- Cheap and abundant entertainment anesthetizes less-skilled and less-educated young men in the present. But in the long run, it cuts them off from the same things that provide meaning in middle age, according to psychological and longitudinal studies —a career, a family, and a sense of accomplishment. The problem is that these 20-year-olds will eventually be 30-year-olds and 40-year-olds, and although young men who don’t go to college might appear happy now, those same satisfaction studies suggest that they will be much less happy in their 30s and 40s—less likely to get married, and more likely to be in poverty.
I logged about two months of continuous real-time on a popular video game called League of Legends. Thousands upon thousands of individual games -- on average 20-25 minutes, some a lot shorter, some a lot longer -- before I quit video games in 2012. It's actually embarrassing and difficult for me to talk about, partly because video games comprise no part of who I am now, and partly because of how extreme an example of indulgence it was. I bring it up to make the point that this is what constitutes a major, if not largest, investment of time on the part of young men.
I take video games to be a symptom here, not a cause. Removing video games won't make these people more educated, it won't make the generation beneath them stay in school.
That's interesting. A symptom of what? I don't think removing video games is particularly feasible or even laudable. It's a compelling argument that we should be very wary of ever banning activity, not least because it will drive it underground and make new criminals of some large cohort. I don't mean to suggest that I'm even all that close to concluding we should ban it. Maybe tax it :) It's just certainly something that will continue, especially with video games becoming better in lots of new ways. Human psychology is predictably susceptible, Sherry Turkle has spent much of her career demonstrating just some of the ways.
A symptom of idleness without opportunity. Video games can be an escape, and an easily accessible one at that.
There are no jobs, no training programs, no college scholarships for guys anymore. Housing has priced a good portion of people out of the market into shitty apartments in undesirable parts of town. Blue collar work is seen as a failure and the butt of comedy and ridicule in the media. The smart kids that are lower middle class to poor, the kids with broken homes, broken families, awash in shit schools, drugs and crime? They see the world as it appears to them and say "fuck it." The GrassEaters are just 20 years ahead of the US curve. Then assholes like this come out and say "you guys are all failures" for not being married homeowners at 25 like the 1950's sitcoms told us to be. At least this author has written a few articles on how screwed a lot of young people are. Most of the people writing these style articles are upper middle class people working office jobs who went to 1%'er colleges and have no fucking clue what real people are going through.That's interesting. A symptom of what?
I could definitely have gotten more out of high school if I threw in every day I wasted on Civ V and replaced it with actual living.
I signed up for a Steam account sometime in 2012. Apparently I've spent 9% of my life since then playing games on there. That's all hours, not waking hours. Probably not the best thing, right?
There are 168 hours in a week. 9% of that is 15 hours. Spending 15 hours a week on a hobby is not outrageous. I work with people who watch 40-50 hours of non-interactive television a week and then point and laugh at me for playing games 20 or so hours a week. Games that I play with friends, that teach critical thinking and boost reflexes.
And that's why we are inundated with man-children and dudebros, who have incredibly high self-importance, with little actual value to society as a whole. Cheap and abundant entertainment anesthetizes less-skilled and less-educated young men in the present. But in the long run, it cuts them off from the same things that provide meaning in middle age...
I don't know. While on the one hand, I agree with you that there's a surfeit of idle hands, on the other I can't help but feel that blame isn't entirely on them. I have wonderful parents, a wonderful mom at least, who imparted work ethic and self-improvement, love for others, and esteem for education. And I still barely beat my video game addiction. I remember wanting sorely a channel of meaningful activity. It was an intense hunger. And it took a constellation of lucky circumstances to get me to where I'm at (though I'm still hungry for more). It's easy to hate on man-children and dudebros, but the problem is widespread enough to warrant a look at systemic factors.
The world is not a safe place, and it guarantees you nothing. If someone choose to spend their time sitting on the couch playing video games, then they will have a certain type of life. Being upset about that life, once they have gone through all that non-effort to create it, is not my problem. Blame video games, or TV (in my day), or cars (in my Dad's day), or cities (in my Grandparent's days), but there are people who choose not to participate in life. You can't make them get off the couch and join the world. They simply have to reach bottom, become disgusted with the meaninglessness of it all, and then either off themselves, or get up and do something. Your "constellation of lucky circumstances" is just the path you travelled. I can choose to view my life the same way. The fact is that you and I chose NOT to sit on the couch and veg.
