Don’t let anyone dictate how you should spend your time. In the end, it doesn’t matter how many skills you master or how educated you are in countless areas, your time on this planet is limited. Focus on what brings you joy and fulfillment; it’s your life to live. That said, there’s some truth to maintaining balance take care of yourself, stay active, and avoid unhealthy habits. Feeling good physically can enhance your enjoyment of the things you love most like playing WoW.
This is the channel i needed. These are the exact words i need to hear. I love you man. I cant tell you how bad i felt that i spent new years eve alone. I lied to all my friends and collegues about what i did. I felt so guilty. I think i can sleep peacefully tonight. And i think i am going to stop lying.
im sure if you can find a way to express the happiness and value they bring you, people will come to react better. never feel bad taking care of yourself!
It's like you're in my mind. I get in the same trap of "Man this is useless, I should do x", x being something more "productive" like reading or painting or practicing guitar. Stuff that could be relaxing, but I didn't really enjoy. Then I don't enjoy it, and I get guilty feelings and I end up paralyzed between what I like and what's "productive" and end up doing nothing.
It’s funny, I’m trying to not run keys at night to help me sleep earlier but I end up just being on TikTok/reels for the same amount of time if not longer. I could’ve used that brain rot time to fill my vault slots instead 😂
Was made to feel guilty about spending time gaming when I was younger in the 90s, still made to feel that this way today. This video was nice and refreshing, thanks for this!
i love how open you are with understanding the topic of “having fun.” video games are a different way of learning. thank you for this content your doing a great job Acadiian!!!!
Man, I don't know how this channel showed up to me (I wasn't searching anything on this topic, although I'm thinking about this stuff everyday for a very, very long time), but I'm so glad it did. Great videos, thank you for formulating my own thoughts in a way that is better than I thought it is!
Arcadiian is evolving from a WoW channel to an inspirational channel where he can relate it to WoW and how his insight applies to what we do. And this is great
I've been guilty of doing this so much recently. I'm trying to become a better artist, and I've spent the past 2 months doing nothing and feeling miserable about it. I'm constantly stressing about getting things done and find myself playing games anyway. I love your way of thinking and I'm so grateful to have found these videos and to you for making them. It's fantastic perspective for me and you've really shown me some beliefs I've held for so long are things I don't actually believe.
Thank you for this. I enjoy the way you analyze those ideas that maybe most of us have already thought about countless times. You have earned your sub, all the best!
It's honestly comical how close to home this hits me. I was recommended your video on trying to pull back a little in terms of hobbies. And now I've watched most of your vids. I'm a graduate student and last year found out I had ADHD. It's completely changed how I look at my life past and present. I've always enjoyed gaming, and so many of the things you have said resonate with me. Hyperfocusing on a game allows my mind to unwind and it makes me feel so fulfilled, but then I don't stick with it, or FOMO creeps in, and my mind goes back to chaos. As a grad student, I always feel like I should be doing something productive even while at home and I feel guilty or that I am wasting my time somehow when I game and I don't "make" something out of it. I'm currently trying to fight my way out of my current mental fog, and these videos really spoke to me. Most of the content, or advice out there, in terms of how to enjoy video games when you have ADHD I've found to be negative. That I should give up the hobby, or just accept that this is my lot in life and there's nothing I can do. It's nice to see a more positive perspective and you've given me a lot to think about. Thanks man. Can't wait to see more stuff you make.
Thanks for this video. I've felt like my passion/hobby for games is lesser than other people's hobbies. Things such as writing, side hustles, or exercise. Not that those things are bad at all but it hurts when it feels like my hobby is less than just because its popular.
Found your channel earlier this week and instantly subbed after the first vid I saw. Your channel is quite literally an instant banger; Thank you for making these videos, they are fantastic!
