They keep your brain sharp like puzzles, increase reaction time, and are often a source of camaraderie and friendships. They can even serve as a support system when people are going through hard times for that reason.
They also teach teamwork, and how to work with clashing personalities, improving people skills. They can teach leadership.
The work that goes into creating them is both technical and artistic, and should be respected as such.
They keep people who might otherwise have no access to a healthy place to blow off steam from frequenting bars, avoiding real life confrontations and blowing money on expensive alcohol.
They can build self esteem from being good at something.
Gaming should be much more celebrated in society.
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Not unpopular dude
I agree. They train strategy, quick thinking, leadership skills, assertiveness, and coordination/reflexes
That is true, but only of you limit it to about a 1/2 hour a day. Also, there’s a bunch of other stuff that can do the same thing while also getting your heart rate up and building muscle mass and bone density.
In reality, they are the cigarettes of gen Z and comments like this are “oh, but smoking helps me stay thin.” True but a great cost to yourself and society.
I didn’t a semester long paper in college on video games and learning. It was a class on teaching adults, and we had to pick a random subject. I picked that because it was a strong opinion of mine, and it was very much in the era of video games are bad and rot your brain.
Basically, video games have a large number of benefits. They teach fine motor skills, timing, critical thinking, puzzle solving, etc.
It also has a large benefit to learning and more importantly, retention. Many of us can’t remember lessons we had in high school, but we remember cheat codes and patterns in video games from when we were even younger. They’ve considered using video games as teaching aids or as homework.
I don’t know if it’s true, but I just read a story about a class trip to a foreign country. The class got lost and a kid said they could find their way to the destination. Took them right to it and when questioned about how they knew, they said they learned it from Assassins Creed.
The point being that video games are a good thing, and gaming should be encouraged. Can people play to many games or ones that aren’t great for them mentally? Sure. That’s true of anything, not just video games. So that’s a separate issue that doesn’t come into play.
The dose makes the poison.
Bunching all video game together is like saying all food is good/bad
It’s active entertainment rather than tv and is a good task for puzzles and challenges for your brain. Not to mention as a social outlet.
Been playing about 20hrs a week all my life and I’m at the age of 31
It really depends on the game just like TV, books, music, anything.
Being a game developer? Sure, that’s a well paying and creative job. Being a gamer? I’d beg to differ.
If you keep gaming on the same level as any other hobby – painting, a sport, whatever, then it can be perfectly healthy. Sure, it would most likely be more productive to take on those other options, but I don’t blame someone for wanting to just have some easy fun.
However, tuning into gaming culture? Becoming a self-proclaimed gamer? I’d never recommend that to anyone. The culture is toxic and weird, it encourages being online way too much, and it can change your lifestyle to a point where you rarely seek out things that will actually improve your life, like exercise, socialization and other healthier hobbies.
Video games aren’t all the same, I’ll admit that. Strategy games and action games will surely avoid some of these problems more so than something like an MMO. However, saying they build skills is a little bit ridiculous. Doing literally anything will ‘build a skill.’ Playing more video games will make you better at video games. But I don’t think teamwork, leadership, strategy or anything like that would be a direct, tangible result of gaming.
Don’t wanna ruin your fun, but I don’t think video games need to be praised more, nor is this even an unpopular opinion.
I can honestly say that I’ve been asked a million times why I play games. And I normally just shrug and say “It’s a hobby.”, but that’s a lie. Because when I’m in game, I’m at home. From the flames of cataclysm to the icy mountains of Tamriel, anywhere I venture, is a place I love and know. My entire life people preach that I could be anything that I wanted to be. But when I told them I wanted to be the captain of a ship, a spaceship, THE spaceship that saves humanity. That I wanted to be Commander Shepard they told me I need to get a grip on reality. And to them to them a grip on a reality means the American dream, working nine to five crammed up in a tiny cubicle having two-point-five kids, a two story suburban house and a white picket fence. I divorce once, and I’d have debt into my early thirties because I took some bullshit university degree that’s suppose to help me in the end.
This isn’t reality, this is just a dull outlook on it. Now I understand it’s human nature to achieve greatness, but I can do this as Commander Shepard, I don’t need a degree. And if I want to go on an adventure I don’t ever have to leave the comfort of my home. Yet, people spend an entire salary to travel and I can’t help but laugh. I’ve single-handedly stopped a reign of ancient wyverns from destroying a nation, but before I could do that do I had to:
Learn their language. Become a master in Swordsmanship, Smithing, Archery, Defense, Magic, Speech, Hunting and Thieving!