When I worked in Alberta a lot of the locals I worked with had drug problems, didn't show up to work, didn't work hard and in general sucked. For a long time it bothered me, like I can come to work and work hard, why the hell can't they ? It pissed me off that they chose to be that way. Then one day I realized that person who chose to work hard (me) was nothing but a collection of experiences and interactions with other people. That's all we are really, everything about me was given to me. Realizing that was incredibly humbling. These people I was angry with for being the way they are are nothing more than a reflection of experiences and interactions. Would I be the same person I am had I started life in their place ? Would I have my same behaviors, values, or desires ? No, I wouldn't because there is no "me" outside of the life I have lived. People often think well I had it bad too but I still chose better. Thing is though if all we are is our experiences then something had to happen to put us on that path of doing better. If we all start off as squishy little brains ready to be molded then that's the only way it can work. So something happened in my life to put me on this path and something didn't happen in the lives of others which caused them to resort to escapism as a coping method. We can either bitch and moan about those damn youths or we, as a society, can try to figure out what that something is.
Yes. 1000% yes! Man... there's a lot to unpack here. RD95 just got childish and whiny and wound up blocking me. Which is a blessing because now I don't have to listen to him/her whine about the way the world is, without offering any solutions! So yeah... something did happen in our lives, and you and I wound up not being lazy couchlumps. But I would guess that if we were able to pick apart a couchlump's life, they had opportunities as well, and simply didn't take them, or didn't capitalize on them. That happens. A lot. To all of us. What makes you and I different is that we continued to work the angles until something clicked. And THAT is the "constellation of lucky circumstances", that you referred to, I think. Now, there are also societal problems, mental problems, community problems, and a whole constellation of bad circumstances out there that affect people every day, as well. And maybe there are some who have bought in to the narrative that they are oppressed or disempowered or disenfranchised and have used those excuses to flake out. That's the real problem here: shit's complex. It's not a simple cause-and-effect relationship, but a network effect of big and little things over time. All we can do, I think, is for each of us to work on our own circle of influence to make shit better for everyone in our circle. Just keep Doing Good for people. If we all keep it up, hopefully we can have a positive effect on people. I know I have. I get thanks for my help regularly. And that's a pretty goddamn wonderful feeling, my friend! Brings a smile to my face as I write this, even...
When I say our world shapes everything we are I mean everything. So something happened that caused us to develop whatever trait was responsible for us pushing through shit and working hard. Or grabbing those opportunities others pass up. We didn't give up because something kept us going. Something showed us it was worth it. I'm only 23, maybe I will give up a few years from now and end up in crap circumstances. I don't know what my life holds. I do know that it can be pretty damm difficult to get the life many people where told to want through out their adolescence. Really it's near impossible for most people. The only reason that doesn't drag me down mentally is because I don't want anything to do with that BS. But if I believed the adults who told me to aim for that and I placed my entire self worth on my ability to achieve it ? I would probably be in a pretty low place right about now.
I did wonder that at times and in that situation I still see myself coming out on top. Showing up every day and working hard is rewarding. It makes me feel good and I think it makes others feel good too. So sure I was irritated in the morning wondering who would show up and tired by the end of the day from picking up the extra work but I actually liked myself. At the end of the day I liked being who I was. People who for whatever reason get stuck in a position where hard work doesn't seem worth it or just can't work much generally feel like shit about themselves. I'll take my situation over that any day. I wouldn't have always but when you have a really simple job you have a lot of time to think.
Gah. I know! I've got a few of those friends. People who are skilled, talented, and just get the shaft all the time. They work hard. They do good work. And then get hit by a meteor, or something. Just crazy shit happens to them all the time and sets them back again. They get two steps forward and get knocked three steps back. I went through that for a number of years, once. It became comical. Everything I touched turned to shit. I could type "2+2" into a calculator and get "-9403" as an answer. It was ridiculous. But now, looking at it from 10 years in the future, I also see how it formed me, and made me who I am today. Hard work generally pays off, but the timeline might not be what one was hoping for...
