Are video games a waste of time? My thoughts

ARE VIDEO GAMES AND ESPORT A WASTE OF TIME? IF SO, THEN ISN’T EQUALLY WASTEFUL TO PLAY CHESS?

So i talked to you’r standard, slightly conservative 40+ parent today. A lady of the kind that’s not a religious nut-job, but of the kind that’s none to pleased with people saying video games are any more than a waste of time, or that they’re good for anything other than a recreational activity you can do every once in a while. I was telling them about My trip to Norwegian Games Expo last weekend, my venture into blogging about video games, and about E-Sport. When i said «at Games Expo you got to play against pros, meaning people who make money playing video games», I saw her shaking her head. I pointed it out, and she said she was simply baffled that anyone could spend their time just playing games all day. I told her it’s getting quite big, and that the pro’s can really make millions on it. I then went on to explain more detailed how it worked, how/why sponsors pay them, tournaments etc. She still said she couldn’t understand how anyone would wanna spend so much time on video games. «Why not do something with their lives», she said. I confronted her, saying «what about a soccer player?» (or the player of any other sports for that matter). «He spends an equal amount of time on practicing soccer, being paid by a club, witch in turn is paid for by sponsors, and then participating in tournaments, playing his sport». To witch she replied: «Well, at least a soccer player is doing something with his body. Moving around. He’s not sitting down playing games all day» i pointed out that E-Sport pros have both strict diets and workout schedules, to keep them in good shape, and focused. She still wouldn’t bow. I marked myself this, because earlier, before the topic got onto video games, she’d clearly stated her fondness for chess, and the excitement surrounding the Chess World Championship (and our own Norwegian participant, Magnus Carlsen, in the finals). Anyone with her beliefs about what’s a waste of time, and what isn’t, should surely also think that Chess is a waste of time. Many people do it for a living. The sit there all day, just playing chess. They’r actually a lot more passive than a guy playing video games. I can’t image the amount of calories a professional Starcraft player burns of when tapping the keyboard 300 times pr minute, compared to moving one tiny chess-piece an inch or two, every 5 minutes.

Now, if you wanna go off saying «well, chess is a game of the mind. It’s insanely complicated and really gives you benefits as far as training your intelligence», then I’m gonna say «doesn’t video games»? All research ever done on the subject confirms, undeniably that video games improves motor skills, the ability to solve puzzles, the ability to think on your feet (reaction time, witch in itself leads to improvement in a billion other fields) and strengthen your abilities related to creative thinking. In fact, i’ve seen far more research proving the values of video games, than i’ve seen research proving the value of chess. Now to be clear, i’m not saying chess is a waste of time, I’m just putting it into perspective. If you don’t consider Chess to be a waste of time, then there is no way you could ever say differently about E-Sports.

I’ve learned, thru far too many rounds with people just like the lady with whom i had the discussion preliminary to this article, that there is no sense in arguing with people like that. It’s a generation, on witch the wonders of video games is lost, and for most of them, will never be found. I’ll simply let the facts prove me right. Wether they like it or not, E-Sport is a thing, and it’s growing fast. Wether they like it or not, we’ll keep improving our minds and getting told amazing stories thru an exiting new medium that’s just barely getting started. We’ll pas it onto our children, and we’ll know the value of it, for we grew up with it. 

So don’t waste you’r time arguing with that kind of people. They have their attitudes, and you can bet your bottom dollar their not gonna change one bit, no matter what. But «They», the old generation, the ones who don’t understand this, they’ll die out. Sooner or later, they’ll be gone, whilst video games will still live on. Wether they accept it or not. So don’t spend you’r time preaching why video games are in fact not a waste of time, because the real waste of time is trying to impact the opinions of that kind of people. Instead, just don’t give a damn, and go enjoy a good game.