I kind of agree. it's funny, you know, because I stopped playing games almost entirely myself, mostly because I don't have time for them now, yet at the same time I work as a writer in the industry, making rudimentary knowledge about what games are out and which ones people are playing somewhat important.
I'm also struck by how most others in the industry were themselves, perhaps unironically, gaming addicts like I was in my youth. But for many of them, they're still going; they don't have children, they don't have social lives outside of their gaming circles, and they cannot conceive of a life where one does not play games incessantly.
A dilemma I actively face here relates to my children: I honestly don't know if I want my sons to be introduced to games. On one level, I absolutely bonded with my father in the best possible ways through games, and on the other, my earlier gaming years stunted my development as a man.
There's also a flipside, too. Most people I know who were big on FPS and games that didn't require the abstracting of ideas were indeed messed up in various ways, but then most people I know who've *never* been into games at all are pretty dull people.
There's also the fact that, living in Hungary, I want to show my sons how important English is. And, unfortunately, one of the ways to do that is to introduce them to games which will motivate them to focus on English more than ever. I want that for them. Hungarian as a language is great and all, but I'm very much an English supremacist, and I don't want my boys neglecting English.
A final point, too. What *isn't* addiction nowadays? The entire way that the attention economy is set up is based on addiction. If you're not gaming -- which absolutely has cognitive advantages -- you're scrolling, or worse.
I suppose we'll see, eh? As of yet, I'm undecided. Since I'll be able to say "I wrote this", to some of the video and board games I'll own, it's hard to imagine not introducing them to games, at least to some extent. Sport will come first, but being boys, I'm not sure they'll entirely avoid video games no matter how hard I try. Since that's the case, it might be better that it is me who introduces them to video games, rather than some dipshit at school who plays Roblox or whatever. There's obviously a lot of nuance and difference between games.
Anyway, nice article. I've always known this data is out there. That's why I only play on rare occasions these days. There's a big, big discussion to be had here, that's for sure.
Great comment my man. When writing this, I was wondering especially what you were going to say, given your job as a writer for video games (which is always going to be a cool job - one I would like doing indeed!)
You make some great points in regards to parenting. I think you’re right in that you probably will not be able to stop the average young lad from getting into - or at least trying - video games, just like getting on the piss and pornography and so on.
My own parents, really, had no idea of the negative effects of gaming - there probably was very little research back then, though they intuitively did not think my obsession was a good thing. However, they instilled in me the value of other things - like writing and reading that have become essential to my future - alongside them. And once I figured out - as have you - that video games, played a certain way, by a certain personality, can be like any drug out there, then it was much more powerful for my ‘development’ than simply being told by an authority. Despite saying all of that (along with phones, social media, as you imply), if we look population level, if there was more awareness in schools and so on, as to its detrimental effects, then it could reroute a significant number of people’s future.
I also do not want to imply all video games are bad, or they cannot be played, and so on. For instance, I still get on the piss with my mates and get hammered. Is it healthy? Of course not. But I’m not doing it every night, or even every week anymore, and I am extremely healthy in almost every other aspect, so it is okay. I do think gaming should be treated this way, in particular, certain games (like FPS). Playing once or twice a week with your mates is absolutely fine - even encouraged - but if starts to replace in person meet ups, or things that would really develop you (like reading, or fitness, and so on), then that’s where it could be an issue.
For myself who knows my addictive personality, I function much better when I cold turkey things, rather than ‘dabbling’. So quitting video games was necessary - because the difference between no video games and playing a little bit, was that ‘it was never a little bit’. It would consume a large part of my life.
What would you make of someone who suddenly went from an active gaming addiction to suddenly losing interest to the extent he can't play more than 10 mins a day?
Because oddly enough this is my situation. I find creating a game more addictice than playing them (which bores me for some reason).
Did you replace it with something? Something that was more interesting? Perhaps something that gave you meaning or more meaning? Your subconscious is powerful too, and I feel it can make decisions for us beneath our awareness, so it could have been like, ‘enough’s enough’ lol.
In terms of creating a game, I would be exactly the same. The losing interest thing is like me now too; though I made a conscious decision a while ago to stop, I have found, in the rare once or twice I have returned a year, that I was like you, ‘uninterested’.