Not to mention I had to take down an entire fleet of assassins along with a brigade of smugglers before I could even START my lessons in Dragon’s Speak. I’ve always enjoyed an adventure, but I hated pawning my limbs to afford an eighteen-hour car ride. And aside from being told that I can enjoy a white-picket fence at the end of my career, all my years as a student was balance between Fractal Formulas and believing I never be able to love which is literal INSANITY. I’ve saved Princess Peach. I wanted to be the guy, and I became the guy. I saved Bandage Girl. And I’ve been Link for generations just to save Princess Zelda. But yet, I’m the eternal virgin, I’m the guy that’s never going to love.
And sometimes this shit doesn’t make sense to me, why people assume that I need to be out doing something and away from home to have fun when I have my own reality grasped between my hands. I have my own world at my fingertips, if I screw something up I can rewind time. I can’t do that in real life, but when I’m in game I’m free to what I please, when I plEEEase, I’m free to enjoy things the way I want to. I can build my own Kingdom and lead my people to freedom because I’m the mind behind the game. I’m the one who enjoys these games.
I am a gamer. And I always will be.
This is a fact
For all the reasons you state, it’s also why it’s bad for you.
They compete with your real life endeavours.
You don’t need to win in your career now because you already have a sense of achievement.
You don’t need to make real life connections because you chat with teammates over Discord.
You don’t need to discover the world because you can explore the open world of whatever AAA game you’re playing.
But yet, none of these things can replace the real thing.
Gaming in moderation is fine, sure. But alot of us don’t (be honest).
We binge gaming for hours and hours each day.
It sucks up all our time (i.e. life) and makes us not be present for our partners, our goals or our responsibilities.
It is fun until I look at my non-gamer classmates who became millionaires before they are 30
I could never be that person though
me getting backshotted by black panther:
Everyone who doesn’t hate games out of spite knows this
The problem is there are a lot of people who hate it out of spite
As always, it depends upon what you play. People who only play online competitive games tend to suffer the most, but also those who only get invested in singleplayer games and never bother with the social connections they could make. Have a balance of both in your life! Local multiplayer is often forgotten but very enjoyable too.
Who says its not celebrated mans? Its one of the most common hobbies IN THE WORLD.
Also hardly says they are bad, HOWEVER overdoing it and spending 6+ hours every day gaming can be a tad bit much often teeters into diagnosable addiction.
I agree to a certain extent. Some people trade their life to game. For instance my brother was a guy who was making a life for himself. Used to play a moderate amount. Slowly that’s all he started to do. He stopped working and becoming a proper adult and now at 26 years old he has nothing to show for himself except some thousands of hours in apex, Skyrim, and gta. It’s not like he streams or plays in tournaments, he just prefer fantasy to the harsh reality. When he got arrested for stealing his neighbors car and crashed it I had asked him what was going through his mind and all he had to say for himself is that once he got behind the wheel it was need for speed.
All that being said games CAN be good for you. I like to play myself, generally fallout, Xcom or elite dangerous. I like to think they keep me sharp.
This was true until they started simplifying and dumbing down games, at least as far as AAA games go.
Yes, moderate amounts of gaming can be good for you. People who feel the need to come online to defend gaming as a hobby usually neglect a whole lot of other things to game.
I avoided an idiot doing an insane lane change from upping my reaction speed, so definitely a big thanks to games for that
The best surgeons play video games
Hope this goes over well with your parents tomorrow, man
Key word of all of those being: they can.
They can keep your brain sharp. They can also dull it down. They can be a source of friendship, but they can also be a pathway to isolation. They can be a place for blowing of steam, or they can be a place where impotent rage is built.
Typically, I’d agree with you! But I’m currently sitting here with two almost useless thumbs. De Quevrain’s Tenosynovitis aggravated by gaming haha
Like all things there’s moderation, depends on the person, the use, what games they play etc. If you’re playing league for 5+ hours a day then yeah imma say it probably isn’t good for you. But if you’re getting a couple hours in, and you don’t ignore the important shit you gotta do then yeah it can be good for you too
I think video games can also be an unhealthy form of escapism. Like with everything, there’s a balance to be had, and the negatives of having a sedentary hobby as your primary entertainment and social outlet isn’t going to outweigh the minor benefits it offers to your hand eye coordination or problem solving skills.
I’ve personally witnessed people become addicted to games and waste their lives, losing jobs and relationships, because they’ve gotten suckered into an online dopamine factory and can’t escape. I’ve even personally gotten very close to that edge where I was neglecting personal responsibilities because I had a clan event or some sort of limited time thing in game I prioritized above, you know, real life stuff. I was one of the lucky ones that recognized it early enough that I was able to get out and delete those games before it became a larger issue.
Online games and the communities around them are also just stuffed full of some of the worst, most maladjusted and toxic waste humanity has to offer. The pipeline from gaming to full blown Nazism or dangerous/illegal sexual fixations/fetishes is basically a meme at this point it’s so common.
