my house and garden.>> Again, I cannot put a finger on it, but what really is the difference between these activities and playing video games or streaming films / TV shows? On the surface, not much, but the emotional satisfaction is so different when finishing a cello piece or novel versus a streamed season of a TV show.
  - watwut 4y ago
    > you'd better have a really good story about what you would have done instead, excluding any kind of hindsight magic. Nah, that is not how it works. Effectively, you want people to tell you about some grand plan they would executed it, if they did not played. The way it works when you stop gaming/reading too much facebook etc is that you start being more active in other areas. You get more fit, you suddenly read more about history without planning to, you do crafts here and there, learn to draw or play music instrument on and off. And overall you feel calmer, more creative, sleep better. And after after months/years it accumulate and you look back happy. It does not feel wasted, cause you have that picture on the wall, your dad has your the thing you created, you are really proud about that song you can play.
- xhrpost 4y ago
  Same. If anything, my teen gaming years may have helped get me through school.
- SoftTalker 4y ago
  Because there isn't that much else to do as a teen. The opportunity cost of spending time on gaming is low. You could get a job and start saving or investing, or study harder and advance your education more quickly, but it's not the expectation that teens will do this in a significant way. An adult who is free to do anything and chooses to spend a lot of time gaming has a higher opportunity cost and a higher likelyhood of regret later.
  - FalconSensei 4y ago
    > You could get a job and start saving or investing, or study harder and advance your education more quickly I see this more of a waste of teenage years time than playing videogames with friends
    - WoodenChair 4y ago
      Learning responsibility? Learning how an organization functions? Perhaps learning a skill at the job (customer service, mental math, cooking, etc)? A waste?
      - pharrington 4y ago
        > Learning responsibility? Learning how an organization functions? Perhaps learning a skill at the job (customer service, mental math, cooking, etc)? A waste? but enough about being in an MMO guild
        ElemenoPicuares 4y ago
        I see people argue for the real-world skills gaming affords— but when the biggest risk is embarrassment among people you’ll never meet, and the primary real world reward is inadvertently exercising a few organizational muscles in a vastly different context from the real world, I just don’t see it. Not saying there’s no benefit, but it’s not even in the same ballpark as actual work experience.
    - meowtimemania 4y ago
- chrischen 4y ago
  I think the key here is the regret. Is playing games alone, or with friends really that much different from some other activity, such as traveling, alone, or with friends? Sure you learn while traveling, but also get good at gaming the more you do it. You can even substitute traveling with some other hobby (playing the guitar, building legos, etc). Some may argue that the guitar is a "useful" skill but I'd argue that gaming can be a useful skill in the same sense.
ge96 4y ago
There is also that aspect where doing the same thing everyday makes time seem short. Versus doing something new, which yeah do you have the money to take a vacation. Everytime I finish a project I ask myself was it worth it. It's like buying a new device, you want it until you have it.
888666 4y ago
Could that possibly be a failure on the part of your future self rather than on your past self?
- izzydata 4y ago
  I think I am correct in my judgement that playing World of Warcraft for 300+ days of playtime was not a good use of my time. It is a failure of my past self for thinking that was a good idea. People make mistakes all the time. I don't believe anyone who says they have no regrets at all. You live with them though.
qwertox 4y ago
Before I started with my daily sports routine, at least one hour of biking outside every day (unless it's impossible due to health or schedule, but laziness, tiredness or season/temperature is not an excuse), I noticed that I have wasted the possibly best years of my life in front of a screen. Now I get to pick up what's left over and make the best out of it. I really wish I had started with it when I was in my 20s, ideally as an early teenager or even kid, when breaking some bones is not something which keeps you concerned for many weeks. I wish I could drive into the alps and ride the trails, but I'm currently "recovering" from a crash which ripped a tendon. In quotes because it can't really be fixed and I have to see if the system is still usable enough. But it is enough for having a lot of fun outside. Today at 17:00 I was completely tired laying in my bed after watching hours of a TV series, half asleep and feeling badly rested, was struggling to motivate me to ride. But at 18:00 I pulled myself up and went, and I had a blast during those 1:30 hours, was even making screams of joy (I ride alone, so it's no show, but a feedback expression to myself). I was congratulating me for making the decision to go