Do you believe that gaming is pathetic and has no use in life?

[Anonymous]

[stepje92]

First, noncognitive-based video gaming can be used in all age categories as a means to improve the brain. However, effects on children remain unclear. Second, noncognitive-based video gaming affects both structural and functional aspects of the brain. Third, video gaming effects were observed after a minimum of 16 h of training. Fourth, some methodology criteria must be improved for better methodological quality. However, video gaming effects on the brain area vary depending on the video game type.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6826942/

Cognitive challenges induced by gaming may act along universally encountered hormetic principles, in order to invoke the neuronal stress response. This, as a consequence, upregulates neuronal health and it is likely to result in cognitive health improvement in older people.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5796895/

The results show that previous video-gaming experience improved the baseline performance in laparoscopic simulator skills used for surgery.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28733118/

Three articles that prove on multiple levels that gaming is beneficial in life. But the type of game and the time spent has influence on the degree of effectiveness. Also, I found it interesting that there's a correlation found with a job like surgery.

Please take into account that I didn't mention any cons.

[Mishan97]

Well yeah tbh I don’t get the point of it. You’re wasting away hours of your life in an artificial reality when you could be enjoying the real world. But I guess the same could be said for watching tv/movies or even reading books. So I don’t judge but I don’t really get the point. To me reading makes sense because it still stimulates your mind and helps you increase your knowledge. & movies people only watch once in a while and they’re only a couple hours. But spending 3+ hours a day on gaming is crazy. Fine in moderation but in excess your basically wasting away your life and your youth.

[Sparda20xx]

Gaming csn stimulate your mind as well and knowledge. It all depends on the type of game you're playing

[Mishan97]

@Sparda20xx oh honestly I don’t have a lot of knowledge about gaming so I didn’t know that! That’s cool to know though

[Sparda20xx]

True. But I do agree with you said overall. Just wanted to throw my two cents in there

[devilman666]

Unless you read history, books are just as much artificial as video games. Video games stimulate the mind, I play harder/competitive team focused games and it stimulates the mind better than a book because it is interactive. It also helps me to improve my teamwork and quick thinking skills. Tbh I usually game for like 4-5 hours per day minimum but I also have no local friends and no other hobbies, so I have nothing better to do. If I want social interaction then I need to continue gaming.

Spending 3+ hours a day on reading is crazy. Fine in moderation but in exces your basically wasting your life and your youth.

[devilman666]

It's almost like playing a sport where everything constantly changes and you need to adapt as things happen.
www.sciencedaily.com/.../170622103824.htm

[Aethereal]

A hobby does not have to have a use in life. It is something one enjoys doing. A distraction from the pressures/stress of the world. Perhaps this function (enjoyment and stress reliever) can be called it's "use in life".

Some hobbies are useful. That doesn't make them better, nor imply that people should be forced to only engage in those types of hobbies. For something to be a hobby, it's role as an enjoyable and stress-relieving activity takes precedence over any usefulness it has. When that is no longer the case, it is simply work. That is why so many hobbies have their paid work equivalent e. g. gardener, fishing, fitness instructor, writer, video game tester, etc. that come with all the stresses and annoyances of "regular" work.

People who call certain hobbies pathetic, are short-sighted, and not worth taking seriously. The funny thing is that they probably also have a hobby that has no "use". I've seen many people who call gaming pathetic and useless, but proudly proclaim activities like binging netflix as their hobby.

[LesterJester]

It's no more pathetic than movies, TV shows, books and music.

They're all forms of art and entertainment. A means to break up the day and unwind. To distract yourself from BS in life and have a little rest and recharge.

And yes, games are a form of art. Story, plot, character and world creation, voice acting, sound and music editing, animation, programming. The closest comparison would be an interactive movie.

Movies and shows are linear and a one way medium, where the story and entertainment are fed to you on rails until the credits roll.

Games are the same but require the viewer to have input in how the story develops. Some games also allow for multiple endings, depending on the actions and choices you made as the player.

But if you want to dismiss all this, then again, I hope you don't waste your time with books, music, shows and movies, because they're all equally useless and waste your time and life when you could be constantly be doing something productive.

[NyceGuyFinishingLast]

I believe it can become a hindrance in life when you have more than you do anything else. As long as you have a healthy balanced life gaming is beneficial.

If you are working at Taco Bell have no girlfriend and the only conversation you can partake in only involves gaming then yes, completely useless.

If you have a great job, girlfriend or wife, house, or kids and you still get in some game time then it is beneficial. Gaming improves hand to eye coordination, response thinking, speed of thinking, reaction time, and it can be very therapeutic.