I like this video. It was a nice reminder to embrace balance, and find joy in the journey. Not because you feel obligated, but because it's what you want to do. A small counterweight worthy of noting is that seldomly, some are presented with opportunities to do other things like camping in your example, but some might not have a closet full of camping equipment just to demonstrate this one case in a general sense. The point is people don't take into account special cases and situations; especially at first glance. It's a tired argument I've heard people drone on about gamer ick. The same people who glue themselves to the screen for 5 hours at a time doing heck knows whatever on their phone. Don't listen to them. It's all nonsense. Misery loves company, and unhappy people tend to spread that around whether they mean to or not. March to the rhythm of your own drum! If it's a beautiful sound, others will hearken to it. ❤
when i got divorced .. i got ecsema (dunno how u spell) i suddenly had terrible hayfever.. i startet having allergic reactions to perfume .. i had reactions to the plastic on my mouse and keyboard... i felt like my body was litterly dying .. so i can completely relate to that burn out ... mental health affect the body soo much... to this day 4 years later .. i still ee those symptoms coming back if im going thru a rough patch in life
Bro I found your channel the other day and it’s crazy how much it speaks to me. The reasons you talk about why you play world of Warcraft are the exact reasons I play Warframe and Warframe is my main game. I also struggle with anxiety and ADHD and relate to almost everything you say. Just want to take the time to say how awesome I find your videos and to keep up the great work :)
I enjoy content like this. Raw, off the cuff thoughts that many of us experience. It's refreshing to not only hear it from someone else; but to hear it from their perspective. I've been thinking for a little while now of making videos like this. We are probably about the same age, and I also suspect I have ADHD.
You set smaller goals and achieve them. Never go for the insane ones, because after a certain point of struggling you have lost all of the fun along the way. Think about the journey it will take to get the goal and if that journey sounds enjoyable then take it. If the journey sounds incredibly miserable and painful, consider changing goals.
I love your content! Your videos have helped me out with a bunch of things that have been floating around in my head recently and have given me some mental clarity
I think part of the problem is that games like WoW can be hard to do in moderation. But I'm fully onboard with being able to spend some time and enjoy yourself through gaming. I think your other video supplement this message as I feel that slowing down and actually enjoying the gaming is the key to moderation with it too. I also agree that it can come of as something to be ashamed when discussing with non-gamers too.
I think it’s important to take recovery and rest seriously. It’s good to workout and/or be productive with your work or in other aspects of your life. But you cannot always be working out, can’t always be productive. You need to rest, recover and let yourself switch off. Video games are a great help with this aspect.
gaming as a hobby has came so far now that we have massive communities and people with all kinds of shared interests and people finding friends and even forming relationships through gaming that calling it just a useless hobby is a big understatement . we should be proud of that and enjoy the things we have , (tho to a moderate degree)
Really enjoying your chatting videos. I’ve always had a really hard time moderating my gaming, so I know it can be a bad hobby for me at times. When I really need to buckle down and focus on work stuff I usually have to stop gaming completely, otherwise I just want to play all day. I’m trying to find a better balance though, both on the gaming side and in just relaxing my work life a little. It’s tough when games are so fun!
@@acadiianwow i accidently watched some big videos talkign about some WoW drama and such, and somehow my youtube got filled with WoW videos , but i have no interest in the game , till i found one of ur videos where u talking about games in general and i felt very relatable even tho u use WoW as exampels alot i still understand . i dont even play MMos , but the way u make ur videos it make it very easy for someone like me to understand stuff u talk about
I asked myself if I would be spending so much time inside playing video games if those games were "offline" games. I wouldn't. It's always online games with other people. So I'm clearly using video games as a way to find a community, which is probably not a healthy thing as the number one source of happiness for humans is real life connection.
Yea... it's sad how people look down on us gamers. Us gamers have potential to develop superb hand eye coordination, memory, reaction time etc. Gaming just needs to be balanced like all things in life.
I think a big part of it too is just that some people just don't get video games, they don't understand that they're more than just a simulation of violence, or that there is a lot of conversation to be had about them. I have had so many conversations with people about the games they played and the choices they made in them. Who were they when they played Skyrim, who were they when they played bg3 and did they try their best to save people, or did they just want to see what would happen if they sacked the grove. This isn't even mentioning multiplayer games, so what if all you do with someone is play COD, how much time have you spent together just having fun. Depending on the game it can also help you learn how to take a loss, or some people might just rage about it. There are so many different kinds of games out there, so many worlds to explore and stories to find, so many different ways to interact.
also having bad concious constantly is very much an adhd thing .. growing up and never beeing able to do what others do, and fit in... good thing is we also very humble ;)
Its so funny, i was heavily into working out as well when classic wow came out, played an orc shaman and i had a burnout around that time (with panic attacks). I couldnt relax wow classic felt like another job at times and i also hat massive guilt for not doing anything productive.
