Am I the only one who thinks playing video games after age 14 is pathetic?

zohan wrote:

"Competition can be fun, and look at it this way: you have a much, much bigger chance of becoming truly great at a video game than you'll ever have of becoming truly great in distance running."

WTF?? Dude running is REAL it takes place on REAL roads, tracks, trails, vs REAL people.

Video games are not. "Being good at a video game" is like saying someone is "good at watching TV".

Being good at a video game is much similar to saying good at chess. Video games may not be physically real, but there is plenty of skill involved, albeit no physical skill.

To the OP, if video games are such a waste of time, what about things like people playing chess? Not much of a difference.

I have seen so many people binge watching TV shows that are so stupid that should be BANNED. That is not a waste of time???

doo doo wrote:

Like, go do ANYTHING ELSE.

Even if you're on a forum like this, you're interacting with people and hearing different viewpoints, growing as a person. So long as you can identify the true trolls.

The idea of the professional runner who plays video games just makes me think "wow this person literally just wastes time."

There is so much to learn in this world. I don't care if I'm being judgmental.

OP is probably 80 years old and doesn't realize one can interact with people in a video game. Back to the home!

netflix wrote:

I have seen so many people binge watching TV shows that are so stupid that should be BANNED. That is not a waste of time???

A straw man is a common type of argument and is an informal fallacy based on the misrepresentation of an opponent's argument.[1] To be successful, a straw man argument requires that the audience be ignorant or uninformed of the original argument.

The so-called typical "attacking a straw man" argument creates the illusion of having completely refuted or defeated an opponent's proposition by covertly replacing it with a different proposition (i.e., "stand up a straw man") and then to refute or defeat that false argument ("knock down a straw man") instead of the original proposition.

BUT he didn't pick a "random activity", he picked an 'activity' (lol) that is usurping millions of young people's time for countless hours each & every day often to the detriment of their________, you fill in the blank. Marriage, homework, friends, job, classes, running?!?

Source?

I think there are definitely some things people hold on to from their childhood that shows an unhealthy resistance to becoming a grown up. Video games are certainly on the list. I used to play a ton when I was a kid. But, I moved on to running, tennis, golf, hiking, canoe/kayaking, and now just playing with my kids is all my free time. My nephew's father (baby daddy-never married my sister in-law) is in his 40s, plays video games all the time, smokes weed and made a big career move going from being the manager of a doggie day care to driving for Uber. The issue of time spent gaming versus taking a community college class to learn a real trade has come up, but my sister in-law is a 20+ year waitress and does not have much standing to complain about career choices.

But it is not just video games. My sister has two kids in college. Her favorite thing to do is watch Disney movies. She vacations at Disney World without her kids. She also never found a career, despite two degrees from Ivy League schools. Maybe people need to hang on to something from their childhood in order to comfort them when they have trouble establishing themselves in the adult world.

vavava wrote:

Source?

While I don't actually hate video games as much as I am leading on, I will cite an anecdote.

I hate 3 college teammates become academically ineligible because of World of Warcraft. Two dropped out entirely.

I admit that it is their addictive personality/lack of foresight that is to blame more than the actual video games, and they could probably just as easily have messed up their lives in a different way.

doo doo wrote:

vavava wrote:

Source?

While I don't actually hate video games as much as I am leading on, I will cite an anecdote.

I hate 3 college teammates become academically ineligible because of World of Warcraft. Two dropped out entirely.

I admit that it is their addictive personality/lack of foresight that is to blame more than the actual video games, and they could probably just as easily have messed up their lives in a different way.

I don't deny that these stories do happen, it was your use of "often" that I was questioning.

I can cite two of my closest friends as anecdotes as well. They build their own gaming computers and will regularly play each other. They're both PhD chemical engineers, working in industry, who are happily married.

Like you said, I think that certain people are prone to failure/addition, and video games are one possible method. Somewhat similar to alcohol, where for some people it's a nice outlet to relax, and to others it can be a life ruiner.

doo doo wrote:

vavava wrote:

Source?

While I don't actually hate video games as much as I am leading on, I will cite an anecdote.

