Should We Quit Playing Video Games?
If you're anything like me, you enjoy playing video games. Over the years I have played a wide range of video games. The OG computer games like Minecraft, the classic ps2 game; the Simpsons hit and run, Assassin's Creed, NBA 2K, FIFA and so on.
While I now believe I have video games in my life at a healthy moderation, it wasn’t always like that. I wouldn’t say I was ever addicted to video games, but when I was younger in my early teenage years I would spend a significant amount of hours playing video games every week.
So, today I am going to be sharing with you how minimising the amount of time I spent playing video games and essentially getting rid of them for a while; changed my life.
Statistics & my experience of quitting video games
According to a 2017 study, 72% of men and 49% of women aged 18 to 29 play video games. The industry has an estimated 2.2 to 2.6 billion people and the market is estimated to be worth 180 billion dollars by the end of 2021, and the game GTA 5 alone sold over 95 millions units worldwide and over 6 billion dollars in revenue, and is the top-selling game in the US in terms of both revenue and units sold.
When I was playing a lot of video games; it was back when I was not a productivity nerd; so I can’t use a system to search and find out how many hours I was playing. And I can’t remember accurately how many hours I spent; let’s say every week. But, it was definitely fun and I don’t regret it. I still remember in the early secondary school years; staying after school some days or being in the IT rooms at break/lunchtime with friends and playing pc games or building squads for Ultimate Team for FIFA. Haha, those were the days. But, making the decision to spend less time playing video games was a worthwhile one for sure.
A lot of research demonstrates that video gaming can be addictive, and some evidence suggests that in gaming addicts there are alterations in the neural reward system; which is associated with feeling pleasure, learning and motivation. Also, while some researchers are still debating what impact gaming has on brain regions and how, Marc Palaus argues that it’s likely “that video games have both positive (on attention, visual and motor skills) and negative aspects (risk of addiction).”
I was big on playing games like Minecraft and FIFA back in the day; so much so that I made YouTube videos about them; from gameplay to tutorial videos. But, I remember that back in September 2015; when the latest version of FIFA was released; I decided not to buy it.; and this was when I started to play video games less often. Especially when I was in the last year of secondary school; that’s when I really decreased the amount of time I was playing; because I wanted to focus on my studies.
Around this kind of time, was when I really got into playing basketball even more. I was playing every single day; every break and lunch, after school, going to training sessions; some around 6 am. Yep, 6am! As well as playing in games against other schools.
In the last 2-3 years; especially in the years 2017-2019; I don’t remember playing many video games much at all. I remember playing quite a bit in the holidays when I had more free time, but that was probably about it. This allowed me to spend my free time doing things that I am very passionate about, such as making films/videos (such as my YouTube videos), practicing magic and cardistry, building websites and photography.
Does that mean we should quit playing video games?
Something I want to emphasize is that if you enjoy playing video games; that doesn’t mean that you should quit. I still play video games every so often. Especially when I have more free time. But, having it at a healthy frequency in your life is a good way to go about it.
If you're someone who wants to decrease the amount of time playing video games; you could implement your own rules or guidelines into your life. For example, you could have the rule that you will only play video games when you are with other people.
At the end of the day, it’s all about balance; what's the point if we are not doing things that we enjoy; whether that be playing video games or watching tv shows and so on. It’s just when it gets to an unhealthy amount of hours that it can impact our day to day lives, our goals and even our relationships. And that’s when you might need to take a step back and evaluate a few things. But, if we are still working and progressing on achieving the things we want to achieve, and doing the things that make us happy; what else could we ask for in life.
Thanks for reading and have a great day,
Alexandro
[Researched & Written by Alexandro Theodorou]