I’ve talked about me for a few days now and I think I am off that for a while. Let’s talk about something else: Football? No, that is for the Waiver Wire. Writing? Always something to say about that but not always something worthwhile. Video Games? Okay… I can work with that… in a way. In truth I think I want to talk about addiction, release, and distraction.
Given the continuing normalization of marijuana, the acceptance of altered states is also growing. It is okay to smoke up or to drink or to do anything legal chemically to fix how you feel. Not only is it okay, it is the source of great fun, story, and industry. Gaming is my preferred drug. I do it because it is fun and or I do it to escape. I’ve been in escape and reset mode for a very long time now. I had even cut down and cut back on the gaming, but lately I play constantly. I play Madden (or used to) with the boys. I play Apex on my own and almost always in 3 game spurts. I started training on the two dots game on my phone–calling it a way to keep my brain sharp, but very quickly recognizing it as a distraction.
What makes what I do different from the chemical enhancements to me is the isolation. The other stuff can be done while doing other things or is a source of social interaction. Gaming is, in a sense, solitary. You and your screen. Perhaps there is someone on the screen next to you, but the era of couch co-op is waning. The era of online multiplayer arenas is here, and that is essentially a solitary act–at least to the people who live in the house beside you while you are doing this thing alone.
I see this as problematic and, in many ways indefensible. If I smoke and drank and did other drugs even, I could still be social and interactive and part of the group. As I game I am separate. I transport myself elsewhere, leave my thinking behind, and return from that void prepared to take on the world. It sounds bad, even on paper. Yet it feels good and right.
So, the struggle continues. I continue.