Is Wow a productive use of time?

[LuckB10]

I have over 18000 hours into WoW and it definitely is a colossal waste of time.

If you don't mind me asking, why do you still play if you see it as a waste of time?

[Deleted]

Videogames is like having sex with a condom.

Some see it as a waist of time because nothing comes from it.
Others do it all the time because they enjoy it and feel better in the day.

In my opinion videogames can be healthy and usefull, for others its unhealthy and not usefull.
It all depends if you see it as entertainment (like a very long movie/music) or if you see it as a serious part of your life and quit doing important stuff IRL like taking care of you body, social life, family matters and work/school.

[Swalload]

It's not productive, but no one is productive 100% of the time so who gives a shit really.

[micwini]

No, it is not. However, almost everything that is fun is not productive.
What would be the point of being productive if you couldn't spend some time reaping the rewards or actually have fun?

[fiestatastic]

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." - John Lennon

Then again society won't view anything as productive unless you are making money from it, so in that case it's not very "productive".

In any sense of how anyone could correctly define the word productive, that quote is irrelevant. They didn't ask if playing video games was time well spent, fun, enjoyable, or a simply worthwhile expenditure of time. They asked if it was productive, and no, time spent playing video games does not directly generate, create, or produce anything, so it is not productive. That doesn't mean it's bad, or a waste of time ... it's just not productive.

[Stardrift]

"Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted." - John Lennon

Then again society won't view anything as productive unless you are making money from it, so in that case it's not very "productive".

I was going to say no but then I saw this.

[Valdarix]

I'm in an odd spot where I view WoW as "accidentally" productive, in that there was a significant result from my playing. I grew up and lived in Eastern KY (think the most rural backwoods hillbilly place you can....and you'll almost have an idea). The area had no prospects for tech jobs, a massive Oxycontin epidemic and very bad infrastructure making travel a bit difficult. Scripting WoW addons and Raid Leading led me to a new job, in a new state making double the money I was making. One of my guild mates was hiring for his company and it was my addon scripting, guild website work and raid lead style that showed him I had the aptitude for the work he needed done and prompted him to ask me to travel out of state for an interview. 10 years late I am still with the company and now part owner. None of that happens without the years spent playing WoW and making addons.

Here is a great (short) talk given by John Seely Brown on the merrits of skills gained by what he calls "expert player of World of Warcraft" and why he would rather hire one of them over someone with an MBA from Harvard. So traditionally productive no, but indirectly productive, maybe.

http://bigthink.com/videos/how-world...-the-economy-2

[Manabomb]

Define productive.

There is almost nothing that isn't productive that a human can do short of becoming a vegetable, using the direct definition of the word.

Perhaps you are looking for a certain type of productive. IE Social productivity, monetary productivity, creating experiences for oneself in a productive manner. In that essence, yes WoW is a productive use of your time if you are looking to use your time to create experiences for yourself, for others or with others.

[Dug]

Not unless you're somehow making real money off of it but either way not everything has to be productive. Most things that are fun aren't productive they're just fun.

[Hawthorne Wipes]

If you're happy doing it, then it's time well invested.

[Manabomb]

In any sense of how anyone could correctly define the word productive, that quote is irrelevant. They didn't ask if playing video games was time well spent, fun, enjoyable, or a simply worthwhile expenditure of time. They asked if it was productive, and no, time spent playing video games does not directly generate, create, or produce anything, so it is not productive. That doesn't mean it's bad, or a waste of time ... it's just not productive.

Your own subjectivity aside, you cannot say objectively that video games are not productive. If they were not productive in any sort of human definition of the word, nobody would play them.

I think the term you're looking for is materialistic production. Two different terms, with two completely different definitions, but still 'productive'.

[Acelius]

I have over 18000 hours into WoW and it definitely is a colossal waste of time.

If you have been entertained for those 18000 hours then the time isn't wasted!

[Orby]

Productive use of time would be like going off to defend the rain forests or something.

[Paperfox]

One question is: what are you replacing? If you play any game instead of spending time with family and/or friends, working, studying, etc., then it is a waste of time. If you are using it as a tool to keep you occupied while you are going through withdrawals or something then it can be good.

But you really have watch your goal, as it is easy to get sidetracked.

[StationaryHawk]

Productive? It's generally not going to advance your career or anything, but recreational time is important for a balanced lifestyle.

[Deleted]

We talk about a computer game and not about work at an assembly line, dont we?

[Heladys]

Hey everyone! I've been playing WoW now for almost two years. As I'm sure many of you have experienced, whenever I say I play WoW (or any video game really) the older people get disgusted and comment on how much of a waste of time it is. So, I wanted to ask the gamers to see if they thought that playing WoW was a productive use of their time. So, I posted a straightforward survey on here and got 39 responses. 24 of the 39 said that playing was not a productive use of time, primarily because playing a video game will never be productive. Of the 15 people that said playing was productive, nearly half of them said it was productive because it was a fun use of free time. What do you think of my findings? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Thank you all!

How much time do they spend on their flower gardens? That's a waste of time.

How much time do they spend watching tv/movies? That's a waste of time.

How much time do they spend playing poker with their friends? That's a waste of time.

You choose your own wastes of time and there's nothing wrong with that. They need to shut up.

[Liandryl]

Hey everyone! I've been playing WoW now for almost two years. As I'm sure many of you have experienced, whenever I say I play WoW (or any video game really) the older people get disgusted and comment on how much of a waste of time it is. So, I wanted to ask the gamers to see if they thought that playing WoW was a productive use of their time. So, I posted a straightforward survey on here and got 39 responses. 24 of the 39 said that playing was not a productive use of time, primarily because playing a video game will never be productive. Of the 15 people that said playing was productive, nearly half of them said it was productive because it was a fun use of free time. What do you think of my findings? Do you agree? Why or why not?

Thank you all!

Productivity should not be what you judge the game by. The question should be : Do you feel that playing WoW is worth your time ?

The reason is that you can only judge productivity in WoW as to what you gain in game for X amount of time, but there will never be productivity in game that affects the outside of agame. Even language learning is far too limited to give it a productive notion.

That is Unless you are a popular streamer and even then, it is more about the worth of the gain vs the time you put in game over productivity.

Gaming is made for fun and a way to forget about IRL issues for many, but it is in no way a productive action whatever the game is unless you make your living out of it as mentioned just before.

[Deleted]

It's as productive as you feel it is.

If you're getting enjoyment out of it, then that's productive. If not, then maybe not so much.

[Pickynerd]

Anything that you do, that you do not enjoy, is a waste of time.