It's not wasted time if you enjoyed wasting it. I played guitar/bass in bands for years when I was young, now they sit in the corner of my room 10 years later. I play them sometimes, but what did I "do better" by playing instrument instead of games? I still gotta work and pay my bills.
I kind of feel it's weird to call videogames like, one hobby but it's a view that seems pretty universal. I play quite a few videogames but I'm not really sure the spreadsheet simulators and mapgames I play are really the same hobby as actiony shooters or that either is the same hobby as an MMO like wow. The only commonalties between them is that they're played using a computer of some sort and tend to be more popular with people under the age of about 40 than those above the age of about 40.
Love gaming and WoW despite what some of the community says about the state of the game, I'm so glad we all have gaming as a hobby - like anything though, doing it in excess to the point where it negatively effects your physical and mental health, relationships, work etc. is bad. However, there is a weird stigma around gaming in general. If you spend 3-4 + hours binge watching a Netflix show or watching sports, no one bats an eye lid, if you do this with games you're suddenly seen as a reclusive weirdo 🤣 For the most part, my dad hated when we gamed when we were kids. He thought it was a massive waste of time and took time away from our studies. I appreciate he wanted the best for us and only had good intentions, but he always had the idea that academia came first and even in spare time, games were a waste of time and would lead nowhere. Then I went to university to study Art and animation and ended up being a 3D artist in the games industry, he stopped criticizing games shortly after that 🤣 To highlight what you said about people feeling pressured by their social circles to be someone they don't want to be, I'd say work on trying to be comfortable with yourself and your choices (easier said than done ofc.) If you have friends or acquaintances that make you feel bad about how you choose to spend your free time, maybe your friendship doesn't align anymore, you outgrew it or simply drifted apart. That doesn't say anything good or bad about you as people, its just different interests. If your idea of a blissful Friday night is to be at home chilling with a pizza and WoW or other games, then that's your authentic self and you don't have to change that for anyone. There are some people that couldn't stand the idea of being stuck at home when they could go out and party, be in a club until 6am the next morning. Personally for me, that would be hell and I'd rather just be at home gaming - each to their own! But please allow yourself to enjoy your time as you want and don't feel pressured by societal expectations of what is right for you - at the end of the day you'll be a lot happier living your life in accordance with what you want, rather than the expectations of others.
I think it is because there is a bias (from the boomer generation) that video games are not social. That you are sitting by a room, by yourself interacting with a bunch of characters controlled by a computer. They don't realize that most games are largely social now and that you have to group with people to experience much of the game. I would even argue that games can be more social. You can go to a party, be there- but not interact much and not be very social (you are just "there"). You can't do that in a group in a video game- they will kick you because they need your contribution.
I am struggling with exactly this problem. But the thing I am more concerned about is that all the time spent and experience gained on a game like wow, u will not be able to apply this in other areas of your life. Whereas if you spend the time learning to enjoy reading for example, it will increase your knowledge, understanding, vocabulary, speech even. A game like wow is designed to reset every expansion, meaning all the things you learned about your class, dungeons, professions will be gone. All those hours on previous expansions have not contributed to your future self. It's not really about being productive, it's about growing as a human being. Gaming per definition will not make you grow in that sense. Playing a guitar on the other hand can make you grow, because there will be no new expansion. All the things you learned from day 1 on the guitar will still be accumulated in 10 years, maybe you can even do the most complex rifs by that time and teach others how to play and earn a living from that. So yeah, I am really struggling with this problem as I get older. It's not about thinking gaming is a waste of time, it's about: gaming does not contribute to develop me as a person, but is gaming giving me so much more enjoyment than the countless other activities that can surely make me a more developed human being? Because in my opinion gaming will not make you more developed.
