Are you addicted to games?

[Mount Wario]

I don't play many games and don't play them much, but I don't know how addictive they are for the rest of the world. I'd like to ask how long do you play, if they have made you be in bad physical state, and if they have made you either unhappy or unproductive (be honest, please).

 

[MiracleDinner]

Well now that I don't really have much work to do on a day to day basis I'd say I typically play at least 2 hours a day, often more like 3-4.

I don't believe I've been addicted to video games at any point in my life or that they've made me unhappy or unproductive, and the sole time it's negatively affected my physical health was when I stayed up much too late playing and it messed with my sleep schedule for a couple weeks but no serious effects.

I choose to play video games a lot because I really, really enjoy them and they're a big part of my life but I'm pretty sure I'm not unhealthily dependent on them or that I have uncontrollable urges to play video games that interferes with my health or productivity.

 

[MegaBowser64]

I don't play many games and don't play them much, but I don't know how addictive they are for the rest of the world. I'd like to ask how long do you play, if they have made you be in bad physical state, and if they have made you either unhappy or unproductive (be honest, please).

I only play like an hour a day or something, it's basically just a casual hobby. I've sure spent a lot of money on games and stuff over the years, but it's all in the name of fun, and now I'm starting to slow down on spending a bit now that I have stuff to save up for like a car and college. Work and school come first, then if I feel like it play some games. My friend has like an evil lair of pc gaming in his basement tho and literally just plays Geometry Dash as his one game (for hours and hours) I mean he's really nice but not sure if it's healthy to play that long. If you have physical activity to displace it tho then ok

 

[fantanoice]

When I was younger, I used video games as a crutch to cope with my neurodivergence and loneliness. Nowadays, I barely find time for them, even though I work in games. Some days, after finishing my hours, I don't want to be near another screen.

 

[Koopa con Carne]

Absolutely not.

*goes back to grinding xp in Mario Kart Tour*

 

[Ray Trace]

Everyone who knows me personally knows I love video games so it's no secret.

 

[StrongDonkeyKong]

I am not addicted to games. But, I have been addicted to games in the past. There was one point in my life where I did not sleep for maybe two consecutive days and I played Pocket Monsters LeafGreen on the computer. I had an addiction problem related to YouTube and some videogames. Fortunately, those problems have gone away. I used to play Game Boy Colour/Game Boy Advance/Game Boy/fan-made videogames on my computer for hours and sometimes I did not sleep enough because I was addicted to the videogames on the computer. Fortunately, I do not do these things anymore. Most of the videogames were related to Pocket Monsters, like the fan-made ones and Pocket Monsters Red, Pocket Monsters Yellow, Pocket Monsters Silver, Pocket Monsters Gold, Pocket Monsters Crystal, Pocket Monsters Emerald.

 

[Punk Hazard Queen]

Yeah and it's probably becoming unhealthy too.

 

[Fizzle]

Maaaaaybe.

 

[khaoticnoize187]

yep

 

[Wendy O. Koopa]

I like playing games and watching playthroughs but I'm healthy and reasonable about it. Obviously I have to get all the stuff with my studies done first (although not now as I have online school off I do it a lot more), and then I can goof off. To be honest, pretty much all of the free time I have during the day, several hours, is spent watching playthroughs and playing games, looking at stuff on my computer, making RPG Maker games, but, like, it's not excessive. Like, I don't stay up entire nights playing games or watching playthroughs. At 1 AM on weekdays and at 2 AM on weekends I go to bed. So yeah I guess you could say I spend a lot of time playing games and watching playthroughs, but I'm not unhealthy about it, especially not unhealthy enough to, like, want to stay up and lose sleep over it. Plus of course I have chores to do from time to time and of course I have to take breaks to eat lunch and dinner and stuff and also I swim in my pool every day for 45 minutes to an hour. Also I watch playthroughs more than I play games. I find I'm generally not good at playing them LOL. So yeah, pretty much all or almost all day I do stuff on my computer. Sometimes I watch TV as well. I think that's pretty normal in our tech-obsessed world where people use their technology nearly every single minute. Of course once I have a job I'll have to spend more hours NOT watching playthroughs or doing things on my PC during the daytime hours, and I accept that. So yeah I guess you could say I am addicted to games and my computer, but I'm not excessive about it. And once I get a job my working hours will split the time up to make it even more stretched out and varied and thus more healthy. I probably have overexplained all of this. But yeah I do a variety of things each day, just stuff mostly on my computer. Like, I think that what I do with this is normal for most people in this tech-obsessed world we live in. I do all the stuff I want to do with my free time, but I also understand that I need to take breaks from it throughout the day to do things I NEED to do. So yeah-I don't think it's "unhealthy" to spend all your free time watching playthroughs and playing games, so long as you take breaks from it from time to time, and also make sure you get your chores and other stuff that NEEDS to be done done, even though it requires taking a break, or waiting to do the stuff you want to do. In addition, if you start to feel nauseated or dizzy, like, take a break for at least 30 minutes to feel better before you go back at it again.

Anyway I know that was long LOL but I hope it makes sense. I know how to enjoy myself but balance it out. And when I get an eight-hour job I'll be able to be even more healthy about it, and maybe even appreciate my free time more. But yeah as much as I would like to I know I can't spend 24 hours every single day with no sleep at all playing and doing things on my computer and playing and watching playthroughs of games. That wouldn't be good for me. So yeah do I spend most of my free time doing videogame stuff? Yeah. But do I spend every single minute of every single day doing it? No. And besides that if there's other stuff that interests me more I'll take breaks from the videogame stuff to do that. But yeah I can spend a lot of free time with games and be healthy and still be productive, because the more important stuff like school and my future job comes first. Like, if I'm jobless and broke, how am I even going to be able to afford to pay for electricity so I can use my computer and watch playthroughs? I need to get off my butt and actually DO something with my life!

So yeah, I spend most of the free time I have doing stuff on my computer and watching playthroughs, but I'm not addicted to it to the point it's completely taken over my life and I do it every single second of every single day. Like, I can separate myself from it when there are more important things I need to do. As far as this part of my life when I have so much more free time than I would if I had a job, well, I need to appreciate it while it lasts. Because once I get my job I'll have to spend most of the daytime hours doing that. If I get married and have a family I will also have to spend time out of my free time doing things to take care of them like getting groceries, etc. I'll still have a lot of free time, but not nearly as much as I have now. Like, I totally accept that.

Also I accept the fact that when I get a full-time job I'll probably have to go to bed at 11 PM instead of early in the morning. I guess that'll be more healthy because I'll get more sleep.

When I was younger, I used video games as a crutch to cope with my neurodivergence and loneliness. Nowadays, I barely find time for them, even though I work in games. Some days, after finishing my hours, I don't want to be near another screen.

Yeah that makes a lot of sense. I've heard such things from people who work in video games before. When something like this is your job and you have to work with it every single day and spend hours every single day staring at computer screens, after a while, you're so used to it that you get tired of it and so it's not fun anymore. It gets boring, and you get tired of it, because it's literally your job. You're so used to it that it just doesn't interest you in the slightest anymore. I totally get that. So yeah since you have to do it as your job, it doesn't feel like a fun activity anymore or like something you even want to DO for fun, because you already do it for your paycheck. It'd be kind of if you were a toy enthusiast and had to work in a toy store for your job. You'd get tired of toys after a while LOL. You work with them every day!