Urban Dictionary(the most reliable source for defintions of any sort) defines "Gaming" as- "The act of playing videogames alot". No further explanations needed. If you are one of the millions of partakers in this hobby/lifestyle then you are most likely already aware of the joys, and the struggles, the benefits, and the harms that it carries. For those of you who are not a part of this "gaming community" and have always wondered why copious amounts of young people and many full-grown, functioning members of society spend valuable hours of their lives ruining their eyes and thumbs, or if you do not entirely understand why you do the things you do and would like someone to tell you, then the following theories and ramblings are for you.
"Real life is full of ambiguity, ambiguity leads to anxiety, anxiety leads to unhappyness"- Science. One of many reasons why videogames, and recreational activities in general, are so beloved by humanity is the fact that they offer clear and well-defined goals(with the exception of some poorly-worded questlines or 80s games whose instruction coding has long since desintegrated). For example- "Get the frog to the other side, don't touch the water or bugs", "Don't let the other rectangle get the bouncing square past your rectangle", and " Shoot anybody whose name isn't above their heads." The rules of Gaming are far more consistent and easier to learn than the rules of Real Life and therefore Gaming can be much more pleasant.
In Dr. Clayton Alderfer's ERG theory he identifies the three needs that every individual has- the need for Existence(The lowest needs satisfied by safety and physical comfort), Relatedness(Involving a sense of being in a society), and Growth( The highest level where individuals feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment). Organizational Behavior class FTW! This research is classically applied to the area of employee motivation in businesses but, as you will see, Gaming fulfills all of the so-called "human needs" making any job satisfaction in the real world pale in comparison. Whether it is rescuing the princess from the large, angry turtle for the umpteenth time, or saving the village of Helgen from the mighty dragon Alduin, or saving the entire planet from the Ceph aliens etc. Gaming is a virtual goldmine(pun intended) of accomplishments. Of course the sense of accomplishment is a mere fraction of the accomplishment you would feel if you had "actually" done these things, still, the fractions add up.
The sense of accomplishment that Gaming provides can be as habit-forming as it is gratifying, leading to a wellknown drawback of the Gaming lifestyle. "Achieving success and being good at something is addictive"- Science. Hitting a homerun is addicting. Making a touchdown is addicting. Hearing the Achievement Unlocked sound is addicting. This principle manifests itself in the fact that a great percentage of those who would consider themselves "Gamers" are reasonable decent at a certain thing that is relevant to Gaming, creating a "chickenandegg" like paradox- "People who play video games a lot are good at video games or people that are good at video games play them a lot". Regardless, be careful what you are good at lest ye become addicted to doing that.
Another beauty of Gaming is that it can appeal to/accomadate just about every single type of person! Smart people(#Tetris), Dumb people(#anygamebasedoffamovie), People that hate themselves(#BattletoadsNES)People that hate themselves and want others to know and help fuel their masochistic tendencies(#anyfacebookgame,#candycrush), Sadistic people(#MortalKombat), Bored, creative people(#Minecraft), Just bored people(#Pong), Weird people(#Pikman), People with god complexes(#Sims), Sneaky, murdery people(#AssassinsCreed, #SplinterCell), Violent adventurers(#Uncharted,#Skyrim), Feminist, violent adventurers(#TombRaider), Hungry people(#Pacman). I could go on, but I'll stop.
In conclusion, Gaming is awesome but Real Life can be good too sometimes and there is good reason to play it. By playing Real Life you can get some really great achievements that you can't get in other places, like a real spouse, and real money, and fitness! If you don't play Real Life then eventually you will lose by default and will not be able to restart. You have thus been informed and forewarned. Enjoy your lives!
-Avery Moodie