I am a gamer, I play when I can but I don't neglect my other responsibilities like my kids, work, the house, my health or anything. Gaming is never first on the list unless there is nothing that can be done right away. I buy a new game I download and install it and then take care of the important things while it downloads. It is about making every minute count. I put something in the microwave to cook for two minutes and I was able to load the dishwasher and start it before the two minutes were up. Most people would have stood around watching the microwave or glued to their phones getting nothing accomplished.

[AdithyaR]

I agree completely. Other than the girlfriend part, this is how my gaming works. I give first priority to my studies and helping out at home, then comes gaming but also I have other hobbies like writing poetry and cooking.
As long as there's a balance, it's perfect.

[Smoke-n-Growls]

No, I think gaming is pretty cool. Plus there's some neat innovations originating in gaming that have led to effective tools to improve lives: for example, exposure therapy VR tools to help veterans process trauma and recover.

Gaming addiction, however, is not so good.

Enjoying a game you like on occasion is fine. Binging games like Netflix shows is not (and neither is binging Netflix shows).

That said there is a big part of biological predisposition to addiction. So it's also not entirely the addict's fault - but it is their responsibility to improve their lives.

[ZackBan]

Well only true gamers know the truth.

I am of a dying breed someone who still appreciates a good single player game and I've played nearly all of them.

The stuff I learned are hard to put into a single answer. Gaming taught me every subject that school failed to teach, which is all of them.

I learned history, geography, politics, science, cultrues, languages, phydics, geometry, cartography, storytelling...

Now I do have a life outside of games, freinds, studied, parties (until last year that is) but in society people see me and ask: how are you so intellectual for your age? And I don't really tell because when I do they laugh and think I'm joking.

[anonChineseMale]

Yeah, games can be amazing tools to learn because it can engage, entertain, and open us to possibilities that we may never be able to experience in our own or even in our life time.

[ZackBan]

Plus some people think that games are made by like 3 people and a computer. Some are but the majority especially the big titles are productions even bigger than movies and no one has a problem with movies.

[devilman666]

Why does everyone always assume obsession with video games? I swear it's like watching tv for 8-12 hours straight on a Saturday is prefectly fine, but you game for more than 4 hours in a day you're autoaticly a pathetic loser with no life who deserves to die. NIIICE! I swear, I should just become a meth addicted alcoholic, I'll have more friends, people won't think of me as a weirdo, and I'll have a real life for once. That's slightly sarcastic but people actually push me near that point sometimes, like how should I fix my life? Someone just needs to tell me the fucking answer because I'm so sick and tired of being told I'm doing it wrong, but then no one can tell me how to do it right. I swear, I just want to disappear from the world and be forgotten.

[hellionthesagereborn]

99% of your existence has no use, but you do it anyway. I mean the seasoning on your food has no use, you don't need it to live, it doesn't create increased survivability, but you like it anyway. Gaming on the other hand, well it actually increases brain function, stimulates the various parts of the brain helping with retaining functionality (as all puzzles and games do). So yeah, it serves a purpose (statistically gamers are better at analyzing and acquiring information faster then non gamers (due to them training their brains to look at huds that give massive amounts of information all while having to stay focused on what ever task they have in game).

[WindAtMyBack]

A small amount for entertainment is OK. But mostly it's a time waster. It's also an addiction for a lot of people and ruins lives. Games are the only thing that "addictive" is considered a good thing.

People used to say the same things about television. But video games are far worse than TV ever was.

You could argue that educational games have a use other than entertainment, and be right. But that can be an entry drug and go beyond education. You could also argue that some types of games use a lot of critical thinking. I've played Heroes of Might and Magic for 20 years. A lot of people compare the game to chess. There are a lot of high level chess players who play that game.

But mostly, gaming is a time waster that rots the brain.

[ShadezMcgee]

No, I don't think it is pathetic and it has use in life as a form of escape and entertainment. It really depends on the individual and their playing habits. I used to play them religiously when I was a kid, but now I rarely play since I am busy with other things. Every rare chance I get, you bet I will play an old game as a way to unwind and relive my childhood for a bit.

I would argue gaming has suffered with quality because of PC culture and people who truly don't play games getting way to much credit and attention for their journal entries and have only harmed game developing in the long run to not have any good games come out in God knows when.

