Are videogames a waste of time?

[Govinda]

(I don't know if this belongs here; it could probably go in either Gaming or I.D, but I couldn't decide, so lumped for GC. Yes.)

Well. Yesterday I bought Tomb Raider Legend for a respectable price. It's the first game i've bought in a long time; I'm a lifelong Croft fan, and seeing the latest game reduced, I decided to buy it.

So, I've spent quite a while playing it over the past two days, inbetween other activities. But I stopped playing it this afternoon, and thought, '3 hours of my life has just passed, and I did nothing with it save sit on the sofa and press buttons.'

I could have read a bit of a book, and learned something; worked on my essays; painted, written; phoned someone, spoken to a human, gone for a walk. There are many better ways to pass my time that are equally as relaxing as playing a computer game, but I chose the least productive.

Or did I? Did I really spent three hours improving my problem solving skills and hand-eye co-ordination?

Like I say, there are a million other things that I could have done to relax that would have produced something.

Did I waste my time? Does playing videogames waste our time (or, rather, is that their very purpose...)

[OmniTense]

Sounds like someone is going through a mid-life crisis

The question you need to ask yourself is: "Do you have anything better to do?"

If you answer yes to this question, then, yes video games are a waste of your time.

That's the question I ask myself everytime I sit down to my game.

Occasionally I'll answer yes, sometimes no.

Video Games should not consume you!

[Helter Skelter]

You could've painted? Hehe, yeah, ok.

I think it obviously depends on your situation. If you've got other, more constructive things to be doing, then playing a game is just a way of escaping those other tasks. It's simple procrastination. You didn't want to get on with your essay, so you took the easy way out - that way out being Lara Croft's latest epic adventure.

If, however, you've got a bit of free time, aren't planning on going anywhere, and you just want to kick back and wind down, then playing a game is just another way of passing time. It's a bit of fun, something do to by yourself or with a companion. In my opinion, it's only a waste of time if you do it to escape more productive things, or if you didn't enjoy it very much.

[Chez Daja]

Let me ask myself this question.

Did I waste those eight months of my life that I spent playing almost non-stop Harvest Moon?

Did I waste the eight hours completeing Silent Hill 2?

Did I waste a day playing Silent Hill 4: The Room?

Have I wasted about eight years that I have spent worshipping Konami's Silent Hill series?

My answer: No.

The logical answer: Probably.

I spend hours on video games every single day of my life. Why? Because I have nothing else to do? Because I don't have a job or go to college? Nah. It's because I enjoy it.

It's tough to generalize a whole population of game-players, and the opinion of games being a waste of time is ones' own opinion. You can't tell somebody it's a waste of time if they enjoy it because to them it was time spent well.

Games are fun. They give life a little bit of a sparkle, a scream, a laugh, a broken controller -- whichever you feel and whichever genre you're playing.

I've been playing video games since I was three years old. My first game? Pacman for the Itari, and damn did I love that game. I hold the highest record in my house, by my old friends, and even on this forum.

When I got my first PlayStation, I spent hours and hours playing Alien Trilogy and Mickey Mouse' Wild Adventures.

When I was barely a decade old, I was clocking Resident Evil. And by 1999, I beat my very first Silent Hill. And rented, with a beat up old box.

I don't seem like a big gamer, because I don't talk about gaming that much. I get newer games later than others because I don't like spending money on expensive games, but that's not to say I won't pick up the classics and have fun with those while I'm waiting for prices on "happenin' games" to drop.

I'm an "out of fashion gamer". But I don't think of it at all as a waste of time. Think of gaming as "spending time", not wasting it.

Hand and eye coordination? Maybe.

Who cares if they're considered a waste of time anyway? They make companies a shitload of money, and the media are always waiting for the next Grand Theft Auto game to come out so they can blame the newest school shoot-up on video games.

Now THAT is entertainment, my chums.

And Govinda; if you feel gaming is a waste of time, does that not mean that doing 'productive' things such as studying is a waste of time? After all, we all gotta pop our clogs someday. Why not spend it on the couch, eating nachos, playing games until your eyes are sore and steadily growing large from lack of excersize?

Okay, bad example.

All in all = it's a person to person thing. No, you didn't waste your time. ^_^ I hope this long winded answer... "helped." O_o;...

[Angantyr]

Certainly not, and who ever says you did is an idiot! In fact you should spend more time playing games! In fact I really should play more video games than wasting time online.

But seriously no, if you are going to live then you may as well enjoy it, of course there should be time to work but the bullshit about video games rotting your mind is quite possibly one of the stupidest things parents seem to think. When you are playing games the first and probably most well known thing is you are working on eye hand co-ordination which is a pretty useful skill if you ask me. You are also problem solving, figuring out the best way to beat that boss or the quickest way to get through the level or something. It is more useful than sitting on your ass watching a movie, and depending on what game you are playing you can learn just as much as reading a book. Also I have probably learnt more through playing video games than I did in my last years of school (Well my teachers were bloody useless so thats partly to blame, also I was strongly distracted with work )

[Fishie]

Like most people said, it depends on your situation. If you have some free time on your hands go for it, but trust me I like to procrastnate too when its comes to my homework or something and I usually do something to stall even by playing video games. I've been playing video games practically my whole life and I feel like I haven't wasted any of my time playing games up to this point. There are however some games I regretted playing in the past, but as long as you're not up all night without getting any sleep playing non-stop and if its not interfering with your life then keep on playing!