For me, I think part of it was the realisation that too much of this could send me down a metaphorical sinkhole.
I got so into history, and writing French literature that I completely forgot about it at first and then ever more and more I pushed it out of my life. Then during COVID I got into animation and game-development again as well as animal-rearing (I lived on a farm at that time). Afterwards it’s been reading, but also podcasts and writing my stories (which have taken over ever more of my time in my life that’s not spent working or looking for work as I’m in and out of work due to Canada being Canada).
So I did replace it, but unconsciously. I didn’t even notice until I had completely replaced it. I genuinely tried to get back into gaming but it bores me so much I struggle to play more than 10 minutes. It shocked Dan 2 years ago how I used to be an addict but then went to hang out with him and couldn’t even muster the interest for more than 10 minutes.
I’m also thinking of exercising once in France, picking up a ‘taxi-driver course’ once there (to get a separate license for that in case I’m pushed into that line of work just in case I get fired from a teaching job, as I like collecting new skills for new possible jobs), and I’m going to keep writing, and working on the Audio-Dramas.
When I think of gaming, sometimes I miss it other days I don’t. When I have kids I don’t know if I’ll even think of sharing them with them. It registers so little in my thinking these days I often forget even my old favourites (save for the names of maybe 3 games or 4).
Generally, I'm in agreement. (I know I have a potentially-addictive personality when it comes to certain types of games). I am curious, however, how you would respond the charge that reading can become just as much of an "escape from reality" as gaming. I knew several kids in my childhood who would devote HOURS to reading fiction. They were, admittedly, seen as a little "weird" in childhood...but as near as I can tell they didn't seem to suffer any long-term harm. Their excessive investment in those imaginary worlds doesn't appear to have impaired their ability to function in the real world.
If someone argued that, "it's no different with immersive gaming" how would you respond?
Thanks for reading and the really interesting comment. I was wondering whether someone was going to bring this up - because it did cross my mind when writing this!
Honestly, in my view, gaming and reading are not even close: Overall gaming should be viewed as a negative, while reading a positive. While some games are okay, and some books are bad, the benefits for reading versus gaming … not really a debate in my opinion.
For instance, reading improves sustained attention, requires generating both spatial environments (improving spatial awareness) and taking the perspective of people (improving empathy and perspective switching), as well as increasing vocabulary and verbal fluency, and even helps one understand ‘models about the world’ (like arguments for God, meaning of truth, what is good, etc). So compared to some video games, I cannot imagine them ever really being perceived as ‘negative’ - and in fact, in some cases, the people you describe with their ‘weirdness’ (tendency to read a lot) could very much have helped them develop intellectually and set them in a good place academically.
In saying that, there is likely a real phenomenon of ‘escaping from reality’, as you suggest. They could easily use fiction as some excuse to not develop social skills, which, if done over a life time, could stunt growth (in that one area). But with all the benefits above … it’s a pretty weak case. Because any individual pursuit could be used for this argument, really: Drawing, writing, making music, walking in the woods, camping, you name it!
So the argument for stunted social skills is less about the activity, in a sense (and I guess could be made for gaming), and more about how much time is spent alone, not in the company of others (both elders and peers). Gaming is detrimental not only because it is often played in solitude, but because of all the other drawbacks, too - that do not apply to reading.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I wonder, however, if "gaming" is too broad a category for these critiques. I could see your arguments regarding things like verbal fluency, sustained attention, etc. as much more applicable to things like racing games or perhaps even some first person shooters. Other RPG games, though (e.g. the old Elder Scrolls games) involve immersion in a story from multiple different perspectives (there's your empathy) as well as incorporating problem-solving and even spatial awareness (I still find it challenging to keep the overall game-map in my head when I'm maneuvering around in those worlds).
None of this is to say that I'm totally rejecting your argument. (I'm an academic librarian by profession so I lament the decline of reading physical books). I just don't take it quite so far. Nonetheless, I hope people will take your concerns to heart and spend more time immersing themselves in the virtual realities generated by their own minds' interaction with physical books.
I had a similar realisation about gaming in University. I was a chronic Halo player in high school too, but it became clear that I didn't have time to study and game in uni so I gave it up. It definitely helped shunt me out of adolescence, lose weight, etc...
