[TotW] Is Gaming a Waste of Time?

Games; I think of it as "brain exercising"

games have proven to be a way to prevent Dementia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_training

It depends on how much time you put into it and what are your life priorities.
I've seen first hand how people go into debts after getting sacked from work (due to not showing up for work because of late night gaming or not going to work to play games).
I've seen people who put gaming as number one priority and make it as professional gamers.

So it really is up to what kind of a person you are and how capable are you to make this 'hobby' into something that will not only drain your time, but it will provide something back for the time you put into it.

I can't speak for anyone but myself since there are tons of genres concerning video games, but recently I've been playing fps games. Specifically, CS:GO and Rainbow 6 Siege. Before you say these games are a waste of time, let me point out some things first.

1.These games require you to learn, unlearn, and relearn. I'm talking patch notes. I'm talking updates. I'm talking about breaking bad habits and creating good ones. I'm talking about looking at things from a different POV. You have to constantly reinvent yourself. You have to constantly ask yourself "Is there a better way to approach this, and how?" You have to ask yourself "Where did I go wrong? What mistakes did I make? How can I improve?" You have to take the initiative to bettering yourself, or you will never improve, whether it be in life or in video games.
"Acceptance of mediocrity is the first step toward failure." -Kali, R6S

2. You have to constantly keep your emotions under check. One could argue that this is much more important in League of Legends, because in those games you'll have afk, trolling, and feeding teammates. One mistake and the game can snowball into an uphill battle, which is so frustrating you'll want to "Surrender at 15". However in shooter games where flashbangs, smoke grenades, and bullets are flying everywhere it is very important to keep calm. I have learned that I make most of my irrational decisions when I let my emotions control me. I'm scared of taking damage and dying, so I make dumb decisions. I'm on a losing streak, so I'm not playing as best as I could be. This can cost me my life. This can cost me the game. In real life, making impulsive decisions and getting angry can result in more drastic situations, like losing your job. If you don't have self-discipline then how will you survive the heat of the moment? "Don't lose your cool, no matter what happens." -Blackbeard, R6S

Ok i'm running out of space and time, so I'm just gonna briefly mention a few more topics before i conclude.

Teamwork-Learning to work with others is fun. It's also a life skill
Failure-Learning to accept failure + pushing until you succeed is what separates an average gamer from s1mple, Pengu, or Faker. This mindset is what separates your average entrepreneur from Thomas Edison, or Steve Jobs.
Social-When you love a game, it becomes special. When you meet others that love the game as much as you, it's fking awesome.

I want to end my banter with this: the video game industry is worth millions-scratch that-billions of dollars. It's given birth to multibillion dollar companies like Razer. It's given birth to superstars like KennyS, sinatraa, and Beaulo. Many established content creators (DanTDM, Markiplier) have used this industry as a vessel for growth. I'm not even going to go into how many twitch streamers and LetsPlayers have benefitted from this industry. My point is, the video game industry hasn't shown any signs of slowing down significantly. How many more careers can be made? How many kids can get inspired by the success of those like Ninja and Tfue? How many dreams can become a reality? Although I don't believe that you have to make a living out of a hobby to make it useful, I keep thinking about how big this industry could become. okimgoingtobednow