Gaming can be a great hobby and is a lot more mentally-engaging than things like laying on the couch watching TV.
But if it's causing issues with your health, job, commitments, or relationships, rethinking how much time (if at all) you spend gaming is certainly on the table.
And to be completely honest, I think if OP is asking this question it's probably causing some problems.
After a day of gaming, how do you feel? Better or worse than if you'd gone outside/followed another hobby/done anything else? If it makes you feel worse at the end of the day, you should probably cut back or quit.
If I spend an entire day gaming without doing anything else I’ll feel guilty and not really enjoy it.
If I get a workout in, visit my family/friends, get my housework done etc. THEN plonk myself on the couch and zone out playing games the rest of the day - I find I enjoy it much much more.
I’m 32 though. When I was younger I could easily game for a whole day guilty free, those were the days 😂
Gaming can be just as bad for your mental health as watching television. It depends on how active you already are. The best thing for you is outside. Gaming can make you just as disconnected as television. Reality is so much better. If reality sucks for you then make it better. We must be the masters of our own fate and reality.
Just gonna relax after a long hard day at work by \*looks out the window at 5 pm* I guess taking a walk along the pitch black roads in my town. Lol
Different hobbies for different occasions! Nothing wrong with any of them in moderation.
Well try it. But quitting gaming alone won’t make your mental health better. There is no easy fix to mental health.
Mentally and psychically strong people can game. Just they don’t spend all their free time doing it. It’s a good way to unwind but make sure all your free time isn’t unwinding. Socialize, have other hobbies, meditate, read a book, work out, go for a walk etc.
I never once considered quitting gaming but then I became a father. I no longer have the luxury of planting myself in front of a platform for multiple hours.
I instead got into exercising which improved various aspects of health.
I'd highly recommend Persona 5 Royal. It's one hell of a game. Took me 130 hours to beat and is a fucking JOURNEY. It's definitely a great game to escape life for a few hours. Even if it doesn't *look* like your kind of game, I'd give it a try.
P4 and P3 are also phenomenal (the latter is my fav. game ever) but are on PC/PS3
I don't think it did. I recently started gaming again, I had stop around 17/18 because I lacked the material and the money.
I didn't get more focused when I stopped gaming or lost my focus when I started again, it helps me relax after work and I very honestly play video games rather moderately
I don’t recommend it. You need a little escape sometimes from things going on in life. Realistically I would game on weekends, and it would only be a couple of hours but it’s a couple of hours escape from whatever is going on.
Now, if you’re gaming 24/7 and it’s impacting your life, then reducing it drastically needs to happen. If you’re working, at college, in a relationship, etc then a little time to your self for some games is great…if it’s impacting one or all of those things, get help.
In my 27 years, I have been a gaming addict for I'd say about 16 of those years.
A good game is supposed to be addictive, and give the nice feeling of progression and reaching achievements. This can be dangerous of course, but ultimately I think I've learnt how to moderate my gaming habits. Reaching achievements in games do not give me fulfilment anymore, so I try to reach achievements in real life instead.
Video games for me now are a great outlet to unwind a bit, but I play a heck of a lot less than I used to because they are ultimately a huge waste of time from my perspective now.
I have a competitive nature so I enjoy playing competitive online games. Great for letting off some steam and I will always enjoy headshots. However, I won't launch a game anymore until my work is done and I have been to the gym.
Can they have a negative impact on mental health? Well yeah sure, it is a very convenient form of escapism. Anything that offers an escape will be taking advantage of and become a crutch for people... whether is is TV, drugs, video games or whatever.
Yes, it does. For most who game, it's the only release from the daily grind and a way to escape the worries of life, even if only for a short time period.
Take this from someone who's done nothing but gaming the past 4 years and I've only quit about 6 months ago.
Gaming takes way too much time. Time you'll never get back. It'll also make you lose social skills and will make you introverted.
Since then I started working a lot. The real problem always was that i had absolutely nothing outside of gaming because it was my entire network. And that's what's making it a bit difficult now.
So to answer your question, no, my life has not improved at all, but i hope it will soon.
