Do video games add value to your life, or are they just a waste of time?

Gaming is one of the most popular ways to spend free time. It’s immersive, exciting, and easy to lose hours in—whether grinding through multiplayer matches or finishing a single-player campaign in one sitting.

Some argue that gaming is pointless, a distraction from real-life goals. Others believe it has benefits when approached correctly.

In this article, we’ll break down both sides of the argument and explore how to make gaming a rewarding part of your life. Let’s begin.

What Makes Gaming so Popular?

Gaming has been around only for the past few decades, and yet it’s grown to become one of the most popular hobbies in the world. As of 2024, the gaming market is worth around $282 billion, while the total number of casual gamers in the world is approximately 3.32 billion.

Almost half of the world’s population chooses gaming to spend their free time and relax. But why pick gaming instead of other alternatives, like reading, writing, or woodworking?

First and foremost, games are now easily accessible. Most people in developed and developing countries have digital devices usable for gaming. PCs, phones, laptops, gaming consoles – all of these support at least basic games to spend free time on.

This accessibility makes it easy for anyone to access any games ranging from free browser apps to complex AAA projects sold in online stores like Steam and EpicGames.

Another reason for gaming’s growing popularity is how stimulating it is. Human brains crave new information, novelty, and exploration. Gaming, like social media apps, provides just that: endless worlds, mechanics, and storylines to explore and participate in.

Considering how monotonous most people’s lives are, gaming serves as an excellent escape from reality, stimulating the brain and giving it new, exciting information it craves.

Last, but not least, gaming grants a fun and easy way of social interaction. Many people (especially in education) often form friendships based on the games they play. They regularly play multiplayer matches or coop campaigns, forming new bonds and memories.

When playing video games, one doesn’t have to focus on making eye contact or coming up with questions to ask. Instead, one can simply focus on the mission ahead while making comments about what’s happening on the screen.

Now, what are some benefits that can be acquired through gaming?

Benefits of Gaming

Video games, especially single-player, can offer many benefits and develop useful skills if played in moderation.

A study from 2015 shows that gamers have more gray matter in their brains, which correlates with enhanced pattern recognition and problem-solving skills.

Additionally, gamers also display heightened cognitive abilities, especially visuospatial ability. It means that you recognize objects and relations between them more quickly, and can therefore perform fast-paced tasks like typing or driving more effectively.

There are countless other benefits that come with gaming:

• Developed worldview
• Self-reflection
• Better attention to detail
• Faster and more accurate decision-making
• Enhanced creativity
• Improved short and long-term memory

Elements from video games are also frequently used in education, especially in advanced intellectual schools. Gamification of education is proven to increase learners’ involvement in the education process and stimulate their creativity and ability to create unique solutions.

As we can see, gaming, if used moderately and with the right intentions, offers great cognitive benefits and stimulates the brain’s development. It can also help us learn and grow as human beings through meaningful storylines.

Despite all the benefits present in gaming, there’s a reason many people avoid it and consider it harmful. The line between casual, downtime gaming and a full-on addiction is very blurred.

When Gaming Becomes Harmful

Gaming and the Internet in general should never become your whole life. It’s one thing to play a single-player story 2-3 hours every weekend (and learn some life lessons), and another to grind in Dota 2 or Valorant for 8-12 hours a day.

Modern society makes men feel excluded, unvalued, and unappreciated, telling them that they’re only valued for what they achieve.

If a man genuinely believes that he is not capable of any real-world achievement, like getting a high-paying job or creating meaningful projects, he isolates himself from the world and seeks achievement where it’s easier to obtain.

This is the core reason some guys excessively indulge in gaming, even when it harms their lives. They feel like a failure, withdraw to gaming to acquire achievements, neglect real-world tasks in the process, fail even more in the real world, and the vicious cycle continues.

Video games become a waste of time when they transform into your sole source of achievement, and when you’re convinced that you’re physically unable to win in the real world.

Despite what many think, gaming isn’t addicting because of how stimulating it is, but because of how easily it grants achievement to self-proclaimed losers. I’m not saying this to be insulting, but rather to highlight the core of the problem.

Thankfully, if you think that gaming’s taking over your life, not all hope is lost. Your actions and thoughts are fully under your control, and with the right strategies, you can either cut down on gaming, or quit it entirely.

Related article: 9 Bad Habits That Will Ruin Your Life

How to Cut Down on Excessive Gaming

In the previous section, we’ve identified the core reason for why people overindulge in gaming: the belief “I am incapable of real achievements.”

All other strategies like uninstalling games or seeking support will not work until you eradicate this belief. For this reason, the first step to cut down on excessive gaming is thinking of your potential.

1: Think of What You Can Achieve

Everyone has things they’re good at. Some are excellent thinkers, capable of understanding complex information, making correct judgments about problems, and finding effective solutions to them.

Some are exceptionally physically developed, possessing strength and huge potential for bodybuilding, hunting, and fighting. Other men are competent in speaking, articulating their thoughts, and delivering useful information.

Most men usually possess potential and skill in multiple areas, ranging from physical labor to creating new philosophical concepts. Whether you believe it or not, you too have potential.

