Please don't let gaming consume your life • Hacker News Board

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#21

Post by bcrescimanno » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:15 PM UTC

I'm sorry for the loss of a friend; I don't pretend to know how you currently feel.

That said, I think there's a pretty big leap you're taking from "playing a lot of games" and "had a heart attack at 32." Obviously, I don't know this person; but I do know a lot of folks who have gone on binge gaming sessions who have never had heart attacks.

I'm not saying there isn't any connection or that it didn't contribute in any way; however, let's be honest with ourselves and admit that a binge gaming session, while not in any way healthy and certainly a likely contributor to this person's poor health, most likely did not cause a heart attack.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#22

Post by asdkl234890 » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:17 PM UTC

Gaming? So fast food with no exercise would not have killed him if he had just not played games?

I had a friend with diabetes, he was way over weight. One day we talked about his new apartment, WOW and girls. He mentioned he had a good view of the joggers from his window. I mentioned I am frequently one of those joggers, and you see a lot more of the cute girls that way.

The topic of conversation moved to WOW, and I mentioned how I hate to touch a computer after spending all day at work sitting in front of one.

Despite subtle and not so subtle hints he did not start to exercise and died alone in his mid 30s.

And you know what, a lot of people die exactly the same way, with no gaming what so ever involved.

This whole heart attacks are a top killer, so eat well and exercise deal pre-dates computers by decades.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#23

Post by sliverstorm » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:17 PM UTC

boredguy8 wrote: post #8

There are more subtle ways of gaming ruining your life, as well: slowly losing the drive to do anything more than what's necessary to pay the cable bill, rent, and the gaming subscription. Slowly the only friends you have are people you know from your guild. When the only source & output of creativity and energy are all wrapped up in playing a video game. I've also seen people similarly consumed by pornography, alcoh…

... day trading ...

Well, if you're a successful day trader I'd say rather that the normal rules for not letting work consume you, rather than play. If you are unsuccessful, then it probably does fall more in line with a gambling problem.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#24

Post by staunch » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:18 PM UTC

Does it really have anything to do with gaming?

It's not like he was a physically healthy guy who sat down for a 30 hour Diablo 3 bender and died, right?

Regardless, I'm sad for anyone who dies so young.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#25

Post by ajross » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:19 PM UTC

Buildstarted wrote: post #14

driverdan wrote: post #11

I'm sorry you had to lose a friend. I understand that you're trying to find meaning and place blame but playing a game for 3 days is not likely to end your life. It's possible he had an underlying medical condition. If he had been sitting for 3 days straight writing code would you blame it instead?

I wasn't placing blame on the game but on himself. The game was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Yes, there were other health issues which I addressed later in the post.

People who are 32 years old don't die of sudden heart failure for lack of a gym membership or a poor diet. He almost certainly had a serious health issue, possibly one he wasn't aware of. That kind of progressive heart disease comes slowly, with lots of warning.

Gaming certainly didn't help him, but it certainly didn't kill him.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#26

Post by ajross » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:19 PM UTC

sliverstorm wrote: post #23

boredguy8 wrote: post #8

There are more subtle ways of gaming ruining your life, as well: slowly losing the drive to do anything more than what's necessary to pay the cable bill, rent, and the gaming subscription. Slowly the only friends you have are people you know from your guild. When the only source & output of creativity and energy are all wrapped up in playing a video game. I've also seen people similarly consumed by pornography, alcoh…

... day trading ... Well, if you're a successful day trader I'd say rather that the normal rules for not letting work consume you, rather than play. If you are unsuccessful, then it probably does fall more in line with a gambling problem.

I think the point was more that the psychology of the disorder is independent of what society chooses to call the activity.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#27

Post by daenz » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:20 PM UTC

boredguy8 wrote: post #8

There are more subtle ways of gaming ruining your life, as well: slowly losing the drive to do anything more than what's necessary to pay the cable bill, rent, and the gaming subscription. Slowly the only friends you have are people you know from your guild. When the only source & output of creativity and energy are all wrapped up in playing a video game. I've also seen people similarly consumed by pornography, alcoh…

> When the only source & output of creativity and energy are all wrapped up in playing a video game.

One day I imagine we'll be able to map real world problems to video games, in a way that doesn't require knowledge of the solution to create the mapping.

Programming itself is very similar to a game. If someone could make it into a virtual world, where I "write" code simply by putting together various machines in 3D space...well, that would be fun :)

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#28

Post by sliverstorm » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:20 PM UTC

asdkl234890 wrote: post #22

Gaming? So fast food with no exercise would not have killed him if he had just not played games? I had a friend with diabetes, he was way over weight. One day we talked about his new apartment, WOW and girls. He mentioned he had a good view of the joggers from his window. I mentioned I am frequently one of those joggers, and you see a lot more of the cute girls that way. The topic of conversation moved to WOW, and I…

I hate to touch a computer after spending all day at work sitting in front of one

The funny thing I have discovered is that while I don't like it on a high level of thinking, it actually can be relaxing. As a consequence, I am trying to slowly add physical activities instead of going cold-turkey- it isn't a leap I can make in one day, and finding myself with no stress relief is murderous.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#29

Post by vectorpush » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:22 PM UTC

I'm not really sure what this has to do with gaming. Spending days at a time hunched in front of a computer with little sleep is like the quintessential image of working the start-up life. He could have spent those three days working in vim rather than playing Diablo and he'd probably still be gone. More importantly, don't blame yourself for letting him take that time off, a heart attack at thirty isn't something that a day in the office could prevent.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#30

Post by picklefish » Mon, May 21, 2012, 11:24 PM UTC

Buildstarted wrote: post #5

Server died...here's a repost: Over this past weekend a good friend and coworker passed away. He always had a good heart and would do anything he could to help you out. It was certainly a shock. Monday morning he didn't show up to work. He always calls or sends an email if he won't be in but nobody could get a hold of him. I got a bit worried since I knew he was playing Diablo 3 since it came out on Tuesday and I've…

It's silly to associate this with gaming only. You can say the same thing about getting sucked into anything. I'm sure quite a few people here have coded non-stop for a few days, or pulled some all nighters to meet a deadline. Everything should be done in moderation, not just video games.