This is more for discussion, maybe some of you can handle it
I didn't even game often, but it constantly occupied my headspace. I spent tons of cash on Nintendo and steam just to barely play game but look forward to them. Or I would play them and it would just feel like a huge time sync and not fun.
I'm 40 now with 4 kids. I always justified it as a way to bond with them or something I deserved. I would say it was not as bad as doomscrolling or social media.
What kept me in the most was just memories of gaming. I just couldn't recreate the happy times. But I kept trying anyway. I tried moderation but I just cannot do it.
I decided to quit them all. It's liberating not to try for achievements or set arbitrary time limits. I no longer spend mental energy seeing what slop is too woke And acceptable.
I feel like this is something I should have done when I had my first kid years ago. It's a complete waste of time beyond some good mental exercises many of you cocks shamed vidya, and I salute you for it.
Everyone reading this under 40. Don't waste years like I did.
Time is the only factor for me. We all play less as we get older but mainly because we are busy. We budget our time for what's important.
And the recreation time that we have left is filled with new hobbies. Men do this naturally, they call of a "mid life crisis," but in reality we just get bored. I took up golfing. Stupid sport I know lol don't judge me
This philosophy of "don't waste your time" is worthless when it comes to healthy recreation: when I *want* to spend my time doing something I enjoy more than I want to spend my time doing something productive. Of course too much lounging will make for a less fulfilling life, but no rec at all will make for a short, stressful one.
The second most common complaint against gaming that I hear is that the games today are no longer worth the time due to rushed money grabs and political injection ("wokeness"). I have the solution to this:
#1) Older games, like the thousands of golden-age PS2 and Wii games that you missed. They are free using emulators. Games that are only kinda old are now much better thanks to mods.
#2) Embrace the "problem" for what it is, the true solution to gaming that has been leading us into a new renaissance within the medium! Lemme explain...
There are more mediocre games today because games are so easy to make now. If your computer can handle it, Unreal Engine will hold your hand and make whatever game you can imagine (so long as you don't throw up from UE's disgusting default water shaders). Unity game engine, though woke, will hold your hand less than Unreal and won't make a 3060 explode but still gives a *make a game easily with no prior knowledge* experience. Godot, the open source game engine, is my favorite program in over a decade! I consider it yo be a game, as its been just as fun or more fun to make games than to play them. I've made a 3D platformer and am now playing with a horror / virtual pet / dinosaur shooter lol
I cannot exaggerate the freedom Godot gives. If you like sandbox games, I highly suggest it. Heck, even if you don't make anything with it, its still worth the download to play the free, editable games available in the asset tab.
TLDR: No, I like doing the things I like to do.