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[–]Miserable-Force27 434 points435 points  (3 children)

Scroll slop reels instead and comment here.

[–]carthy_mccormac 72 points73 points  (0 children)

Yes, we need more gender and dating posts

[–]Gay_Pussy_Eater 45 points46 points  (1 child)

"Now let me tell you my thoughts on indians"

[–]ravenrock_ 26 points27 points  (0 children)

“many young women claim to be bisexual but I don’t think that they actually are”

[–]drunkcheesesandwich 161 points162 points  (2 children)

Daring today, aren't we

[–]surniaulala 30 points31 points  (0 children)

redscarepod will HATE this one

[–]KonigKonn 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Hey guys, controversial opinions incoming but I hate video games, fat people and Indians try not to get too triggered!!

[–]slicepaperwrists_ 223 points224 points  (2 children)

Young men, consider not redditing 

[–]powered_by_eurobeat 44 points45 points  (1 child)

Leave now, or one day you might find yourself as a middle-aged-man arguing with 16 yr old about gender wars

[–]circumburner 9 points10 points  (0 children)

45 is still young

[–]beachling2 31 points32 points  (2 children)

What if you have a genetic disposition to gaming (Korean)

[–]MintMochaMan[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Try to become one of the Koreans who make millions from it then

[–]whatsapass 1 point2 points  (0 children)

take the kpop pill instead

[–]shill_420 125 points126 points  (17 children)

A lot of people here are too young to remember, but Gaming was actually considered gay until halo 3 or so.

[–]RobertoSantaClara 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Must be a North American paradigm shift, for us thirdies it was GTA San Andreas

[–]KingFrijole021 15 points16 points  (1 child)

GTA 3 literally came out 6 years before.

[–]contentwatcher3 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Looking back on that era I still see so much creative potential. Games are a lesser artform, but I think there's an argument to be made that's because they were throttled in the crib

[–]Round_Bullfrog_8218 36 points37 points  (2 children)

Halo 3? The first one was a game changer every bro was into it.

[–]jy_1980 3 points4 points  (0 children)

*until Command and Conquer on N64

[–]schlongkarwai 12 points13 points  (4 children)

speaking as someone who had a lot of older cousins that I’d play games with as a kid, the release of the original Xbox (along with Halo 1, like the other guy was saying) was when gaming really went mainstream in America. different places caught on at different paces but that was the inflection point as a major American technology company decided to go all in on it.

prior to that, it was largely an activity for children and younger teenagers in the case of consoles (most PlayStation and Nintendo games with the exception of 007 and splinter cell were targeted toward kids), or real social outcasts (like the columbine shooters) / third worlders in the case of PC games (counterstrike for the latter, DOOM and others for the former). It wasn’t until like 10 years ago that playing video games on your PC didn’t automatically render you a weirdo.

[–]myohmadi 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Before that I feel like it was seen as more like a board game, something you do with friends or something. There weren’t the in depth games that last hours (I’m sure they existed I’m just saying that’s not what I thought of when I thought of video games). It was like, playing bowling on Wii with your friend lol. I personally don’t remember when I started seeing people play actual video games, I was busy reading warrior cats

[–]elonmaize 0 points1 point  (1 child)

its crazy how short games were, you could knock them out in a weekend at most. you paid $90 to rent them and they were heavy on the multiplayer. they all had multiplayer modes outside of those weird niche RPGs that were clearly for the older losers

[–]myohmadi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I played Nancy drew games and those were like a big deal, if you could play it well (I.e have an adult brain and not a 9 year olds like I did when I first played them) they are only maybe 7 hours. They do feel even more short now with my modern attention span.

[–]GeneralAwesome1996 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I miss when the internet and nerd subcultures were largely outcasts and weirdos

[–]Edwardwinehands 9 points10 points  (3 children)

No what about FIFA? I don't think sports game was ever gay

[–]moody_attitudi 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Please validate me I like sports I am a real man right guys please

[–]Miserable-Force27 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Today I learned I'm gay for playing and enjoying the original Halo.

[–]Soft_Midnight8221 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Pandering to a contrarian misanthropic subreddit is still pandering to Reddit

[–]robonick360 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Fine. Blacked porn it is.

[–]Popular_Wishbone_789 38 points39 points  (1 child)

Thank you for the heads up.

Does the need to impulsively give life advice come along with your current, nirvana-like state, master? I tremble in mortification.