Sometimes its good to play games though. Sometimes I like to play them when I'm at home sick and if there's nothing good to do around my house or just play them if I'm upset or something.

[Casanova[OCAU]]

Well really it depends. I mean, playing videogames is no less productive than say, reading a novel or watching a movie. It's just the next level of story telling. It provides us with a break.

Sure it's not productive per se, but as much as ideally, even our lesisure time would be productive, it isnt the case for the most of us.

So yea, video games are a waste of time really, but not anymore a waste of time some other activities, like gossipping to a friend or reading a novel or whatever.

[Andromeda]

Well if it is matter of being productive, are you being productive reading a book? You are sitting in one place doing nothing but staring at text for hours on end flipping a page. Sounds like playing a game if you knock it down to its basics. Reading a book see considering intelligent, smart, or whatever people want to call it. However, reading a book is just as anti-social as playing a video game.

Writting an essay, painting, doing something is creative you are definitely not wasting productivity. But those things aside and the main matter at question is the video game, it certainly is someone doing nothing but pushing buttons all day. However, it depends on how you want to view that time as how it was spent. If you are playing a game like Lara Croft, there are puzzles to solve if I am not mistaken. Puzzles require you to think, using your mind there. Making that timed jump at the right time is reflexes and coordination. You have to be alert playing a game or else you lose. If you are playing a FPS, you have to think up team strategies, ways to defeat your enemies.

Of course all you are doing is sitting and not moving. You should get out and get exercise and do something active. But it is not completely wasted time, any thing you requires thought and action however minimumal. Video games will often test your mind and your dexerity, something that is just as valuable. Doesn't mean you should sit down all day and test your mind, but I would not say it is wasted time.

Plus I like to view the games that I play, namely RPGs as a book that I am playing through. So for me it is like writing, accept that I am in a little more control.

[LocoColt04]

Casanova sort of hit what I was going to say, and Andromeda expanded upon it.

How is reading a book more productive? What makes it a better use of your time compared to playing a videogame? What makes reading a "smarter" choice?

I wouldn't consider gaming to be a waste of your time at all. If it's something you truly enjoy, and something you do to kind of wind down, then what's it hurt? How can that be a bad thing?

If all you ever did EVER was play videogames and ignore schoolwork or jobs or family or whatever else, then sure, you'd be wasting your time -- but if you can balance social life with gaming, there's nothing wasteful about it at all.

[Taco]

I think that what may be considered a waste of time is subjective, because anything that delays you achieving your ultimate goal in life may be considered a waste of time. Then again, it can be argued that you might need a break from working to achieve your goals every once in a while.

The main question is, do you have a nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you should be doing something else when you are playing these games? Or do you have some project that is due, or some commitment that you are supposed to be attending to, or some money that you are supposed to be making so that you can sustain your way of life? You could also argue that exercise prolongs your life, so you might want to do some of that every once in a while if you want to live longer. Or that exercising might make you look more attractive, if being attractive is important to you (unless you're just naturally cute, and you don't gain weight easily. La la la...)

The bottom line is blah blah blah. Shit happens. Carry an umbrella. What? *shrug* You probably already had your mind made up about this issue, anyway, and you just wanted to see what everyone else had to say about it, eh? Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Setzertrancer]

I often find myself debating in my head which game would be the best use of time to play. The problem is I can often waste large portions of time trying to decide. Like i'll decide ok, let's play secret of mana, then after playing it for an hour I'll decide nah let's play so and so. I have spent so much time doing time that I often don't make worthwhile progress in games I decide to play.

As for games being a waste of time only if i'm not enjoying it.

[postalblowfish7]

Andromeda pretty much nailed it. For me playing through some over blown fantasy epic RPG is just as enthralling as reading some over blown fantasy epic book. And think about what you're doing when you read a book - you just... sit there. You don't even make the effort to press buttons! And sure, our whole life we were taught 'read a book and learn something,' but hey, it's the 21st century now. You don't have to read a book to learn something.

I'm sure kid's might have felt the same way when movies started getting longer and more entertaining - and maybe we're no different. But now you're actually interacting with your media, not just simply being fed it. My parents always gave me shit for playing so many video games when i was a kid - and i was always ready to point out their hypocrisy by asking, "Would you rather me waste away in front of the TV with you?"

Roger Ebert disagrees. But then again, Roger Ebert should lay off the fatty foods.

[Leroy]

They are a waste of time, in my opinion. When I look back at all the time I wasted on them, it pisses me off. I could of been doing weights or studying, or something else productive.