One of my hobbies is video gaming. In my teen years, I would spend on average of 60-80 hours a week playing either Counter Strike, Team Fortress 2, or any other Valve software title. It was not until I went to college and got a job when my average went to 30-40 hours a week. After being married and having children, my average is now down to 8-12 hours a week. As my responsibilities increased, my hobby time decreased. I would consider myself addicted to video games (i.e. I cannot stop playing them); however, I do not feel like I am missing out from partaking in my hobby. Here is what I have done to lower my addiction to video games:
- I stopped playing multiplayer FPS
- I only buy video games that run on Linux
- I play during specific time frames only
My current favorite game is Factorio – you crash landed on a distant planet and have to build a rocket to escape.