Do you think video games can limit men and women's potential?

I think they can limit potential in some cases and enhance in others. Shit like that is never absolute

Does anyone have a link to that thread about social anxiety? I feel like that is a good rebuttal to this article.

Do books limit men and womens potential?

Does television?

Does movies?

Does literally any form of entertainment or hobby?

Fuck this. Stupid nonsense.

I don't even feel comfortable calling myself a man because of games. They have stunted me in many ways and I don't recommend anyone get into gaming because it may do the same to them.

You're asking a broad question but using a very narrow opinion as an example.

I agree with @colourful_hippie. It depends on the person and what they go to video games for.

So can we say the same thing about wives who spend every evening reading romance novels and watching terrible reality TV?

Also isn't this kind of misandric? Misandristic? Misan... aw, fuck it, doesn't this denigrate men?

EDIT: OK, a better answer to your question. Every single person on Earth needs leisure time. When we don't get have a chance to relax a bit, we get stressed-out, tired, and our quality of life drops. Husbands and boyfriends don't go off and play video games or watch movies or whatever by themselves because they're looking to replace their lives. They're trying to get away from their troubles for just a short time and that's perfectly natural, and perfectly acceptable. Can your leisure time spill over into the time where you should be working or something? Yeah, it can, and it has for all of us. And it can become a serious problem for some people. That doesn't mean you can make the overarching statement that video games limit anyone's potential.

The article also seems to stereotype men, which accounts for what I originally posted.

As for kids and their game time, shouldn't the parents be the one to say "whoa, that's enough, you need to do something else for a while"?

I don't subscribe to the notion that everyone shares an overall ideal life map. Is video games wasting my potential? No, but my priorities certainly does. As someone who learns things I find interesting super interesting, having not finished school and working a dead-end factory job is certainly nothing I should be doing. I'm creative, intellectual and knowledgable. But I am also pretty great at sitting down and playing Battlefield instead of learning to use Unity, sleeping on the sofa instead of learning to play the piano. Or even just sit here on this forum instead of keeping up with teaching myself japanese from a course I got two years ago. I know I am wasting my potential in a hundred different ways. But that's a "character flaw" if you will, and nothing I would attribute to games specifically.

Sounds like bullshit to me.

As a broad question, it only asks for a case of this happening to be truthful. It's an opinion, that I think it is worth hearing to discuss the question,

It's not a case of i saying that every game limit every men and women's potential. It's just asking if you believe it can in particular cases of games and people.

Nope. Not at all. Video games are a hobby most partake in during their down time. Life is filled with responsibilities and a certain, small, portion of that time I get to myself. During that time I like to escape through the venue of media, including not only games, but books, movies, archery and tv shows. It's not taking away from anything else, but rather giving me enjoyment as a separate aside to my other duties. The idea that because we enjoy something fictional that has no bearing on each of our realities is somehow to our detriment is dumb. If you go about that way of thinking your not going to really be left with much to do then.

Video games are a hobby most partake in during their down time.

And what about some partaking during their down time and some more? :p

Not more than cornflakes or lipbalm can.

First of all, I would suggest not visiting that website anymore? That "About" section is cringe-inducing.

As with all things, moderation is key.

No kidding, this came off as misandrist to me too.

Do they? Depends. Can they? Sure. Can they also help a person reach their potential? Sure. Just like everything else in life it can be good or bad depending on the situation, the person, and so on.

Rebuttal? Maybe if you ignore my comments...

Moderation is the key for most things.

As other people pointed out, games in moderation are no problem. But as long as there's something else you're passionate about that improves you like your career and you always make time and keep in good contact with friends and family, then there's no issue. There's some people who make mistakes and instead of blaming themselves for mistakes they made, will blame something else like LOL or WOW for being addicting or watching too much TV instead of admitting that they made a mistake.

Of course. Whether video games, or books, or alcohol it is the way people use them that is the problem. But thanks to catching up my semantic error.

