Poll: If you knew FOR A FACT that playing video games were slowly killing you...

[Jinx_Dragon]

It depends on one thing: What part of my life is being killed off.

If it is hours off the end part of the life... well, far better to die younger then having to live crippled in a bed, shitting yourself, simply because medical science has gotten to the point where a doctor won't let you die.

I still voted no but only because very few games can hold my interest more then a few hours these days.

 

[jakeblues1295]

Fuck it. I'd die happy.

And this is how we should all live our lives.

 

[floppylobster]

The hell I'd keep playing. D:

I love my games, but I think I value my life just a tiny bit more. But not much more. ;P

Okay, but what about 1:2 ratio? Then you might only lose a few years off the end of your life. And what if you're in your 80s and can barely walk and are half blind. How do you weight up losing 3 years of a fairly unhappy time in life against a lifetime of enjoyment through games?

I might dabble a bit only on occasion if it were a 1:2 ratio. I am rather confident in my health and maybe sometimes a little over confident, but I would hope that by the time I am in my 80s life wouldn't have worn me down that much.

How about I propose a question. Would you still play if family and friends knew about you wearing away your life? While that question can be a little dependent, I think it would still be something to consider. The scenario is similar, at least in my thought process, to abusing drugs. Video games provide enjoyment and thrill, and can be a great way to pass the time or have fun. Drugs can provide similar euphoria to its users. Now if videogames shortened your life span as well, they're pretty darn similar.

I would not play. In fact I posed the original question because I have recently almost stopped playing games altogether. In my youth I played every day for many hours. (So much so a local station were going to do a program about video game addiction based on my life - but I declined because I didn't like their sensationalized view of gaming - or their interpretation of my life story).

My youth has long past and while I don't regret playing games, I do think I could have played games more in moderation and spent some of that time, (some not all of it), more wisely (balancing it with other activities). Recently I've begun losing my eyesight. My original question was going to ask if games were causing you to go blind... I just decided to up the stakes a bit and see how much playing games really meant to people.

(Note: I'm not saying games are addictive or caused me to lose my sight.)

 

[HalfTangible]

I'd probably have died already at this point. And i'd have to say... probably, but not as much.

They say every time you breathe in you lose 3 minutes of your lifespan.

 

[Nightvalien]

play daikatana and i dare you to say that doesn't kill you, if even a little.

 

[Logic 0]

I guess I wouldn't keep playing and I could devote my new-found time into sweet porn.

 

[katsumoto03]

If I knew it for a fact, I'd start smoking too...

 

[Jay Knowles]

hmm, using the afore mentioned 4/1 ratio, if i played 3 hours of games a day every day, by the time im 80 i would have lost under 10 years of life, so yeah, i think that's a perfectly acceptable figure...

 

[Norendithas]

snip

Well in regards to that question, I would say that constant video game playing could contribute to losing eyesight. In my own experience, my eyesight did start diminishing not too long ago, but I believe that to be more related to my reading habits. But I can imagine how staring at a television screen for hours a day could slowly deteriorate your eyesight. However as you said that you had recently begun losing your eyesight and that you played video games very much in your youth, the loss in eyesight could just a likely be caused by age as it is reading or gaming. It's not uncommon for people's eyesight to worsen even in their late 30's and early 40's.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Smoking and Stress are killing me faster.

 

[Gaiseric]

Hell NO!

I've done enough things that will probably cut my life shorter I wouldn't let games kill me that much quicker.

 

[Wanderer787]

Probably, because for all I know I'll die tomorrow in a car accident or some other such occurrence. We're guaranteed nothing in terms of longevity. That said, I probably would play less than I do currently.

 

[Feralcentaur]

Life expectancy in Canada is about 75 years or 80, so worst case scenario I only live to be Middle-aged, which isn't so bad.
Heck, if people could handle only living to being young adults in the age before medical science I can handle only living until I'm middle aged or a Senior.

 

[floppylobster]

snip

Well in regards to that question, I would say that constant video game playing could contribute to losing eyesight. In my own experience, my eyesight did start diminishing not too long ago, but I believe that to be more related to my reading habits. But I can imagine how staring at a television screen for hours a day could slowly deteriorate your eyesight. However as you said that you had recently begun losing your eyesight and that you played video games very much in your youth, the loss in eyesight could just a likely be caused by age as it is reading or gaming. It's not uncommon for people's eyesight to worsen even in their late 30's and early 40's.

Certainly. I'm not saying it had nothing to do with it (I just didn't want it to be read as me trying to warn people "Video games will make you blind!", because I have no proof; only my own experience). As well as the usual aging problems, the back of my retina is bleeding. It could be any number of reasons but staring at screens all day (and in my day they were all CRT screens), cannot have helped.

 

[IWCAS]

Fuck that! I'd already be dead!

Anyways... I'd probably quit and watch more anime.

 

[IWCAS]

If I knew it for a fact, I'd start smoking too...

Yui-Chan! I thought I was the only person who liked K-ON!

 

[TheKruzdawg]

Honestly 1:1 isnt that bad , for 100 hours of gaming you lose 100 hours of your life, that only translates to 4 days ( and 4 hours ). Give me a second lemme get my calculator. 24 hours X 365 days = 8760 hours of gameplay to lose a year of your life. Thats a fair Trade , i mean after 8760 hours of playing a game , instead of dying at age 81 you die at 80 . Not too bad if you ask me.

EDIT : i miss read its 1:4 well damn gotta get out my calculator again , for 2190 hours of game play, you lose a year of your life, still not really that bad hahaha but worst than before , but still not that bad.

Thank you for calculating that out for everyone I was going to do it eventually, as I was curious as to how much time would equal a year. That isn't so bad actually. At that rate, I could play the Mass Effect series (a complete playthrough of 1 & 2 running me ~70 hrs, so tack another 35 on to estimate for #3), a grand total of 20 times to lose 1 year of my life. Not too bad, as that is my favorite series