why do some people consider games a waste of time?

is it just ignorance? and have you as a gamer ever felt that you may be wasting your time playing, or do you consider it time well spent?

Oh, it is definately a waste of time. Think about it, time is a very valuable commodity. You aren't productive when you are playing video games, watching TV, reading books, etc. It could only be beneficial down the road if you happen to use the knowledge gained within your hours of play. However, as it relates to the present, it is certainly a waste of time.

But an very fun, stress-relieving, and entertaining one, lol.

is it just ignorance? and have you as a gamer ever felt that you may be wasting your time playing, or do you consider it time well spent?

Oh, it is definately a waste of time. Think about it, time is a very valuable commodity. You aren't productive when you are playing video games, watching TV, reading books, etc. It could only be beneficial down the road if you happen to use the knowledge gained within your hours of play. However, as it relates to the present, it is certainly a waste of time.

But an very fun, stress-relieving, and entertaining one, lol.

Dragonblade01

yeah, i was thinking that. you can learn a lot about games, as an art form. it might not be of any immediate use, but i think if a game can make you think and you can relate it to other things that you do, it is very intellectually satisfying.

i think it's interesting that you accept that your playtime is a waste. i guess you might think the same of all hobbies? but it's important to know that you can't work all the time or you will get ill and burn yourself out. play and work should find some way to co-exist.

Games are just another way to unwind, and as far as productivity is concerned - you can't work all the time and still be as productive. You need time to relax and restore, and everybody has their tools to help accomplish this. Games are such a tool. Periods of "unproductiveness" are essential to continued productivity.

People won't usually look at their own habits as time wasters, only the habits of others which they don't share. For them, it probably would be a waste of time, as they wouldn't get the same things out of it that you do. So I'd say, yes, part of it is ignorance. But there's also the "greatest generation" factor - anything I didn't have growing up must be a blight on the world. People have been playa hatin on the younger generations since ancient Greece. Ignore it, it's not going away, and you're going to do it to your children, too.

[QUOTE="Dragonblade01"]

Oh, it is definately a waste of time. Think about it, time is a very valuable commodity. You aren't productive when you are playing video games, watching TV, reading books, etc. It could only be beneficial down the road if you happen to use the knowledge gained within your hours of play. However, as it relates to the present, it is certainly a waste of time.

But an very fun, stress-relieving, and entertaining one, lol.

just_nonplussed

yeah, i was thinking that. you can learn a lot about games, as an art form. it might not be of any immediate use, but i think if a game can make you think and you can relate it to other things that you do, it is very intellectually satisfying.

i think it's interesting that you accept that your playtime is a waste. i guess you might think the same of all hobbies? but it's important to know that you can't work all the time or you will get ill and burn yourself out. play and work should find some way to co-exist.

I think that anything that isn't productive (or training to be productive, in the case of schools) can be considered a waste of time. Now, am I upset about playing video games, watching TV, reading books, listening to music, practicing martial arts, etc.? Not one bit. I'd probably be bored out of my skull otherwise.

I'm not saying periods of downtime are unnecessary. However, that period can still be considered a "waste of time" as the phrase itself suggests that you are doing something that isn't, in a sense, productive. It is a "waste" and could have been used doing something else. Basically, I'm giving you my response based on a rather literal interpretation of the phrase.

[QUOTE="just_nonplussed"][QUOTE="Dragonblade01"]

Oh, it is definately a waste of time. Think about it, time is a very valuable commodity. You aren't productive when you are playing video games, watching TV, reading books, etc. It could only be beneficial down the road if you happen to use the knowledge gained within your hours of play. However, as it relates to the present, it is certainly a waste of time.

But an very fun, stress-relieving, and entertaining one, lol.

Dragonblade01

yeah, i was thinking that. you can learn a lot about games, as an art form. it might not be of any immediate use, but i think if a game can make you think and you can relate it to other things that you do, it is very intellectually satisfying.

i think it's interesting that you accept that your playtime is a waste. i guess you might think the same of all hobbies? but it's important to know that you can't work all the time or you will get ill and burn yourself out. play and work should find some way to co-exist.