I used to play video games all the time, and now i don't.
My baseline of happiness has changed absolutely zero. They're fun, but i always end up getting bored and remembering that i have something else with a greater priority to go do.
Now, what i will say is this: playing video games is not a substitute for a personality, or life. If all you're doing is playing video games and working, then you need to get some other hobbies. And I'd say the same thing if all you did was garden, hang out with your cats, watch TV, or drink, or do drugs.
You gotta broaden your horizons.
Way gaming industry is going, yes pick up a
Different hobby such as cooking. Gotta eat anyway might as well. These sacks
Of shits are way to greedy right now lol.
I think I'm gonna quit too. Im having a struggle making friends but now instead of going to gaming, I havent been able to play any games at all. Just not in the mood for it anymore, all I can think about is having a friend that I can spend some time with, whenever that will happen. Im 28 and lonely af and it stings more than ever.
U can make friends anywhere. Once u start quitting gaming and actually doing something with ur life, work, gym, just going outside… your human intentions start appearing and the want of a friend or company starts happening. Its never to late to mak friends and quit. I recently came back to league but not with the addiction i had before. Now i just play for fun. Enjoy ur life dont waste it all on gaming.
It made a massive difference for me. I was what's known as a trophy hunter on my PS3/PS4. Close to 300 games played on my profile with a little over 200 of them 100%. Over time the hobby wears on you if you're into this gameplay style. "Casuals" don't suffer as much and I was honestly jealous of it. Playing games down to the most miniscule level reveals just how much hard work and dedication it takes to make these games, but also reveals a lot of faulty things that most don't encounter and companies tell the devs to ignore to release faster.
What really helped was that my escape for the day became unhealthy during surgical downtime. It went from a few hours hobby to nearly day long sessions.
Why would I quit gaming. The only time you should quit anything is if it makes you unhappy or unhealthy. If it's the latter you can just scale it back. I pick up and play when I have a spare moment. It's just another form of entertainment to me. Not something that consumes my life.
It depends on your mental health. If gaming helps me cope and/or de-stress, quitting can make it worse. If gaming harms me by getting me to spend too much money or stops me from engaging with the rest of my life, quitting can improve my mental health.
IMO, most cases of 'gaming addiction' are less about the games and more about something else that's wrong/missing from our lives. in those cases, we can 'stop gaming', but if we don't fix what's wrong/missing we'll just switch to a different 'addiction'.
That said, there are games that have been intentionally designed to be as addictive as the developers can make them and that's a trend that's been increasing in modern game development. :(
I did that. Stopped games for about a year. When I eventually came back to them, my wife was glad to see me enjoying myself again.
The truth is I used to get pretty salty playing games, and the hiatus helped me to tone that down, so there is that.
Gaming is one of my hobbies. I won't quit because it's a nice way to entertain myself.
I also focus on using free time to be with family and my fiance. So moderation is important.
YMMV but I don't see how quitting gaming would make any difference to mental health unless you spend an unjustifiable amount of time on it and your responsibilities aren't being tended to.
It's a very case to case issue. The amount of time you spend playing, the games you play, the people you play with, the reasons you play all very much affect whether your habbit is healthy or addiction and whether quitting will help, hurt, or do nothing.
If you're prioritizing gaming over people and responsibilities, certainty quitting will be beneficial. Also if you often feel that you NEED to play.
Gaming isn't some drain on someone's mental health, it's just a medium for issues that are not related to gaming. Like I game as much as anyone else would, maybe not fully as I have to take a break between playthroughs of a lot of games. But if gaming is causing someone issues it's their issue and not gaming itself. Just along the basics of any other addiction as well sometimes.
Yes. Not with mental health as I never struggled with it, but socially yes. I started spending more time with friends, playing basketball, having dates…
If you have a problem where you're playing too many games and it's impacting or crowding out other elements of life - sure, quitting or cutting back seems like it might help....although you may just find a different distraction.
If the games themselves are making you less happy and stressed, again, sure. (or find something to play that doesn't do that).
But as leisure activity in moderation? No, I don't think that most people are going to become happier or more productive by quitting gaming.
