I am a teenager and personally it varies on who you talk to, but most of my family sees video games as just plan fun. My grandmothers probably have the most different views. One says video games rot your brain and the other plays video games on "the" Facebook all the time.
I wonder how many hours a day grandma spends watching soaps. Talk about brain rot.
__________________________________
STO Forum member since before February 2010. STO Academy's excellent skill planner here: Link I actually avoid success entirely. It doesn't get me what I want, and the consequences for failure are slim. -- markhawman
I'm 32 and have moderate ADHD (Attention deficit Hyperactive disorder).
When I was younger my mom had a huge struggle trying to find something that would keep me occuptied for more than literally 2 minutes. Before I was even born my parents had bought an Atari, and the second I was old enough it wasn't their Atari anymore. lol
All this time later it is still extremely rare that I can find something that keeps my attention. Also video games are proven to increase eye/hand coordination, cognitive reasoning, and several other benefits.
Being that I've played video games all my life in one form or another I'll never understand why people attempt to blame video games for real life violence or any of the other things they do.
As far as my mom goes, after I stole her Atari when I was a kid she didn't really play any video games after that, but now she's getting back into playing simple ones like hidden object games and I got her addicted to minecrack....err minecraft. lol
So what do the older people in your life think of video games?
I am 19 and I thought that playing video games was considered a socially acceptable thing like Reading, watching television, or movies. But there are apparenty some people that are still living in the past that think that playing video games is considered a: "Waste of time".
I recently had a teacher who thought that playing video games was a waste of time. However she thought that movies and tv shows were normal. I also think that it is funny when elders still see video games as nothing more than 'Mario' or 'Pac Man'. When in fact they are way more complex and can be far mor educational than television.
What are your stories on this subject?
I'm currently 50; and have been computer gaming (and pencil and paper RPGing) since about 1975 (I was 12 years old - my junior high school had access to a mainframe computer via a 110 baud (not k-bud, baud) acoustic modem and a teletype. The first computer game I played was a Star Trek simulator called "STTR1". <--- This got me into programming and essentially lead to the IT career I still have today.)
I continued computer gaming via the TRS-80 -> Apple ][ -> Atari 40/800/520ST - PC XT, etc. up to today.
(My pencil and paper RPGing started with the saddle stitched "World of Greyhawk" and also hs continued to this day with too many game systems,etc. to list here.)
So, how do I view video games? Still loving and playing a bunch of them. :eek::D
Formerly known as Armsman from June 2008 to June 20, 2012 PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
This is a milenia old human issue. Not videogames, of course, but the ability for one to understand and accept that different people have different interests and what works for me doesn't have to be imposed on others as it may not work for them.
As said before on this thread, one thing is to neglect something for another. As a stupid example something like not feeding your child just to do that one more misson.
A totally different thing is how to define the relevance/usefulness of a given thing in our lives. If we are doing something we like, something that gives us pleasure, then obviously it is NOT a waste of time, it's in fact time well spent. It doesn't matter if it's playing videogames, doing crosswords, reading a book, going out for a walk, listening to musica, driving or even sleeping for hours. It's that simple.
I use to play pinball and popup shooters, does that date me much? Oh and pong was the big hit back in my day, so I don't see me dropping video games anytime soon, love them for a long long time.
So what do the older people in your life think of video games?
I am 19 and I thought that playing video games was considered a socially acceptable thing like Reading, watching television, or movies. But there are apparenty some people that are still living in the past that think that playing video games is considered a: "Waste of time".
I recently had a teacher who thought that playing video games was a waste of time. However she thought that movies and tv shows were normal. I also think that it is funny when elders still see video games as nothing more than 'Mario' or 'Pac Man'. When in fact they are way more complex and can be far mor educational than television.
What are your stories on this subject?
I'm a disabled 58 year old and I love Video Games. They keep my mind active and pass the time. I play STO and LOTRO.
I am 38 and have been playing games, in various formats, most of my life, and love it!. Like has been said, some people would rather vegetate in front of a TV, or throw drunken expletives at a player that can't hear, and probably wouldn't care, in most cases, if they could!