The "high sense of self importance" is probably bravado to cover up insecurities. Look at what you just wrote, honestly. Think about how many times they come across that from all over the place. Potential employers who won't take a second look at their resumes for a lack of skill sets. Women who pass them on for better men who know more, can do more, and make more money. From the media, from family expectations, from peer expectations, and God only knows where else that message can come from. Who can think about themselves in this way and still have a positive self image? Who can break themselves of this disillusionment of being invaluable when they society is a warped mirror, reflecting this image to them again and again? How could anyone who thinks this about themselves not feel hurt? Not feel scared? And here a lot of them are, hurt, scared, and confused and they're trying to cover it up with bravado, and if that's the least harmful thing they do, that's fantastic. Cause those kinds of feelings tend to have a lot darker results in the long run and it doesn't take much imagination to see where things can go for a lot of people. They have immense intrinsic value by virtue of being human, but they don't get to see that because society is holding up the wrong mirrors for them to look into. Seriously. Ask yourself. What mirror did you just hold up? What mirror do you think you should be holding?with little actual value to society as a whole
with little actual value to society as a whole
with little actual value to society as a whole
I think you are responding to the wrong thing. Those who choose to anesthetize themselves with cheap entertainment, instead of working to achieve a goal, are self-selecting. It's not my job to get their dumb asses off the couch and into school. This is the path they have chosen, and more power to them for making that dangerous choice! But they then have to live with the life they have created for themselves. My responsibility ends at their front door. If they come to my non-profit and volunteer, I will give them good work that they will enjoy, and it will make them feel like they have accomplished something. Continued participation will result in them making friends within the community, and building meaningful and lasting relationships, not to mention possibly some marketable skills. But that would require them getting their ass off the couch, turning off the XBox One, and making different choices about the life they want to lead. I'm happy to give anyone a chance. But they have to want it.
When I was younger a lot of the volunteering I did felt like non profits were trying to get us to dig with our bare hands because volunteer labor was free and that was $9 cheaper than buying a shovel. You would get 10 people to do something in 8 hours that could be could be come with 1 person and the proper tools in about 4. It was a somewhat frustrating experience that I dont think would be a good replacement for video games. Things like woodworking, car repair, house repair, gardening, reading, crafting, music and sports are better replacements. Volunteering is more like work, some times its fulfilling and fun but a lot of it is just a grind. Work for the sake of work is not a virtue, and starting down that path early on can just lead to messed up work life balance and unhappiness.If they come to my non-profit and volunteer, I will give them good work that they will enjoy, and it will make them feel like they have accomplished something. Continued participation will result in them making friends within the community, and building meaningful and lasting relationships, not to mention possibly some marketable skills.
True. And I agree. But the original story is about how unemployable these lazy lumps are. So gainful employment is probably a little ways out for them. The one thing about volunteers is that they can always find work. Things like woodworking, car repair, house repair, gardening, reading, crafting, music and sports are better replacements.
I'm responding to your victim blaming and marginalizing attitude. But they then have to live with the life they have created for themselves. Whoops. It looks like it spilled out again. Let's get something straight here. We're looking at video games as it plays a role in social immobility. A lot of these people, for some reason or another, are not working and are not in school. With nothing to fill their time, they're turning to video games as a source for satisfaction and reward. We're not talking about drugs, or gangs, or anything sinister. We're talking about video games. No one looks at video games and says "Gee. If I'm not careful, this could be a contributing factor to making my life more difficult." People look at video games and they see rewarding, harmless fun. Many of these people already live in poverty. Many of these people have a hard time finding good, steady, meaningful employment, and no, McDonald's and Wal-Mart doesn't count. Trust me. Every single year that goes by, they find themselves deeper and deeper in a hole that gets harder and harder to get out of. People look at their job status and their social status and dismiss them and every year that goes by those dismissals become more frequent, more painful, and more damning. Their chances of becoming successful drop and drop and drop. We're all responsible for each other. Period. You can argue that you're not directly responsible, and you're right. It is the responsibility of each of us though, as members of a living society, to promote behavior and attitudes that encourage people to become better every single day. Marginalizing language and damning attitudes do the exact opposite of that. But they have to want it. The problem is, a lot of people who are in positions to help others aren't willing to take chances on these people, and a lot of people who sympathize with them aren't in positions to help. To make matters worse, a lot of these people don't know what they need or don't know how to go about getting what they need until it's too late. The hole is too deep, they're too old, and the world has passed them by. It's criminal. Which mirror are you holding?I think you are responding to the wrong thing.