I think that anything that isn't productive (or training to be productive, in the case of schools) can be considered a waste of time. Now, am I upset about playing video games, watching TV, reading books, listening to music, practicing martial arts, etc.? Not one bit. I'd probably be bored out of my skull otherwise.

I'm not saying periods of downtime are unnecessary. However, that period can still be considered a "waste of time" as the phrase itself suggests that you are doing something that isn't, in a sense, productive. It is a "waste" and could have been used doing something else. Basically, I'm giving you my response based on a rather literal interpretation of the phrase.

i wouldn't use the word 'waste', but i think i know where you're coming from. the opposite of production is waste and so on. a waste of time for me is doing something i find no pleasure and/or use in. waiting around for instance... although that might be necessary. i'd probably try to use that waiting time as thinking time. portable gaming to fill in blanks of 'dead time' i actually find i can't do as much as i did. i want to try to look out the window or find something interesting in my current surroundings. the game can be played anytime.

I am pretty sure its the same people who used to say that reading books was a waste of time.

Some people just don't get escapism, it is utterly alien to them, for these people all that matters really is work and outwards appearance.

While I grew up I used to hear that playing games was a waste of time, and that I should use my time for more constructive things, like sports (of all things).

Those voices died down here in Denmark tho, at the mid 90' it was quite clear that interactive games would eventually grow to surpass every and any other kind of media.

All that is left of those people who claimed such has long been proven very wrong. Games are a very good way of learning, and honing alot of skills (no driving is not one of them :P)

Incidently the people who used to claim that games were a waste of time, were those who never did look into what a game consisted of.

I am pretty sure its the same people who used to say that reading books was a waste of time.

Some people just don't get escapism, it is utterly alien to them, for these people all that matters really is work and outwards appearance.

While I grew up I used to hear that playing games was a waste of time, and that I should use my time for more constructive things, like sports (of all things).

Maddie_Larkin

The only people claiming books are a waste of time are fools that don't get that your vocabulary grows from reading.

People do get escapism just not every kind. Sports especially team sports are beneficial for a person to work with other people. I don't know anybody hat would say sports are harmful to a person out of principle.

Everything is a waste of time because we will just die anyway. Hehehe. Just kidding. I want to live long. :)

I only consider games as a waste of time if it doesn't have a story.

Books are not a waste of time because in return, you get a good story (if it is good though). As long as you get something in return, then it's not a waste of time.

Everything is a waste of time because we will just die anyway. Hehehe. Just kidding. I want to live long. :)

I only consider games as a waste of time if it doesn't have a story.

Books are not a waste of time because in return, you get a good story (if it is good though). As long as you get something in return, then it's not a waste of time.

skp_16

*Looks at your icon*

"Find Martin. Get him back to the capital. Close Oblivion gates. Martin turns into dragon and saves all of Cyrodil."

Story of the decade:P

While I like video games, I do think that there are many types of games out there that are either intolerable or too cliché for me. Most people are turned off by video games because many games offer nothing but violence as a part of the gameplay, which is often glorified. What happened to morales and ethics in video games? Did they just suddenly disappear? I am a very moral being and make careful decisions before deciding which games to play.

Sorry, but I think that most people waste their time playing games. To me, playing for the sake of letting time fly by is absurd. When I look at any form of art (i.e. fine arts, sculptures, literature, movies, TV, video games, etc.), I look for the meaning that a work is trying to make clear. If it is too weak, or glorifies evil, I just decide to stay away from it. Sadly, many games glorify violence, and few ever discuss nonviolence.

There are times that I feel like games are a waste of time. I don't think it has anything to do with ignorance, just preference.smokeydabear076

yes, but before you make a judgement with your opinion, you need to base that opinion on experience of what you're judging. if you've played games before and then say they are a waste of time, or childish then..fair enough.

