Ask Lemmy

I cannot answer this question. I am a 40 year old kid, not an adult.

I have lots of time. Other than work, I don't do anything but play video games, watch videos/movies/shows, and shitpost comments on Lemmy. Got no money to do anything else I would like to do. Ain't got no friends IRL to do anything with.

if you don't have kids, you should have plenty of time for video games.

If you do have kids that can become harder to justify.

The "average adults" in my bubble all complain about not being able to game, but somehow know all about the popular TV shows of the moment. And of course Formula 1 and the many football leagues (world football that is, not 'American' hand-egg).

It's all a matter of priorities.

Also, as my kids are a bit older now, we sometimes game together. My son loves coop Portal and my daughter enjoys it when I play Valheim. She loves watching me explore the game world.

I do but I've noticed games don't hold my attention like they used to. Eventually I start to feel like I'm wasting my time and not attending to responsibilities like I should be and its not fun anymore. Sometimes I'm able to ignore that feeling but the game has to be real special. This has also caused a worse problem where I sink lots of money into games hoping I'll find one that will give me the same joy I used to feel, and sometimes it does. But its over in about a week or 2 and then I lose interest again. I've recently started learning gdscript and how to use the godot engine, and am hoping that I can shift my unhealthy habit into a positive hobby that makes me feel happy and productive.

Yeah. Often when I talk to people who say they "don't have time" I wonder where their time is going. Often to watching TV. Sometimes podcasts. Social media is a big time suck.

But like if you have time to watch all of the office again this year, you had time to play video games.

A friend of mine realized they were just losing hours a day to Instagram. Delete that, and you have time for better hobbies. Play a game. Read a book.

Having children seems like a bigger factor. The only couple I know that has kids still has time. One spends it on DND, and other on TV and simple phone games.

If you got time to browse the internet, you got time to game

Yes, no kids.

I play videogames with my 9yo daughter every night for 30-45 mins before bed. It started a few years ago with me playing and her watching, but she's starting to drive these now. I would much rather she plays games rather than watch game streams like most of her friends.

Adult here. I have now over 10 years of experience as an adult, although closer to 20 years of experience playing video games.

There are two realizations that are needed to understand the relation of someone in this life style who is also a fan of video games.

First, no I do not have as much time as I used to have to play video games. In school and university times I would easily play over one hour per day on a week day and much more on a weekend. But nowadays, I spend 8 hours per day on a weekdays working on my job, plus a few hours doing house work. So can't play as much as I could.

But second, I also want to do other things. Nowadays I actually read much more then I used to. I also try to do other hobbies, and try to do social activities much more. I tend to spend more time with other people too. So out of my free time that I would use for video games in the past, I actually allocate that time for other activities.

I still absolutely love video games. They are a part of my life. But I probably play two to four hours per week only. These hours are few but highly meaningful anyway.

I think part of the journey for me to become an adult, to have a job, responsibilities, and such, has also been about broadening what I do, so it doesn't upset me that I can't spend so much time on video games, but rather it makes me happy that I have a fuller life.

Like anything competing for my time, it has to be something I’m really interested in watching/playing/doing. Too many other things going on to devote time to crappy games, books, or tv shows.

Yes, I barely watch any TV and social media is confined to the bus or calm periods at work like now when I have to wait. So at home I have time for video games.

Mate, i did 12 hours overtime last week and still got my game on.

I'm 37 with two young kids. I don't play as much as I did before marriage and kids, but I still find time. Mainly in the evenings when everyone else has gone to bed (though that's also time I might put toward other hobbies).

I also have a weekly time set up with some buddies, which is especially great since social time also took a big hit with having kids.

People watch about 3 hours of television a day. Yes, you have time to play video games.

Steam deck helps

the only reason I have time is I never got married or had kids on purpose

Yep. Just don't have kids.

If you can't find ANY time for gaming, then you just don't actually want to game.

If you truly have zero time for any sort of hobby or interest after work, kids, etc. then you need help of some kind.

Everyone's life is different. Some people spend more time working but have more opportunities for breaks, and others have shorter hours but more a clearly delineated work-life separation where they must be working through the whole period. There are people with a large amount of responsibilities outside of work, and others that have little to none.