I play games to escape and relax, it works for me, maybe not for others, but I don't criticize them if the would prefer to sit in front of a TV, or whatever they prefer to do to relax, escape, etc.... provided they don't criticize me, ofc!
So what do the older people in your life think of video games?
The only time my now-in-their-sixties parents didn't like it was when I was spending too much time with Cecil, Kaine, and Rosa instead of getting off the sofa and getting a job. Now that I'm older, I know that they were correct.
I am 19 and I thought that playing video games was considered a socially acceptable thing like Reading, watching television, or movies. But there are apparenty some people that are still living in the past that think that playing video games is considered a: "Waste of time".
It is a waste of time. That's the entire point of passtimes. Passing time. But if you have the time to waste and aren't spending time with Commander Sheppard instead of getting off the sofa and getting a job, then that's no one's business but your own.
When in fact they are way more complex and can be far mor educational than television.
It is a waste of time. That's the entire point of passtimes. Passing time. But if you have the time to waste and aren't spending time with Commander Sheppard instead of getting off the sofa and getting a job, then that's no one's business but your own.
First, my credentials
I'm a 40 year old who's happily married, works 40 to 50 hours a week and has a full life. I love outdoor activities, spending time with family, and I'm a gamer.
That said, I'm not sure I agree that gaming is a waste of time. Entertainment and moments of happiness are absolutely necessary parts of life. I think one of the biggest problems in our modern culture is that we see the enjoyment of life as a bad thing. Enjoying life is why we go out and get those jobs.
Jobs are the means. Happiness is the end.
If playing video games brings you happiness, then it's the opposite of a waste of time. It's the single most effective use of time there is. I would argue that working 12 hours a day so you can have a nice bed to sleep in to prepare you for working 12 hours the next day is a waste of time.
There needs to be a balance. Pastimes are not a waste of time. They are an absolutely integral part of effectively using your time.
A fairly recent circumstance. And not true for the majority of humanity.
With respect, I completely disagree on both counts. It's recent that it isn't the means.
My father worked a terrible job for decades to support his family. He did it so we'd have a home, cars, vacations, toys. The job was the means, the happiness was the end. He looked forward to the end of his work day so he could relax at home and enjoy time with his family. That was the end. The job was the means to that end.
The same was true of his father, and his father's father.
The same was true of the cave men who would spend half a day hunting so they could eat well and spend time with their tribes, families, etc. The work was the means to that end.
The idea that our lives should be the work and enjoyment of life is somehow cheating is a relatively recent development.
A few lucky people happen to love what they do, but the majority does it because they have to, so it can provide them with some measure of happiness.
I
On the other hand, casual gaming like farmville, words with friends and other cheap and easy games will slowly see more and more of the general populace playing some kind of a video game.
Facebook games waste more productive time in the workplace. These are truly time wasters.
I don't think all older people necessarily regard video games as a waist of time. I'm 33 and I play them a lot, my moms in her late 50's and she plays Wii games, so does my dad and he's in his 60's. Though, I grew up around video games haha they've been playing them since the Atari 2600. They play video games more than I do.
Most of the adults I know play video games of some form. The older ones typically go for Facebook games. Not great video games, but video games none the less. Not to mention that video games have been popular for over 30 years. You will see more and more older people into them. 35 myself and have no intentions of stopping.
Comments
I wonder how many hours a day grandma spends watching soaps. Talk about brain rot.
STO Forum member since before February 2010.
STO Academy's excellent skill planner here: Link
I actually avoid success entirely. It doesn't get me what I want, and the consequences for failure are slim. -- markhawman
When I was younger my mom had a huge struggle trying to find something that would keep me occuptied for more than literally 2 minutes. Before I was even born my parents had bought an Atari, and the second I was old enough it wasn't their Atari anymore. lol
All this time later it is still extremely rare that I can find something that keeps my attention. Also video games are proven to increase eye/hand coordination, cognitive reasoning, and several other benefits.
Being that I've played video games all my life in one form or another I'll never understand why people attempt to blame video games for real life violence or any of the other things they do.