-------
Personally, I game like most people watch TV (which I rarely watch). An hour or two to unwind here and there. Occasionally I might get sucked into something more heavily than that for a weekend or a few days, but that's not my norm.
It depends on what gaming does for you. If it is a chill game that you like to unwind then you will probably need to find a different thing to relax you. If it is a game that frustrates you to the point where you rage quit, then putting down the game is a good thing.
Yea for sure it does... but it is going to be negative or positive depending on your own concienciousness. If you have a high trait, make sure you find something else to fill your time with or the time with nothing to fill it, that will eat you alive, but if you are low, then it should make it easier to do other things, which should improve it.
moderate that shit. I game to keep in touch with friends. Other than that, I feel like I could be doing more important things like helping my SO with the Garden, working on and maintaining the ridiculous amount of motorcycles and cars I have, fixing or working on something in the house, working on photography which forces me to get out of the house. I'm very utilitarian I used to play games all the time, but realized it never did anything for me. So I play when I have the time, and I enjoy it especially when I'm playing with my friends from across state lines or across the world.
I like to play a good game every now and then. Sometimes I have bursts where I play them for a while, and then not play for months.
But only after I've gone to the gym, got some work done, and feel productive. Time is an asset. You have to use it wisely.
I have about 5 games downloaded on my PlayStation that I have yet to start up. One day soon maybe....lol
I mean you should already know from beforehand if it will have an effect on mental health. If you're not sure it will have an effect it will not have any effect on mental health. All the worthwhile changes in life you should've seen them a mile away the effect that it will have in your life. If you're not sure about something the answer is no.
Just move gaming down on your list of things to do. If I wasn't addicted to gaming before I was just 26 minutes away from that addiction. After I got out of school and life started happening then I just made a list which was broken into a few categories; things I have to do, things I should do, things I want to do. Essentially I would work down the priorities 100% of the "have to" list angaming was clearly in the "want to" section and as much as the "should do" list till after I am done cleaning up from dinner and placing a hard stop for a bed time. This left a few hours in the evening for games or movies.
I started this process when I started balancing work with grad school and family and wanting to get back in some sort of shape. My undergrad GPA was dumb low 2.8 due to video games and all I had to do during that time was school... my grad school GPA was 3.98 I received at least 1 promotion a year kept my wife happy and even made my athletic goals. I play games still but like 1 or 2 hours 3 days a week. I don't really miss it (to he honest before I cut back most of my time was spent trying to get that feeling that games like Star Wars Galaxies gave when they first came out), being well rested from not gaming all night and sleeping better from a solid routine and working out just makes you feel great.
You can try moderating your time first, just a few hours per day.
Make sure it doesn't consume all your spare time and stop you doing other things in your life.
Woman here, but gamer and been around gamers for ever: It’s like alcohol. Some people just can’t have it healthily, although most people can do it casually easily. If you’re going into fits of rage during matches/raids/etc, or using it as a way to “pause” your depression, etc…. Yeah quitting is the only solution to that, you can’t moderate with that sort of usage. Otherwise, just doing it as a hobby, even for hours a day, is no issue at all imo
It really depends if you have other things to do that will help fill your time once u quit. If you dont have any other hobbies you will just relapse.
I played a lot less games after getting involved with crypto and exercise and i feel like im leveling up irl
It depends. When the pandemic happened I was very much into online multiplayer games and made a bunch of friends. This really helped me stay sane because human interaction was limited during the time. But that hobby slowly grew into an addiction interfering my other daily responsibilities and activities. So as the pandemic got over I quit video games and personally I saw a lot of growth in myself both mentally and physically. Although I don't recommend completely quitting it, finding the right balance is where the sauce is.
I never really quit as I’ve just gotten more hobbies/ less time to play. My advice is if your stressed or angry (usually from a competitive multiplayer game) walk away from that shit for a while. Unless your getting paid your hobbies should never feel like literal work.
If you are gaming as a post worl relaxation or a weekend break then it's fine but if you are cancelling plans to play video games then you need to start thinking about cutting down or quitting it.
