Quitting Video Games as Well? DO IT!

I won't lie to you, I love video games and played them growing up but they can be a huge waste of time and can prevent you from going out and doing more social things as in my case. I think if you are playing for money or streaming its one thing, but that itself is a huge risk because if it does not pan out as a career option it doesnt give you much transferable skills for other career paths. The video game industry can be just as dirty as the porn industry. Pornhub is actually taking counter measures against the NoFap and are taking advantage of getting more people hooked at a young age with how accessible the internet has become. Videogames similarly, i have noticed seem to get more grind-heavy and time consuming, and this does one of two things, forces you to dish out extra cash to progress or spend countless hours trying to achieve the same thing. A lot of younger people cant afford to pay extra cash after already dropping 70+ on video games and use the abundant amount of freetime they have instead and that actually just creates a cycle of addiction until they move on to the next grind heavy game. Its almost like a drug that gives a different high everytime. PMO+ Videogame can really mess you up like it did for me, its like you are getting laid in one screen and then going to another screen for action and to get a sense of achievement in another virtual world , so its as if there is no reason to go out and improve your life when you can get that false sense of achievement through a monitor.

 

I think quitting games is a great thing to do. Fortunately for me, I don't really play anymore because I just woke up one day and realized I didn't like them anymore; but that's certainly not the case for my friends. Best of luck to anyone who takes the challenge.

 

Everyone should decide that for themselfes.

Porn has no positive aspects, we can agree on that.

Video Games are art and if you only play the garbage that's popular, you'll only play the skinner-box busy work kinda games. (Garbage like all Ubisoft Games, certain Multiplayer Games etc.) Review Scores nor sales are a good indication of quality.
Video Games enrich my life and make me think, just as books or movies or music, and are able to tell stories in a way that no other medium can.

If you hate grindy videogames that are designed to addict... just don't play them. There are plenty of games that are masterpieces without resorting to such awful manipulation of the player.

But if you feel like videogames don't add anything to your life and you are not interested in them, quitting won't hurt.

 

Quitting video games, at least for a while, is a good challenge. Thing is, you may not realise how much time and energy that take up until you give them a miss for a few months.

I used to go from PMO - junk food - video games - PMO - crash. That was as close to a stoner lifestyle as I could get without actually taking drugs...

The video games weren't as bad as PMO of course, but they have the capacity to take up hours of your time and give you an empty sense of achievement. I mean cleaning your room achieves 10x more than a gaming session and doesn't take that long!

I've kept my console and games so I don't waste money buying them again. But I haven't used them in months now... And I'm taking on extra responsibilities, and with my free time I usually like to relax or read... So I keep the console and games packed away for now.

Some of the games are fun and give me nostalgia so I will likely play them again, but like sipping whisky I'll do it occasionally and in small amounts lol.

 

I had a video game addiction for the longest time and I wish I knew about this a long time ago. Fortunately, my interest in video games have dramatically decreased over the last four years. I built my first PC last year and was built to play any video game on the market but I only desire to play one game for an hour or less a day on average. But reading Cam's story made me realize that even though I am not addicted anymore, I'm still wasting away my time. His four reasons to why we really play video games has inspired me to completely shut down gaming altogether. So thank you so much for sharing this!

 

I have just joined the club! I have deleted all the games from my computer today and from smart-phone about month ago. Exciting journey begins!

 

Part of the issue with video games is that it they are legitimately addictive. They trigger some of the same responses in the human brain as gambling or porn. That being said, they are not in and of themselves bad. This is a place where people come to help themselves beat addiction. If you think you're at all addicted to video games, by all means quit. If you're not, then no problem.

For those of you who are honest enough with yourselves to realize your problem and want to do something about it, best of luck!

 

Gah, I...agree with this, yet with some caveats. VG's have introduced me to some crazy arse concepts and worlds.
And as a writer I genuinely keep wanting to consume more of such content to enrich my own writing, world-building wise I mean, exposure always helps bring new ideas for yourself so...

Only other thing I genuinely enjoy are the occasional setpiece and more importantly, boss battles, especially well executed bosses with strong background lore or characters supporting it. That is the one gameplay oriented thing I actually almost always enjoy.

Spoiler

What I have done is zero in on how I play my games, its still a discipline I am practicing but the idea is:
1. No fluff - no collectibles, fetch quests or utterly pointless side quests. Major side quests featuring some fluff are ok but....

2. Utilize, cheat engine tables/trainers/downloaded save games - to remove fluff where it shows up. Seriously, not even kidding. Grinding levels? Fluff. Need to collect shit before story oriented thing? Fluff. Resource collection? Fluff(at least if you are grinding for it, if at happens smoothly within moment to moment gameplay, I allow it to a degree without trying to get SUPER STRONK, because my character need not be the most powerful).
I am really looking forward to one game near August. Mostly for the boss battles, that also features a lot of fluff. Using trainers means I am gonna cut down by time with it by a sheer 30-40 hours, or twenty, no doubt.

