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

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#101

Post by daeken » Tue, May 22, 2012, 2:40 AM UTC

surement wrote: post #98

cletus wrote: post #71

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are: 1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as noth…

"The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as nothing more than fuel, the better off you'll be" Better off how? Eating for enjoyment is one of the best pleasures in life. To quote someone else, if you spend your life eating no butter, no lard, no salt; you're gonna feel like a damn fool lying on your hospital bed, dying from nothing.

As mentioned earlier, I am waaaaaaaay overweight. That, of course, means that I'm at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and all that jazz. So when I found myself sitting in my chair with shooting pains and numbness in my left arm, and severe chest pain, my first thought was "well shit, time to call 911 because I'm having a heart attack". To make a long story short, the actual cause of the symptoms I felt was a combination of a herniated disc in my neck and a panic attack, but the thought that death is right around the corner, due to something very preventable, is not something you ever forget.

So while I've not lain on my death bed while dying from 'nothing', I can tell you that thinking you're about to die from something in your control (at least partially) is a terrible, terrible feeling. I really can't emphasize how bad a feeling that is. I love butter, but I'd trade it in a heart beat to never feel that again. Who knows, maybe it's the same whether it's in your control or not.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#102

Post by teeray » Tue, May 22, 2012, 2:41 AM UTC

nemik wrote: post #12

Maybe he died doing what he loved...

My uncle was killed 6 years ago in a plane crash. In the following days and at the services held, many people said that he "died doing what he loved." My aunt said that this was the worst consolation she received.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#103

Post by kika » Tue, May 22, 2012, 2:53 AM UTC

mbell697 wrote: post #76

kika wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> consumed by pornography, alcohol, gambling, day trading, and I'm sure other things other things being startups?

Or how about work in general? If doing something 6 hours a week is borderline what is doing something 40-60 hours a week? Assuming most people work for money, isn't this just an extreme cultural addition to money?

My work, as in day job, usually consists of 3-4 hours working with 3-4 hours having lunch, chatting with colleagues, staring at the window, reading reddit/HN/LJ, doing some 'transparent' research on my startup. And that's when I'm working hard.

Working on my startup could easily drag me into a 8-10 hours race with only a few tea breaks.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#104

Post by klenwell » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:01 AM UTC

aliston wrote: post #100

cletus wrote: post #71

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are: 1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as noth…

Point #2 really hit home for me. I recently switched jobs and my new job affords significantly less opportunity to get up and walk around. It is essentially in a business park and the city I live in is much more of a commuter city than I'm used to. Any suggestions on how to maintain a non-sedentary life? I usually go running or hit the gym after work, but a lot of the new research is indicating that sitting all day a…

About a year ago, I picked up a set of Perfect Pushups, those rotating pushup handle things you see advertised on TV. I try to do a set of 10 each hour while I'm at work. Co-workers looked at me askance at first -- probaby still do. I've cited the studies warning about the health risks of sitting at your desk too long. Nevertheless, I try to be discreet.

I still work out most days after work. But the push-ups get me out of my chair during the day, don't take more than a minute to do a set, and give brain and body a little charge.

I recommend something like the Perfect Pushup -- besides all the reasons in their commercials -- because they help overcome the psychological ickiness of putting your hands on the floor (even if it is no dirtier than your keyboard.) With all the effort corporations are giving to getting their employees to walk 15 minutes a day to bring down health insurance costs, I think the Perfect Pushup makers are fools not to promote this sort of office usage for their product.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#105

Post by Centigonal » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:03 AM UTC

surement wrote: post #98

cletus wrote: post #71

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are: 1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as noth…

"The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as nothing more than fuel, the better off you'll be" Better off how? Eating for enjoyment is one of the best pleasures in life. To quote someone else, if you spend your life eating no butter, no lard, no salt; you're gonna feel like a damn fool lying on your hospital bed, dying from nothing.

