Poll: Is gaming a waste of time?

Sure it is. So are nearly all hobbies. But what's wrong with that? You don't have to be doing something productive every minute of your life. Sometimes you should just have fun.

Fun isn't a waste of time. People need to start having more fun. That said, for the most part the skills I have developed through gaming have not been the most useful around :P

Glad to see troll threads exist even on head-fi.

Depends. I'm a fairly avid gamer but until recently I'd been spending most of my time listening to music when I would have been gaming. Over the Christmas period I've found myself gaming again, but listening to less music as a result.

I guess they're both a waste of time in a way, but by that definition so is visiting art galleries, going to the cinema, reading books etc.

I think it depends on what kind of game you play. I've seen my friends play MMORPG games for like 16~17hrs/day during summer vacation. They didn't eat, they didn't sleep. That definitely is a waste of time, but I now play ~30 minutes of Starcraft (yeah I am a Korean kid) with my friends every day just to refresh myself, and I feel good that way.

Kirosia plays Persona 3 and pretends all the characters are his real-life friends

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoetheArachnid 

Depends. I'm a fairly avid gamer but until recently I'd been spending most of my time listening to music when I would have been gaming. Over the Christmas period I've found myself gaming again, but listening to less music as a result.

 

I guess they're both a waste of time in a way, but by that definition so is visiting art galleries, going to the cinema, reading books etc.

I'm currently unemployed so I have to have something to do. I game perhaps ~3-5 hours daily, but always listen to music while doing so. DotA and HoN ftw...

I haven't played videogames in nearly a month and I really need to start getting back into them.  I think as long as you're having fun and it's not disrupting your life, then it's fine.  It's such a great way to relax.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia 

Kirosia plays Persona 3 and pretends all the characters are his real-life friends

Show us how you summon your Persona, Kirosia

Gaming can be loads of fun and everyone needs some form of R-n-R. It's a waste if the fantasy of playing a game consumes your life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by revolink24 

Sure it is. So are nearly all hobbies. But what's wrong with that? You don't have to be doing something productive every minute of your life. Sometimes you should just have fun.

I agree here.  And we only became obsessed with how we spend our time around 1840-50s in America.  This was when the factory clock was introduced in factories and places of business.  Once you literally see time going by, you find it so much more precious and valuable.  Why?  Because time is money, and we got this notion from the factory clocks of the industrial revolution.  

Before the time-piece and clocks on every wall, mankind did his work when he wanted to, and "played" or relaxed when he wanted to.  

Everything is a waste of time.

But what's not a waste of time once you've gotten the basic requirements for life covered?

And, so what?