The gaming industry a problem or scapegoat?

I want to start this post by saying that I myself am a gamer, I play fortnite, call of duty and GTA like most people my age who grew up with a PS1 as a child and kept up to date with the latest gaming consoles.

This post is going to be about gaming and if it really is as bad a the experts say or if its another scapegoat.

The experts view:

After researching many articles about gaming and the damages in can cause, some of which include addiction, break down of relationships, motivation, wealth and real life experiences.

Addiction is a real problem in the gaming world where the alter ego of the player is easier than the real life, I can understand this as I know how easy it is to play 5 hours and it feels like 30 minutes.

Relationships have been something that is shown to be a little more opinion based depending on personality and current relationship status so I wont go to much into this as the evidence is limited.

Motivation is another once that has limited evidence, Most of the articles that I read from the experts claim this is more of a physical reaction where the body becomes in a contact stress or high and this is exhausting on the body and brain to the point that the player has no interest or energy to put into other aspects of their lives.

Wealth is something that we all know can be affected by gaming and constant update of games, programs, systems and equipment, however this not where the issues begin, most of the wealth stories around gaming are caused by micro-transactions in most popular games, Fortnite for example is a free game to play however the amount someone could spend on micro-transactions is in the hundreds of dollars.

Life Experiences can be affected due to the times that most gamers are online, After school, after work, late at night and weekends. This allows less time to explore, spend time with friends and family and enjoy the real world. This is more relevant with younger games who are still growing and learning to adapt to the real world and hard life can be as a young adult.

The gamers view:

Addiction is something that I as a gamer can see becoming an issue, however I only feel this is the case for people with an addictive personality or are in a situation that allows them to go to the extreme measure of playing well over 8 hours per day. However as a gamer I know that there needs to be limits, I play Friday or Saturday nights after the family is asleep or in bed, I dont allow myself to miss out on any family time, plus the wife would give me a hard time.

Relationships, again I feel that this is based on a case by case, If you are in a relationship where you would rather be gaming day and night should you be in that relationship? I try my best to be there for the wife and kids and I know that sometimes it would be easier to just put the headphones on and start gaming but I believe that like a majority of players in the world you need to have priorities in place.

Motivation is something that I dont really know what to say, If you have your priorities set and dont have an addictive personality I dont see this being an issue.

Wealth, Easy answer for this... let the wife know your spending habits and it will soon stop. Honestly though this is something that anyone including myself can fall victim too. Sometimes you want to get ahead and gain any extra advantage and that is the easiest and fastest way. I dont spend any money that I dont have on gaming any more and to be honest I still find myself enjoying it all the same even if sometimes I get called a 'noob' on fortnite.

Life Experience is hard to argue with as I have never found an issue with gaming and social life overlapping, A lot of my gaming is in fact a good opportunity to catch up with friends in other states or countries who I dont get to see or speak to as often. Just like any social platform gaming can have positive impacts that allows everyone to communicate on another platform.

Summary:

I wont stop gaming.

I do however now have a better understanding of why some people dislike the gaming industry and how it has impacted the lives of certain people.

I believe that with more evidence and open discussions from both sides that we will have a better understanding on why some people struggle with addiction, motivation and relationships.

It might come down to the tricks that gaming companies use and the millions of dollars spent into marketing and advertising or it may be as simple as some personalities will become addicted to anything they do and gaming is an easy option and an easy target.

Sometimes its not about finding something or someone to blame for all the problems in the world.

It seems that either side of the argument wont take each others opinions on board and this causes a pack mentality and it is hard to get through to anyone once they are in the "my team is correct" head space.

If both sides took the time to discuss I feel that we would be in a better place to decide what is the best answer but until this happens we will just be going back and forth with no growth.

I would love to hear your feedback and opinions.

I want this to be an open space where all can discuss their thoughts freely and honestly.