That being said, I have been getting back into gaming over the last few years. One of my flatmates used to play Crusader Kings in the lounge, so I watched him play and it launched me back into games. However, I have placed a lot more limits on the types of games I play (no more FPS) and the hours I play than I had in adolescence.
As an adult, I've had an intrinsic aversion to FPS games and a recent experience with a different flatmate clarified why. Whereas Crusader Kings, a pausable grand strategy game, had been a chill flat experience, my other flatmate used to play FPS games in his room and it was so annoying.
This flatmate had various diagnoses (ADHD, anxiety, insomnia) and screamed into his microphone at all hours of the day. While I don't know if video games contributed to his issues, they definitely weren't helping. I tried to invite him out to an in-person game of Dungeons & Dragons, but the pull of the digital world was too strong and he continued with his tech-mediated friendships instead of trying out a real world social event.
Thanks for reading and the great comment, seems we had similar experiences.
As a very competitive person myself, and can understand where that guy is coming from. I would rage aggressively just like on the sports field, when I would play rugby and cricket (I still play cricket, and I still get on a level when competing lol). But doing this virtually inside a room by yourself, being immobile and locked in, is quite different to doing it on a sports field, when you’re moving your body, and you have your mates with you - even if throwing a tantrum is never really a good thing to do lol.
As you indicated, it is intuitive to outside observers that this behaviour is not healthy, but as an addiction the gamer will not see it. Of course, certain psychological conditions predispose people to gaming, and in some isolated, controlled situations, gaming could help, but the lack of awareness about how games can impede psychological development is quite disturbing. There is more awareness in asia, I have heard.
I do think video games can be played healthily, and as I indicated in the past few years, I have returned every so often to play with friends (Civilisation V, most recently). Though I do not play anymore, what initially filled the void was playing first Warhammer 40K, and then DnD. These games fill the mind in all the good ways video games can, without the negatives, while you’re with your friends in person. Board games, in person table top games, card games - can be a great and better substitute.
Very true mate. At least once a week I ruminate, and even kick myself, about the time I wasted in my adolescence playing video games. I wasn't a constant gamer, but playing even an hour a day is valuable time invested into nothingness.
I kind of agree. it's funny, you know, because I stopped playing games almost entirely myself, mostly because I don't have time for them now, yet at the same time I work as a writer in the industry, making rudimentary knowledge about what games are out and which ones people are playing somewhat important.
I'm also struck by how most others in the industry were themselves, perhaps unironically, gaming addicts like I was in my youth. But for many of them, they're still going; they don't have children, they don't have social lives outside of their gaming circles, and they cannot conceive of a life where one does not play games incessantly.
A dilemma I actively face here relates to my children: I honestly don't know if I want my sons to be introduced to games. On one level, I absolutely bonded with my father in the best possible ways through games, and on the other, my earlier gaming years stunted my development as a man.
There's also a flipside, too. Most people I know who were big on FPS and games that didn't require the abstracting of ideas were indeed messed up in various ways, but then most people I know who've *never* been into games at all are pretty dull people.
There's also the fact that, living in Hungary, I want to show my sons how important English is. And, unfortunately, one of the ways to do that is to introduce them to games which will motivate them to focus on English more than ever. I want that for them. Hungarian as a language is great and all, but I'm very much an English supremacist, and I don't want my boys neglecting English.
A final point, too. What *isn't* addiction nowadays? The entire way that the attention economy is set up is based on addiction. If you're not gaming -- which absolutely has cognitive advantages -- you're scrolling, or worse.
I suppose we'll see, eh? As of yet, I'm undecided. Since I'll be able to say "I wrote this", to some of the video and board games I'll own, it's hard to imagine not introducing them to games, at least to some extent. Sport will come first, but being boys, I'm not sure they'll entirely avoid video games no matter how hard I try. Since that's the case, it might be better that it is me who introduces them to video games, rather than some dipshit at school who plays Roblox or whatever. There's obviously a lot of nuance and difference between games.
Anyway, nice article. I've always known this data is out there. That's why I only play on rare occasions these days. There's a big, big discussion to be had here, that's for sure.
Great comment my man. When writing this, I was wondering especially what you were going to say, given your job as a writer for video games (which is always going to be a cool job - one I would like doing indeed!)
You make some great points in regards to parenting. I think you’re right in that you probably will not be able to stop the average young lad from getting into - or at least trying - video games, just like getting on the piss and pornography and so on.