[–]Specific-Ad7805 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Gaming is ok if youre playing games that i like

[–]PeterThielWorshipper 74 points75 points  (7 children)

I'm excited to see how this thread goes because 1-2 years ago you'd be made fun of for posting this because "this is the fourth time its posted this week" whereas now these threads get a ton of comments in defense of gaming.

Considering the demographic change over the past year, I am not surprised

[–]GreshlyLukeheterosexual man 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Contrarianism is a revolving door

[–]elonmaize 9 points10 points  (1 child)

how is gaming worse than doomscrolling?

20 years ago being on friendster was considered on par with playing video games for how unattractive it was to women.

Now it seems women are the biggest social media addicts

[–]whatsapass 0 points1 point  (0 children)

excited? i remember when people would actively call you out because you're mentioning gaming, which is decidedly an uncool hobby

should have closed the sub at 100k

[–]johnnytestsdad 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thanks, Dad

[–]alejandro712 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Personally I notice there is a 1-to-1 correlation between me spending more time playing video games and being more unhappy/depressed. When I’m busy with other things, going to the gym, engaging with others and living life to my fullest I barely have time to play video games at all. Recently I’ve been playing more video games which makes me think I’ve probably been avoiding dealing with things…

[–]ndork666 37 points38 points  (0 children)

Cold weather months lead to more indoor activities. I wouldn't overthink it

[–]echinaceadatura 51 points52 points  (12 children)

slopamine lovers incoming

[–]Select-Ad-3872 128 points129 points  (11 children)

Hot take here but I think gaming is a better use of time than mindlessly surfing the internet and thats what most guys I know that quit gaming replace it with

"Just replace it with something better!"

We're conversing on a washed up podcast subreddit

[–]PlayFree_Bird 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I will once again say that the greatest loss for men is the declining ability to tinker on something. Having the shop or the garage or the homestead or something like that was the ideal outlet for male energy.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that the video game discourse dovetails in with the housing crisis and the inability for young men of this generation to acquire land. Of course it does. Almost everything does.

And it's also no surprise to me that we're seeing the resurgence of male interest in having a dedicated project space. And I don't mean the "man cave", which is the consumerist corrupted version of what I'm talking about. I mean a truly utilitarian space that men can gradually improve/upgrade and where they can toy around with weird ideas they drew up.

Most of our grandfathers were like this. Men need space for amateur engineering and making stuff. That male autistic obsession really sucks when it is funneled into video games and mindless internet consumption.

[–]McSwaggerAtTheDMV 5 points6 points  (1 child)

It's all still possible, it just requires space. Woodworking is still a great one too. Most people's garages are so full of junk nowadays though

[–]ShockoTraditional 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Gotta have my 15 rubber storage totes full of Halloween inflatables and Christmas inflatables for the yard

[–]Shmohemian 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Tired of pretending there arent levels to this. This place isn’t exactly some meeting of the minds, but text forums will always beat short form video content and games. If you earnestly disagree, but you’re still here, that says more about you than anything else 

[–]elonmaize 0 points1 point  (0 children)

will always beat short form video content and games

and if you had to chose between those two. Mind you 99% of the short form content men will see is andrew tate or Nick Fuentes influenced posts

[–]inceIsior -5 points-4 points  (2 children)

Mindlessly surfing the internet becomes boring after like an hour. Gamers will play 3-4 hours every day and not think twice about it

[–]ChicMungo 24 points25 points  (1 child)

I see people mindlessly scrolling throughout their entire day. Every day.

When that the last time you saw someone surf the internet? 2010?

[–]inceIsior -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I mean "surfing the web" was literally the term that the guy I replied to used lol.

And even then, comparing yourself to iPad babies that spend their entire day scrolling should not be used to excuse gaming. Both things are equally a waste of time

[–]fiiiiixins 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It’s nuts how I couldn’t give any less of a hoot about what anyone else does with their time

[–]Fights_with_Coyotes 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Skill issue

[–]Reaperdude97 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Gaming primarily appeals to the proletariat class as it oftentimes ends up being the greatest maximization of dollar value to entertainment, even if it rewires your brain into that of a paypig to do so. I’d say most young men after graduating college and having money for the first time in their lives quickly gravitate away from wasting away in front of a screen.

[–]MagicallyCalm 8 points9 points  (0 children)

When I quit amphetamines cold turkey I replaced the lost dopamine with video games. Helped me achieve sobriety to a brutal addiction that had its claws in me.

Sure there are better addictive outlets like physical exercise, but if we're trading one addiction for another you can do worse than video games.

