No, not for me.

Why such obsession on being productive all the time?
Wasting time sometimes is a good thing. That's what entertainment is for and without it life would be meaningless.

Does it any good for you?

It could be money, fun or sanity (sometimes games helps me to heal some mental wounds). If so, you're not wasting time.

I work full time and support my family, pay all the bills and do all the adult stuff. People need hobbies and vices as a mental break from life. For me and many others, video games is one of those things. Am I being productive when playing video games? Absolutely not. But that's not the point. It's an escape from the mentally exhausting realities of life, and it's temporary. I don't feel the least bit guilty for indulging when I have the time. If you're a productive member of society, you shouldn't either.

Of course if you're an adult living in your mom's basement, that's different and maybe video games shouldn't be a priority.

is fun a waste of time?

apart from that, gaming also taught me about computers from a young age, and a lot of english language skills before I even had it in school, so no, no it isn't.
games also train your senses, and if it's educational titles they can also teach you about a lot of other things, and being playful about it often helps.

As the man said...

+1

Maybe, at the end of the journey, the way we lived is of higher importance than what we accomplished in life.

A great man once said "Time is an illusion, lunchtime doubly so"

Shame on you guys for responding to yet another one of these.

DosFreak wrote on 2022-07-18, 20:51:

Shame on you guys for responding to yet another one of these.

hey now, you're doing it yourself 😁

This same question was sent through Quoras highlight email this morning...Bot?

Yes, it is. NOW GO BACK TO MINES.

Retro gaming is like appreciating art and music, so no not a waste.

Modern gaming is like watching trash TV, so yes it is.

Not to me, it's an escape, trying to get these bloody games working is an education I can apply to other things. TO me it's actually a little productive though mostly just entertainment. Also, it's a good way to waste time without having to invest a lot of time into the games when it comes to the old stuff. I can plop down and play Tetris or Wacky Wheels for 15 minutes to burn up some time and escape between tasks. That's how I live without going entirely insane.

Muz wrote on 2022-07-18, 16:39:

Is gaming a waste of time?

That depends on how one defines "a waste of time" and, more importantly, what one consider as "worthwhile" in life .

If you can define the above, you should be able to answer your own question .

Best of luck on your upcoming epic quest for self-discovery .

Not in small doses and / or playing small, self-contained games. We all need a break once in a while, and small games provide it very well, can even be a healthy outlet at times. The megaworld, ridiculously extravgant and "realistic" games of today, which intentionally have a paywalls in order to complete? Yes, they're a waste of time and of money, and are probably leading to wastage of human resources and capital in general.

zyzzle wrote on 2022-07-19, 01:41:

Not in small doses and / or playing small, self-contained games. We all need a break once in a while, and small games provide it very well, can even be a healthy outlet at times. The megaworld, ridiculously extravgant and "realistic" games of today, which intentionally have a paywalls in order to complete? Yes, they're a waste of time and of money, and are probably leading to wastage of human resources and capital in general.

I play games to mostly to escape reality, including financial constraints. I have zero interest in playing a game that would make me spend real money on virtual crap. My perspective may change when fully immersive games that are practically indistinguishable from reality allow me to seamlessly experience a believable virtual world, matrix-style . Until that happens, anything with in-game monetization is essentially over-promising while under-delivering .

As much as any recreational activity.

For me, web forums such as this are a MUCH bigger time waster than gaming. I wish I played more, and browsed less.

darry wrote on 2022-07-19, 01:52:

zyzzle wrote on 2022-07-19, 01:41:

Not in small doses and / or playing small, self-contained games. We all need a break once in a while, and small games provide it very well, can even be a healthy outlet at times. The megaworld, ridiculously extravgant and "realistic" games of today, which intentionally have a paywalls in order to complete? Yes, they're a waste of time and of money, and are probably leading to wastage of human resources and capital in general.

I play games to mostly to escape reality, including financial constraints. I have zero interest in playing a game that would make me spend real money on virtual crap. My perspective may change when fully immersive games that are practically indistinguishable from reality allow me to seamlessly experience a believable virtual world, matrix-style . Until that happens, anything with in-game monetization is essentially over-promising while under-delivering .

Same here. I even quit with AdItUp to save on the phone bill (for the most part) because all these bloody mobile games have a friggin pay-DLC and a paywall. Paywall for what's basically a glorified Tetris Clone or some stupid mobile game that was a fun time waster 10 years ago without DLC and paywalls but now is a irritating nightmare of constant nagging from the notification center on my phone while I'm trying to work - meanwhile, every time I fire up the thing, it's like "Pay $4.99 for our VIP Package - 20 ruples, 98 lives, 32 team mates" "Come and earn 10 Ruples if you rope a friend into this pathetic attempt at a cash grab" then "You have 10 days to play our paywalled "special" levels and earn 50,000,000 ruples".....uh.....this sounds a lot like a Casino game....I have a friggin casino down the street if I want to subject myself to that kind of self-lnflicted torture with minimal payout.

dr_st wrote on 2022-07-19, 08:38:

For me, web forums such as this are a MUCH bigger time waster than gaming. I wish I played more, and browsed less.

That's what I've been trying to do, but gaming is a 15-30minute at least activity while forum posts are like a couple minutes here and there when I have a moment to kill or am waiting for something to complete.