My own parents, really, had no idea of the negative effects of gaming - there probably was very little research back then, though they intuitively did not think my obsession was a good thing. However, they instilled in me the value of other things - like writing and reading that have become essential to my future - alongside them. And once I figured out - as have you - that video games, played a certain way, by a certain personality, can be like any drug out there, then it was much more powerful for my ‘development’ than simply being told by an authority. Despite saying all of that (along with phones, social media, as you imply), if we look population level, if there was more awareness in schools and so on, as to its detrimental effects, then it could reroute a significant number of people’s future.
I also do not want to imply all video games are bad, or they cannot be played, and so on. For instance, I still get on the piss with my mates and get hammered. Is it healthy? Of course not. But I’m not doing it every night, or even every week anymore, and I am extremely healthy in almost every other aspect, so it is okay. I do think gaming should be treated this way, in particular, certain games (like FPS). Playing once or twice a week with your mates is absolutely fine - even encouraged - but if starts to replace in person meet ups, or things that would really develop you (like reading, or fitness, and so on), then that’s where it could be an issue.
For myself who knows my addictive personality, I function much better when I cold turkey things, rather than ‘dabbling’. So quitting video games was necessary - because the difference between no video games and playing a little bit, was that ‘it was never a little bit’. It would consume a large part of my life.
What would you make of someone who suddenly went from an active gaming addiction to suddenly losing interest to the extent he can't play more than 10 mins a day?
Because oddly enough this is my situation. I find creating a game more addictice than playing them (which bores me for some reason).
Did you replace it with something? Something that was more interesting? Perhaps something that gave you meaning or more meaning? Your subconscious is powerful too, and I feel it can make decisions for us beneath our awareness, so it could have been like, ‘enough’s enough’ lol.
In terms of creating a game, I would be exactly the same. The losing interest thing is like me now too; though I made a conscious decision a while ago to stop, I have found, in the rare once or twice I have returned a year, that I was like you, ‘uninterested’.
For me, I think part of it was the realisation that too much of this could send me down a metaphorical sinkhole.
I got so into history, and writing French literature that I completely forgot about it at first and then ever more and more I pushed it out of my life. Then during COVID I got into animation and game-development again as well as animal-rearing (I lived on a farm at that time). Afterwards it’s been reading, but also podcasts and writing my stories (which have taken over ever more of my time in my life that’s not spent working or looking for work as I’m in and out of work due to Canada being Canada).
So I did replace it, but unconsciously. I didn’t even notice until I had completely replaced it. I genuinely tried to get back into gaming but it bores me so much I struggle to play more than 10 minutes. It shocked Dan 2 years ago how I used to be an addict but then went to hang out with him and couldn’t even muster the interest for more than 10 minutes.
I’m also thinking of exercising once in France, picking up a ‘taxi-driver course’ once there (to get a separate license for that in case I’m pushed into that line of work just in case I get fired from a teaching job, as I like collecting new skills for new possible jobs), and I’m going to keep writing, and working on the Audio-Dramas.
When I think of gaming, sometimes I miss it other days I don’t. When I have kids I don’t know if I’ll even think of sharing them with them. It registers so little in my thinking these days I often forget even my old favourites (save for the names of maybe 3 games or 4).
Generally, I'm in agreement. (I know I have a potentially-addictive personality when it comes to certain types of games). I am curious, however, how you would respond the charge that reading can become just as much of an "escape from reality" as gaming. I knew several kids in my childhood who would devote HOURS to reading fiction. They were, admittedly, seen as a little "weird" in childhood...but as near as I can tell they didn't seem to suffer any long-term harm. Their excessive investment in those imaginary worlds doesn't appear to have impaired their ability to function in the real world.
If someone argued that, "it's no different with immersive gaming" how would you respond?
Thanks for reading and the really interesting comment. I was wondering whether someone was going to bring this up - because it did cross my mind when writing this!
Honestly, in my view, gaming and reading are not even close: Overall gaming should be viewed as a negative, while reading a positive. While some games are okay, and some books are bad, the benefits for reading versus gaming … not really a debate in my opinion.
