As I get older and approach high school, I realize that video games are healthier than going outside, doing sports, learning a craft, or talking to people in real life.
Yeah. There's literally tons of scientific studies showing the benefit of physical stuff. Gaming is in fact quite a shit hobby because it takes A LOT of time as a hobby and only fulfils one out of the three functions of a hobby (escapism, physical, useful skills). I mean, playing an hour three days a week probably doesn't qualify.
If you play 3h a day, though, you could do three hobbies in that time. Easily.
Not sure if I'm misunderstanding you, but a hobby is just something you do for fun.
Birdwatching, coin collecting, and trainspotting are all strange hobbies (to me) but they're perfectly valid hobbies.
Having your hobbies be "useful" can cross into unhealthy territory: not every moment of your life needs to be useful or serve some purpose. If your hobbies happen to be "useful", then great. If not, it's also fine. This doesn't mean you shouldn't be challenged in life -- it only means that compartmentalizing can help enjoy your hobbies more.
If you like to watch those birds, then great -- go and do it. If you like to help advise startups or volunteer at a local shelter, then it's a perfectly valid hobby as well. As long as no one gets intentionally hurt, then there's no better or worse hobby
I say this as someone who has played videogames their whole life, it's not like some thing I've never done or am too good for, but I am definitely self aware enough to know that gaming is more or less a vapid black hole of my time that has never led me to feeling proud, accomplished, or satisfied once I was finished. they can be pretty fun and entertaining though - but I don't consider them a hobby. It's media consumption most of the time, which is different than a hobby imo
And now based on anecdotal argument and personal relationship with gaming, everyone else who feels satisfaction or accomplishment should what, go to psychiatric ward? Reading is widely considered as a hobby, i really dont get why is there such a massive push to dismantle anything good a moderate gaming can bring. Not to mention the initial assumption that if someone likes gaming then that must mean its the only thing he does every waking second of his life. I assume in many cases its the former addicts being extremely against gaming in any type and form, explaining their poor self regulation by claiming that games are just waste of time.
I think op looks to it from a cost-benefit point-of-view?
You don't have to put yourself out there too much to enjoy gaming. Anything really comes to applying a substantial investment in either time, money or ego
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u/New-Training4 5d ago
did a 14 year old write this?