I hate 3 college teammates become academically ineligible because of World of Warcraft. Two dropped out entirely.

I admit that it is their addictive personality/lack of foresight that is to blame more than the actual video games, and they could probably just as easily have messed up their lives in a different way.

That makes me laugh, we had a 1:48 high school 800m guy drop of college his soph year because of world of warcraft.

Anyways, I think the opinion of older posters is that video games are for children. Back in their day that may have been the case. However, video games are extremely advanced and detailed now and are almost geared more for adults than they are for kids. I don't really have the time to put into them, but if I did I might think about buying one of these new systems to play once in a while. It is a changing of the times, just with anything you'll have people who resist and stick to their old ways for a while.

What makes you think marriage is the end all be all? I tend to make fun of people under 35 who get married, it is just my personal belief that it is silly. Much the same way you feel about video games. Friends? You can play with your friends. Homework, job, classes? Why can't you do both? Running? No different spending your free time running than spending it playing a game.

doo doo wrote:

I hate 3 college teammates become academically ineligible because of World of Warcraft. Two dropped out entirely.

This doesn't make any sense.

doo doo wrote:

This is becoming a very interesting social experiment.

The two big defenders of "doing what you want" and/or video gaming are known conservative posters. Those being Shawn H and Dial it up.

I don't know where Zohan falls in the political spectrum.

zohan is a man w/o a party. I'm a conservative dem, or a liberal rep. I'd like to say libertarian, but then that brings upon a whole host of other issues.

-Im fine with people owning guns

Im fine with women getting abortions

-totally cool with gay marriage

- perfectly happy to have legal weed

- I don't "believe" global warming is anything caused by humans

- I don't get into the "soak the rich" socialism of the left

-I think we need social programs

-I do not think the programs should be a lifestyle, hand up not hand out blah blah..

and yeah.. wasting your time playing video games for hours and hours upon end is a tremendous waste of time.

UFO Expert wrote:

doo doo wrote:

I hate 3 college teammates become academically ineligible because of World of Warcraft. Two dropped out entirely.

This doesn't make any sense.

It was a typo. "Had," not hate.

Dial it up got it.

vavava wrote:

I don't deny that these stories do happen, it was your use of "often" that I was questioning.

That wasn't even me.

Did not read thread but who ever said video games train children to be drone operating military killing machines was correct."

Drone Drone Drone

In the future wars will have fewer 'feet on the ground" battles.

Armchair console gamers do not connect with the idea their is real blood and real death behind the pings on the screen . All the new VIDEO SOLDIERS will be ruthless killers far more evil than the few flesh and blood sadists of real life of real life combat.

The right video games can be like playing chess, reading a book and watching a movie at the same time and can have physical and psychological benefits, particularly for us old people.

zohan wrote:

zohan is a man w/o a party. I'm a conservative dem, or a liberal rep. I'd like to say libertarian, but then that brings upon a whole host of other issues.

-Im fine with people owning guns

Im fine with women getting abortions

-totally cool with gay marriage

- perfectly happy to have legal weed

- I don't "believe" global warming is anything caused by humans

- I don't get into the "soak the rich" socialism of the left

-I think we need social programs

-I do not think the programs should be a lifestyle, hand up not hand out blah blah..

and yeah.. wasting your time playing video games for hours and hours upon end is a tremendous waste of time.

Wow, I agree with all of this. So now I have to decide if I'm a conservative dem or a liberal rep....

dial it up wrote:

kmaclam wrote:

BUT he didn't pick a "random activity", he picked an 'activity' (lol) that is usurping millions of young people's time for countless hours each & every day often to the detriment of their________, you fill in the blank. Marriage, homework, friends, job, classes, running?!?

What makes you think marriage is the end all be all? I tend to make fun of people under 35 who get married, it is just my personal belief that it is silly. Much the same way you feel about video games. Friends? You can play with your friends. Homework, job, classes? Why can't you do both? Running? No different spending your free time running than spending it playing a game.

I never even inferred that! Where did you conjure that up from? I think marriage is the end all be all??? NOT The meta narrative here (did you read any of the posts?) is that gaming can & has messed with people's lives, livelihood, relationships, careers even.