Aside from direct damage which varies from negligible to substantial, the indirect costs should be taken into account. They're not always easy to guage.
Something that takes a lot of time certainly has an opportunity cost. The time it takes could have been spent doing something else. Someone addicted to a game may spend less time getting exercise, learning what it takes to get a ham license, learning to program, working on real personal relationships.... the list goes on and on.
Generally things that give instant gratification tend to be addictive. Has our society suffered from not living within its means? Have we fostered an environment that actually encourages addiction to spending?
Look at the nature of what's on commercial tv, and the ads.
The programs are designed to keep us hooked. (they don't sell programs to us, they sell us to advertisers)
And look at the nature of the ads and what we consume.
To some, our purpose in life is to CONSUME. Just who is that good for?
Next time you play a game or pick something to watch, ask yourself what you're gaining, what it costs, and will you better of later or be a better person as a result?
Maybe the skills learned in those games aren't useful enough to be worth the price.
Of course if we measure lifetimes in man-hours and look at the numbers a different way can get some disturbing stats.
It's probably a leap to equate the cumulative hours lost to gaming to death. Perhaps it would be easier to accept if we measured the hours spent with updates and fighting malware? (That would make a catchy story... measure the lives lost due to Windows bugs LOL)
We don't have to be productive all the time, but shouldn't we find pleasure in ways that help our minds and bodies?
Something that takes a lot of time certainly has an opportunity cost. The time it takes could have been spent doing something else. Someone addicted to a game may spend less time getting exercise, learning what it takes to get a ham license, learning to program, working on real personal relationships.... the list goes on and on.
Generally things that give instant gratification tend to be addictive. Has our society suffered from not living within its means? Have we fostered an environment that actually encourages addiction to spending?
Look at the nature of what's on commercial tv, and the ads. The programs are designed to keep us hooked. (they don't sell programs to us, they sell us to advertisers) And look at the nature of the ads and what we consume. To some, our purpose in life is to CONSUME. Just who is that good for?
Next time you play a game or pick something to watch, ask yourself what you're gaining, what it costs, and will you better of later or be a better person as a result?
Maybe the skills learned in those games aren't useful enough to be worth the price.
Of course if we measure lifetimes in man-hours and look at the numbers a different way can get some disturbing stats.
It's probably a leap to equate the cumulative hours lost to gaming to death. Perhaps it would be easier to accept if we measured the hours spent with updates and fighting malware? (That would make a catchy story... measure the lives lost due to Windows bugs LOL)
We don't have to be productive all the time, but shouldn't we find pleasure in ways that help our minds and bodies?