How many hours of video games is unhealthy?

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Wes Craven had a point when it came violent movies and other media.

I can see this thread turning into a debate about video games causing violence.

What i find interesting is the focus on video games of all things in discussions about violent media causing violence, even though even the most violent video game looks like Disneyland if you compare it with some of the books one can buy without age restriction.

if you're losing sleep from it then I would say that's a general cut off. I can go hard on a game and put in 10 or 12 hours on a day I have the time but I don't do that every day nor do I neglect my sleep and wake cycle.

I played vid games alot when I was in skewl(SNES & then Nintendo 64) & vid games were a way for me to wind down & relax. The problem was that I would get caught up in them & stay up after I was supposed to be in bed or I would put off doing things I needed to do like homework & chores. I think that's the limit to when the games become unhealthy. games are fine if your mostly doing them when you have free time & it's a way to wind down, relax, kill time, socialize but they're a problem when your obsessed & are putting off important life stuff so you can play your game. To summarize~ playing games cuz you want to is fine but playing them cuz you have to is bad.

I don't play video games nearly as much as my friends do. I spend more time screwing around on social media, reading things online, and surfing porn than playing video games.

People also like to make excuses for their behavior...have they factored in how many of these violent criminals may be blaming that to try and look more like a victim? I like to play skyrim and it can be pretty violent like most of the missions are 'kill so and so person, kill so many of this animal...lots of killing quests, but its a game you don't go out and do that in real life.

I even played grand theft auto, I had the most fun grabbing as much weapons as I could and infiltrating in game police stations to see how long I could survive before getting taken down...never did actually play the quests or anything because over-all they seemed boring and hard to find. I just caused as much destruction as I could never once did I think about doing it in real life...but it was fun in the game, but its a game not real life. So I kind of feel a person could say oh so and so game made me do this, without that actually being the case.

I don’t have any important things.

I play games from when I wake up until I sleep.

Amen. When someone goes out and commits a violent crime, that person is to blame, not video games or music or movies.

Video games today are way too freakin long. I now like shorter games.

its not violent video games that are the problem

first world countries with strict gun laws don't have a gun problem even though they have violent video games

I guess everything you don't personally like should be illegal.

Back to the original question, my answer is this question: how long does it take for you to become physically uncomfortable in your chair or on your couch when playing? If it's an hour, you should probably take a break after an hour, maybe go to the bathroom or grab some snacks. Definitely stretch, too.

As for how many hours a day you can play total, I'd say that any amount longer than the ideal night's sleep of eight hours is definitely the max limit in my book. Other than that, as long as you are fulfilling your responsibilities and doing your best to stay healthy, game away.

I play 15 to 30 hours a week, but I don't let it keep me from my responsibilities as I work 40 hours a week and pay all the bills ect which I believe is key thing. If you let it consume you to the point you accomplish nothing in life that's when it becomes a problem.

As long as you can balance gaming with your responsibilities, it's not particularly unhealthy. It is physically unhealthy if you play too long, since you're not getting any exercise and might be straining your hands. But it's about as bad as sitting at a desk working all day and nobody really asks "How many hours of work is unhealthy?". So if you enjoy it and it doesn't get in the way of life, more power to you.

I exercise six times a week. I usually get uncomfortable sitting after 3 to 4 hours but I game in between laundry loads when it’s a laundry day.