by Rob Kentworth

Created on: September 04, 2010

There is a general misconception that computer games are a waste of time and it seems that the people who hold that view are ones who didn’t grow up with them. It’s nothing more than a personal observation.

So, why are games not a waste of time? It’s not a hard question to answer. But at the same time, a lot of things could be construed as being a waste of time because there are often better things you could do that are more productive. In order to answer the question, it’s necessary to examine the value of watching television shows and movies, alongside sport, amongst other things.

Firstly, let’s be frank and say that there is a lot of rubbish on the television. Watching some programmes can make you want to pull your hair out or go to sleep because they are so poor. This is especially true of reality TV. Next, when you sit down and watch sports, you’re still not doing anything productive.

When you sit down and play games though, you are at least thinking about you’re going to do next, plus you’re actually doing more than using your eyes and ears. You’re actually controlling a character, so it’s more involving. Then, if you’re presented with a problem, you need to work out how to solve it. Next, we can look at historical strategy and management games. Historical strategy games can teach you about history and they challenge you mentally. Management games can help show you what it’s like running a business and also help to teach you how to manage your money.

However, this leads to the fact that as mentioned above, a lot of things could be construed as being a waste of time. When you consider most of the hobbies (except when you get paid for doing what you love), they are a waste of time at the end of the day. There are often more productive things you could do than sit in front of the television, read magazines etc.

By that same token, all hobbies could be thought of as a waste of time and not at the same time. Playing video games is no different than watching sport/television/movies, listening to movies and reading. However, it does need to be said that you can at least learn about language etc. whenever you read, so that does has benefits.

Essentially, what it comes down to is what each person likes. Everyone has different tastes and just because someone may not have the same interests as you do, it doesn’t mean their interests are a waste of time or that the person is sad. This is what a lot of people should keep in mind, because playing games is no more a waste of time than watching television is.

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