Ask Lemmy

Not domeone who has given up gaming, but I stopped gaming for a bit with the hope I would be more productive. Not long, short bursts of a couple of months. I hated it because I would still spend time doing "unproductive" things, but even worse, it felt like I wasn't doing anything actually fun. Like, I'm scrolling on Reddit or Lemmy for like 2 hours? Sure I read quite a bit, but there's a lot of uneducationa posts, as well as a lot of time spent scrolling because I was on it for so long that the good posts I got through quickly.

At least with video games, I get a sense of learning, and challenging myself.

Doing something woth your brain leeps it working better, just like how physical exercise works. If you traded gaming for doing nothing, that would make the occasional time you do something feel like a lot of work.

It is also possible that you have some level of depression or your brain adjusted to all the stimulation and other things aren't triggering the same feeling. It could lots of things.

The first step to try any of those for things is to find an activity that is mentally stimulating in some way. Not like a full dive into calculus, but maybe learning something new like a different hobby or maybe games that aren't as engaging for long periods of time. I would recommend games with a short completion time and no grinding or rewards if that is what you found to be addicting.

Note: I didn't stop computer gaming but I did drop another time consuming hobby and it took some adjustment to find something else.

Maybe speak to a psychiatrist cause that kinda sounds like a symptom of ADHD. I say that cause I feel that way some time and I got adhd. This could mean nothing

I used to be big on gaming, mostly just playing Minecraft. I could play for hours every day and it sucked a lot of my free time up. I didn't "quit" gaming as much as I just lost interest in it over time. I fell into other hobbies (writing music, studying botany, Linux (Arch, BTW), local events, I had a kid) and I found these activities to be much more rewarding.

Don't get me wrong: it isn't that I don't think that games can be rewarding, or valuable, or create important memories. Certainly they have for me. But I just feel like as I've gotten older I've had a harder time devoting brainpower to it. It's the same as with movies. It's very hard for me to sit down and watch a movie anymore, not because I am Tiktok-brained and incapable of focusing on one task for longer than two minutes, but because the whole time I'm just antsy, *what am I doing here, what is the point of this? I would rather be writing, or researching the Amaranth family, or looking into how to drain the rear differential in my car, or going on a long walk...)

I think as you learn more about who 'you' are, OP, you will find it easier to put vidya down. It takes a lot to sit, to breathe, to just engage with something and not have it be screaming at you for your attention the entire time. People watch, or just sit still and look out your window for a little while. Little things to ground yourself and connect with the present.

So I kind of involuntarily quit gaming. :) I had a heart attack, and I was finding it challenging enough just navigating menu screens much less trying to play the game. :(

Fuckin' Red Dead Redemption 2 just broke me. :(

I've gone back a little, but I can't sit and play 8-10-12 hours straight like I used to!

No great wisdom either, but my main thought about this is that games are designed to keep your dopamine coming (maybe overly nature scientific way of saying: they are exciting, rewarding).

Other activities can do that to, but some are rewarding in a more subtle way or more on a long term. Like, not "ringring yOu fOuNd DIAMOND!!". So in comparison with games they might not trigger your motivation (dopamin?) as quickly.

On the other hand they are probably better at making you feel more general connectedness, belonging, sense, emotional diversity, etc.

So my advice (wich I struggle alot to follow myself) is: Avoid or limit the other dopamine traps like random scrolling and give yourself and the not-designed- for-dopamine-optimization-world some time, some patient goodwill. This might make that good ol' world shine bright enough to not get bored all the time.

I’ve been feeling the same way, honestly. I used to love gaming, but lately it’s hard to get into anything, and I think it’s not just about quitting gaming. The real issue is that when I try to play the older games I enjoy, my roommate criticizes them. It’s like every time I want to play something, I’m told it’s "boring" or "outdated," and I’m pushed to play newer stuff instead. It’s really killed the fun for me.

I know they mean well, but they have similar input on pretty much everything, like food, music, TV/movies, and clothing. We’ve been friends since grade school, and I’m not sure where the disconnect came from, but I wish they’d try positive reinforcement instead. I don’t really respond well to their usual methods. It just makes everything feel more like a critique than a suggestion.

Got a kid and a job and eventually lost all time for gaming. Now I'm slowly starting again, but only single player stuff

First, you're stronger than i. Congrats on the life shift.

Second, "not having constant input" can be viewed as a skill. Meditation is a way that I have practiced that skill (I'm quite out of practice these days).

I recommend doing guided meditation. It's not the thing for everyone, but it helps some.

Could be ADHD symptom. The dopamine overload of competitive gaming could have been what kept you going if you're naturally lacking.

(not a doctor)