and ride, had super beautiful views of the nature at wonderful 27°C (80°F). Dry but planted fields, juicy green forests, sounds of birds and insects, breathable, clean air, warm wind being felt by the hairs on the legs and arms, what an experience. I have a lavalier mic attached to my backpack's breast strap and an app where I can press record, to record notes of 1 minute length. I will quote you one of the recordings from today: rec60s--1656265743723--19-49-03.q128.mp3: "Well, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you that you overcame yourself to then get up, go out and ride the bike, because it was really, really nice! Thank you very much! It was good, it was worth it, you have to do this, always, always. Always force you to do this. Regardless of how weary, how tired, how uninspired, you rode extra. Extra, because it was so nice. Other ways, new ways, new trails" With "extra" I meant that I had initially decided to ride my minimum of 23 km in a relatively dull track which I know I will be able to complete under any circumstances (except when I have migraine), but then decided to leave the asphalt, ride up a hill through a forest into some fields, where I then took this photo. https://imgur.com/a/HGQ55kQ https://imgur.com/a/HGQ55kQ Maybe I'm a psycho for talking to me like that, but I know that I switch contexts very hard so that I'm a different person when I do different things and tend to forget the experiences. So this was a "thank you" and reminder from the biking me to the baseline me. Usually I only record new ideas or things I get reminded of which I forgot. I wasn't really sure if I was going to ride today, I didn't yesterday, because I rode so hard and long distances last week that by butt was really hurting, and no amount deer tallow cream (Xenofit Second Skin) seemed to be helping. But it turned out that I had zero issues with it today. Most of the riding time is a relatively hard exercise with heavy breathing and lots of sweating. No video game will ever be a replacement for such a thing. But I know that I very likely already have my best years behind me (and lost them to a screen).
eikenberry 4y ago
Regret isn't an problem with your past, it is a problem with your current self's opinion of the past. You are judging your past self based on your current self but that is unfair and you might want to think how that impacts your life going forward. Making decisions based on what you think your future self will approve of doesn't seem like it'd have the best results.
- rowanG077 4y ago
  I vehemently disagree. Making decisions based on your future self would like is most generally the best thing you can do. Maybe you should really go out for a run even though you don't want to. Your future self will thank you. Maybe you should start working on that thing that is due soon. Your future self will thank you. And there are countless more examples. The practically write themselves.
  - cgriswald 4y ago
    The examples you've given here are both extremely short term and are presumably things that help you achieve goals now-you wants. I know what I want for myself in five years. I don't and to large degree can't know what me-in-five-years will wish I had wanted. My approach is to go for the things I want for myself now, while always being cognizant of providing options and opportunities for the future. It's not perfect, and it never will be because I don't have perfect foresight. But it works well enough.
  - eikenberry 4y ago
    None of those are future in a planning sense. They are immediate goals with immediate impacts. Getting exercise regularly pays off almost immediately and continues to pay of day to day. Finishing a project today has the immediate reward of finishing it and not having to worry about it anymore. The example was your 10 year from now self. And while you might come up with some 10-year span anecdotes, I don't see it being a good heuristic for living your life in general.
    - rowanG077 4y ago
Aeolun 4y ago
> I thought the same thing 10 years ago when I was spending years playing games and having fun. Now it feels like I wasted a colossal amount of time no matter how much fun it was at the time. I don’t think you should blame yourself for ‘wasting’ that time. I’m sure past you would have considered it a waste to do what you do now. There’s many things I may wanted to do differently, but I’d never actually do so since they brought me where I am now.
cortic 4y ago
In my thirties i regret not working more in my twenties, and in my forties i regret not working more in my thirties. However upon introspection, i realize that this regret is always based on not wanting to work more now. edit; to quote "The Idler" from the RT-11 operation system kernel source code (and my new favorite quote).."To be idle is the ultimate purpose of the busy"
- vwcx 4y ago
  That quote parallels something that sticks with me from Umair Haque about how "the point of capitalism is to escape capitalism": https://kottke.org/18/10/if-the-point-of-capitalism-is-to-escape-capitalism-then-whats-the-point-of-capitalism https://kottke.org/18/10/if-the-point-of-capitalism-is-to-es...
arvinsim 4y ago
Felt the same. I felt that if I poured that time to my other passion, music, I would be much more fulfilled now.