[–]Tasty_Difference_679 24 points25 points  (22 children)

If everyone who was a gamer started painting or picked up an instrument the world would be a better place

[–]slicesofhoneydew 17 points18 points  (3 children)

you need to actively engage your brain from a progressive, learning-focused standpoint with instruments or any other creative endeavor. there have been days where my brain/mind felt like mush from trying to understand/execute painting concepts. i'm not sure how many league of legends players would last trying to learn how to draw for a year

[–]LouReedTheChaser 13 points14 points  (0 children)

"you like CoD? errrrm loser. read Loomis bro"

Yeah I'm sure OP will change the hearts and minds of millions lmao

[–]Emergency_Wealth_567 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i play league and i taught myself how to draw. spent a lot of time on /ic/ and spent a lot of hours in the early stages reading loomis books and studying photos off of pinterest, as well as attending live figure drawing sessions with the nude models and whatnot. its been about 7 years since i started drawing and it's one of my biggest joys in life. i cant really imagine life without it. a lot of my talented artists friends are gamers too. they don't play league but they like undertale or minecraft. its a bit weird how people label other people on a binary.

[–]BAE_CAUGHT_ME_POOPIN 4 points5 points  (3 children)

I stop playing video games in junior high and started making electronic music instead - which was *also* a total waste of time, but I still feel good about it.

[–]LondonSuperKing 2 points3 points  (1 child)

im sure there was a lovely lyrist in thessaloniki 3000 years ago who thought he was wasting his time too

[–]BAE_CAUGHT_ME_POOPIN 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FINEEEEEEE, I'll go open up FL Studio again, sheesh ;)

[–]myohmadi 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Making music or other stuff is never a waste of time, it contributes to ur overall health even if ur not good at it

[–]elonmaize 1 point2 points  (1 child)

oh yes, women never complain about some douchebag playing wonderwall. i've never seen a woman mock a guy for being a poet either

[–]tulolasso-in-amerika -3 points-2 points  (9 children)

shitty painters and shitty musicians is the last thing this world needs. just read a book or play chess or something; get over your fetishization of production

[–]inceIsior 14 points15 points  (3 children)

You can paint or play music for yourself or just socially, it's actually quite nice. Not everyone needs to go pro with everything lol

[–]HemingwaySweater 9 points10 points  (0 children)

nah producing things is good for you. Just don’t go expecting to be famous for it or for anyone to care if you share it

[–]heartlessmanipulator 18 points19 points  (0 children)

don't create anything because you might be bad at it. lol.

[–]Love_Takes_Miles_ 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I would appreciate if we had more good bands personally

[–]tulolasso-in-amerika -5 points-4 points  (1 child)

the piano or violin are the only acceptable instruments for young people to learn. maybe the flute

[–]LondonSuperKing 1 point2 points  (0 children)

maybe the flute

you're clearly still thinking this through

[–]Thin-Chocolate-280 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ocarina of time.

[–]Dracula_Hands 13 points14 points  (6 children)

I’m in my early 30s and I feel so lucky that I completely stopped giving a shit about video games after the age of like 14. I’ll occasionally play Mario Kart or Madden with a friend, but I can’t even remember the last time I played alone

[–]midsmikkelsen 1 point2 points  (0 children)

same except I have some friends that are more into it and sometimes I get curious because there‘s some wild stuff now but it always feels such a chore to play these games, they require too much work and time for a casual

[–]Wild_Demand_6324 -5 points-4 points  (4 children)

Yeah same, not be all ‘cooler than thou’ but video games strike me as so blatantly pantomimic (they are, they’re explicitly made for children and teenagers) that I never really understood what other adults get out of them.

[–]Vindigg2 1 point2 points  (2 children)

In what way is Arma 3, for example, made for children?

[–]LondonSuperKing -1 points0 points  (0 children)

never heard of it but im 100% sure children play it. basically every game ever made is made for children. every game where you kill people is made for children funnily.

