Gaming Isn’t A Waste Of Time - I Got Facts To Back It Up……I Guess!?!!

Wednesday it was lunch break 12:35 pm, I just had my lunch and there’s time left before 1 pm so I decided to play Symphony of the Night on my phone which I “bought” from the AppStore. When a female coworker approached me and tell that why am I wasting my time playing.
I didn’t answer her, not because I had no valid argument at that point but I took my prerogative not to engage in a banter with her knowing that she wouldn’t or even try to understand what I’m about to tell her.

Sad thing is some people think of gaming to be childish stuff and not real form of entertainment like listening to music or watching a movie.

Most of all why would I waste my breath arguing with a brick wall. Since I’m a member Writer’s Guild why not (ab)use this opportunity to voice out my thoughts.

Now where should I start? Oh yeah the “facts”, video games is one of the top three entertainment medium to date. It even surpassed the music industry terms of revenue about more than 80 billion USD compared to 30-40 billion USD that of music industry and second to the world wide movie industry of 100 billion USD.
Now how’s that for a valid argument!

That goes to say that probably Genshin Impact earned more money than Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Still I can’t defend my case based on revenue alone. The toy companies earn hundreds of millions or even billions of combined. But I would argue that not all toys are made exclusively for the young demographic for there are some what I call specialty toys. Toys aimed for specific individuals namely hobbyists. Just imagine the amount of Gunplas or those toys based on certain anime IPs being sold each year making the Japanese toy company Bandai one of the top three toy companies in the world alongside Hasbro and Mattel.

I know what you’re thinking right now. Is that all Mr. Cringe Yapper? Well, not yet but I think you already know this one.

We all know playing video games promotes hand and eye coordination not only that we play games in order to socialize. Imagine the connection we made to a random person on the other side of their screen while playing on line be it competitively or co-op. The way we talked about our strategies, we comfort or even bicker at each other when we lose and how we celebrate, trash talked and brag at each victory.

Video games sets our competitive nature free to roam out in the virtual world. Competitive nature that made this continuously emerging sport thrive. Yup you’re right I’m talking about E-Sports.

From single player to multiplayer co-op and from amateur to the big pro league. No one can deny the emerging popularity of E-Sports where at stake are some real serious bragging rights and some cold hard cash that goes along with it. Lines are drawn with regular competitions being held to see who’s the baddest in the virtual world.

Okay this is it, it’s time to bring in the big gun!

“To game is to recover.”

Why did I say that? Not a very simple answer I guess.
Imagine this , you came home from work exhausted and mentally drained. But then you pick up an all familiar game to unwind. Little that you know you’re not just blowing steam you’re recovering.
How’s that supposed to happen?
As you play your mind goes on what psychologists call the “flow state”.
What is flow state? To simply put it , flow state happens when our mind goes into deep focus minus the pressure enabling it to fire in all cylinders. This revitalizes our brain relieving it of the the stress we unwilling acquire during our daily grind.
Flow state was coined up by this guy

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Sep. 29, 1939-Oct.30, 2021) a Hungarian-American psychologist. His credentials are quite a lengthy that I couldn’t fit it in here so if you’re interested just Google him.

According to the peer viewed publication Journal of Media Psychology (where some of the big names on the field submits their research findings on the psychological effects brought by media) video games are most potent trigger of flow state.

Lastly to prove that video game isn’t childish stuff are some statistics. Did you know that almost 80% of the gaming population consists of late teens to adults. About 50% of gamers came from the global workforce or working individuals like you and me. Last but certain not the least is that the total average age of the worldwide gaming population is 35 years old.

These are the facts I gathered just to prove that we’re not wasting time with gaming and I hope with this more people will be aware that gaming is now part of our modern culture.

As you all may or not know I’m not really good with closing statements.

So with that said I thank you for spending time reading this cringe yap of mine.

This is Stingy Perry signing off.

 

[Questless Knight]

Well it has been proven that gaming helps with cognition.
There also been studies that shown High frequency of playing computer games was associated with decreased risk of incident dementia

Associations of computer gaming with incident dementia, cognitive functions, and brain structure: a prospective cohort study and Mendelian randomization analysis - Alzheimer's Research & Therapy

Background Computer gaming has recently been suggested to be associated with benefits for cognition, but its impact on incident dementia remains uncertain. We aimed to investigate the observational associations of playing computer games with incident dementia, cognitive functions, and brain...

alzres.biomedcentral.com

Not only that it´s been shown to help with depression and anxiety.

I believe science more than any idiot that says otherwise.

Also there been several studies over the past decades that says no video games has no advert effect of violence in people but sadly morons that known nothing love to have an escape goat.

Wanna lower violence then funnel shit load of money in to mental health care.
Wanna lower crime start off by not freaking over people and see to it the are feed and have roof over their had and not feel like they have to turn to crime just to survive.