Wow, the first paragraph to that quote fucking sucks. Fuck the person who wrote that shit.

No, no, no. Can't you see? Video games are the opium for the masses (men). They're tools for the feminazis to keep men under control, to stop us from reclaiming our rightful place in society.

The website you pulled this link from is fucking repulsive.

What in the actual fuck is that website. I think I'm going to throw up.

Oh, I didn't realize it was a joke site, haha.

My bad.

that website is mad gross, yo!

also I love the implication that if you have a beautiful women, than fuck video games, but anything other than beautiful... yay video games?

If people can become addicted to them sure it can interfere with potential. They should be learning or doing something constructive with their time. The 8000th hour on on some MMO can wait in that circumstance. But to each their own. I am not judging these people.

If games are just a hobby then they are just like any other hobby.

@gaff: @believer258: @jasonr86: @thephantomstranger: @defordj:

I won't deny what it is a machist website, but he makes some good points that are worth considering:

The way I see it video games are filling the holes left in many mens’ lives. They provide:

• A sense of achievement
• Instant gratification
• Fulfillment of man’s desire to create
• The ability to live a thousand different lives
• Sense of camaraderie and community

Men can get all of this out of a simple video game, but how is it that they never grow despite it all?

You don't have to like or endorse his behaviour, but there are some ideas worth thinking about.

Indeed. All of the the things listed are true, but when a duder "un-plugs" (ew) the experiences from video games can positivily enhance their "real life" experiences.

Doubt is really strong and when someone writes bullshit that rings true in many ways, it's easy to buy into it whole-hog, rather than understanding their is much more.

Yeah, but there is truth there too. As is good to not take everything for granted, it is also good to consider the truth it is there, and not dismiss it because some ideas are repulsive to us.

I never actually looked at the article, kinda wish I kept it that way now...

Ignorance is a blessing isn't it? Dismissing something because you don't agree with the atitude, negating whatever truth there is to their opinion. It's your choice.

Man, did you just link RoK? Like, not even to make fun of it?

What in the fuck are you talking about? It didn't occur to you that the pro-macho, sexist overtones of that whole site and article is what I have a problem (along with many others) with?

I also don't see many people disagreeing with the notion that video games can have a negative affect, but solely looking at that side is just being narrow-minded. There doesn't seem to be that much discussion value in here when most people can see the positives and negatives, it also doesn't help that the poll is unnecessarily binary (where's the yes and no option?) and that the OP has a link to a shitty, shitty site.

If anything, they got me in the habit of seeking out more challenges everywhere.

Then that's up to the individual to limit their time on said hobby. Everyone can indulge in pleasure a little to much, but to say that something (Video games, in this case) entirely limit's a person's potential due to it having no bearing or tangible progression in real life is simply an over generalization.

Yea, the question says can it limit potential. Video games have the capacity to be a massive time sink. You could decide to play video games instead of studying or practicing a musical instrument.

• A sense of achievement
• Instant gratification
• Fulfillment of man’s desire to create
• The ability to live a thousand different lives
• Sense of camaraderie and community

I think video games are a (relatively) inexpensive way of getting these sorts of experiences. I would love to race cars, go for a ride an atv or dirt bike in the country, fly a plane, island hop in the caribbean, visit Hong Kong, go sailing around the world, or make huge returns off stock market investments, to name just a few activities I've partaken of in recent games. However, in reality I cannot afford to do any of these things. So while I work towards making my millions I will bide my time and play video games.

I'm here to provide a +1. The source providing information and especially opinion matters greatly in the coloration of the opinion, and this source is fucking disgusting. As someone said above, the about page is positively fucking stone age.

On top of that, I take umbrage with calling consumption of creative media a waste of time. Media and pop culture is a huge part of our lives, and whether we deem it worthy or not is a matter of personal preference and experience. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think games can be art and that has been proven time and again with experiences like Gone Home and the Stanley Parable, but also smaller indie titles like The Plan. Some books make you think a lot less than some games, so making these sorts of broad generalizations is not only silly but also detrimental to advancement of the quality of games and people's relationship with them.