There’s also a million traps with a lot of modern gaming. In game purchases and legalized gambling are incredibly destructive, for example. All of this stuff is very carefully curated and researched, and gaming companies know exactly how to best keep people addicted and spending money.
For people who do play video games, we know this. For those who don’t, it’s this evil thing that rots your brain.
Science has already proven this. The only people that have an issue with this are older generations that didn’t grow up with this stuff. My parents though the games I played (CS and Valorant) were just about killing people. I had to explain the rules of the game and that you can technically win without killing anyone as long as you do your “job” with your team.
They’re only good for you if you actually try and have a constant improvement cycle going.
I see them as entertainment on par with movies, I’m gonna be honest most of my niche general knowledge is from stuff in video games
I agree. It’s also art and culture.
It has its pros and I enjoy them from time to time , but I think overall video game addiction makes them a net negative.
All things in balance and moderation.
After my accident video games helped rehabilitate my hand.
Video games are used by our military to train soldiers. They are also used by neurological researchers and digital therapists to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
While there are benefits such as you mentioned, video games the way many or maybe even most play it are problematic in that they trigger and keep you in a sympathetic nervous state and mess up your dopamine.
Particularily competitive games where stakes are (percieved) high … Fortnite, CoD, League of Legends etc.
Usually these things are coupled with drinking lots of stimulating drinks with lots of coffein and not moving your body for hours on end.
Theres also the addictive part where escaping the real world becomes chronic.
Cold hands/feet, high pulse, bad sleep, not feeling much doing activities outside of gaming (everything else is boring) imo are good signs that playing games are not good at the moment.
Obviously some people are more resilient than others but should negative effects arise i would advise switching to story games or taking a break and adress the nervous system.
Video games being good or bad depend on the context imo.
lol, video games are not good for you, fuck me lads. Escapism does not further any other metric of a life well lived except enjoyment of the moment and rich internal fantasy. It actively does not develop life skills where so many other activities do.
It’s fun, it’s relaxing, I like it, but lets no go down the “bacon is good for me” route.
You can’t make a blanket statement. There’s cases where video games are good and other where it’s bad.
Examples of video games being harmful :
Young kids : recent studies show the harm that mobile games (yes they are considered videogames) do on very young kids, especially when they are geared to maximize dopamine releases
People vulnerable to addictions : there are genetic predispositions that make some people more likely to be addicted
Comparison to other hobbies : while I fully agree that videogames are healthier than passive entertainment, it needs to be done in combination of sports (physical health) and socializing (mental health).
Gets all the Gwent cards in Witcher 3. Also the quests and thinking gives me a good sleep afterwards. Games help against sleeping disorder.
Agreed. Especially when you compare them to the alternative (doom scrolling algorithms on your phone while they mine your data and sell you crap you don’t need).
As a game designer, yes and no.
Your points are mostly correct, but many people spam the same game without thinking much. They stagnate in that game because they stop thinking.
At this point, you’re not really reaping any of the positive cognitive effects of gaming other than feeling somewhat satisfied. Yes sure you may keep your reflexes or some other cognitive skills (depending on what you play), but you can kind of imagine it like someone doing just 100 pushups every day for the rest of their life. In the first few months they may grow from it a lot, but eventually it becomes easy to them and they don’t grow any further, at best they maintain their strength and endurance.
If you want games to be good for you, play many different games or games that have a lot of new things to do all the time keeping you learning.
*video games can be good for you.
The idea that they’re inherently good for you is obviously flawed. In fact there’s plenty of aspects of games that make them inherently bad for you.
Edit: the goal of video games is to keep you coming back… Aka addiction. People spend tens of thousands of dollars on Clash Of Clans and Pokemon Go, completely free apps. People ruin their lives with video games. I promise you there are many facets of games that are inherently bad, and very few that are inherently good. And this is coming from a gamer.
Your brain is already mashed potatoes if you believe this
What you said, but in addition can also be a gateway for learning if the game’s setting, characters, mechanics, locations etc etc are based on reality or history.
In moderation it’s fine. Even water can harm you if you drink way too much. I just think the bad side of video games is that you can be easily addicted and neglect self improvement and daily tasks.
This post might’ve made sense 15-20 years ago, when there was still a large public voice against video games, but that’s almost completely disappeared. Pretty much everyone plays video games now, and the only people left who argue they’re bad for you are 90 or are rightly saying kids shouldn’t play them too much. The people who pop up here arguing that they’re bad for you are just trolls.
I agree, especially since the other “idle” activity these days seems to be doom-scrolling. If I play an hour or two of a video game, especially a single-player player where other people can’t harsh my vibe, I feel a lot better than if I screw around on my phone for the same amount of time.
The problem isn’t gaming, isn’t the amount of time (and in some case money) spent on them.