Real life is just an excuse for people who are bad at WoW. .. I guess it really depends on what you want and where you are in life. Virtual worlds can distract from real-life goals, but they can also be a great place to have fun. I think I’ve probably wasted thousands of hours in WOW but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it in itself. I regret that i didn't focus more on achieving other goals with long-lasting effects, but that is highly subjective as well. Maybe some people don't have those goals, or they achieved them already ..
Damn, man, you're on a roll :D Stealing subject ideas straight out of my head :D I'm 0:07 into the video, gonna edit this after watching, but my main thought about this is that it's pretty unfair that if someone goes to a pub quiz with four friends every week, to the gym three times/week, and has a pickup basketball game every week with some friends from work, it's all great. But if a guy does Mythic raid with 19+ people from all over the country or even the continent 2-3 times/week and fills Vault in M+ in two evenings, they're "no life losers." All of that supposedly cooler IRL stuff has you interact with people from your general area. Playing this wonderful game of ours, especially if you're playing in EU, you can find yourself playing with 3 guys from Scandinavian countries, a guy from Iran, who can tell you a lot of stories about life in the Muslim world, a Colombian woman who moved to London years ago, three Italians, a guy who's somehow playing from South Africa, a couple of UK chads with entirely different accents because they're from opposite sides of the country, and a random Greek who calls everyone malakas. How exactly is it inferior to be exposed to this kind of variety in culture? Anyway, off to watch the video now :D EDIT: Alright, you nailed it. Again. The motivation for this video where you had the thought in the morning, wanted to talk about it, so you made a video? That's a great reason for making stuff on UA-cam. Authenticity over long-term content strategy planning is great, at least to my tastes. Also, you don't have to have it all together to talk about this kind of stuff in this type of video. You make an argument, people who watch can agree or disagree, it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that they stop and think about the subject for a minute. About video games not being a "productive" way to spend your time... Depends on how you do it, especially in a game like World of Warcraft. If you play this game intentionally, you can learn a lot of things about yourself. You can learn how to learn, you can test drive a lot of concepts that could later be used in real life. The important thing is to start by NOT treating every player you meet like they're NPC who's only there to help you achieve whatever goal you want to achieve and unfortunately can't do it alone. If you treat other people in the game imagining that being an asshole will result in a phantom fist leaping out of the monitor and smacking you in the mouth, you can learn how to get along with all kinds of people, you can learn how to be chattier, how to work as a team, all kinds of things. Sure, learning that in real life with a real person in front of you is vastly more effective, but that doesn't mean that practising this kind of stuff in this video game of ours doesn't help. Oh, I also loved the full screen camera thing, other people might disagree, but it was much more... immersive this way. And you're pretty good in front of the camera, definitely 100x better than I'd ever be if I tried doing the same thing, especially because I'm not a native English speaker so it takes me longer to finish sentences when I'm speaking than it does while writing. Somehow. Don't ask xD The presentation was very natural and didn't give "professional polished presenter" vibes, which would have taken away from the impact of the video, IMHO. I liked that you weren't staring down the camera all the time, but didn't completely ignore it either, just the right mix of "eye contact" and thinking about what you were saying. And let's thank Odin that you're not doing the peppy UA-camr on a sugar high thing :D
I love modding and playing old Bethesda games lol. Good luck telling someone out in the world about this hobby. I'd rather say "I am interested in nothing". That's my 'default' thought process anyway. That's really hard to combat literally no one will take it seriously.
I share that feeling too man. Know that your hobby is legitimate and there are a lot of people out there that share your love for modding and gaming. I know that doesn't always help in the moment but hopefully over time we can get more confident and proud to say to others what bring us joy.
Don’t let anyone dictate how you should spend your time. In the end, it doesn’t matter how many skills you master or how educated you are in countless areas, your time on this planet is limited. Focus on what brings you joy and fulfillment; it’s your life to live. That said, there’s some truth to maintaining balance take care of yourself, stay active, and avoid unhealthy habits. Feeling good physically can enhance your enjoyment of the things you love most like playing WoW.
This is the channel i needed. These are the exact words i need to hear. I love you man. I cant tell you how bad i felt that i spent new years eve alone. I lied to all my friends and collegues about what i did. I felt so guilty. I think i can sleep peacefully tonight. And i think i am going to stop lying.
im sure if you can find a way to express the happiness and value they bring you, people will come to react better. never feel bad taking care of yourself!