For instance, reading improves sustained attention, requires generating both spatial environments (improving spatial awareness) and taking the perspective of people (improving empathy and perspective switching), as well as increasing vocabulary and verbal fluency, and even helps one understand ‘models about the world’ (like arguments for God, meaning of truth, what is good, etc). So compared to some video games, I cannot imagine them ever really being perceived as ‘negative’ - and in fact, in some cases, the people you describe with their ‘weirdness’ (tendency to read a lot) could very much have helped them develop intellectually and set them in a good place academically.
In saying that, there is likely a real phenomenon of ‘escaping from reality’, as you suggest. They could easily use fiction as some excuse to not develop social skills, which, if done over a life time, could stunt growth (in that one area). But with all the benefits above … it’s a pretty weak case. Because any individual pursuit could be used for this argument, really: Drawing, writing, making music, walking in the woods, camping, you name it!
So the argument for stunted social skills is less about the activity, in a sense (and I guess could be made for gaming), and more about how much time is spent alone, not in the company of others (both elders and peers). Gaming is detrimental not only because it is often played in solitude, but because of all the other drawbacks, too - that do not apply to reading.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I wonder, however, if "gaming" is too broad a category for these critiques. I could see your arguments regarding things like verbal fluency, sustained attention, etc. as much more applicable to things like racing games or perhaps even some first person shooters. Other RPG games, though (e.g. the old Elder Scrolls games) involve immersion in a story from multiple different perspectives (there's your empathy) as well as incorporating problem-solving and even spatial awareness (I still find it challenging to keep the overall game-map in my head when I'm maneuvering around in those worlds).
None of this is to say that I'm totally rejecting your argument. (I'm an academic librarian by profession so I lament the decline of reading physical books). I just don't take it quite so far. Nonetheless, I hope people will take your concerns to heart and spend more time immersing themselves in the virtual realities generated by their own minds' interaction with physical books.
I had a similar realisation about gaming in University. I was a chronic Halo player in high school too, but it became clear that I didn't have time to study and game in uni so I gave it up. It definitely helped shunt me out of adolescence, lose weight, etc...
That being said, I have been getting back into gaming over the last few years. One of my flatmates used to play Crusader Kings in the lounge, so I watched him play and it launched me back into games. However, I have placed a lot more limits on the types of games I play (no more FPS) and the hours I play than I had in adolescence.
As an adult, I've had an intrinsic aversion to FPS games and a recent experience with a different flatmate clarified why. Whereas Crusader Kings, a pausable grand strategy game, had been a chill flat experience, my other flatmate used to play FPS games in his room and it was so annoying.
This flatmate had various diagnoses (ADHD, anxiety, insomnia) and screamed into his microphone at all hours of the day. While I don't know if video games contributed to his issues, they definitely weren't helping. I tried to invite him out to an in-person game of Dungeons & Dragons, but the pull of the digital world was too strong and he continued with his tech-mediated friendships instead of trying out a real world social event.
Thanks for reading and the great comment, seems we had similar experiences.
As a very competitive person myself, and can understand where that guy is coming from. I would rage aggressively just like on the sports field, when I would play rugby and cricket (I still play cricket, and I still get on a level when competing lol). But doing this virtually inside a room by yourself, being immobile and locked in, is quite different to doing it on a sports field, when you’re moving your body, and you have your mates with you - even if throwing a tantrum is never really a good thing to do lol.
As you indicated, it is intuitive to outside observers that this behaviour is not healthy, but as an addiction the gamer will not see it. Of course, certain psychological conditions predispose people to gaming, and in some isolated, controlled situations, gaming could help, but the lack of awareness about how games can impede psychological development is quite disturbing. There is more awareness in asia, I have heard.
I do think video games can be played healthily, and as I indicated in the past few years, I have returned every so often to play with friends (Civilisation V, most recently). Though I do not play anymore, what initially filled the void was playing first Warhammer 40K, and then DnD. These games fill the mind in all the good ways video games can, without the negatives, while you’re with your friends in person. Board games, in person table top games, card games - can be a great and better substitute.
Very true mate. At least once a week I ruminate, and even kick myself, about the time I wasted in my adolescence playing video games. I wasn't a constant gamer, but playing even an hour a day is valuable time invested into nothingness.
At least you realise this now, when you’re still young. I think there are a lot of guys well into their 30s still mindlessly playing aye.