[Anon621]

No. Believe it or not a game about football or as some people call it soccer taught me about geography and about different universities indirectly lol. In fact, one of my favorite games to play is Portal 2 because it challenges your problem solving skills on many different levels. There are plenty of games that can push your problem solving and even practical skills. I would say games like Assassin's creed test practical skills because you have to know who to kill first, where to position your character for the next kill or to hide yourself from being caught, and then if you should be stealthy or loud depending on the situation. I think this argument for games having no use is more related to games like GTA V, Red Dead Redemption, Starwhal, etc. It just depends what you use the games for. I like playing GTA V cause it is super fun. I have never played Red Dead Redemption but some people say that the challenges are fun and it is the same idea for Starwhal.

[BeenThereLovedIt]

I game, but not obsessively, maybe once a week for a couple of hours.

Like anything else, it's a form of entertainment, not much different than watching a tv show or movie.

That being said, Video games and Porn were the driving forces of the early internet, and are both multi-billion dollar industries, but yeah - I do think video games become toxic after a certain amount of time per-week. No different than facebook, youtube, instagram, etc.. in that regard. It's all brain rot anymore.

[Cherokeehp]

Depends how much you do it. I think gaming is fun and everyone enjoys a little release from reality now and then. Some people like books, some people like movies, and some people like video games. But if you start neglecting your real life in favor of playing video games then yeah it’s pretty fucking pathetic. Moderation is key.

[Tamera952]

Not entirely, but almost. There are nominal skills that one may gain that might come in handy in random niche situations later in life, but in GENERAL, ...(big picture overview) it has (almost) no use in the greater areas of life.
In my opinion, the overall outcome seems to indicate a negative impact, especially pertaining to social skills development, that are proportionally linked to overall time spent gaming.

[oddwaffle]

Like watching sports? Reading the newspaper? Watching a play? listen to music, enjoy a movie, paint a picture, play chess, grow flowers, eat delicious food, read a novel, write some poems, stare at the sky, enjoy life, go fishing... Oh my.

Yeah, the useful things in life are stuff you don't want to live with.

[WhiteSteve]

It’s whatever. It’s a sedentary recreational activity. No worse than watching non-educational TV. I’d rather see people go to the gym or go for a hike, do something active, but if you want to make some time in your day for gaming, there’s a lot worse you could be doing.

[TheUniqueOne96]

No.

You could say the same for anything else that's fun and not productive either.

Live a life you enjoy.

It can be a good distraction if someone's going through something hard at the time too and some have even got careers out of it.

[Soremain]

Gaming itself is no more or less pathetic than playing pool or chess, and I don't think there is anything pathetic about those games. But if you avoid your responsibilities or try to gain some kind of self worth by doing any of those activities, then it's pathetic.

[devilman666]

Is self worth a bad thing? Or is it only bad when it comes from the wrong thing? What is good source of self worth?

[Soremain]

Good source of self worth is when you bring value to the world. Being better than others in a video game is very meaningless and doesn't bring any value to anyone else. In other words you are being worthless for the rest of the world. In fact you are depending on others being worse than you. That's very pathetic source of self worth.

[devilman666]

How do you bring value into a world that is inherently worthless? As far as I can tell, in 100 trillion years humans will be extinct and everything we've ever accomplished will be forgotten. Therefore there is no such as inherent value.

How am I depending on others being worse than myself?

Should I just kill myself then? I don't believe I have value to bring to this world, everything I do I fuck up on, I can't even hold down a job, even if I do nothing wrong the world fucks me. What do I take value from if I am worthless?

[Soremain]

@devilman666 Well that's completely different topic. First of all in reality I'm not talking about anyone else except myself. Looking back at my own sweaty nerd days when I played 16 hours a day obsessed getting high ranks and feeling good only when I won and felt bad when I lost, I was being pathetic. I didn't play because I genuinely enjoyed it, I was obsessed kicking ass of other sweaty nerds, I was at war with myself.

And what I mean by depending on others being worse than you is when you feel good and worthy only when you win, your opponent must lose. So it's only positive experience for you personally and negative for your opponent. If that's what your self worth is based on, then that's pathetic.

To be honest I think the whole self worth idea is an illusion anyway and can be discarded. But if we subscribe to that illusion then I say the healthy way to improve that is to be worthy for others, not to compete against others.

I don't know what you should do, but what you give is what you get. If life only kicks your ass, are you sure you didn't kick first. I mean your nickname is devilman666, maybe start by changing that. Just throwing in some suggestions.