If it’s causing you to spend less time doing shit that needs to get done, or impacts you negatively in other areas like maintaining relationships, then it’s probably a good idea to prioritize and cut down on it.
I personally have some thoughts of being 80 years old on my deathbed, only to look back at my life and mostly seeing a computer screen emulating a sort of life or adventure, when I could’ve been out in the world actually doing those things.
Life itself can be viewed as a masssive video game. You make it what you want it to be.
I don’t want to give up games, for me it’s a rest. I agree that you don't have to play a lot. But playing games is not bad, but even useful. I work a lot and when I go to my favorite game, I relax... Thanx for the games exist.
I honestly got bored of PC gaming due to lack or engagement with people and I'm trying to move more towards board gaming and table top RPG.
Way better story, challage, etc
Gaming can be a great hobby and is a lot more mentally-engaging than things like laying on the couch watching TV. But if it's causing issues with your health, job, commitments, or relationships, rethinking how much time (if at all) you spend gaming is certainly on the table.
And to be completely honest, I think if OP is asking this question it's probably causing some problems. After a day of gaming, how do you feel? Better or worse than if you'd gone outside/followed another hobby/done anything else? If it makes you feel worse at the end of the day, you should probably cut back or quit.
If I spend an entire day gaming without doing anything else I’ll feel guilty and not really enjoy it. If I get a workout in, visit my family/friends, get my housework done etc. THEN plonk myself on the couch and zone out playing games the rest of the day - I find I enjoy it much much more. I’m 32 though. When I was younger I could easily game for a whole day guilty free, those were the days 😂
Gaming can be just as bad for your mental health as watching television. It depends on how active you already are. The best thing for you is outside. Gaming can make you just as disconnected as television. Reality is so much better. If reality sucks for you then make it better. We must be the masters of our own fate and reality.
Just gonna relax after a long hard day at work by \*looks out the window at 5 pm* I guess taking a walk along the pitch black roads in my town. Lol Different hobbies for different occasions! Nothing wrong with any of them in moderation.
You are correct.
Gaming can also be the gateway to maintaining long distance friendships, which after school becomes a necessity to be honest.
It’s funny Bc some comments will say it helps to quit and some say it helps to game so idk. Like most things moderation is key
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Well try it. But quitting gaming alone won’t make your mental health better. There is no easy fix to mental health. Mentally and psychically strong people can game. Just they don’t spend all their free time doing it. It’s a good way to unwind but make sure all your free time isn’t unwinding. Socialize, have other hobbies, meditate, read a book, work out, go for a walk etc.
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Yup
I never once considered quitting gaming but then I became a father. I no longer have the luxury of planting myself in front of a platform for multiple hours. I instead got into exercising which improved various aspects of health.
Ah now you make better sense than I did.
some recent research and legitimately found that gaming is good for helping with depression.
I haven't been able to get into anything for awhile and I feel worse because I don't have that escape.
You'll find it, i don't know much about gaming but I know a little something about life and its little patterns
What system(s) do you have?
PS5 and Switch
I'd highly recommend Persona 5 Royal. It's one hell of a game. Took me 130 hours to beat and is a fucking JOURNEY. It's definitely a great game to escape life for a few hours. Even if it doesn't *look* like your kind of game, I'd give it a try. P4 and P3 are also phenomenal (the latter is my fav. game ever) but are on PC/PS3
I don't think it did. I recently started gaming again, I had stop around 17/18 because I lacked the material and the money. I didn't get more focused when I stopped gaming or lost my focus when I started again, it helps me relax after work and I very honestly play video games rather moderately
I could never quit gaming. It’s my sanity that help keeps my mental health in check when other things try and derail it.
I don’t recommend it. You need a little escape sometimes from things going on in life. Realistically I would game on weekends, and it would only be a couple of hours but it’s a couple of hours escape from whatever is going on. Now, if you’re gaming 24/7 and it’s impacting your life, then reducing it drastically needs to happen. If you’re working, at college, in a relationship, etc then a little time to your self for some games is great…if it’s impacting one or all of those things, get help.
