I stopped playing video games...

Post Reply New Topic

Of course I play some games now and then, but I relized playing these games didn't help me in social skills like I thought except for a select few. I never played wow, or what ever it is, and nothing of the sort? The only thing I know about it is from south park ... It didn't seem to be very fun and I find it alot funner (funner isn't a word ) to play out side and play sport which I already did before I gave up videogames. I find it much more helpful to actually see some one face to face and not behind a computer screen. You can post what ever you'd like, just don't hurt me with your key board .

Edit: Do you see that poll above me? You can click on it to voice your opinion. Push the button!

Mmorpgs are games where you are forced into a situation to either group with others to achieve a goal together. You could be the lone wolf and never interact with these people but miss about 60% of the content. I enjoy mmos because I like to interact with people online but never offline. People scare me outside of the computer.

While I do not play games to improve my social skills, I do have a much easier time communicating over the internet. If people bother me I can just log off or ignore them. It is much easier to initiate conversation when I actually have something to talk about, and I never feel like an idiot wondering what I should be looking at and doing with my hands while I'm talking to someone through a game. Most people would say that I spend too much time playing games, but I suck at sports (and that's an understatement) and watching TV gets boring quickly, so what else is there for an aspie to do?

All my social kills were developed while playing Grand Theft Auto.

I used to have an unhealthy obsession with video games, but I reduced my time to a normal amount.

Video games are entertainment. They are no better or worse than television or goofing around on Facebook.

I found that when I did try to cut my gaming time completely, the time would just end up in even less productive pursuits, so I stopped trying to become a non-gamer.

I stopped playing violent video games because of my beliefs. I might spend like 4 hours a week total playing games. I also try and limit myself to only non-violent games like Bejeweled 2, Back to the Future, and The Next Big Thing.

I would not say that I play them specifically to improve my social skills. However I would say that playing multiplayer games has improved my social skills. People in games have been willing to give me chances people in RL never did. Not just in talking to me, but also in responsibilities. Imagine finding out you're actually just as good, maybe even better than the average person, at something no one would ever let you do because well... people like you (this was pre-diagnosis even) couldn't possibly be good at THAT. That role was only for tall muscular handsome jocks who would obviously be better than you because they were loud and loudness = talented and capable.

A lot of the games I play at the moment are single player ones so there's not much chance in the game itself to improve social skills, although it does give me something to talk about with a friend of mine who plays the same sort of games as I do "What did you think of <event>?" "How did you handle <situation>?" etc.

In games like World of Warcraft I tend to not have much to do with other players, if I join a guild it will be one run by someone I already know and often it will just be us and maybe one or two other people.

Video games have only made my real-life social skills much worse. But I can't stop playing them.

Video games enhance my social life. I have made a lot of friends just by going out one day a week to a get together where we play fighting games competitively

I've met people who proclaimed how much of their life was wasted on video games, how addicted they were, and how things are so much better and different for them now that they've quit altogether. The word "addiction" should have been my tipoff that the discussion to follow would be an over-exaggeration of the effects of quitting something. I can't really see how things would be all that different as things haven't really changed for me all that much since I cut back a lot. Quit video games if they don't interest you anymore, but remember that all that really changes when you quit video games, is that you don't play video games anymore. It's not like you'll turn into Batman or find Jesus in a box of crackers or start dating a porn star or something.

Socialization is overrated. There needs to be more conquering of the universe and less chatter.

Tomorrow night i'm going out for dinner and drinks with a bunch of friends who i met through gaming, then we're going to one guy's house for gaming. Friday night I'm going to a dance club with a young lady I met who I also play video games with...

video games are srsbzns

In the past I've quite easily made "friends" over video games. It's much easier to, since I don't have the anxiety I would of talking to someone I don't know in person, and because we have a common interest and conversation topic, so I don't have to worry about not knowing what to talk about.

I'm better at making friends if I look at it like a process, much like Sheldon's friendship flowchart on The Big Bang Theory.

Something like this:

[img][800:779]http://www.nosewheelie.com/blogofthedarned/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sheldon_wolowitz.gif[/img]

I don't actually have a flowchart, but I go through much the same things.