Eating food makes you happy, but you shouldn't eat food to feel happy. It's an important distinction to make.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#106

Post by anthonyb » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:06 AM UTC

cjy wrote: post #66

humbledrone wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Someone recently tried to convince me, a frequent climber, that the health effects of getting exercise from climbing were outweighed by the risks involved. I did a bunch of research on the subject, and it is very clear that the benefits of exercise massively outweigh the risks of even a dangerous activity like climbing. It's hard to find statistics for indoor climbing, but for outdoor climbing there is a death for ev…

You shouldn't compare the benefits of getting exercise from rock climbing to the chances of dying from it. The choice isn't rock climb or be totally sedentary. You can get exercise in ways where you can't fall and die. What you should compare is the marginal benefit of the additional exercise you end up doing because you enjoy rock climbing more than the next best activity. And, then compare that to the death rate.

The author's making a slightly different point to the one you're trying to argue:

> the benefits of exercise massively outweigh the risks of even a dangerous activity like climbing.

In other words, the risks of heart attack, diabetes and other diseases are worse than rock climbing, even if you go climbing twice a week.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#107

Post by mquander » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:09 AM UTC

jmduke wrote: post #93

mquander wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, obviously, we have no choice but for some people contribute to society. Is there a fair way to decide who has to contribute, and who is allowed to opt out and play video games all day? Not really, but we have a way anyway, and it's called money. It's the same way we use to determine who is allowed to opt out and read all day, who is allowed to opt out and go on lots of vacations, and who is allowed to opt out and…

> who is allowed to opt out and study something abstruse in college for four years. College is one of the last bastions of learning for the sake of learning. As programmers who often exalt creation for the sake of curation -- and discovery for the sake of discovery -- I think its better we commend that, rather than condemn it.

I am empathetically not condemning it. I'm pointing out that if we're measuring things by "how useful are they to society at large", it's not obvious that the time spent by a lot of people in college is ahead of four years spent becoming a World of Warcraft expert. But I don't think that's a measuring stick to which we should hold up everyone's lives, which is why I have a problem with neither college graduates nor MMO players.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#108

Post by scythe » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:12 AM UTC

surement wrote: post #98

cletus wrote: post #71

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are: 1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as noth…

"The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as nothing more than fuel, the better off you'll be" Better off how? Eating for enjoyment is one of the best pleasures in life. To quote someone else, if you spend your life eating no butter, no lard, no salt; you're gonna feel like a damn fool lying on your hospital bed, dying from nothing.

One of the best? I know that in my case I enjoyed cigarettes more than most food, but I don't regret giving those up. Being healthy improves your quality of life as well as the quantity; I can surf and do parkour and hang-glide and many other fun things which several of my friends simply can't do. And, privately -- since it isn't polite to bother someone about their weight -- I find this rather sad.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#109

Post by einhverfr » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:18 AM UTC

cletus wrote: post #71

I've had conversations on similar aspects to this many times. There are many psychological issues involved but the highlights are: 1. People eat for many reasons, sustenance being only one. People eat for enjoyment, because they're happy, because they're sad, to deal with stress, as a substitute for something else arguably more destructive and so on. The sooner you can adjust your mental view to treating food as noth…

I suspect that there are physiological effects from computer gaming. I know that I occasionally will play a bit excessively (though not extremely so) for a few days when I am having other issues, but I have learned to moderate even that because of these things. Among others I find:

1) Interference with sleep. Will continue to see video game images when I close my eyes to sleep and won't sleep well.

2) Changes in how my eyes track things.

3) A general, physical malaise. I will feel a bit of nausea....

I don;t think the deaths are caused by exhaustion. I think they are caused by brain or hormone imbalances caused by the gaming itself.

Re: Please don't let gaming consume your life

#110

Post by UK-AL » Tue, May 22, 2012, 3:25 AM UTC

Remember most jobs are like gaming. Sitting at a desk for hours on end, maybe a few breaks.

I don't think it is gaming alone, it is bad life styles in general. The worst part is most people HAVE to adopt that lifestyle for a desk job.