[–]Wild_Demand_6324 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I don’t know what that is, I’m 29

[–]NotaContributi0n 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Doing anything actually productive in your free time is a big deal, no matter what it is. Learn a musical instrument, do art, build things. time fucking flies and if you spend a couple years actually focusing on creative skills not only will you be happy and fulfilled, you’ll possibly find ways to make more money and friends. Plus, girls love a guy that has skills

[–]Jason_Steakcum 10 points11 points  (6 children)

Everytime I get an incredibly lame reply on this website their post history is inevitably exclusively gaming subs

[–]tulolasso-in-amerika 11 points12 points  (3 children)

when i get one, it's gamers or people who post on wall street bets and have 'cum' in their username

[–]Jason_Steakcum -5 points-4 points  (2 children)

“Im offended because this comment pointing out literal online losers is me”

[–]tulolasso-in-amerika 11 points12 points  (1 child)

didn't mean to offend you, dawg. maybe you can LARP as a bourgeois a little more to feel better about yourself

[–]Jason_Steakcum -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Oh it’s bait pretending to be that guy, good job

[–]ChicMungo 3 points4 points  (1 child)

You're a degenerate gambler.

And yes. I hid my post history. Maybe you should too.

[–]Jason_Steakcum -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Swing and a miss

[–]monospacegames 6 points7 points  (3 children)

>Cutting out video games in favor of focusing on my other interests improved my life in just about every way

Play is actually supposed to be a vehicle for self-improvement, think about the purpose of play in animals. It's supposed to introduce you to new ideas, new modes of thought, but more specifically offer a safe venue to improve your capabilities. Video games also have great capacity to enable creative expression. The problem is practically noone approaches the medium with thought and the monetary incentives push all organized effort into maximizing dopamine-seeking addictive/compulsive behavior.

Think about the medium of motion picture, the equivalent of what's going on with video games there would be big studios producing youtube slop and short form video content, and the "sophisticated" works of the medium disregarding its entire point of it and trying to imitate static paintings.

I'm not going to defend any specific games but I don't think the medium should be disregarded as a whole.

[–]JohnHinckleyVEVO 8 points9 points  (1 child)

I'm not going to defend any specific games but I don't think the medium should be disregarded as a whole.

I mean the same argument can be made about anime/cartoons but when 99.5% is slop I think it's fair to judge anyone who identifies as a consumer of it lol

[–]monospacegames 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah adult animation is also plagued with this attitude. It's a self-perpetuating cycle of slop where the people who engage with the medium have no respect for it and it ends up reflecting on the works that get made.

The solution in both I think is to democratize the creation process and make people who engage with the medium more actively create things in it.

[–]DangerousDig9478 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's also true that a lot of succesful people played Starcraft or Dota, but emphasis on the past tense. Playing games is absolutely great. But if you're still obsessed with counterstrike when you're 25, 28, 30, 35... that's a developmental issue. It's time to take those reaction times, those multitasking abilities, decision making skills in to the real world.

[–]showercurtain12 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Seconding this. Took me an embarassingly long time to figure it out - read this as someone with bloody knees saying you ought to tie your laces before you run - but I look back and it really is time wasted.

[–]inceIsior 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Fucking hell I know we say that the sub is dead all the time, but this time it's actually for real with all the unabashed gamer cope in this thread lol

[–]peacefulbloke 12 points13 points  (0 children)

is the “unabashed gamer cope” in the room with us right now?

[–]Big_Appointment8248 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Gaming is lame as fuck

[–]miaughty_ 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I unironically think that most of the problems with young men today is that they would rather play a video game than talk to a girl

[–]ConcentrateNo2929 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just hopped off Roblox, what's up girl

[–]Letitgopls 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wasted so many years hiding away from life gaming. I think if it is problematic it is only a symptom of a bigger issue. I stopped gaming completely once I moved away and my life got better and I did only relapse when I visited my parents and had nothing to do like those vietnam veteran heroin addicts who all stopped using it when they got back from nam.

[–]incelgroyper 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you should not game or smoke weed

[–]indoorcig 1 point2 points  (3 children)

waiting for baldur’s gate 2 to load as i read this. might play a little pathfinder wotr this weekend. i defy you to tell me that my beloved nerd games are worse than watching an hour or 2 of slop tv a week.

[–]catchfebreeze 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While I agree with your sentiment — and I work in the games industry myself, as an indie studio director — you gotta keep it to yourself on here, man. Many of the best games were heavily inspired by ideas and artworks outside gaming, and though it’s long past now, once upon a time you were able to find some cool stuff on here totally different from gaming sensibilities and general Reddit sensibilities

[–]tulolasso-in-amerika 2 points3 points  (1 child)

everyone knows this logic doesn't apply to dnd-derived or sport simulation games. the third one was garbage though.

[–]indoorcig 3 points4 points  (0 children)

i thought bg3 was alright; it just suffers from the 5e-ification effect where people just want to talk and role play and it’s too horny

[–]kingofpomona 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I loved video games as a kid, got to HS, started dating and quit overnight, never looking back and mostly forgetting about them entirely.