It's like you're in my mind. I get in the same trap of "Man this is useless, I should do x", x being something more "productive" like reading or painting or practicing guitar. Stuff that could be relaxing, but I didn't really enjoy. Then I don't enjoy it, and I get guilty feelings and I end up paralyzed between what I like and what's "productive" and end up doing nothing.
It’s funny, I’m trying to not run keys at night to help me sleep earlier but I end up just being on TikTok/reels for the same amount of time if not longer. I could’ve used that brain rot time to fill my vault slots instead 😂
Man, i love your content so much, it really resonates with me :D Thank you for doing it!
Was made to feel guilty about spending time gaming when I was younger in the 90s, still made to feel that this way today. This video was nice and refreshing, thanks for this!
i love how open you are with understanding the topic of “having fun.” video games are a different way of learning. thank you for this content your doing a great job Acadiian!!!!
I found your channel and I love it, I would guess that we're similar age and your perspective is refreshing these days.
Man, I don't know how this channel showed up to me (I wasn't searching anything on this topic, although I'm thinking about this stuff everyday for a very, very long time), but I'm so glad it did. Great videos, thank you for formulating my own thoughts in a way that is better than I thought it is!
I know this probably doesn’t beat therapy, but your videos have really helped me.
Arcadiian is evolving from a WoW channel to an inspirational channel where he can relate it to WoW and how his insight applies to what we do. And this is great
I've been guilty of doing this so much recently. I'm trying to become a better artist, and I've spent the past 2 months doing nothing and feeling miserable about it. I'm constantly stressing about getting things done and find myself playing games anyway. I love your way of thinking and I'm so grateful to have found these videos and to you for making them. It's fantastic perspective for me and you've really shown me some beliefs I've held for so long are things I don't actually believe.
Thank you for this. I enjoy the way you analyze those ideas that maybe most of us have already thought about countless times. You have earned your sub, all the best!
It's honestly comical how close to home this hits me. I was recommended your video on trying to pull back a little in terms of hobbies. And now I've watched most of your vids.
I'm a graduate student and last year found out I had ADHD. It's completely changed how I look at my life past and present.
I've always enjoyed gaming, and so many of the things you have said resonate with me. Hyperfocusing on a game allows my mind to unwind and it makes me feel so fulfilled, but then I don't stick with it, or FOMO creeps in, and my mind goes back to chaos. As a grad student, I always feel like I should be doing something productive even while at home and I feel guilty or that I am wasting my time somehow when I game and I don't "make" something out of it. I'm currently trying to fight my way out of my current mental fog, and these videos really spoke to me. Most of the content, or advice out there, in terms of how to enjoy video games when you have ADHD I've found to be negative. That I should give up the hobby, or just accept that this is my lot in life and there's nothing I can do. It's nice to see a more positive perspective and you've given me a lot to think about. Thanks man. Can't wait to see more stuff you make.
LOL the game boy colour is so real, sometimes the sun would go on the screen and you couldn’t see anymore all of a sudden
Thanks for this video. I've felt like my passion/hobby for games is lesser than other people's hobbies. Things such as writing, side hustles, or exercise. Not that those things are bad at all but it hurts when it feels like my hobby is less than just because its popular.
Found your channel earlier this week and instantly subbed after the first vid I saw. Your channel is quite literally an instant banger; Thank you for making these videos, they are fantastic!
I like this video. It was a nice reminder to embrace balance, and find joy in the journey. Not because you feel obligated, but because it's what you want to do.
A small counterweight worthy of noting is that seldomly, some are presented with opportunities to do other things like camping in your example, but some might not have a closet full of camping equipment just to demonstrate this one case in a general sense. The point is people don't take into account special cases and situations; especially at first glance. It's a tired argument I've heard people drone on about gamer ick. The same people who glue themselves to the screen for 5 hours at a time doing heck knows whatever on their phone. Don't listen to them. It's all nonsense. Misery loves company, and unhappy people tend to spread that around whether they mean to or not.
