Video games 'good for well-being' | Hacker News Reader

Video games 'good for well-being'

bbc.com

18 pointsgmays17 comments

"people who play video games for extended periods of time report being happier." As we all know, if it makes you happy, it's good for your well-being. Now, go eat all the sugar you can while doing zero exercise and playing video games in between porn sessions.

Do you think playing video games a lot is comparable to excessive sugar consumption or sedentarism in terms of harm?

Yes, back when I played WoW excessively I almost lost my job. Losing your job is pretty high in terms of things that bring you harm, both mental and physical harm.

Yes. Video games fulfill the need to succeed by fighting for good, building useful things, accomplishing objectives, building relationships, etc without actually doing those things, and wasting a great deal of your time (4+ hours per day recommended by this study!) doing so. The same way sugary crap tastes delicious but just wastes calories that could otherwise go to nutritious food.

We're all giving our lives up to something. Do you really want to give your life away to hollow fake accomplishment?

Most hobbies are fake accomplishments, some things are just about joy. It's always about moderation

Isn't everything a fake accomplishment? If I like baking cakes does it mean I accomplished something by doing so? And conversely if I'm a runner does it mean it's fake because I'll never beat the world record?

When you say that, the example that pops into my mind is Stardew Valley. It's very satisfying as an escape because it provides periodic rewards while abstracting away nearly all potential sources of frustration. I'd be a little concerned about spending too much time immersed in that in a way that wouldn't bother me so much about other hobbies.

Yes, it's an artificial dopamine release like any other.

> "people who play video games for extended periods of time report being happier."

My experience is the opposite. Little gaming makes me happy; more than a couple hours of gaming nauseates me.

I wonder if this can be fully explained by having 4 hours daily for leisure (and not specifically video games), vs. not having them.

Exactly it could be sitting by the pool reading a book or watching Netflix relaxing. In other words people who can afford leisure are happier.

They obviously didn’t look into multiplayer games.

Example A https://youtu.be/Pq7i90PPTbA

The data has been provided by game vendors (Nintendo and EA). There is a conflict of interest there.

It's an overly general statement given that only two games were studied (Animal crossing and Plants vs. Zombies).

I hypothesise that many games make people feel miserable in the long term. Especially games that include addictive elements or mind-numbing grinds.

> Especially games that include addictive elements

Like Animal Crossing and Plants vs Zombies?

> or mind-numbing grinds.

Like Animal Crossing? (Not sure about PvZ)

Either you’re being a contrarian troll, or think all video games are inherently bad.

Both “addictive elements” and “grind” have layers of nuance to defining them, particularly when it comes to intended game design. I’d argue if you apply the “you know it when you see it” test, neither of those pass for Animal Crossing at least.

Neither, actually. You talk about nuance but seem to forget to apply it to your own thoughts and arguments.

I play video-games, albeit relatively sparingly. I like them.

I had to make myself stop playing AC because of both those reasons. The grinding was incredibly boring and taxing but the game was addictive enough to keep me stuck to the controller. I never got much into PvZ but it's certainly addictive.

I never got either impression out of Breath of the Wild or most of the RPGs I like to play (grind? sure, many have that - but as long as the grind is not directly coupled with addictive elements, it's relatively harmless IMO). I never get it out of FIFA (a little on the addictive side but frustrating enough at times that it's usually not a problem for me), I never get either with Mario games. The list goes on but hopefully that clarifies my point a little.

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