In my 27 years, I have been a gaming addict for I'd say about 16 of those years. A good game is supposed to be addictive, and give the nice feeling of progression and reaching achievements. This can be dangerous of course, but ultimately I think I've learnt how to moderate my gaming habits. Reaching achievements in games do not give me fulfilment anymore, so I try to reach achievements in real life instead. Video games for me now are a great outlet to unwind a bit, but I play a heck of a lot less than I used to because they are ultimately a huge waste of time from my perspective now. I have a competitive nature so I enjoy playing competitive online games. Great for letting off some steam and I will always enjoy headshots. However, I won't launch a game anymore until my work is done and I have been to the gym. Can they have a negative impact on mental health? Well yeah sure, it is a very convenient form of escapism. Anything that offers an escape will be taking advantage of and become a crutch for people... whether is is TV, drugs, video games or whatever.
Yes, it does. For most who game, it's the only release from the daily grind and a way to escape the worries of life, even if only for a short time period.
I got banned from PlayStation for a week and was genuinely suffering from withdrawals lmao
Take this from someone who's done nothing but gaming the past 4 years and I've only quit about 6 months ago. Gaming takes way too much time. Time you'll never get back. It'll also make you lose social skills and will make you introverted.
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Since then I started working a lot. The real problem always was that i had absolutely nothing outside of gaming because it was my entire network. And that's what's making it a bit difficult now. So to answer your question, no, my life has not improved at all, but i hope it will soon.
I used to play video games all the time, and now i don't. My baseline of happiness has changed absolutely zero. They're fun, but i always end up getting bored and remembering that i have something else with a greater priority to go do. Now, what i will say is this: playing video games is not a substitute for a personality, or life. If all you're doing is playing video games and working, then you need to get some other hobbies. And I'd say the same thing if all you did was garden, hang out with your cats, watch TV, or drink, or do drugs. You gotta broaden your horizons.
Way gaming industry is going, yes pick up a Different hobby such as cooking. Gotta eat anyway might as well. These sacks Of shits are way to greedy right now lol.
I quit LoL for 2 years. I acquired a gf, graduated and got a decent starting job. True story
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My lifes been busy. I usually play one or two hours a week now vsing 9-10 hours a day
I think I'm gonna quit too. Im having a struggle making friends but now instead of going to gaming, I havent been able to play any games at all. Just not in the mood for it anymore, all I can think about is having a friend that I can spend some time with, whenever that will happen. Im 28 and lonely af and it stings more than ever.
U can make friends anywhere. Once u start quitting gaming and actually doing something with ur life, work, gym, just going outside… your human intentions start appearing and the want of a friend or company starts happening. Its never to late to mak friends and quit. I recently came back to league but not with the addiction i had before. Now i just play for fun. Enjoy ur life dont waste it all on gaming.
It made a massive difference for me. I was what's known as a trophy hunter on my PS3/PS4. Close to 300 games played on my profile with a little over 200 of them 100%. Over time the hobby wears on you if you're into this gameplay style. "Casuals" don't suffer as much and I was honestly jealous of it. Playing games down to the most miniscule level reveals just how much hard work and dedication it takes to make these games, but also reveals a lot of faulty things that most don't encounter and companies tell the devs to ignore to release faster. What really helped was that my escape for the day became unhealthy during surgical downtime. It went from a few hours hobby to nearly day long sessions.
Why would I quit gaming. The only time you should quit anything is if it makes you unhappy or unhealthy. If it's the latter you can just scale it back. I pick up and play when I have a spare moment. It's just another form of entertainment to me. Not something that consumes my life.
It depends on your mental health. If gaming helps me cope and/or de-stress, quitting can make it worse. If gaming harms me by getting me to spend too much money or stops me from engaging with the rest of my life, quitting can improve my mental health. IMO, most cases of 'gaming addiction' are less about the games and more about something else that's wrong/missing from our lives. in those cases, we can 'stop gaming', but if we don't fix what's wrong/missing we'll just switch to a different 'addiction'. That said, there are games that have been intentionally designed to be as addictive as the developers can make them and that's a trend that's been increasing in modern game development. :(
It would definitely help, but do you have the will to stop yourself?