I will also have you know both my mom and dad are happy I become a gamer both of them always said it´s better I spend money on games rather than drug and alcohol and that im never out and about and they need to worry if I will come home or not.

 

[ShellYT]

I hope this is satire.

 

[χKai]

Everyone needs to unwind; we can't  all be working every waking moment.

 

[Danieru-Emanyueru]

A wide body of research and expert analysis provides evidence that gaming is not a waste of time and offers numerous tangible benefits. While moderation is key to avoiding negative consequences like addiction gaming can enhance cognitive skills promote mental well-being and provide social and career opportunities.

 

[Waffles's iconWaffles]

You are cooking these, bro! Been a fan since the cellphone article way back when.

VERY NICE.

 

[Dr.Kisaragi]

For me gaming isn't a waste it a adventure enjoyment and entertainment, me and my family this our bounding together.

And also video games helps are brain to think like we need to figured out how to this or that our muscle memory how to timing the attack is a healthy active on the brain.

 

[Tonberry]

Video games are the new novel.

 

[Jangiku]

It's just fun when I press the button to make the pixels and polygons move man

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

Everyone needs to unwind; we can't  all be working every waking moment.

Like I always if you think you worked pretty darn hard, play harder.

You are cooking these, bro! Been a fan since the cellphone article way back when.

VERY NICE.

Now you know why I’m kinda silent these past few weeks, it really took me quite some time to dig for facts.

For me gaming isn't a waste it a adventure enjoyment and entertainment, me and my family this our bounding together.

And also video games helps are brain to think like we need to figured out how to this or that our muscle memory how to timing the attack is a healthy active on the brain.

Amen to that bro. It’s not just a past time but a way to communicate and connect with our friends and loved ones.

Video games are the new novel.

More than a novel bro some game even winning some literature awards for its narrative.

 

[KirboDeku]

Berdly, get off your alt

 

[vash87]

Ive always believed that actively participating in a game is much more mentally stimulating than passively sitting and staring at a screen. In addition with the surge in online play and voice chat in games you can also now be social and play games with friends or dedicated communities. You no longer have to be a social outcast to enjoy gaming. Some people however are just ill-equipped to understand or enjoy gaming and thats fine because we get to keep our community for the ones who get it

 

[Galactic Toasters_00]

Crazy how people don't appreciate it nearly as much as like music or Movies, still love those too tho.

 

[Zerpina]

It was an absolutely good read @Stingy Perry. I found nothing wrong with it, so I dunno what you wanted me to burn. Aside from that, there are also studies showing that playing video games can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and dementia, as well as provide cognitive improvements. Again good article Stingy.

Post automatically merged: Today at 7:52 PM

And also, I think a lot of it is the old stigma that lingers with the word "gamer" aside from children that are only shut-ins and socially inept adults who play them. People like the lady you're talking about most likely see it only as a form of entertainment for children, and most likely she has no wonder or imagination left in her life.

I tend not to worry about these people because, at the end of the day, like you said, you're basically arguing with a brick wall.

She's probably also the kind of person who goes home, opens a box of wine, and cries while watching Sex and the City

 

[Danieru-Emanyueru]

She's probably also the kind of person who goes home, opens a box of wine, and cries while watching Sex and the City

Yes, that is probably so

 

[χKai]

Yes, that is probably so

Sounds like that would be me if I didn't smoke pot and play video games.

 

[Metroid_Hybrid]

I was an awkward kid raised in a broken home, with disinterested/neglectful parents, and went to school(s) in the ghetto– which were full of the violently ignorant, if not downright retarded...

So the overwhelming bulk of my literacy, and to lesser extent, my moral values (ie. Truth is what works, lies are what doesn't), was built on reading instruction manuals, gaming magazines, and of course, video games themselves..

Thus the skills & thought-process that I had picked up over the years were applied to the Martial Arts when I enrolled myself in them in my late-teens, and eventually to my work ethic when I entered the workforce as an "adult"..

The internet was still in it's infancy when I was young, and I didn't have access to tons of books (my mom read novels, but come on), and the adults around me couldn't give less of a shit if they tried. Therefore, I credit the vast supermajority of useful knowledge that I had acquired throughout my entire childhood came, either directly or indirectly, from video games..

Damn... I didn't mean for this to be such a trauma dump.. But it is what is...

 

[Spyrone]

Yeah, gaming is definitely a better use of freetime than mindlessly scrolling TikTok or Facebook, or even watching a show. It really depends on what mood I'm in when I go on break at work or school, but I find a great way to kill time is to play video games. It really depends on the type of game whether or not it will do anything positive for one's cognition other than entering flow state- IIRC, the only games I can remember that are truly intellectually stimulating are platformers and RTS games (the latter only when you use the hotkeys I assume).