Sitting for long periods is proven to destroy your back though so while games might be good, sitting for long periods even with breaks is incredibly bad for you as is staring at a screen for long periods. Then of course there is a repetitive strain injury, tendonitis, carpal tunnel etc etc. The list is endless.
I got my job in IT because of Counter Strike and Mu Online.
Leadership and trying it stuff for benefit of communit.
Video Games teach hand-eye coordination,
which is why I now have catlike reflexes.
This is one of those things where, whether or not they’re good for you or an active detriment depends on your physical/mental health and level of ability. It also depends highly on what you’re playing, as well as on the culture of what you’re playing, how much time you spend playing it, and whether you lead an otherwise healthy lifestyle.
I would venture to say that it’s unhealthy more often than not.
I used to play video games a lot, but after a while I lost interest and found them very time consuming. I think a lot of their benefits get very overblown by people reacting to older generations who dislike them. In reality I’ve gained infinitely more just doing stuff outside the house. Don’t have a problem with them as a hobby, but to say there are tons of benefits I’m skeptical of.
I’ll say the ACTUAL unpopular opinion and say that I think video game benefits are negligible at best. And the downsides actually outweigh the pros in the most popular games.
(When I say these things, I am referring to the most popular AAA game releases. Not your niche indie that no one is actually playing.)
Pros:
Cons:
MOST triple AAA games are not offering much in terms of teamwork.
In fact, online games are actually horribly toxic environments. Being cursed out, berated, racists, sexist. Most of these game communities are just made of shitty people.
Games are for the most part a time suck, especially games like Fortnite, Call of Duty and even causal games like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley. The goals of these games are cyclical and often not very enriching. They serve as only motivation to keep you plugged into a TV.
Very few games actually give you something of value, outside of an appreciation for the art. Last of Us, Shadow of the Colossuses, etc. are good examples of it.
I personally believe the active nature of video games can be bad for irl personal relationships. You kind of have to tune out of everything to actually play and excel at gaming. It’s a tough situation.
And again with the gameplay loops. If you’re not careful, games like Fortnite can eat away at your entire day. I’m not saying people can’t have hobbies or just decompress, but what exactly are you gaining from this hobby other than that decompression? It doesn’t feel useful.
On decompression. The most popular online games in fact do the opposite. You’re telling me playing COD battle royale or NBA 2k actually relaxes you? Either you’re lying or need to see a therapist.
Thats about it. Stick me to a cross if you have to, but this feels like a more unpopular opinion than the actual post.
Edit: I’m also just not happy with how the industry has evolved. Game cycles, streaming-esque game hubs, the development of games that resemble gambling, laziness overall in big studios to churn out things without pushing the medium. I’m aware the indie scene has been combatting this, but the resources aren’t as strong sadly.
I’ve been busy doing other stuff and I miss the stimulation that I used to get from gaming. I was gaming last night and had fun, so I hope I can do some more gaming tonight
*in moderation
I disagree. Videogames, for many people, myself included, are absolutely a vice.
They can be quite addictive, and like any other addiction damage your life. That being said, you can also have a healthy/neutral relationship with them as long as you are careful and enjoy them in moderation!
But even addiction notwithstanding, they really are a waste of time in a lot of ways. I love gaming and I will be gaming for the rest of my life, but I 100% recognize that the vast majority of hobbies are much more healthy and can develop you as a person in ways that are more valuable.
If I spent the 5000+ hours or so I’ve spent getting good at video games learning an instrument, a second langauge, reading literature/nonfiction, or doing something active, I would be better off as a person 100%. The reason gaming is looked down upon is because it really just doesn’t enhance your life like the aforementioned do.
I was playing Portal today and it makes me want to kill myself. The puzzles are too hard, where is skibidi toilet 😭😭😭
Vibeo game bad
While video games can stimulate certain cognitive processes, they are not an equivalent substitute for the broad, dynamic, and nuanced cognitive demands of real-life problem-solving and abstract thinking. Actually coding a game involves a higher level of technical proficiency and creative thought than playing it, highlighting the distinction between creation and consumption of cognitive tasks. Both activities can engage the brain differently, but are not directly comparable in terms of cognitive challenge or real-world applicability.
This hasn’t been unpopular since before 2010.
Why do you think the gamers are usually the smartest kids in school without trying?
i think whats important is it feels challenging and your improving. if youre playing the same game for yrs thats no different from doomscrolling
I work in a warehouse, pick packing and forklift driving. All the gamers are so much better when it comes to stacking, speed, driving and accuracy.
Depends on the game, how often they are played, and if doing so distracts from other responsibilities, but, yeah, games can be beneficial.
In moderation of course. While having 10-30 minutes of a puzzle game or something of the sort may be good. Having 13 hours a day on hentai waifu simulators is extremely detrimental to your health.