Anyway, it's not true for all but many people do have the time they just choose to spend it on other types of entertainment. Sometimes consciously, other times because TV and social media are the path of least resistance, even if it's less satisfying.

My suggestion is to consider a Steam Deck and use the suspend function readily. You might not have hours to play, but maybe you can pick up 15 minutes here and there, which is more satisfying then you might think.

yes. especially without kids.

we should always make time for play (in general)

I got a wife and kid, theres usually an hour or two between our bedtime and kiddo's so gaming can still happen.

Don't have kids.

Work full time, no overtime. Family and kids. Regularly play a couple hours each evening after taking care of everything else. Actually get an extra hour on days I work from home because of no commute and I can do laundry and other stuff on breaks.

I have two kids and still game probably 3-4 nights/week, it's just much shorter sessions. I'm not pulling full gaming days on the weekends anymore, I'm playing for an hour or so before bed.

I find that most people who say there isn't enough time for gaming simply choose things like watching TV instead 🤷‍♂️ which is fine, to be clear, but it's a choice

Yes, I play practically every day. I'm a teacher, so plenty busy with work. But I come home to a kid-free environment, so I can really relax.

Yes, pretty much every evening after 8 or 9 I have time to play games. I need my unwind time. I can't always find something I feel like playing though.

As a working class adult you have to start applying time management skills to your life or you'll be overwhelmed.

One of those skills is budgeting time for recreation and hobbies. If something is important to you, put that time on your calendar.

I have teenage kids and a busy life. We plan for game nights on the PC, usually Tuesday and then one other night during the week as long as there's no sportsball practices or whatnot.

Unfortunately the old "I'm bored, time for gaming" won't work anymore. You have to assign value to your activities. Doing nothing on the couch can be an activity, gaming can be an activity, doing the dishes can be an activity. If you don't assign values to activities and schedule them then you'll get overwhelmed because you won't have time to do anything.

Yes, but I often sacrifice sleep to find the time for it.

Yes, just dont have kids

i make time. i also work in film which is a feast or famine, contract based industry. you make quite a bit of money, and i value free time more than material things. so i can stretch my dollar quite far.

i invested in a gaming PC, and a home gym. i work out at home, cook at home, play vidja at home. i really only go out to shop for groceries or visit friends and family.

video games have always been a social outlet for me, and a comfort as well. so i make time for it.

My wife and I have no kids, and plan to keep it that way, so we have plenty of time to play video games together several times a week.

Yes. But I worry about your premises. Except for a few thing, gaming is not a 10 hour long experience every time; you can just easily slip-it in any free time. Not having the time to play video games sort of implies you never have free time, which would be concerning.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question and it is not about having time to play video games as much as will to play video games. Interests can shift over time; for some people, it's playing different types of games, for other, it's having different hobbies over time.

I think the same way people have to be a bit social, they need a bit of "me" time here and there. All things in balance and all that. But the material "time" needed to play video games? Yeah, it's there.

I do have time. Working an 8-5 with no kids makes it easy, so long as you plan your meals out.

That being said, I have gravitated towards reading recently and have been forgoing the games as a result.

Yes. It's the only thing keeping me sane at this point

Some games just aren't worth the time anymore. RPGs for me, which I used to love so goddamn much, are just too slow.

And, you get bored of shit. Oh another grind progression... hmm do I want to do this? I need uninterrupted ti.e to actually enjoy it...

I'm over 50 and every night somewhere between 8:30 and 9:30 I jump online and play 1 or 2 hours of strategy games with my friends. I don't watch TV. I don't watch sports. This is my evening entertainment.

I have three kids who are all teenagers now and I've basically done this throughout my adult life. This has been a way for me to keep my friend group together. I have about six friends who do this with me and they are from a variety of different places, some as far back as junior high and high school. I think it's an extremely healthy way for a bunch of nerds to have a social group.

Not to the degree I want, no.

Even when I do I can't truly enjoy it cause I know there's something I gotta do.

I'm 39. I have a 15 year old daughter. 2 year old son and a partner who's still hot as hell.

Sometimes I can get away with a few cow levels in diablo 2...