I used to live playing computer games when I was younger but sadly had not time for it in the last few years.
Now I even question whether it is a good idea to play computer games. Whether it is a waste of time, or unhealthy to sit in front of a computer for so long.
Have I just become a soulless boring old man?
I think itās a matter of how theyāre used and what games you play.
I find them to be among the most efficient mean to empty my mind and switch gears after some frustration or mind filling stress (the other very good way are walks outside and exercise in general). They can also be good to develop outside the box thinking, organisational skills or resilience depending on the game you play. Playing video games online also gave me a worldwide network of relationships that helped for travel and broadening my horizons. Iāve learnt English playing videogames.
On the other hand, it is also very easy for me to sit down for a 30min session and end up having wasted half a day in it, or to miss my bed time because āIāll just do that tiny bit moreā. Game creators have mastered the craving/reward system and know how to get us stuck to our screen. It can quickly become very detrimental to productivity and in person social activity.
As an aside, I find that video game music is an amazing background music to have for tasks that require sustained focus: theyāre made to not be your main focus but to keep you hooked on what youāre doing and it works.
When I used to play civilization, that āone more turnā dynamic got me hooked playing into the early hours of the morning!
Same. Then youāre tired for the day, you probably end up playing some more instead of sleeping the next evening and you end up with low energy for several days in a row. The time lost goes way beyond the time spent actually playing the game.
Very true.
On topic: as for Wolverine for me itās not a waste of time at all. Doomscrolling is a waste of time, when I am deathly tired I canāt commit to a game and doomscroll instead of sleeping.
Yes. It is better than doom scrolling or mindless YouTube.
I have a cheap answer but this how I look at them:
Does it give you joy?
Does it matter for you to play a bit and with friend?
So just continue to enjoy some time playing video games. You only live once, and there will be times when you could not enjoy it because you have to prioritize your time for others things.
So how can something that gives you wonderful moments be a waste of time? Is sex a waste of time? 
Come over here: Any gamers here?
Somehow, it feels āunhealthyā. I guess you could make the same arguments for drugs - maybe if you take heroin, you also feel great. Now obviously drugs have an adverse health effect, but what if they created a new form of heroin which didnāt have adverse health effects. Would it be good to spend several hours a day drugged up?
Good point. I recommend everyone to familiarize themselves with dopamine and what the brain does if there is too much of it. A healthy balance of enjoyment and suffering seems to work best.
Iāve probably spent 15% of my 34 years playing games. Enjoyed every second of it. Will never regret it, best time of my life (especially in my early 20s).
I personally donāt have much of an issue with that, wouldnāt do it myself and would consider such a life to be wasted (like the users!) but I am pretty liberal with how people spend their time on earth as long as it doesnāt break any laws. I meanā¦reasonable laws, making operating a vehicle under the influence illegal is reasonable, making homosexuality illegal clearly isnāt.
Dunno, one can argue that sitting in front of the PC playing a game is physically unhealthy, it is I wonāt deny.
I think Iāve taken more from gaming than itās taken out of me. As a kid learnt English from 80s text adventures (it gave the motivation that no teacher ever could), and problem solving from puzzle games. I see my kids expressing a lot of original creativity in Minecraft, though my wife doesnāt give a damn second of her time to understand what it is. To her computer games are all a monolithic thing, like 90 year olds call ALL cartoons āmickey mouseā because thatās what they could see in the village coffee house which was the only place that had a TV in the 50s 
When I was a kid, I spent a really unhealthy amount of time on computer games. The number of times, I would sneak out of bed at night to play computer games would freak my parents out of they knew (foolish of them to allow a computer in the bedroom!).
I also look back fondly at those times and also feel I got a lot out of it, though I feel I probably spent too much time playing games. Had I done something else during that time, maybe I could have gotten something out of that too and maybe have a more rounded experience (e.g. if I did some outdoor physical hobby).
Itās actually becoming a point of discussion in the household as my 6 year old wants to play computer games (he plays sometimes when at his friends). My partner is dead set against any kind of electronic entertainment (TV, computer games). Iām somewhere in the middle.
I allowed him to play a little bit of a computer game (superbomberman 3) to help develop his dexterity and planning and it was remarkable how quickly he did develop. However, this was just for a limited period of time (once per week for 20 minutes and maybe 15 sessions in total).
On the one hand, Iād like him to enjoy games like I did, but probably only once he is much older. Since games are so much more enticing than other activities, I donāt want it to displace his interest in less exciting activities such as hiking.
Totally with you on all points. I let my kids play 30 mins on Saturday and/or (more towards and) Sunday, strictly 30 min though. I saw my older daughter become a nervous wreck trying to play Yoshiās Island or Mario Kart (like you, to help with dexterity development) so I stopped that and only let her play Minecraft Creative, which she loves to do. Good thing is my wife is a lot more outdoorsy than I am, so the kids get to get a lot of that.
Iād imagine Bomberman being as stressful, perhaps?
I guess it is a bit stressful. I did find it remarkable how quickly improved. At the beginning he was total trash at the game and quickly he was able to manoeuvre around corners, make short term plans and adopt some basic strategies.
Also, at the beginning he would cry when he died, so it helped to build a bit of emotional resilience too
I observed the same, and used the same arguments which were met with raised eyebrows and sneer
I would want my children to have somewhat balanced activities. Computer games would fit into it if they have an interest in it but some kind of physical activity and some kind of cultural activity would have to get there too.
Best would be for me to manage to take them out on them (hikes, skiing, other sports, cultural visits) but getting them to frequent a club would also ideally be part of the program (foot, gym, other sport, scouts, ā¦).
My parents had a policy of having us, until we finished mandatory school at which point they let us do whatever we wanted:
I think they were on to something and plan to emulate/adapt some of it for my own children (the mass part being one Iād probably change though I donāt yet know if/what to replace it with).
How old are your kids?
Iād say that when it comes to making money or getting better at something, like a job or a sport, playing video games isnāt the best use of your time.
But for me, playing video games is a way to unwind and take a break from work. Itās like how I feel when Iām playing sports ā it helps me relax and feel more alive. I truly believe that hobbies can be a great way to develop your professional skills. Iāve even heard studies that support this!
First of all, what is the definition of āwaste of timeā? For me that is āeffort without desired outcomeā, e.g. raking leaves only for a gust of wind to undo everything. Or manually sorting an Excel table instead of letting the program sort it.
Playing games Iād rather classify as āunproductiveā, in a capitalist sense. But so is watching the sun set, or meeting a friend, or knitting a dog sweater.
The only relevant question is: does it bring you joy? After all, why do we want to FI(RE)? So we donāt have to do things just because we need the money, and are able to do the things we like to do.
People classifying video games as a waste of time in general (and not for themselves, which is fine of course) are just not open-minded enough to see that times, and hobbies of people, change. Bonus idiot points if they add āin contrast, I do activity xā, without realizing said activity didnāt exist 30 years ago and their probably similarly hare-brained parents would regard it as a waste of time as well.