March to the rhythm of your own drum! If it's a beautiful sound, others will hearken to it. ❤
when i got divorced .. i got ecsema (dunno how u spell) i suddenly had terrible hayfever.. i startet having allergic reactions to perfume .. i had reactions to the plastic on my mouse and keyboard... i felt like my body was litterly dying .. so i can completely relate to that burn out ... mental health affect the body soo much... to this day 4 years later .. i still ee those symptoms coming back if im going thru a rough patch in life
Bro I found your channel the other day and it’s crazy how much it speaks to me. The reasons you talk about why you play world of Warcraft are the exact reasons I play Warframe and Warframe is my main game. I also struggle with anxiety and ADHD and relate to almost everything you say. Just want to take the time to say how awesome I find your videos and to keep up the great work :)
I enjoy content like this. Raw, off the cuff thoughts that many of us experience. It's refreshing to not only hear it from someone else; but to hear it from their perspective.
I've been thinking for a little while now of making videos like this. We are probably about the same age, and I also suspect I have ADHD.
You set smaller goals and achieve them. Never go for the insane ones, because after a certain point of struggling you have lost all of the fun along the way. Think about the journey it will take to get the goal and if that journey sounds enjoyable then take it. If the journey sounds incredibly miserable and painful, consider changing goals.
You have been cranking out these videos lately, Im loving it. They give such a unique perspective into gaming ! Keep it up.
I love your content! Your videos have helped me out with a bunch of things that have been floating around in my head recently and have given me some mental clarity
Love all these videos, they hit so close to home. Hope you keep sharing your thoughts ( and wow collection updates ofcourse ) :D
I think part of the problem is that games like WoW can be hard to do in moderation. But I'm fully onboard with being able to spend some time and enjoy yourself through gaming. I think your other video supplement this message as I feel that slowing down and actually enjoying the gaming is the key to moderation with it too. I also agree that it can come of as something to be ashamed when discussing with non-gamers too.
I think it’s important to take recovery and rest seriously. It’s good to workout and/or be productive with your work or in other aspects of your life. But you cannot always be working out, can’t always be productive. You need to rest, recover and let yourself switch off. Video games are a great help with this aspect.
gaming as a hobby has came so far now that we have massive communities and people with all kinds of shared interests and people finding friends and even forming relationships through gaming that calling it just a useless hobby is a big understatement . we should be proud of that and enjoy the things we have , (tho to a moderate degree)
Really enjoying this kind of content, please keep it up dude!
Great video! I can totally relate to what you are saying about guilt.
Thanks for uploading this. Cheers
Really enjoying your chatting videos. I’ve always had a really hard time moderating my gaming, so I know it can be a bad hobby for me at times. When I really need to buckle down and focus on work stuff I usually have to stop gaming completely, otherwise I just want to play all day. I’m trying to find a better balance though, both on the gaming side and in just relaxing my work life a little. It’s tough when games are so fun!
just gonna say , i am not a WOW player or i even know what it is , but i love ur content .
thanks for watching! can I ask how you found me? do you play other games?
@@acadiianwow i accidently watched some big videos talkign about some WoW drama and such, and somehow my youtube got filled with WoW videos , but i have no interest in the game , till i found one of ur videos where u talking about games in general and i felt very relatable even tho u use WoW as exampels alot i still understand . i dont even play MMos , but the way u make ur videos it make it very easy for someone like me to understand stuff u talk about
I asked myself if I would be spending so much time inside playing video games if those games were "offline" games.
I wouldn't. It's always online games with other people.
So I'm clearly using video games as a way to find a community, which is probably not a healthy thing as the number one source of happiness for humans is real life connection.
Enjoying your content. Thank you for talk to us!
Nice take, hope it reaches lots of ears who need to hear it.
Your videos are very calming. Thank you for making them :)
Yea... it's sad how people look down on us gamers.
Us gamers have potential to develop superb hand eye coordination, memory, reaction time etc.
Gaming just needs to be balanced like all things in life.
been super happy we found your channel! :-)
I think a big part of it too is just that some people just don't get video games, they don't understand that they're more than just a simulation of violence, or that there is a lot of conversation to be had about them. I have had so many conversations with people about the games they played and the choices they made in them. Who were they when they played Skyrim, who were they when they played bg3 and did they try their best to save people, or did they just want to see what would happen if they sacked the grove. This isn't even mentioning multiplayer games, so what if all you do with someone is play COD, how much time have you spent together just having fun. Depending on the game it can also help you learn how to take a loss, or some people might just rage about it. There are so many different kinds of games out there, so many worlds to explore and stories to find, so many different ways to interact.