hungryforcodes 4y ago

Though to be fair the economy would adapt to 100 million people RVing. Services would pop up, new taxes would be created I'm sure for driving x number of kilometres per year, etc, etc. I agree with your first point though. Perhaps the OP doesn't think playing COD is a great way to pass the time -- but video games are certainly not a waste of your life if you really enjoy them. This applies to any hobby. Ultimately we have a short time here and it's up to us personally to decide what is a waste of our time and then act accordingly. Judgement on these efforts is hardly effective. RVing with my wife sounds like an incredibly suffocating experience -- trapped with another person in such a small space -- akin to buying a boat and spending 3 years "sailing", without seeing land for many days on end -- just figuring out what to do with the day when you wake up. But some people yearn for it, and that's great.

Hellbanevil 4y ago
Recreational Vechile occupants do pay direct, and indirect taxes. 1. It's not cheap to park a RV anywhere. Pretty much every road is off limits to overnight parking. Those fines are very pricy too. (Watch Something about Schmidt.) 2. Living out of an RV is a pain. Stuff breaks down, and I don't know of one public street, or parking lot, that allows the owner to repair their disabled vechicle. 3. They get horrid gas mileage, and their are state/federal taxes on gas. Registration, Insurance. Plus because they are on the road, they are more likely to get one of those ever increasing traffic tickets. A parking ticket in SF is 80.00. Crazy! (Neusome has a bill on his desk that would do away with late fees on parking tickets. I hope he signs it.) 4. RV-ing is fine, but they pay in indirect ways. 5. I worked with a guy who tried to live cheap in a small camper truck. Every other night he would get a knock, and flashlight shined into his eyes. It was always, "move along, or I will ticket you!". He tried the shower thing at 24 hour Whatever gym. Once the manager figured he was just using the showers, he was told he needed to workout. (Yea--I can't believe how petty some people are.). We worked construction, and the last thing he needed was a workout before 7:00 am. Another guy I knew tried the RV lifestyle. He too was harrsssed by cops. Cops would tell him straight up he was not breaking any laws, but if he didn't move along he would get another ticket. Oh yea, the next sentance I'm about to write still gets my blood pressure up. One night my friend was sound asleep on a rural county road. He tried to hide. He knew the drill. He did have a 25 lb dog. This cop pounded on the side of his camper. He opened the door, and the dog growled. The officer took out his side arm and shot the dog. I have so little respect for some of these cops. The last time I looked at what it would cost to park/sleep in a private RV park it was $79 a night. This is in the Bay Area though. Their is a pilot program in the Bay Area for low income RV'ers. I believe it's near the bay? It basically a lot that RV'ers can park for free. It's only available to county residents though. My point is uless you have money, that whole RV lifestyle can be a nightmare. Walmart used to let RVers park overnight. I have a feeling that privilege is gone. America the great? Our biggest concern is finding a place to sleep. Off topic, but the one thing Russia did well under Communism is build apartments. I didn't realize just how many units they built until I saw pictures of Ukraine.

NikolaNovak 4y ago

It depends on the game. Not facetious - for me it's all about whether you build memories,and whether you'll regret time later. Mass effect, deus ex, back in the day Another World or Sierra's space quest and Rama etc - these are important memories and experiences to me. Overwatch (nearest call of duty analog I played, maybe), let alone all the phone games, are just time killers in the sense I do them to pass the time. They are games I actively regret playing moments, not even years after I'm done.

progman32 4y ago
Precisely this. Mass Effect in particular triggered some deep introspection that measurably improved my life. I suppose it's just like other forms of media. Some books are just time wasters, while others are deeply meaningful to their readers. And there's overlap in those groups.
broodbucket 4y ago
Agree with this, though it's not necessarily about the game and it's more about what you put in and get out. If you worked hard to improve at Overwatch and your goal was to make it to top 500 on the ladder, or join an amateur team and play in tournaments, etc - it's no longer the same time waster, you have goals to work towards. Does any of that matter once you stop playing and do something else? Not really, but you can be proud of yourself, or thankful that you learned something about yourself, etc. I suppose it's about being active vs passive.
earth_walker 4y ago
I don't have much time for gaming these days, and so when I do I want it to be good. So I browse the local buy-and-sell and pick up the classics every now and then. This winter I picked up all three Mass Effects and played the first two through for the first time. Loved them, and will definitely get to the third when the snows come around again. I think Deus Ex is one of those games every gamer should play through - it's like reading a classic - so what if the graphics and gameplay are a bit outdated, the philosophical debates with psychotic AI alone are worth it!
- 4y ago

kingkawn 4y ago

Yes, it is.

whiplash451 4y ago

I don't think his/her point is that we should all live an RV life. I think the point is that we should all try to live a fullfilling life. For some of us, it's going to be in an RV. For a lot of us, it could be in a very classical apartment building. However, what you do in this apartment building is (almost) entirely up to you.

oneoff786 4y ago

I suspect a lot of competitive multiplayer games are pyrrhic in retrospect. That is, not necessarily fun to get there but with a promise of fun when you’re at the top, but most people never really get there and so it was just kind of a waste. Especially games where you mostly play strangers and never really see them again.