Moderation is key in pursuit of anything, just look at Howard Hughes. He did basically nothing but work, and became extremely successful, but at the cost of his sanity, health, and personal relationships. I know it seems like an odd comparison, but it's important to note that since such a huge portion of the population plays games nowadays the traditional stereotype of the obsessed gamer is kind of silly. Sure it exists, but it's become akin to the WBC of gaming. It's just a subsegment of a subsegment and shouldn't be used for mass cultural judgments.

In summation: To the poll I answer no, not in the way the article is asserting. It's needlessly reductive.

This is the dumbest thing I've seen today. And I've seen some duuumb things today.

What a shitty shitty website. Why would you agree with anything they say?

2. Women are sluts if they sleep around, but men are not. This fact is due to the biological differences between men and women.

6. A woman’s value is mainly determined by her fertility and beauty. A man’s value is mainly determined by his resources, intellect, and character.

7. Elimination of traditional gender roles and the promotion of unlimited mating choice in women unleashes their promiscuity and other negative behaviors that block family formation.

That is some pretty blatant sexism, by virtue of that being part of their beliefs it basically invalidates everything they say.

I actually looked up on whether the site is fake or not, and It surprises the hell out of me that it's not a joke. Holy crap, how can people think like this in 2013?

That's biased as shit. Why's the woman automatically of more value than the TV? Why's personal growth through social contact valued over personal growth through introspective thought brought about by fiction? Before you say that TV's just simple gratification, why make that assumption about TV and not about social contact?

Good lord....really now? This is just a treatise against escapism, not video games in particular. And the merits and possible pitfalls of escapism have been discussed already by far greater minds than his.

To offer the slightest bit of opinion though: anyone who thinks escapism is bad in all its forms - specifically because it provides no "progress" in "real life" - isn't tending to their thoughts and mind with enough care. Blind forward movement and drive for "achievement" (the concept of which is as much invented, in a lot of cases, as the adventures in the games the author's decrying) doesn't get a person, or humanity as a whole, very far

Another website shaming men into doing nothing but working to make money to give to their wives? Gee, is it Tuesday already?

Did you seriously link a Return of Kings article as the basis for a civil discussion? It's like linking to a KKK Website and starting the topic "Are black people or white people better at video-games?"

Look at the god damn front page of that site. That is not a place of "food for thought".

Can video games limit your potential? No. Only you can limit your own potential. And you know... your socio-economic situation. That definitely can fuck your potential up.

@lackingsaint: looking at it again has made me question why I even bothered in the first place. Also, I love your animations man - like really. Good stuff. <3

ANY activity performed in excess and at the expense of other beneficial pursuits can lead to a negative imbalance. Also that is one of the dumbest websites I have ever seen and I pity anyone who as the misfortune of interacting with its proprietor in real life.

Please tell me you're catching something I'm missing. Otherwise, I feel terrible that this shit still exists.

Not only do I not endorse his behavior and ideas, I'm pretty sure it's immoral to do so. Statements like the ones in his "about" page are fucking stupid and ancient. The actual article itself is one big fucking generalization.

OK, yeah, video games give you all those things. People - not men, mind you, people, all of those things are enjoyed by women too - thrive on those things. Achievement, gratification, desire to create, using your imagination, a sense of community - hey, those are the very things that humanity as it is today is built on, so is it surprising that it's in our leisure time? No! Not in the least. And, as I said above, leisure time taken in moderation is necessary for good health.

There is nothing to think about here, nor is there anything of any value. Please, tell me you don't think that men and women actually belong in such repulsively defined gender roles. That sort of thinking has restricted rights of good people for centuries. Here, in 2013, it shouldn't exist at all.

How did you find this article?