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A link between video games and unemployment

economist.com

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Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#91

Post by zo1 »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #45
dimitar wrote: post #30

Video games are cheap compared to other entertainment. I can buy a good enough PC for $400 and I can clock almost an infinite amount of game-time on it with friends all over the world. Most other activities - playing pool, eating out, bars, most sports, vacationing - cost a lot more per hour of possible entertainment. So if you don't have the money and you have the time you should choose activities that provide the m…

> Video games are cheap compared to other entertainment. Maybe with the exception of the public library.

Most people do not find value or entertainment in knowledge or reading. So they don't want to go to the library because it's not really a source of entertainment for them. Gaming on the other hand, probably engages them a whole lot better.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#92

Post by miej »

dimitar wrote: post #30

Video games are cheap compared to other entertainment. I can buy a good enough PC for $400 and I can clock almost an infinite amount of game-time on it with friends all over the world. Most other activities - playing pool, eating out, bars, most sports, vacationing - cost a lot more per hour of possible entertainment. So if you don't have the money and you have the time you should choose activities that provide the m…

This. I specifically used MMOs during periods of my life when money was short. You'd be surprised how expensive food is in comparison to a 25$ monthly subscription fee, and how fulfilling having actions cause their intended results is.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#93

Post by ajeet_dhaliwal »

I used to joke that unemployed players with nothing else to do ruin online play with hyper competitiveness when someone like me wants to play once a week or month. May not be far fetched after all.

Aside being a former gamer (no time anymore) and having worked in the games industry for 6 years, that stock photo is a prime example of the ridiculous way game playing is portrayed on TV and film and by publications that don't know much about games. No one ever plays games with their controller held that way and their arms reaching out.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#94

Post by dkns »

rubicon33 wrote: post #63
emodendroket wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's hard to beat books for economical. But certainly games are in reach.

I really wish books could hold my attention like video games. I would read a lot more.

There is apparently a link between our current internet culture and not being able to focus for longer periods: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-goog...

In short: you should start reading more books if you want books to hold your attention for longer.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#95

Post by jboggan »

orthoganol wrote: post #77
jboggan wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great word. It's interesting how my desire to game has almost entirely disappeared since I left there and started a new company. I'm sitting here building deep learning rigs with fat GPUs, I could just add another partition running Windows and have a killer system for Overwatch . . . but nah, I'm having too much fun with Tensorflow to care.

I too am sitting here waiting for a TensorFlow language model to finish training :)

Shoot me an email!

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#96

Post by btdiehr »

noonespecial wrote: post #31
GuiA wrote: post #11

There is an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" where Charlie, a character who never gets any success in life (a janitor living in a dump of an apartment, gets rejected by his love interest constantly, abused by his friends, etc) gets really engrossed in an online videogame. He becomes really good at it, and exclaims "I'm thriving! I never get to thrive, and I want to be the guy who thrives for once! It's…

Video games also provide a quality sorely lacking in real life. They try very hard to prevent cheating, because if there's too much cheating, or too much inequality between players, no one will play. Hmmm...

Exactly, that's why runescape and world of warcraft have adopted the marxist game mechanic of automatically redistributing all resources and exp between all players at the end of every day.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#97

Post by [deleted] »

noonespecial wrote: post #31
GuiA wrote: post #11

There is an episode of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" where Charlie, a character who never gets any success in life (a janitor living in a dump of an apartment, gets rejected by his love interest constantly, abused by his friends, etc) gets really engrossed in an online videogame. He becomes really good at it, and exclaims "I'm thriving! I never get to thrive, and I want to be the guy who thrives for once! It's…

Video games also provide a quality sorely lacking in real life. They try very hard to prevent cheating, because if there's too much cheating, or too much inequality between players, no one will play. Hmmm...

[deleted]

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#98

Post by rocgf »

ouid wrote: post #86
posterboy wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

games are combined with drugs often enough, eat least sugar and coffein and so on

sugar?! you know what plants are made of don't you?

Pretty sure he meant refined sugar, which has been proven time and time again that it is both very addictive and very bad for your health.

Re: A link between video games and unemployment

#99

Post by TheSpiceIsLife »

szemet wrote: post #75
sametmax wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the exact opposite actually. Nit saying it's a bad thing though. But it's important to understand that screens are taking your attention away. You are not in the moment at all.

I don't agree. As I understand these things: You are mindful and react on direct stimulus - while gaming, you do not think on future or past, you are immersed in your actual activity - it IS mindfulness. BUT it does not improve mindfulness - it is easy to be mindful at interesting times - that's normal, but not so when nothing interesting is around, and you are just left alone with your own thoughts or problems. That…

> You are mindful and react on direct stimulus - while gaming, you do not think on future or past, you are immersed in your actual activity - it IS mindfulness.

I disagree. Reacting is the polar opposite of what mindfulness is about. Mindfulness is about, among other things, responding appropriately to what is happening, not reacting.

What you're describing, the state people get in when playing computer games, is a state of hyper-vigilance. Acute-awareness of what's directly in front of you induced by a simulated battle.

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