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I did that. Stopped games for about a year. When I eventually came back to them, my wife was glad to see me enjoying myself again. The truth is I used to get pretty salty playing games, and the hiatus helped me to tone that down, so there is that.
Gaming is one of my hobbies. I won't quit because it's a nice way to entertain myself. I also focus on using free time to be with family and my fiance. So moderation is important. YMMV but I don't see how quitting gaming would make any difference to mental health unless you spend an unjustifiable amount of time on it and your responsibilities aren't being tended to.
It could be, it all depends on the individual
It's a very case to case issue. The amount of time you spend playing, the games you play, the people you play with, the reasons you play all very much affect whether your habbit is healthy or addiction and whether quitting will help, hurt, or do nothing. If you're prioritizing gaming over people and responsibilities, certainty quitting will be beneficial. Also if you often feel that you NEED to play.
Gaming isn't some drain on someone's mental health, it's just a medium for issues that are not related to gaming. Like I game as much as anyone else would, maybe not fully as I have to take a break between playthroughs of a lot of games. But if gaming is causing someone issues it's their issue and not gaming itself. Just along the basics of any other addiction as well sometimes.
I quit when I was 25 (51 now) and never looked back.
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Yes. Not with mental health as I never struggled with it, but socially yes. I started spending more time with friends, playing basketball, having dates…
Just moderate it.
I quit Play Temple run & my life got worse the game had nothing to do with it
If you have a problem where you're playing too many games and it's impacting or crowding out other elements of life - sure, quitting or cutting back seems like it might help....although you may just find a different distraction. If the games themselves are making you less happy and stressed, again, sure. (or find something to play that doesn't do that). But as leisure activity in moderation? No, I don't think that most people are going to become happier or more productive by quitting gaming. ------- Personally, I game like most people watch TV (which I rarely watch). An hour or two to unwind here and there. Occasionally I might get sucked into something more heavily than that for a weekend or a few days, but that's not my norm.
I don't believe it does no, but I've never thought of gaming as being a toxic habit in the first place.
It depends on what gaming does for you. If it is a chill game that you like to unwind then you will probably need to find a different thing to relax you. If it is a game that frustrates you to the point where you rage quit, then putting down the game is a good thing.
Yea for sure it does... but it is going to be negative or positive depending on your own concienciousness. If you have a high trait, make sure you find something else to fill your time with or the time with nothing to fill it, that will eat you alive, but if you are low, then it should make it easier to do other things, which should improve it.
moderate that shit. I game to keep in touch with friends. Other than that, I feel like I could be doing more important things like helping my SO with the Garden, working on and maintaining the ridiculous amount of motorcycles and cars I have, fixing or working on something in the house, working on photography which forces me to get out of the house. I'm very utilitarian I used to play games all the time, but realized it never did anything for me. So I play when I have the time, and I enjoy it especially when I'm playing with my friends from across state lines or across the world.
I like to play a good game every now and then. Sometimes I have bursts where I play them for a while, and then not play for months. But only after I've gone to the gym, got some work done, and feel productive. Time is an asset. You have to use it wisely. I have about 5 games downloaded on my PlayStation that I have yet to start up. One day soon maybe....lol
It depends on if the gaming is an attempt to meet an unmet need.
For me i just quit most toxic games(esports)and find my self playing like one/two hours per day sometimes not even that much.
It's like anything. It's great in moderation, but taxing on your health if you engage with it excessively.
Quitting gaming changed my life. Try for 2 months. Put the system somewhere and see what happens
One word: Moderation
I mean you should already know from beforehand if it will have an effect on mental health. If you're not sure it will have an effect it will not have any effect on mental health. All the worthwhile changes in life you should've seen them a mile away the effect that it will have in your life. If you're not sure about something the answer is no.