[devilman666]

Sorry my name irl is Devlin and my nickname as a kid was Devil. I think I'm just gunna give up, I've never done any ass kicking and I just want my ass to stop hurting. Never know though, maybe at 3, I made a deal with Satan and I just don't remember it anymore, cause not long after that my dad walked out, then at 8 sexual abuse, lmfao I don't know what I did to deserve my life but it must've been bad, was I hitler in a previous life or something?

[devilman666]

And I mostly dont even play competitve games like that anymore, recently I've been playing destiny 2 and I don't like the pvp much so I'm just doing teamwork based shit.

[devilman666]

Also, by that standard you should not be proud when you get a promotion because when you feel good and worthy someone else feels upset and disappointed because they wanted it too. Literally anytime anything good happens to you, you can find a way to show how that hurt someone else by taking an opportunity away from them.

[Soremain]

@devilman666 I see. Well of course bad things can also happen to innocent people and they can leave traumas. I'd suggest to somehow go through those negative feelings of the past. For example when they arise, instead of distracting yourself from them, let them play out and in time they'll wash away from the system. I don't think there is anything we can't get over and heal from emotionally. It just requires some courage and openness. And like I said I don't think there is anything wrong with playing a lot of video games, just trying to get some kind of ego boost from them is what I think is pathetic. It doesn't sound like you are doing that though.

[Soremain]

@devilman666 Sure. But I think that's different, because the person getting promoted is probably better at bringing value to the company and assuming the company is bringing value to the world, that promotion servers the greater good. So if you get upset that you didn't get the promotion, you are seeing it from selfish point of view, and not caring about the greater good. If you only care about the greater good, you'd be happy about your coworker being promoted. I think person who can do that will inherently have better self esteem than someone who only cares about his own status.

[devilman666]

What if the greater good means that you should die? If someone doesn't have enough value to succeed then the best good they can do is to not be a burden? So killing myself would serve the greater good, right?

[devilman666]

If bad things can happen to good people, why do you assume I must be bad? When I indulge negative feelings they become overwhelming so I try to avoid it. The last thing I want is to have a break down and lose control of my emotions, and I think I've repressed for too long so now when I open up it's like opening a soda that someone shook, everything starts coming out at once.

How do you get over things? Courage and openness? So you have to open up to others about your trauma? What if they reject you as a result? What if "they" are your parents/best friends?

I don't think I have much ego rn. Sometimes I'm kinda delusional about my intelligence or how successful I could be, but it's just daydreams about starting a business of becoming a politician, being successful and having a positive influence on others and the world. I get a slight ego boost from it but I know it's just delusional.

[Soremain]

@devilman666 I haven't assumed anything, I asked are you sure you didn't kick first. And by courage I mean courage to face those difficult feelings. Because as long as you don't, they are subconsciously controlling your life. Talking to someone else can help some, but I don't believe it's necessary for everyone.

I do believe in some kind of reincarnation, so I don't think suicide is a good solution. It would be too easy way out to be true. In fact I believe it would make things worse. Not only is it an act to escape your problems instead of facing them, but it's also very negative experience for others around you.

[Inexpensivefurniture]

If it becomes detrimental to other parts of your life then it's a problem. Spending money or time that you don't have on games is something than needs to be resolved. But if you are responsible and just enjoy unwinding sometimes by playing video games I don't see anything wrong with it.

[Not_Average]

Nope. The old stereotype is becoming a thing of the past. With people increasingly staying at home and meeting friends online, the gaming industry is experiencing exponential growth that’s not going to stop anytime soon. Nothing wrong with video games. I still play WoW every once in a while with an old high school friend. The nostalgia appeals to me more than the content tbh.

[AdithyaR]

It's just a hobby. So just like any other hobby, it's a good thing to have as long as you don't let it consume your whole life.
But nowadays games are a great way to bust stress, make friends and chill.
Good game streamers even earn pretty good from it.

[Juxtapose]

Only killjoys think so.

And what did these killjoys usually do? Sit on their ass and watch TV..

Video games take skill, such as Tekken 7. It's as valid as chess, only you have to make snap decisions predicting your opponent's behavior while taking into account various game mechanics.

But sure.. watching TV or looking at tits on your smartphone is ssssoooo much more productive *rolls eyes*.

[samael_kmarty]

No, actually it's a way to escape to my stress sometimes, or to refresh my mind.
I mostly play valorant for its deathmatch. It's exactly 10 mins one or 2 games and I am ready to do whatever work is given.
It also make me feel less useless 😂, as I can play sage or omen.
Other one to escape all the shit of love ( I do believe in love but now it's like where the f*** it is ,) or does it even exists.