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.
> I spent tons of cash on Nintendo and steam
But this sounds like a more specific problem. I spend as little money as possible on games, and I once I buy them, I play them for years. Or I return to them later on. It is utterly weird to me how people indulge in "microtransactions" for example.
> Or I would play them and it would just feel like a huge time sync and not fun.
That the cue to at least abandon said games.
> I just couldn't recreate the happy times.
You shouldn't do it for nostalgia reasons anyway. Just to occupy yourself in your free time. I've bought Deep Rock Galactic a few months ago when it was 66% off. It's a nice game, but there was no intent to "recreate" anything.
> I no longer spend mental energy seeing what slop is too woke And acceptable.
Don't go for "modern" games... also you don't need games to be multiplayer. PvP for example is a frustrating experience because it always leads to a 50% win-rate on average. There is no "I managed to finish the hardest difficulty", it is just goes on forever.
> It's a complete waste of time
But what else would you do with your time?
See, there is a phenomenon that higher intelligence requires more cognitive stimulation. That can be anything like reading books, playing games, curiosity, having something to expend productivity, creativity, writing, thinking. It means boredom affects you more severely - it can occur easier and feel more inconvenient. You may be able to compensate that better temporarily by being able to just look out the window and think about something, but that has limits.
Games are ONE way to create cognitive stimulation. The reason people play tedious or even boring games is because they still provide cognitive stimulation - aka *something* to do.
A good alternative is to do physical labor, like building tables and furniture. Or even building some structure. But if doing so only serves to occupy you, then gaming is a cheaper and easier alternative.