FollowingTheDao 4y ago

> Imagine if 100 million people in the US decided to all at once go RVing around the country. All the areas would be full of RVs and I bet it would not be as enjoyable anymore. Yes, I call this the "Dave Ramsey Syndrome". You know, he wants everyone to save money and not spend it so they can be debt free and have millions of dollars in the bank. But if everyone did that the economy, our consumer economy, would crash. And you are right. I have been living in my Van since before the pandemic. It is impossible to find camping spaces now in national parks and even the Wal Marts are starting to get pissed at all the RVs again. These people too, these rich people, sit out on BLM lands longer then allowed, because it is free and they could most likely afford an RV park.

PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
> I have been living in my Van since before the pandemic. It is impossible to find camping spaces now in national parks and even the Wal Marts are starting to get pissed at all the RVs again I've been doing #vanlife on and off since 2012. Camping spaces in most national parks were already hard to find most of the time. Municipalities and Walmarts made overnight parking illegal in their lots in many places years or even decades before the pandemic. What you're describing is real, but not new.
JKCalhoun 4y ago
Come on, who would choose an RV park over BLM land? It's not about the money.
et-al 4y ago
#vanlife definitely has a tragedy of the commons problem.

Xeronate 4y ago

I'm going to add a second data point of deep regret over time spent gaming and playing sports in high school and college. They contributed negatively to my life and put me so far behind where I could have been socially and intellectually which are things older me cares about immensely and it is unfortunate that I wasn't able to consider the future when I was younger. The idea that all leisure activities are equally valuable is a fallacy in my opinion.

kirso 4y ago
You just described a hindsight bias. They key point here which has already been discussed above is “older you”. You didnt have that information when you were young and your worldview is fluid. The idea that you can operate with the same amount of information when you were young with your brain and social circles still in development is a fallacy in itself. I did think the same way as you only to realize that my caring for intellectual and social stimulation was sparked due to its lack in the past. You have no guarantee that you would develop it in the first place if you would have taken a different path.
Jensson 4y ago
> They contributed negatively to my life and put me so far behind where I could have been socially and intellectually which are things older me cares about immensely And even older you likely wont care much at all about those things and think you wasted your life away pursuing those goals instead of enjoying it.

hinkley 4y ago

It is. Or at least it is for a lot of us. In working through some things a few years back I realized that when I’m worn out I do certain activities to recharge myself, and some of them aren’t actually recharging, they’re just running down the clock and Time is doing the recharging. Gaming was very much a pastime rather than a recharging time. Worse, with games it’s too easy to get sucked into a thread that keeps me up well past bedtime, in which case I’m more tired then next day, not less. Other hobbies accumulate progress, and are sometimes more open to participation by friends and family. Now I spend a lot of time gardening or doing other hobbies, and more of my screen time comes when I’m resting or trying to limit my skin cancer risks (1 pm instead of 7 pm).

theptip 4y ago
I like your phrasing here a lot. I have come to a pretty similar realization recently. For me a small about of gaming does recharge me, but as you say it’s really easy to get sucked into spending too much time and ending up tired or sacrificing other recharging activities like exercise and socialization. I think it’s possible to weave socialization and accumulated progress into the gaming experience and have it be a fully enriching hobby. But many (most?) single player experiences are just a pastime for me, as you say.
- hinkley 4y ago
  When I was young I realized I was escaping into games and damaging my life and relationships (one of the tests for addiction) and so I’m always going to hold them at arm’s length. When I realized I needed a change I latched onto the fact that most people wouldn’t understand my excitement for an accomplishment in a video game, it wasn’t something I could bond with people over. But if I stopped fucking around and put that energy into programming, I could have accomplishments people understood (that turned out to only be only partly true. I still have programming accomplishments that my peers and communities don’t understand). Bonding over games has shifted a bit since then. I know a hard of hearing kid who socializes online because conference calls make everyone have the same problem: differentiating two speakers is difficult. Everything sounds like hearing aids sound. But it’s still easier for people to comment on my garden than whether I have finished the Thieves guild or stormcloak quest line in Skyrim, as an elf.

theptip 4y ago

I don’t think the point of the parent comment or the OP is that everyone should RV instead of gaming. It’s that each individual should do what they find fulfilling, now not later because there might not be a later. I think the reply would be: If you get joy and fulfillment from gaming, do that instead of working really hard to earn money that you don’t need. If you think you’d rather RV than work & play games, go RV now instead of putting it off for later/retirement.