Those who choose to anesthetize themselves with cheap entertainment, instead of working to achieve a goal, are self-selecting. It's not my job to get their dumb asses off the couch and into school. This is the path they have chosen, and more power to them for making that dangerous choice!
My responsibility ends at their front door.
I'm happy to give anyone a chance.
And now we are back to saying the exact same thing. Again. It ain't my job to hold their hand. It is their job to reach up out of the hole. Oh... and it isn't "victim blaming", and your improper use of that term diminishes actual victims. These people are not young women who have gotten raped walking home from the movies. They are people who have chosen to disconnect from the world, and craft a bubble from within which they never have to emerge. That's not a victim. That's a choice. The problem is, a lot of people who are in positions to help others aren't willing to take chances on these people, and a lot of people who sympathize with them aren't in positions to help. To make matters worse, a lot of these people don't know what they need or don't know how to go about getting what they need until it's too late. The hole is too deep, they're too old, and the world has passed them by. It's criminal.
How can they be inspired to reach up out of the hole if there's no hand reaching down? It's not your responsibility to create jobs for the whole world and it's not your responsibility to help people find those jobs. However, we're all responsible for recognizing the things in the world that create barriers between us, that hold us down and hold us back, and try to tear them down. That's part of being a human being. That's part of being a society. Your narrow world view of victimization doesn't make you right. So many people are victims of circumstance, directly and indirectly. You know, a lot of my coworkers and peers went to colleges, some for profit, some legit, to try and better themselves only to get screwed. They found themselves in any combination of being burdened with debt, having degrees that were worthless, training that doesn’t meet the standards of the workforce, or unable to find jobs in a saturated job market. A lot of my coworkers and peers tried to find traditional jobs at factories and warehouses, only to find that many of those places aren’t hiring for crap. Of the places that are hiring, the pay and benefits their parents enjoyed have been slashed to the bone and they can look forward to being horribly overworked and taken advantage of. The pay for a lot these jobs are a fucking joke. The fact that I, a bum without a college degree am making more money than some of my friends who work as social workers and in nursing homes is a fucking embarrassment. The fact that I know people who work in wearhouses, working their hands to the bone and destroying their knees and back for meager pennies, is despicable. Let’s not even talk about entry level retail and food, where some people find themselves trapped in for life. A lot of these jobs are at risk of disappearing thanks to automation, something a lot of us are too afraid to talk about. Many of my coworkers and peers still live with their parents, are shacked up in two bedroom apartments sharing rent between four people, drive jalopies, can barely afford their bills, and face a ton of other problems from employments to relationships to personal health that wear them down day in and day out. Every last one of us, me included, want better. Every last one of us have tried for better, sacrificed in hopes of finding better, only to find ourselves fucked, screwed, and taken advantage of. The kids younger than us? They see the game of life we’re playing and they don’t want to play it. They want better, just like we want better, and they don’t know how to get it. This is our reality. These are the lives we’re living. It scares us, it exhausts us, it destroys our egos and it breaks our hearts. You made it. Good for you. I’m happy for you. Stop being high and mighty though. It’s not flattering. Let me spell it out for you goobster, you fucking love to victim blame. Here you are saying it’s alright to screw over people who don’t have the ability to discern whether or not they’re buying something genuine. In the same thread you even try to justify barriers to culture. Let’s not forget that you also have the mentality that all you gotta do is go out with your hat in your hand and people will out of the goodness of their heart give you an awesome job. I could honestly find a shit ton of examples of your crap on Hubski but I’m not gonna. Suffice to say, you are bougie as fuck and unapologetic about it. I’d ask again and again what mirror you’re holding, but I know you’re not gonna answer, because heaven forbid you think you’re wrong about something. So I’ll tell you. It is warped and disgusting. So I’m blocking you. Cause I’m sick of looking into it.It ain't my job to hold their hand. It is their job to reach up out of the hole.
I just haven't ever been into video games. As a kid my mom banned me from them, and as an "adult" a combo of wrist-issues related to computer use and sheer boredom with the games have kept me away. Instead, it is reddit and the internet stealing up all my time. I really, really hope that articles like this don't become a springboard to ban video games or to control these people's lives. Let them do what comes naturally to them, we don't need government "helping" them.