[QUOTE="smokeydabear076"]There are times that I feel like games are a waste of time. I don't think it has anything to do with ignorance, just preference.just_nonplussed

yes, but before you make a judgement with your opinion, you need to base that opinion on experience of what you're judging. if you've played games before and then say they are a waste of time, or childish then..fair enough.

While I like video games, I do think that there are many types of games out there that are either intolerable or too cliché for me. Most people are turned off by video games because many games offer nothing but violence as a part of the gameplay, which is often glorified. What happened to morales and ethics in video games? Did they just suddenly disappear? I am a very moral being and make careful decisions before deciding which games to play.

Sorry, but I think that most people waste their time playing games. To me, playing for the sake of letting time fly by is absurd. When I look at any form of art (i.e. fine arts, sculptures, literature, movies, TV, video games, etc.), I look for the meaning that a work is trying to make clear. If it is too weak, or glorifies evil, I just decide to stay away from it. Sadly, many games glorify violence, and few ever discuss nonviolence.

Mawy_Golomb

hey, you make an interesting point. i think ethic systems, belief systems and other ways of seeing life would breathe new life and new ideas into games. it just might be difficult from a developer point-of-view, as the idea or concept often comes from someone higher up who may not have certain ideologies or might not be interested or open to exploring those ways of thought.

i imagine it's difficult to make a 'far out' game idea or anything intensely personal or emotional in such a 'team context' with work collegues. in this respect, games aren't art. but they art in others respects.

"Time" is up to the individual to spend how they see fit, and if you use your "time" to criticize what someone else is up to then you are indeed wasting your time.nitsud_19

i see what you did there. very clever. that would be an awesome comeback.

While I like video games, I do think that there are many types of games out there that are either intolerable or too cliché for me. Most people are turned off by video games because many games offer nothing but violence as a part of the gameplay, which is often glorified. What happened to morales and ethics in video games? Did they just suddenly disappear? I am a very moral being and make careful decisions before deciding which games to play.

Sorry, but I think that most people waste their time playing games. To me, playing for the sake of letting time fly by is absurd. When I look at any form of art (i.e. fine arts, sculptures, literature, movies, TV, video games, etc.), I look for the meaning that a work is trying to make clear. If it is too weak, or glorifies evil, I just decide to stay away from it. Sadly, many games glorify violence, and few ever discuss nonviolence.

Mawy_Golomb

In your thread you said you've studied the workings of Ghandi and such, that being said philosophy/enlightenment isn't something you read and learn from a book of a guy who lived it. You live it or you dont and you dont. It shows in your sense of pity for people and things (violence) that you have no control over. Did Ghandi or Nelson Mandela complain over what had happened to them, no. Bickering over situations you have no control over is utter ignorance for your own well being.

[QUOTE="Mawy_Golomb"]

While I like video games, I do think that there are many types of games out there that are either intolerable or too cliché for me. Most people are turned off by video games because many games offer nothing but violence as a part of the gameplay, which is often glorified. What happened to morales and ethics in video games? Did they just suddenly disappear? I am a very moral being and make careful decisions before deciding which games to play.

Sorry, but I think that most people waste their time playing games. To me, playing for the sake of letting time fly by is absurd. When I look at any form of art (i.e. fine arts, sculptures, literature, movies, TV, video games, etc.), I look for the meaning that a work is trying to make clear. If it is too weak, or glorifies evil, I just decide to stay away from it. Sadly, many games glorify violence, and few ever discuss nonviolence.

nitsud_19

In your thread you said you've studied the workings of Ghandi and such, that being said philosophy/enlightenment isn't something you read and learn from a book of a guy who lived it. You live it or you dont and you dont. It shows in your sense of pity for people and things (violence) that you have no control over. Did Ghandi or Nelson Mandela complain over what had happened to them, no. Bickering over situations you have no control over is utter ignorance for your own well being.

I know there is a heavy sense of irony in my last sentence, i'm not perfect, i'm human.