As far as my mom goes, after I stole her Atari when I was a kid she didn't really play any video games after that, but now she's getting back into playing simple ones like hidden object games and I got her addicted to minecrack....err minecraft. lol
I'm currently 50; and have been computer gaming (and pencil and paper RPGing) since about 1975 (I was 12 years old - my junior high school had access to a mainframe computer via a 110 baud (not k-bud, baud) acoustic modem and a teletype. The first computer game I played was a Star Trek simulator called "STTR1". <--- This got me into programming and essentially lead to the IT career I still have today.)
I continued computer gaming via the TRS-80 -> Apple ][ -> Atari 40/800/520ST - PC XT, etc. up to today.
(My pencil and paper RPGing started with the saddle stitched "World of Greyhawk" and also hs continued to this day with too many game systems,etc. to list here.)
So, how do I view video games? Still loving and playing a bunch of them. :eek::D
PWE ARC Drone says: "Your STO forum community as you have known it is ended...Display names are irrelevant...Any further sense of community is irrelevant...Resistance is futile...You will be assimilated..."
Video games teach great hand-eye coordination, as well as how to stay focused on personal goals.
As said before on this thread, one thing is to neglect something for another. As a stupid example something like not feeding your child just to do that one more misson.
A totally different thing is how to define the relevance/usefulness of a given thing in our lives. If we are doing something we like, something that gives us pleasure, then obviously it is NOT a waste of time, it's in fact time well spent. It doesn't matter if it's playing videogames, doing crosswords, reading a book, going out for a walk, listening to musica, driving or even sleeping for hours. It's that simple.
I'm a disabled 58 year old and I love Video Games. They keep my mind active and pass the time. I play STO and LOTRO.
I play games to escape and relax, it works for me, maybe not for others, but I don't criticize them if the would prefer to sit in front of a TV, or whatever they prefer to do to relax, escape, etc.... provided they don't criticize me, ofc!
B
The only time my now-in-their-sixties parents didn't like it was when I was spending too much time with Cecil, Kaine, and Rosa instead of getting off the sofa and getting a job. Now that I'm older, I know that they were correct.
It is a waste of time. That's the entire point of passtimes. Passing time. But if you have the time to waste and aren't spending time with Commander Sheppard instead of getting off the sofa and getting a job, then that's no one's business but your own.
While this is like saying Llyod is smarter than Harry, you are correct.
Props to the C-64 owners in the place!
First, my credentials
I'm a 40 year old who's happily married, works 40 to 50 hours a week and has a full life. I love outdoor activities, spending time with family, and I'm a gamer.
That said, I'm not sure I agree that gaming is a waste of time. Entertainment and moments of happiness are absolutely necessary parts of life. I think one of the biggest problems in our modern culture is that we see the enjoyment of life as a bad thing. Enjoying life is why we go out and get those jobs.
Jobs are the means. Happiness is the end.
If playing video games brings you happiness, then it's the opposite of a waste of time. It's the single most effective use of time there is. I would argue that working 12 hours a day so you can have a nice bed to sleep in to prepare you for working 12 hours the next day is a waste of time.
There needs to be a balance. Pastimes are not a waste of time. They are an absolutely integral part of effectively using your time.
A fairly recent circumstance. And not true for the majority of humanity.
With respect, I completely disagree on both counts. It's recent that it isn't the means.
My father worked a terrible job for decades to support his family. He did it so we'd have a home, cars, vacations, toys. The job was the means, the happiness was the end. He looked forward to the end of his work day so he could relax at home and enjoy time with his family. That was the end. The job was the means to that end.
The same was true of his father, and his father's father.
The same was true of the cave men who would spend half a day hunting so they could eat well and spend time with their tribes, families, etc. The work was the means to that end.
The idea that our lives should be the work and enjoyment of life is somehow cheating is a relatively recent development.
A few lucky people happen to love what they do, but the majority does it because they have to, so it can provide them with some measure of happiness.
Happiness has always been the end goal.
Facebook games waste more productive time in the workplace. These are truly time wasters.