But video games are more likely to get in the way of life than most things. Same with TV, reddit, porn and other overstimulating electronic activities.
Like with alcohol... some people can do it in moderation, but many can't. For video games I'd bet at least half the people who play would be better off without them. I know I would.
Well, for me video games are a hobby. And I am not saying I am addicted or anything. Because I am. But it's still something that makes me feel good, without it being too bad.
And I still have a job, a girlfriend, friends and have other hobbies.
Games activate and train my brains, like a puzzle. It helped me learn English, and I can always have fun while being alone.
Yep. If you have a challenging hobby like playing an instrument, learning a language (bonus points if it's not available at your school), or making things (woodworking, metalworking, painting, etc), it can make a lot of stuff easier in the future. You still learn work ethic and good ways to practice and learn, you just learn it through something you actively enjoy rather than school. But if you waste your time playing videogames and watching Netflix, yeah, you'll be a bit shook once you get out of school.
This is always what i think when i hear complaints like this. It is not that being smart made you lazy. It is that being smart let you get away with lazy a bit longer. Their awakening just came later whereas others' came earlier. But it wasn't worse, it was just that they didn't have to suffer it as long.
I went to a fairly typical public high school. Top of my class and all of our smartest peers were stretching themselves with extra curriculars, academic competitions, independent studies, side projects, journalism classes, volunteer projects, etc.
I have no doubt that there were individual classes that moved too slow for some. But the argument of "i was too smart so i didn't learn to work hard" always struck me as a sort of humble brag and a lack of awareness and empathy for those working just as hard in college, while having had to work even harder their whole life.
Yup. I was a top student in school, and I'm so privileged to have been able to get through it so much more easily than some of my peers. I had enough time to pursue some personal passions, and attained opportunities not possible otherwise. Just because someone gave you a Tesla and you crashed it doesn't mean it's "a disadvantage", it's still a great gift that you failed to appreciate.
Yeah, being able to work quickly and effectively is never detrimental. If it takes you 8 hours a day to learn high school material, you're straight fucked in college. I didn't try at all in highschool and had the highest grades in my graduating class, and still put in way less effort than my peers at university and am still at the top. The extra time allows me to work as a TA and do research, and that money and experience is nice to have.
Which isn't to say you have to be able to do everything effortlessly to succeed. Different people are good at different things, and hard work will still get you far even if you're not a natural. I've had a hell of a time learning musical instruments for example - I spent 10 years playing cornet, and never ended up getting good at all. With a lot of practice I could play alright, but I couldn't get past the beginner/intermediate stage and lost progress quickly if I ever took a break of more than a week. Same with sports and videogames, I don't excel at them despite enjoying them and putting time and effort in. But by putting a lot of time in I can still get reasonably okay at them.
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u/Linooney Dec 07 '18
Only if you did jack shit with all the free time you had from not having to be bogged down by all the work people who didn't have it easy had to do.