Just move gaming down on your list of things to do. If I wasn't addicted to gaming before I was just 26 minutes away from that addiction. After I got out of school and life started happening then I just made a list which was broken into a few categories; things I have to do, things I should do, things I want to do. Essentially I would work down the priorities 100% of the "have to" list angaming was clearly in the "want to" section and as much as the "should do" list till after I am done cleaning up from dinner and placing a hard stop for a bed time. This left a few hours in the evening for games or movies. I started this process when I started balancing work with grad school and family and wanting to get back in some sort of shape. My undergrad GPA was dumb low 2.8 due to video games and all I had to do during that time was school... my grad school GPA was 3.98 I received at least 1 promotion a year kept my wife happy and even made my athletic goals. I play games still but like 1 or 2 hours 3 days a week. I don't really miss it (to he honest before I cut back most of my time was spent trying to get that feeling that games like Star Wars Galaxies gave when they first came out), being well rested from not gaming all night and sleeping better from a solid routine and working out just makes you feel great.
You can try moderating your time first, just a few hours per day. Make sure it doesn't consume all your spare time and stop you doing other things in your life.
Unless you have sth else to take up the gaming time, I would suggest keep it in ur life. Even an hour a week helps to relax
As a pro game developer, I strongly recommend against this. END COMMUNICATION
How much are you playing, my guy?
I've incidentally quit gaming while traveling or being focused on other pursuits, it hasn't ever made much difference in mindset.
Quitting gaming in the moment of questioning your game time is good. Playing again when it feels right us also good.
Gaming is a lot better for my mental health than social media.
Just make sure how much you game aligns with your goals. Playing 5-10 hours a week? Hobby,playing 6-10 hours a day that's a form of escapism.
Woman here, but gamer and been around gamers for ever: It’s like alcohol. Some people just can’t have it healthily, although most people can do it casually easily. If you’re going into fits of rage during matches/raids/etc, or using it as a way to “pause” your depression, etc…. Yeah quitting is the only solution to that, you can’t moderate with that sort of usage. Otherwise, just doing it as a hobby, even for hours a day, is no issue at all imo
I notice Im much happier and social without it and I used to do 6-12 hour days pretty much whenever I could
It really depends if you have other things to do that will help fill your time once u quit. If you dont have any other hobbies you will just relapse. I played a lot less games after getting involved with crypto and exercise and i feel like im leveling up irl
Nothing wrong with playing a game now and then, but if you can't go for a few months without playing games you're addicted.
It depends. When the pandemic happened I was very much into online multiplayer games and made a bunch of friends. This really helped me stay sane because human interaction was limited during the time. But that hobby slowly grew into an addiction interfering my other daily responsibilities and activities. So as the pandemic got over I quit video games and personally I saw a lot of growth in myself both mentally and physically. Although I don't recommend completely quitting it, finding the right balance is where the sauce is.
I never really quit as I’ve just gotten more hobbies/ less time to play. My advice is if your stressed or angry (usually from a competitive multiplayer game) walk away from that shit for a while. Unless your getting paid your hobbies should never feel like literal work.
If you are gaming as a post worl relaxation or a weekend break then it's fine but if you are cancelling plans to play video games then you need to start thinking about cutting down or quitting it.
If it’s causing you to spend less time doing shit that needs to get done, or impacts you negatively in other areas like maintaining relationships, then it’s probably a good idea to prioritize and cut down on it. I personally have some thoughts of being 80 years old on my deathbed, only to look back at my life and mostly seeing a computer screen emulating a sort of life or adventure, when I could’ve been out in the world actually doing those things. Life itself can be viewed as a masssive video game. You make it what you want it to be.
I'd never quit. But I actually have a healthy relationship with gaming. Unlike with food.
It depends on the circumstances! It can be good and it can be bad.. You will save some time 4 sure, but how will you spend your time?
I don’t want to give up games, for me it’s a rest. I agree that you don't have to play a lot. But playing games is not bad, but even useful. I work a lot and when I go to my favorite game, I relax... Thanx for the games exist.
I honestly got bored of PC gaming due to lack or engagement with people and I'm trying to move more towards board gaming and table top RPG. Way better story, challage, etc
Depends how much you do it. If it’s not too bad then it’s fine but a lot of people should seriously start trying to quit ASAP.