Frivolous Leisure Activities, a Positive Aspect of Life

I was recently in a discussion with a co-worker of mine who is about 4 years older than me and a mother of two children. The conversation led to me bringing up a video game I was playing. My co-worker began explaining to me that she thought video games were frivolous and a waste of time when you could be doing other things that are more valuable. I contested the point and thought that video games or any indulgent hobby was valuable to the person pursuing it. As I listened to her counterpoints I realized that to properly express my opinion I would have to write this piece. I will be writing about all leisure activities but focus on video games because they are my choice hobby.

I believe that frivolous hobbies are valuable and necessary to the people pursuing them.

Leisure activities provide a balance in the average person’s life from the work they do. Work could be defined as the actual job a person has, raising a child, or an obligation to a sick friend or relative etc… Video games provide a way for a person to relax and experience a story like the Mass Effect series, get lost in the beauty of games like Journey, or get their adrenaline flowing from the action of Call of Duty. The same thing could be said about reading, writing, or sports but video games condense the experience into moments that allow you to enjoy something at your own pace. Having an outlet for the stresses of life is important to a person’s psychological well-being but also their overall happiness. If someone is always working or trying to accomplish something that taxes their body mentally or physically the person will eventually burn out. Having video games to provide a buffer between the different stresses and deadlines of reality not only makes the difficult parts of life more enjoyable, but allow people to refocus and re-motivate themselves. Imagine waking up going to work, coming home and going to sleep every day for a month; that sounds awful. Weekends exist so this doesn’t happen; people are hardwired to need time for themselves. Many times the me-time people require is for something frivolous. The phrase “take time to smell the roses,” means take time for yourself, which for me and millions of others is playing video games.

This isn’t a scientific piece, just a personal explanation of why people should enjoy themselves guilt free when they take time for themselves.

Please read, comment, constructively criticize.