UweSchmidt 4y ago

The video game argument represents some kind of fallacy: A rational actor picks the best form of entertainment which turns out to be video games - how can that be wrong? However, there are many local minima in entertainment and life and many great things require going through a learning curve and preparation. Even the greatest couch enthusiast can remember, say, a magical moment during a pickup basketball game, and surely those kinds of moments are happening in this city right now...

jnovek 4y ago
Yeah, no. I would see a pickup basketball game as “pissing my time away”. I don’t like basketball and loathe playing competitive sports. Further, I really enjoy doing things by myself. I often play video games to challenge myself — it’s me versus a previous version of me. Just goes to show ya — those “magical moments” are highly personal and defined by the things that give a person joy. And for some folks — like me — that includes video games!

somenameforme 4y ago

I'd say there's two elements to fun - how you view it in the immediate, and how you view it further down the road. And given that the further down the road part is something that sticks with you on the order of decades, while the immediate part tends to be on the order of hours, it seems clear to me which should be given priority. For instance that's why I quit social media (excepting intermittent HN). I really enjoyed it in the shortrun, but I wasn't happy with what I was getting out of it in the longrun. We all convince ourselves we're making an "impact" by expressing ourselves, but I think that's something we all know is just a self delusion - we're just one voice ranting alongside a billion others doing the same. By contrast I've also spent tens of thousands of hours dedicated to chess, and it feels extremely good in both the short and longrun.

philosopher1234 4y ago

Is drinking? It’s easy to delude yourself.

paulpauper 4y ago

Playing video games and surfing the web for fun, living with friends and family instead of having a large family and a consumerist lifestyle, would have a smaller footprint

havblue 4y ago

Frankl at least talks about life in terms of the responsibility you take on in your decisions. So in that sense video games are less likely to be meaningful than RVing with your main squeeze.

ta988 4y ago

This sounds like a fallacy to me. If everybody wanted to go see a concert, most people wouldn't get a seat. If everybody wanted to fly tomorrow etc. The good thing in the world is also that bit everyone dreams of the same thing.

magicroot75 4y ago

This is the exact thing that happened to remote work.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

kirso 4y ago

Indeed! A food for thought: https://twitter.com/khemaridh/status/1538899517629640704?s=21&t=f-TX8_5A1uwtuYs9dx5WfQ https://twitter.com/khemaridh/status/1538899517629640704?s=2...

kromem 4y ago

I can't disagree more with many comments on here in response to if it's pissing away time playing video games. I mean, I guess I don't really play CoD vs more narrative games, so I can't speak to that specifically, but I greatly credit my time in virtual worlds with a lot of my intellectual flexibility. In my experience there's a palpable benefit to exploring impossible worlds and carrying out a personal story shaped by my actions within them. Making hard decisions that I would never be faced with in reality informs me about myself, and encountering stimuli well beyond what reality has on tap conditions me to look beyond the box in what reality does throw at me. I can't really say that any other medium or activity offers the same mental exercise as an engrossing game. To each their own, and people are welcome to decide that they found a greater purpose in a national park vs a spaceship exploring unknown worlds. But people are also welcome to find greater purpose in the other. As someone who does (though I find variety the spice of life and also do enjoy national parks - just not as much), it's interesting the ways in which people pass judgment on each other, and themselves. I'd value a gamer spending decades in video games over a monk spending decades mediating and in a vow of silence, and yet I suspect given the general fetishizing of traditionalism and demonizing of modernism many would disagree and see one as pursuit of a higher truth and the other as a pursuit of nihilism. It's useful to check in with oneself as to if our choices are actually giving us value or are an escape from things that would give us greater value. But if they really do give you value, then value them. And if they do not, don't make the mistake of thinking that equation would hold true for others as well.

watwut 4y ago
> Making hard decisions that I would never be faced with in reality informs me about myself, This irks me wrong, because it does not distinguishes between reality and fantasy. None of the in-game decisions is hard the way real life decisions are hard. Just like, murder on TV is not the same thing as real life one. Real life combat situations frequently changes people, makes them bitter and forever angry or give them PTSD. People regret their real life decisions till the end of their lives - that is why those decisions are said to be "hard". Video games dont do the same thing. You are not facing equivalent of real-life decisions. None of the decisions you made in game had any real consequences to the outside world and you know it.

ospzfmbbzr 4y ago

Yes! When I worked on FB games the internal running joke was our business was stealing people's life a second at a time and monetizing that stolen time. Our game was 'free' like in bait. GAMES ARE FOR CHILDREN AND A WASTE OF YOUR LIFE :) Getting outside is the best thing you can do for your health and the dog park next to a busy city street is not going to cut it. Thinking like "But what if everyone did that?" or "is it fair that not everyone can do that?" are just ways to get you to 'agree' to take away other people's freedom or yours.

criveros 4y ago

primax 4y ago

It's depressing that this question even had to be asked