Eidolon, thank you for the lengthy and well-written comment (: I put an unusual amount of effort into writing and titling this article, and I’m glad to see it paid off.

Everything is bad for you to some extent, but I don’t think it’s fair to say video games are equivalent to reading. Yes, reading does deteriorate your sight a little, but reading is clearly a much larger net positive than playing video games.

Same goes for martial arts — no doubt it’s terrible for you, but if you compare the quality of life of the average fighter to the average gamer, I have no doubt the fighter would come out on top (pun intended 😀).

I also take issue with the contrast drawn between gaming and being miserable — unlike reading, running and martial arts, I’m pretty sure at this point that heavy gaming actually leads to more misery over the long run, much like heavy drinking or heavy drug use.

As for the trend of criticizing ‘every past time and hobby,’ I think readers often confuse ‘productivity’ with ‘mindfulness.’ You can read my articles and use what you learn to be more productive at work, or you can use them to pick up hobbies you find really truly satisfying, or you can use them to deepen relationships, or begin making art, or anything you want — even get better at gaming! To me, it’s not about productivity per se, it’s about being able to live the life you want to live.