I bet computer and video games are an extra hard trap to uncover for many (in here).
For me personally they often have been and still are a much needed way to escape plus a conduit to a multitude of other interests and my professional career (not directly related).
OTOH and more often than I would like to admit these days its meaningless, consumerist time wasting at best and an addiction at worst.
Taking away from other things and relationships even.
Yet even with the same old games and principles and all the addictive aspects I’d still love it as a hobby (in low doses) but I’m probably also not the only one still fooling themselves that it’s more than that.
Maybe it’s time to finally move on again (feels very hard though).
I feel you. My interest in video games is what led me to getting into computers and becoming the software developer I am today. But the fact is, as you said, it takes away from other things including relationships. In low doses is probably fine, but the risk is that you are kidding yourself about how much time you actually spend. If you really can manage low doses, good for you! But many of us end up spending more time than we care to admit, and that is when it is a problem. Although, as you raise your standards for how your time should be spent, even 1 hour a day of video games might sound like a lot. You could be building relationships, or reading great literature for example.
For me personally, it works best if I cut video games out completely.
For me personally they often have been and still are a much needed way to escape plus a conduit to a multitude of other interests and my professional career (not directly related).
OTOH and more often than I would like to admit these days its meaningless, consumerist time wasting at best and an addiction at worst.
Taking away from other things and relationships even.
Yet even with the same old games and principles and all the addictive aspects I’d still love it as a hobby (in low doses) but I’m probably also not the only one still fooling themselves that it’s more than that.
Maybe it’s time to finally move on again (feels very hard though).