My new years was spent working towards 2k rating in M+ which I achieved the next morning as a tank for the first time.
also having bad concious constantly is very much an adhd thing .. growing up and never beeing able to do what others do, and fit in... good thing is we also very humble ;)
Its so funny, i was heavily into working out as well when classic wow came out, played an orc shaman and i had a burnout around that time (with panic attacks). I couldnt relax wow classic felt like another job at times and i also hat massive guilt for not doing anything productive.
It's not wasted time if you enjoyed wasting it. I played guitar/bass in bands for years when I was young, now they sit in the corner of my room 10 years later. I play them sometimes, but what did I "do better" by playing instrument instead of games? I still gotta work and pay my bills.
I kind of feel it's weird to call videogames like, one hobby but it's a view that seems pretty universal. I play quite a few videogames but I'm not really sure the spreadsheet simulators and mapgames I play are really the same hobby as actiony shooters or that either is the same hobby as an MMO like wow. The only commonalties between them is that they're played using a computer of some sort and tend to be more popular with people under the age of about 40 than those above the age of about 40.
Love gaming and WoW despite what some of the community says about the state of the game, I'm so glad we all have gaming as a hobby - like anything though, doing it in excess to the point where it negatively effects your physical and mental health, relationships, work etc. is bad. However, there is a weird stigma around gaming in general. If you spend 3-4 + hours binge watching a Netflix show or watching sports, no one bats an eye lid, if you do this with games you're suddenly seen as a reclusive weirdo 🤣
For the most part, my dad hated when we gamed when we were kids. He thought it was a massive waste of time and took time away from our studies. I appreciate he wanted the best for us and only had good intentions, but he always had the idea that academia came first and even in spare time, games were a waste of time and would lead nowhere. Then I went to university to study Art and animation and ended up being a 3D artist in the games industry, he stopped criticizing games shortly after that 🤣
To highlight what you said about people feeling pressured by their social circles to be someone they don't want to be, I'd say work on trying to be comfortable with yourself and your choices (easier said than done ofc.) If you have friends or acquaintances that make you feel bad about how you choose to spend your free time, maybe your friendship doesn't align anymore, you outgrew it or simply drifted apart. That doesn't say anything good or bad about you as people, its just different interests.
If your idea of a blissful Friday night is to be at home chilling with a pizza and WoW or other games, then that's your authentic self and you don't have to change that for anyone. There are some people that couldn't stand the idea of being stuck at home when they could go out and party, be in a club until 6am the next morning. Personally for me, that would be hell and I'd rather just be at home gaming - each to their own! But please allow yourself to enjoy your time as you want and don't feel pressured by societal expectations of what is right for you - at the end of the day you'll be a lot happier living your life in accordance with what you want, rather than the expectations of others.
I think it is because there is a bias (from the boomer generation) that video games are not social. That you are sitting by a room, by yourself interacting with a bunch of characters controlled by a computer. They don't realize that most games are largely social now and that you have to group with people to experience much of the game. I would even argue that games can be more social. You can go to a party, be there- but not interact much and not be very social (you are just "there"). You can't do that in a group in a video game- they will kick you because they need your contribution.
Love your videos man, they are very down to earth and insightful. Keep it going 💪
If you don’t mind me asking what microphone/headset do you use?
I am struggling with exactly this problem. But the thing I am more concerned about is that all the time spent and experience gained on a game like wow, u will not be able to apply this in other areas of your life. Whereas if you spend the time learning to enjoy reading for example, it will increase your knowledge, understanding, vocabulary, speech even. A game like wow is designed to reset every expansion, meaning all the things you learned about your class, dungeons, professions will be gone. All those hours on previous expansions have not contributed to your future self. It's not really about being productive, it's about growing as a human being. Gaming per definition will not make you grow in that sense. Playing a guitar on the other hand can make you grow, because there will be no new expansion. All the things you learned from day 1 on the guitar will still be accumulated in 10 years, maybe you can even do the most complex rifs by that time and teach others how to play and earn a living from that. So yeah, I am really struggling with this problem as I get older. It's not about thinking gaming is a waste of time, it's about: gaming does not contribute to develop me as a person, but is gaming giving me so much more enjoyment than the countless other activities that can surely make me a more developed human being? Because in my opinion gaming will not make you more developed.
