More young men dropping out of job market to spend time in an alternate reality
1843magazine.com
1843magazine.com
"We're not going to pay you enough to ever actually own anything, so you'll have to rent most things for the rest of your life, and you're still going to be living paycheck to paycheck."
"Gee, maybe I'll find something else to do than maintain the institutions you rigged against me because you didn't want to invest in your own retirement."
I have been an avid gamer all my life. In the recent decade it's taken a hit, as life (work, moving in with the gf, etc.) got in the way.
Ultimately, though, I come back to gaming. I play fewer games, as their quality overall has been affected by capitalism's relentless pursuit to ruin everything in the name of profits, but there are still plenty of good titles left.
I have come to the realisation that nothing else in life gives me the kind of happiness and peace of mind as gaming does. It's about as good as the most effective drugs I've known and that's saying quite something (certainly healthier too).
When I play games, I have something to focus on, while simultaneously rewarding the part of my brain involved in learning and accomplishment. It's a killer mixture I've fostered since I was a toddler pretty much, so it hooks into something very primal, deep down.
The funny thing is, that gaming has gone from the thing reject-nerds used to do, to a thing that's broadly socially accepted. So nowadays I can finally just happily admit that I enjoy games.
What I do not admit is, that almost anything I do in life is so I can play more games and ultimately, I don't mind, because that's where I have found more happiness than anywhere else.
The only thing that comes remotely close is the stability I get from a healthy family life living with my girlfriend, who loves gaming just as much.
Going to work, the forced socialising required to hold down the job, etc. is all just a means to do more gaming. If I could disappear into a virtual world full-time, I would.
With an investment in a game, you pay for the game and the equipment once, and can then have a multitude of experiences with no financial consequence. Negative elements have been guardrailed and smoothed out for you into minor irritants, allowing you to get through a day without experiencing stress, panic or anxiety even if your mind and mood are at a low level of resilience.
What games often don't do is guide their players back into views and habits that aid in overall life satisfaction. Most forms of human development involve struggling with more and more things - but in a liberated sense, where you are taking it on because you want to grow and challenge yourself. The escapist fantasy can't do that - which doesn't mean they shouldn't exist, but society is conflicted with how they should be used.
Many of us don't see the point in chasing marriage, higher education, careers, relationships or being a homeowner. The dating game in most cities is abysmal, and the majority of attractive single ladies are high end escorts, sugar babies and or gold diggers. There are many factors in society that has led to that. Sure I can spend a thousand or two on a nice watch, but for what? I can get a high NUC PC and huge monitor for that price. The same applies to a luxury car, sure I can afford it, but I would rather walk, take the train/bus or uber, so that I space out and listen to podcasts, youtube or game while commuting.
Phillip Zimbardo wrote a recent book on the afflictions that young men are facing today. It seems dauntless. Sometimes, I too ask myself if the chase is worth it. My gut feeling is that it's not.
Yeah I don't think Luxury cars give a big level of satisfaction.
For me, I have always felt that I can easily spend $20 and have a weekend of fun, or $100 and have a night out at a bar. The $20 for a weekend feels better.
That's the point. There are better forms of entertainment. The problem is that socializing is also a need our brain has that takes a back-seat.
Edit: Current society has most of our motivations to do things kinda met: games & tv, social media & game groups, porn. More or less you can control most of your basic motivations without the need for socializing or doing things that cost more than a bit of money. I'd argue 200 years ago it would be impossible to be satisfied even at that level without major social gatherings and such.
Isolation does that. And majority of population was never heavy clubbers or keg drinkers. That was always only minority of people despite being shown in movies as norm.
In the first sentence you distance yourself from your friends who "are" addicted, but spend the rest of the time justifying your affiliation with the group. Would you like to be typecast in the same way?
Yeesh this just comes off as bitter. The dating game is hard but it's a two way street. I doubt anyone is going to be surprised that the most attractive members of either sex are taken but writing them off as sex workers is remarkably disingenuous.
I don’t think your outlook on life is anything close to accurate if you believe this.
Time to start going to church.
As for your rant on the behavior of hot women... You have to understand, hot women grow up having to constantly push people away because they get too much attention. They develop hoops because otherwise they'd probably never get to be alone. In a lot of cases their demanding behavior is a veneer that you can get past fairly quickly once they realize they enjoy having you around. As long as you're really confident, when that type of woman is unreasonably demanding, it works pretty well to respond to her as if she just told a bad/corny joke.
I came to the realisation one night that I was wasting my life away. That gaming was an escape from reality. I stopped gaming completely because I felt like I was missing out on what the world had to offer.
After I stopped gaming a lot of things changed for the better. I became happier, healthier and made more friends in real life than I had ever before.
Gaming addiction should be spoken about more.
Combined with slight depression, it's really easy to see video games dominating all aspects of someone's life.
I've fallen into it a bit in the past and it's easy to get bitter and isolated.
I think the only way out is to turn off the games and try something different.