Gaming To The Rescue: Gaming Put Fun Back Into His Life

Names slightly altered to so the individuals aren't easily identified.

This is a very random topic since it's fresh off of a conversation I had with a guy who's in a much better place right now, thanks to gaming. Shout out to Phil (& Ben). So Phil is dealing with a situation where his roommate jumped into a new place before the end of his lease with Phil... because the guy met someone special who wanted him to move in after a month. (Yeah, that's a wholeeeeee different topic for another day.) So now... Phil is working 10 hours per day on a job that was already bringing him stress while working the standard 40 hours/week. Now he has to work 50 to 60/week until he can move into a 1 bedroom apartment free of his current lease or find a roommate until his lease comes to an end... next summer. Next... Summer. He has a window to get out at the top of the new year, but that's not exactly a week or even a month away. I mentioned legal action, which he's already considering, but... he's on the fence about it. Definitely jacked up, but he's making it work.

The topic of gaming came up, when I suggested a few things to keep his stress down. It's no mystery that gaming can relieve stress... but he was on the fence about gaming until he heard Benny and another co-worker talking about Madden. One thing led to another, and he got an Xbox to play with them online. What started with him playing games here and there, turned into him connecting with them online and playing at a set time for a set amount of time per day.

He said the gaming won't change his annoying (fill in the blank) supervisor, but he said the gaming put fun back into his life... which wasn't there even prior to this situation. But doing something you like to do provides instant gratification after a long day, relieving that stress takes the edge off, and he boosted his social connection with Benny and whoever their fellow co-worker is. We've mentioned some of these things before, but it's really cool to hear how gaming made a positive impact on his life at this time. It didn't change the job, but he looks forward to something after work and talking with a few of his co-workers based on a mutual activity.

Speaking of a mutual activity, it didn't stop there because now they're working out together and sharing meal plans and things like that. I asked him if he thought this would've occured if his roommate didn't move out, and he didn't think so. So the glass is half full and with working out he feels even better, so after moving not only will he still have his game time, lower rent, a steady workout regimen, but he appears to have new friends. He didn't even realize what he gained, but what an awesome trade off it is.

So don't sleep on gaming and connection with those of likemind. Friends weren't even on his radar, and a number of people feel like making friends is like climbing a mountain (nowadays)... but common ground can connect us in more ways than we realize. Oh, by the way... Psychology Today, says that you get a dopamine release from gaming, which is also known as the "happiness hormone". This helps improve your mood and overall well-being. Work-Life Balance immediately comes to mind, and different genre's can serve up different benefits to a degree as well. Open-world and sandbox games allow for creativity and freedom, which is why some of us (i'm in this boat as well) can get wrapped into a game for hours because it gives us the tools to build.

You also have your cognitive benefits that help with problem-solving, mindfulness and flow, etc. So for those of you who find yourselves busy busy and stressed out, consider picking up a game controller.

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Save big on spooky fun!

Gaming vs Social Media in 2022

As we continue to move forward in gaming, there are a number of people that have found themselves shifting over to social media for their free time. We know this based on all the conversations we've had in 2022, and here is some of the data. This is "some of the data" because it didn't turn into a thing until it because a cool idea to turn it into a thing.

So there were a small number of people who said they game at least 5 hours or more in a day, but with work and life it might make you assume that that's why the number is so low... until you look at the social media usage. I'm going to hold off on the reason why some give, and it's something I've mentioned years ago, but that's a crap load of time to spend on social media... so it's not just about someone being too busy to game.

Does this mean that gamers are just walking away from the controller, keyboard + mouse, cellphones, and VR headsets? No, nearly 40% of gamers we spoke to logged between 2 to 4 hours of gaming. Single-player games got 30% of that quality time, while multiplayer games got 70% of that quality time. This is time usually logged before bed, and some would even log 5+ hours if they lose track of time on their day off, but... it wasn't consistent enough to log.

Gamers who logged the least amount of time were at 11% for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. This is to enjoy something in between a tight schedule and also to let off steam. This was also a suggestion from us to those busy professionals that barely have time to breathe. Not necessarily to play the games that require a deeper dive, but... the games that give you a full experience in a shorter amount of time like... Rocket League.

21% of these gamers gave about an equal amount of time to gaming and social media, which wasn't specific to doing both enough to take up a large amount of time in the day, or... to barely crack 30 minutes to an hour. They just couldn't give a figure and said it's probably 50/50 because of the times they're on social media and the time they have to game are about the same.

Now on to 5+ hours of social media, in which the women beat out the men a little more here, but not by much. I think it was about 20 more women than men who spend more time on social media at 5+ hours. It even surprised some of the people who didn't realize that they were on social media as much, and we didn't include the people who work as social media managers.

Interaction is the main reason why social media was the biggest draw of time, and I feel the same about multiplayer games. There are some awesome single-player experiences out there that get a lot of love, but... multiplayer games give people the interaction they crave in addition to gaming. It's like going to a playground as a kid, you don't go to a playground just to enjoy some solo gameplay, there are other kids there trying to fun it up before the streetlights come on or before their parents tell them it's time to wrap it up. 

One of the reasons why the Steam Deck (and even the Nintendo Switch) was suggested is because you can get out and go... while also getting your game on. I highly doubt Nintendo would implement known social media platforms, but... I assume Valve would (and should). I think that's the closest you can get to having the best of both worlds without gaming on mobile. Speaking of mobile, that's the reason why some gamers we spoke to... actually game on mobile more because they can just flip between them. Another conversation came about with quite a few people about how social media takes the edge off of being at a stressful job also... and I can understand that.

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Mask Up Mondays: Muse Dash - Magical Wonderland (More colorful mix)

Have a great Monday, and after checking out this installment... scroll down and jump into the latest podcast episode! If you were looking to level up, this podcast episode has information that you can really benefit from.

Once I get through the easy mode of Muse Dash, I'm cranking up the difficulty setting.

 

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Benefits of Thinking Positively + How To Do It!

03-21-2020 Update!

What's up SDGT supporters, we hope you're all doing well during all of this crazy COVID-19 crap that's been going on. I was in a panic until I turned the news off and only watched the official stuff from the government. I had to be reminded that the news gets rating from all this, so selling fear makes sense for them. It didn't make sense for me and my family, and maybe this will help you breathe a little easier. All we have to do is follow the rules, make sure we have what we need and not stress. I was getting depressed, but I feel better now and turning off the news might help you too.

Here's something you can look forward to this coming week, we're going to have a new episode of Watch & Nab! I think we're going to do the same for following week too, so you dudes and dudettes have the chance to Nab a free game.

I won't just leave you with that, here's some gameplay. Enjoy some food, chill exclusively with your family and friends who check out and game on. Peace out!

Brought to you by the... Baby Fu Clothing Co!