Real life is just an excuse for people who are bad at WoW.
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I guess it really depends on what you want and where you are in life. Virtual worlds can distract from real-life goals, but they can also be a great place to have fun. I think I’ve probably wasted thousands of hours in WOW but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with it in itself. I regret that i didn't focus more on achieving other goals with long-lasting effects, but that is highly subjective as well. Maybe some people don't have those goals, or they achieved them already ..
Damn, man, you're on a roll :D Stealing subject ideas straight out of my head :D I'm 0:07 into the video, gonna edit this after watching, but my main thought about this is that it's pretty unfair that if someone goes to a pub quiz with four friends every week, to the gym three times/week, and has a pickup basketball game every week with some friends from work, it's all great. But if a guy does Mythic raid with 19+ people from all over the country or even the continent 2-3 times/week and fills Vault in M+ in two evenings, they're "no life losers." All of that supposedly cooler IRL stuff has you interact with people from your general area. Playing this wonderful game of ours, especially if you're playing in EU, you can find yourself playing with 3 guys from Scandinavian countries, a guy from Iran, who can tell you a lot of stories about life in the Muslim world, a Colombian woman who moved to London years ago, three Italians, a guy who's somehow playing from South Africa, a couple of UK chads with entirely different accents because they're from opposite sides of the country, and a random Greek who calls everyone malakas. How exactly is it inferior to be exposed to this kind of variety in culture? Anyway, off to watch the video now :D
EDIT: Alright, you nailed it. Again. The motivation for this video where you had the thought in the morning, wanted to talk about it, so you made a video? That's a great reason for making stuff on UA-cam. Authenticity over long-term content strategy planning is great, at least to my tastes. Also, you don't have to have it all together to talk about this kind of stuff in this type of video. You make an argument, people who watch can agree or disagree, it doesn't really matter. The important thing is that they stop and think about the subject for a minute.
About video games not being a "productive" way to spend your time... Depends on how you do it, especially in a game like World of Warcraft. If you play this game intentionally, you can learn a lot of things about yourself. You can learn how to learn, you can test drive a lot of concepts that could later be used in real life. The important thing is to start by NOT treating every player you meet like they're NPC who's only there to help you achieve whatever goal you want to achieve and unfortunately can't do it alone. If you treat other people in the game imagining that being an asshole will result in a phantom fist leaping out of the monitor and smacking you in the mouth, you can learn how to get along with all kinds of people, you can learn how to be chattier, how to work as a team, all kinds of things. Sure, learning that in real life with a real person in front of you is vastly more effective, but that doesn't mean that practising this kind of stuff in this video game of ours doesn't help.
Oh, I also loved the full screen camera thing, other people might disagree, but it was much more... immersive this way. And you're pretty good in front of the camera, definitely 100x better than I'd ever be if I tried doing the same thing, especially because I'm not a native English speaker so it takes me longer to finish sentences when I'm speaking than it does while writing. Somehow. Don't ask xD The presentation was very natural and didn't give "professional polished presenter" vibes, which would have taken away from the impact of the video, IMHO. I liked that you weren't staring down the camera all the time, but didn't completely ignore it either, just the right mix of "eye contact" and thinking about what you were saying. And let's thank Odin that you're not doing the peppy UA-camr on a sugar high thing :D
I love modding and playing old Bethesda games lol. Good luck telling someone out in the world about this hobby. I'd rather say "I am interested in nothing". That's my 'default' thought process anyway. That's really hard to combat literally no one will take it seriously.
I share that feeling too man. Know that your hobby is legitimate and there are a lot of people out there that share your love for modding and gaming. I know that doesn't always help in the moment but hopefully over time we can get more confident and proud to say to others what bring us joy.
Shun the video-gamer!
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thankyou so, so much for this video 🩷 i can’t tell you how much this resonates + has helped me!