You too can find a purpose to work on and develop new skills that few other people possess. Think of areas you’re competent in, and where your contribution can create value.

It doesn’t have to be anything enormous or world-changing. It can be something as small as writing (like I do), graphic design, developing websites, or creating new products. In short, think of skills you could develop and put into good use.

After finding that skill, dedicate at least 30-60 minutes a day learning and practicing it. Read articles and guides about it, create your first projects, share them online to get feedback. It will be uncomfortable at first, but over time, you’ll begin to love it.

Of course, you can’t just dedicate all day to, say, designing stuff (unless you want to go all in a specific area). You should also have other hobbies and interests to spend time on.

2: Try Other Hobbies and Pursuits

Most people have at least 2 hobbies to relax and spend time on. Ideally, you should have 3-4 various hobbies that help you improve mentally, emotionally, physically, and socially.

If you have engaging hobbies other than gaming, congratulations, simply spend more time on them. However, if you don’t, I have some ideas for inexpensive and rewarding hobbies:

• Reading
• Meditation
• Gym (we’ll discuss it in more detail later)
• Learning a language
• Woodworking
• Repairing stuff (furniture, cars, etc.)
• Solving problems and puzzles

These are relatively cheap (some even cost $0), engaging, and provide achievement, which is necessary to help you believe in your competence.

Once again, to ensure that these hobbies last, do them in little amounts every day. Meditate 5-10 minutes every morning, read an article on a topic that interests you, and try cracking a hard sudoku puzzle.

This way you’ll both leave your comfort zone and not overwhelm yourself, ensuring that you focus on consistency rather than intensity of doing productive actions.

Not all video games are created equal. Some can bring you value, but others bring nothing but pain, rage, and regret. The next step of cutting down on gaming is quitting those “others.”

3: Quit Multiplier Grinders

As you have already guessed, the “others” I’m talking about are multiplayer grinders, AKA, any games that require hours upon hours of time to make progress or obtain status in.

In my opinion, there is no valid reason to play those games. Answering the article’s question, multiplayer grinders are the waste of time. Instead of making progress in your physique, mental health, skills, and knowledge, you make progress in… what?

Multiplayer grinders take away hours of time, giving worthless skins and digital achievements that mean nothing in the real world. Here’s the harsh reality: nobody cares if you become a Radiant in Valorant or a Conqueror in PUBG.

If you disagree with me, objectively value what matters more: some status in an RPG that will die 6 years after release, or building a career, healthy body, and character traits that last a lifetime?

Of course, the latter option is better. Uninstall CS2, Valorant, Dota 2, MMORPGs, and other similar grinders. Follow the previous 2 steps, learn to compete in other areas of life, and appreciate other healthier games out there.

Undertale, Spec Ops: The Line, Red Dead Redemption 2 ー all of these explore complex concepts, offer well-crafted storylines, and teach important life lessons about morality, life, and its purpose.

Finally, the last step to cut down on excessive gaming is moving your body more.

4: Move Your Body More

There are often health concerns surrounding gaming, as sitting in one place, convincing yourself that you actively move and eliminate enemies, can deprive one from doing actual exercise.

While it is true that other hobbies (like writing) can share the same problem, it’s important to note that gaming stimulates the mind a lot more than other hobbies do, and therefore, naturally holds attention for way longer.

As a result, it’s easy to get excessive weight, depression (as depression often arises from inactivity), and anxious thoughts after consistent excessive gaming.

The point is, to become the man you want to be and reduce the time you spend gaming, you must move your body more. Get outside more, and walk around your neighborhood 10-20 minutes a day.

Additionally, as a baseline, you should do resistance training 3-4 times a week either through calisthenics or going to the gym. If you already do it and wish for other alternatives, here are some you can try:

• Skiing
• Long-distance hiking
• Rock climbing
• Swimming
• Volleyball/basketball
• Running

All these sports require minimal equipment, develop your strength, endurance, mastery, and help release endorphins – hormones that elevate your mood and motivation.

After all this discussion and practical advice, it’s time to summarize what we’ve learned and give the final answer to the article’s question: are video games a waste of time?

The Bottom Line

There’s a discussion among self-development enthusiasts on whether gaming is a waste of time or a simple innocent hobby. In my opinion, the answer is the dreaded “it depends.”

If you use gaming to connect with like-minded people, appreciate life’s gifts, immerse yourself in meaningful stories, learn something from them, and keep it moderate, it can bring benefits like developed worldview, creativity, and problem-solving.

However, if you use gaming as a coping mechanism to evade your problems, compensate for a lack of real-world achievements, and play for hours everyday, it is, undoubtedly, a waste of time.

Gaming is okay as long as you have a healthy life outside of it, and if you don’t, there are some lifestyle changes you should make:

• Think of areas you’re good at
• Try other hobbies and pursuits
• Quit multiplayer grinders
• Move your body more

Diversifying your list of hobbies and reinforcing your ability to achieve will help you change your self-image and obtain true fulfillment, something that so many people lack nowadays.

Remember: balance is the key. Work hard, train your mind and body, and remain a good man. Good luck, and have a calm day, brother.

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