[–]LittleRedPigletYakubian Devil 6 points7 points  (1 child)

ok but when you were a kid "video games" meant the original NES

[–]kingofpomona -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

all the more reason to put childish things behind me

[–]GreshlyLukeheterosexual man 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Gaming addiction is always a proxy for unapplied passion

The gamer lacks these other interests, that is why they are on the game

Saying stop gaming is useless because it doesn’t help the gamer understand their situation.

What you should say, is “if you find yourself gaming, you should game harder and dedicate more of yourself to it”

By doing this the gamer will discover their own feeble will and in an effort to improve at the game, they will improve their life. At this point they are saved

Be an accelerationist, not a liberal

[–]roforofofight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The trick to video game moderation is to only get a new one every other year. Makes it much easier to get your fix and get bored with it within an hour.

[–]darcymiller02 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was almost saved by never having a PC or console, until 12 months ago when I fell in the trap

[–]AllahGold0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What sub do you think you're on

[–]NotMJHeeHeeShimona 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Worked 10 hours, hit back at the gym, cleaned the apartment. I think im going to play two to three rounds of bf6 (its ass) and then read. dont think thats the lamest way to spend a wednesday night

[–]Big_Man_Meats_INC 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How else am I supposed to live out my fantasy as a daimyo with ambitious dreams to become shogun?

[–]the-grand-inrizzitorGNARLY, RADICAL, ON THE BLOCK I'M MAGICAL 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can't remember the last time I played a video game, but I more than make up for it with the time I waste here and on wikipedia. At least gaming would be easier to explain to people.

[–]Recent-Chard-4645 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good thing they don’t make good games anymore

[–]yhrp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

67% upvoted at time of reading

If 1/3 of people here don’t agree with this post this place is beyond saving.

[–]Mysterious_Ear7272 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can only repeat that advice. Was big into games until covid. During lockdowns I looked for ways to get out of the house as I was living with my parents at the time, so I got into cycling and hiking as those were a few things that were still allowed in groups where I lived. I realized that these could provide me with the same things that I liked about video games but in a way that was actually good for my health. Also its so much easier to talk to new people when you can answer a "what do you do in your free time?" with a pic from your last trip than if you say "me and my team made it to diamond in league" and hope that it means something to them. I also know my local area a lot better than most people. The only thing I really regret is that I didn’t start sooner and I instead have a degree‘s worth of lore, patchnotes, and meta strategies in my head.

[–]Lupine_Ossuary 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I replaced my gaming addiction with paintball. People think it's lame but you get physical activity, competition, and in-person socializing, all while getting the same thrill of shooting nerds in the face that you get from gaming.

[–]Oblozo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I stopped being a gamer in high school but my adulthood still went to shit. If you're already autistic is not always a clear cut solution.

[–]androidcross 0 points1 point  (1 child)

"Lame" shut up annoying boy

[–]androidcross 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok just to elaborate on this weve got a serious problem of ethos regurgitation going on in this subreddit and I think the use of the word "lame" is a good indication of when it is happening. Unfortunately the word "lame" really is just used now to insult something without being sincere in critiquing it. Like a kid who wants to hate something and not care about that thing at all, at the same time. Its alright buddy care a little call it gross and say it makes you sad and open your heart. Ok i will be honest I am sorry about calling you an annoying boy I did not mean that. It was mean and I think I was kind of doing the same thing i am accusing you of

[–]AvalancheOps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nah, FF7 rocks

[–]Jonjonbo -2 points-1 points  (2 children)

I think addictive forms of gaming are terrible, and really waste human potential. However I play League of Legends in a competitive way, improving and learning skills. It's not unlike sports, which I never got into as a kid. It also helps me connect with my friends from around the world. The "meta" skill of learning is the same across all domains, like art, music, programming, etc. and it's hugely transferrable.

Yeah don't be lame, go hang out in-person with friends, go to events, drink a little, etc. but some video games are not the end of the world.

[–]McSwaggerAtTheDMV 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Everything in moderation certainly applies to this topic, but I literally cannot believe you play competitive League of Legends and have a balanced life.

[–]rad_hombre 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think addictive forms of gaming are terrible, and really waste human potential. However I play League of Legends

Do you think it's possible that everyone else who plays these "addictive forms of gaming" do, in fact, have the same reasons for playing them as you do for Leauge? (Hint: they do)

[–]Thomas6777infowars.com -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

reading this on my second monitor as im in the league loading screen