3. Immersion > Convenience - Disable all minimaps, objective/markers beacons(but allow toggling them now and then, don't want to waste time searching for a thing). Makes it easier to deal with potential OCDness or from getting distracted and running towards Cave #235263 when what you really need is to find the Trident of Grandous Wisdomeo to repel the Meteor Of Moste Certainus Mortality.

It also helps with the whole dopamine loop and novelty that games run on, which is the same reason I utilize cheat tables and what not. "Why even play a game then?" Because I enjoy the core gameplay or boss battle loop or the story/world? Try playing Skyrim without stopping by every container and picking up something new or opening it in case there is something in there, TELL ME THAT AIN'T BETTER I DARE YA.

While we are at it, if you have the option or the mod for it - disable violence or sexuality, why expose yourself to either?

4. Get. Up. - Games ain't worth yo health. If sitting down for a while, keep an alarm always on away from you, so if you end up Super Immersed and Into ItTM(superscript how does it work) you how something to remind you that time is a thing that definitely passes even if it is a human construct, and you definitely need water and maybe a lap around the block is a great idea because yo, nature be great dawg, best goddamn textures and lightshafts around here, see?

Plus your family/friends are on the same level, if, you, are, picking, a, game, over, them, you, need, to, question, yourself. Unless you have prioritized them for like the past three months/year straight up, take a day off sure, UNLESS THEY ARE IN THE EMERGENCY ROOM AND CALLING YOU FOR SOME HORRIFIC REASON WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING THEN FOO'.

5. Know what you are playing each game for - Is this a summer blockbuster for you? Or is it for keepsies? Don't get carried away by trends or trailers or marketing. Play what you know you value.
And within that, play only that which you actually what. Which is basically point 1, CUT OUT YOUR FLUFF.

....and if you are playing it to work towards something or get a character build? That's ok, but just ensure it doesn't replace you working towards things in your real life, or hijack you pondering on THAT. Because games can, and will do that.
Hell, I have bloody wondered about more optimal keyboard bindings to play games with instead of wondering how to solve that one exercise your class teacher always manages to give you right before your vacation, and then promptly forgotten said exercise until...I was in class.
No, that story did not have a twist, no the teacher was not evil, no the classmates were pretty chill through the process, BUT LETS GET BACK ON TOPIC NOW KAY DAWG?

I can definitely say cutting out games straight up is not that bad an idea, there are plenty of books to read, and so many other things too.

Argh, when it comes down to it, I will probably cut out most genres and stick to just CRPGS or story oriented shiz(and definitely less violence plz) along with some cheat engine tables to cut out any fluff.
...or I will cut out games entirely, but I am not sure I am there yet. I definitely have a healthier relationship with them than I used too though.

When it comes down to it - if it is actively interfering with your life - taking time away from studying, or family and friends, or looking for friends, or meditation/exercise...start curtailing it, or cut it out if you can't contain it.

Nothing is worth your life.
Nothing.

..........
wow this ended up a lot larger than I planned
If you got through that hellish spoiler, my props to you. HAVE A DRAMATIC BOW OF GRATITUDE ON ME, GOOD MADAME/SIRE.

 

Long time ago, I quit smoking and drinking, but when my father died in my arms, I was afraid that I would succumb to the temptation of those past vices, so I purchased a Playstation 2 to keep myself busy. As months gone by, I became a zombie, extremely lazy and did not want to do anything else ( except having sex with the ex girlfriend). But when my ex left me ( good riddance because she was poison) I realized that my father's death still affected me 8 months later and had a nervous breakdown. That is when I decided to get rid of my PS2 and work out. That is when I started feeling better....15 years later, I still played video games and realized how much it was a waste of my time, money and energy. So yes, it is a vice that can be as bad as PMO , that is why I stay away from games as well.

 

Games (assuming you do it to the point to qualify as an addiction) are a better negative habit than say television, trolling on social media or alcoholism, but it's still negative for the majority of people.

Feel free to swap out something worse for games if that helps... but if gaming is your current worst habit, ok, switch that down to something less negative or even something a little positive.

 

Totally agree!

 

Quit video games 3 weeks ago, day 3 no PMO, thinking of cutting ties with social media. Instant gratification is over for me. I feel like shit but I'm building myself up. Cooking for myself again, stricter sleep schedule, eating healthier, trying to keep my apartment cleaner.

 

Video games are the only reason I haven't killed myself, just saying.

 

For me there are certain types of games that get addicting and I stay away from such as MMOs that feed the dopamine cycle in the brain. I had a World of Warcraft addiction in college that I grew out of. It wasn't at the level of living in my basement yelling at a raid party addiction just lots of wasted hours and potential.

I try to play the story based games because it is hard to get hooked and it has a story. It is less addicting than binging on a TV series that can eat up my entire day and possibly have a lot more triggers to keep the male audience interested.

I use timers to keep games under 30 minutes then get back to work/productivity mode.