But in any event, playing games will allow you to achieve that flow state and can often combat anxiety and depression, assuming your not in the mood where playing Cyberpunk 2077 is going to remind you of how RL is a cyberpunk dystopia now.

 

[Zerpina]

I was an awkward kid raised in a broken home, with disinterested/neglectful parents, and went to school(s) in the ghetto– which were full of the violently ignorant, if not downright retarded...

So the overwhelming bulk of my literacy, and to lesser extent, my moral values (ie. Truth is what works, lies are what doesn't), was built on reading instruction manuals, gaming magazines, and of course, video games themselves..

Thus the skills & thought-process that I had picked up over the years were applied to the Martial Arts when I enrolled myself in them in my late-teens, and eventually to my work ethic when I entered the workforce as an "adult"..

The internet was still in it's infancy when I was young, and I didn't have access to tons of books (my mom read novels, but come on), and the adults around me couldn't give less of a shit if they tried. Therefore, I credit the vast supermajority of useful knowledge that I had acquired throughout my entire childhood came, either directly or indirectly, from video games..

Damn... I didn't mean for this to be such a trauma dump.. But it is what is...

"Sometimes life is like a video game. When things get harder, and the obstacles get tougher, it just means you leveled up.” - Lilah Pace

 

[Benjamillion]

During the early 2000s I had to deal with dial-up internet speeds so my interest in spending time online was limited. The video games I had were definitely a must in these times, especially when it was still in that era of one person sharing the phoneline/only having one computer to use.

On weekends there would be a stagecoach market in town that would open that had its own little game store with preowned games that I would constantly go to when nothing was going on at home. All the more games to enjoy while the years slowly went by before the family could start having broadband. Though by the time that happened, the sibs moved out, so no more local multiplayer gaming for me, le sad.

On the other hand, I did get to build up a good library. Any Dreamcast or PS2 titles I missed out on were obtained, like Marvel vs. Capcom and Slave Zero.

 

[Matricks]

I would say as an oldie 'everyday a game keeps dementia and motoricproblems away', most probably.

 

[JG5009]

Anyone that still says that can be safely ignored right away, it's like saying that anything is childish if it doesn't has real humans doing dramatic or gritty real life stuff.

I really appreciate this medium for all the facets it has, someone can talk about ye olde' retros, emulation, rom hacking, mods and translations meanwhile someone else can talk about new releases, online communities and multiplayer, and both will still be talking about the same art medium yet the talk will be like two entirely different languages.

 

[Lod 10]

Does anyone believe my last humble opinion? I've loved video games since I was a kid, so I really care about video games and not even my best friends, they don't offend me, they don't treat me badly and they don't make me angry.I love video games, that said, I don't want video games to change the essence.

 

[Stingy Perry Stingy Perry]

I was an awkward kid raised in a broken home, with disinterested/neglectful parents, and went to school(s) in the ghetto– which were full of the violently ignorant, if not downright retarded...

So the overwhelming bulk of my literacy, and to lesser extent, my moral values (ie. Truth is what works, lies are what doesn't), was built on reading instruction manuals, gaming magazines, and of course, video games themselves..

Thus the skills & thought-process that I had picked up over the years were applied to the Martial Arts when I enrolled myself in them in my late-teens, and eventually to my work ethic when I entered the workforce as an "adult"..

The internet was still in it's infancy when I was young, and I didn't have access to tons of books (my mom read novels, but come on), and the adults around me couldn't give less of a shit if they tried. Therefore, I credit the vast supermajority of useful knowledge that I had acquired throughout my entire childhood came, either directly or indirectly, from video games..

Damn... I didn't mean for this to be such a trauma dump.. But it is what is...

Life is hard and some people are luckier than others. The past might’ve shape us but what we do in the present are what defines us today.

I would say as an oldie 'everyday a game keeps dementia and motoricproblems away', most probably.

Some research indicates that people playing video games have more mental activity than those who don’t, thus it helps maintain one’s brain function

Does anyone believe my last humble opinion? I've loved video games since I was a kid, so I really care about video games and not even my best friends, they don't offend me, they don't treat me badly and they don't make me angry.I love video games, that said, I don't want video games to change the essence.

Everyone has their sacred space and gaming is one of them, it doesn’t whether your playing multiplayer or single player it’s what you do during that time is what matters

 

[Lod 10]

A vida é difícil e algumas pessoas têm mais sorte do que outras. O passado pode ter nos moldado, mas o que fazemos no presente é o que nos define hoje.

Algumas pesquisas indicam que pessoas que jogam videogames têm mais atividade mental do que aquelas que não jogam, o que ajuda a manter a função cerebral.

Todo mundo tem seu espaço sagrado e os jogos são um deles, não importa se você está jogando multiplayer ou single player, o que importa é o que você faz durante esse tempo.

I'm thankful for being a nerd, for being a person who doesn't date, for loving RPGs, and for everyone who loves video games.