Are computer games a waste of time?

Playing computer games are just another form of recreation. No better or worse than any other.

Why participate in any form of recreational activity?

To relax, to switch off, to join in with other like minded people and to have fun.

Gaming fulfils every one of those criteria especially if you play in a group such as in games like World of Warcraft where you play in a virtually society or in one of the military shooters such as Battlefield 2 or Call of Duty where you can play in a clan. In a clan or team it even becomes a team sport with strategies, playing to the individual and teams strengths and weaknesses.

Online gaming expands your virtual social networks, you make friends, find that you can share in other areas of interest and expertise. There are even instant messenger programs like Xfire to keep in touch with gaming friends. When I was looking to upgrade my computer I was able to turn to my clan mates for good advice and tips all because of playing games.

For young people or for socially awkward people it can be an ice breaker and help them feel part of a group. Often shy people who would find it difficult to relate to people face to face participate in gaming social environments and you would not even know they were shy in real life. The detachment and gaming environment allows people to be who they really want to be without worrying about what other people think.

Computer games also improve hand eye / co-ordination and reaction times in a similar way to other sports such as tennis.

Yes, computer games can be violent but so can sports and provided we regulate and treat games in the same way as sports there should be no problems.

Yes, computer games can be addictive and possibly cause psychological problems but again so can some sports. No one is calling them a waste of time and calling for them to be banned.

Different people like different things, there are large numbers of us that play computer games, there are large numbers of people that play golf. If you don't play one of them you might thing them a waste of time but they are not, different games for different people.

So although it may seem like computer games are a waste of time, in reality its all media hype and provided as with all things they are played in moderation they are a perfectly normal way to have fun and relax.