Maybe Angry Birds Isn’t a Waste of Time
Back in the day (think 1983), I used to love a game of Space Invaders or Centipede…at the arcade. It was a treat, not a daily recreational activity.
With mobile phones and computers, games are now accessible 24/7. Someone recently asked me if I thought Angry Birds is a waste of time. My initial life on purpose reaction was “hell yes”, but then I started to think about it. While it might be a waste of time for some, perhaps it’s a worthwhile investment for you.
If you really enjoy doing something, is it worth the time you spend?
If you don’t know what Angry Birds is, consider yourself in the minority. According to Rovio, the creators, its Angry Birds app is being downloaded 60,000 times per day. But perhaps more astonishing is that 77 percent of Angry Birds owners update the game as soon as an update becomes available–which is a strong indication that people continue to play.
While I’m sure I could find endless statistics of how video games make our kids fat and unproductive, this post is not about that. It’s about grown adults spending time with virtual birds, or cows or spaceships or whatever.
I can’t tell you how to spend your time but with all the complaining we do about not having enough time, it seems frivolous to waste it. That said, maybe we need to waste a little time to appreciate it, or wind down. But, if that’s the case, why are we so wound up?
In my opinion, Facebook is the gateway time suck. Farmville and Mafia Wars aside, hours can fly by catching up on things that are really important to other people. I’ve spent hours looking through someone’s vacation pictures, that I haven’t spoken with for 20+ years, and yet, I still haven’t organized my own vacation photos from a trip two years ago.
Until I killed my TV last July, I spent countless hours unwinding in front of the magical box. Now that it’s gone, the last thing I want to do is replace TV with Facebook, or Angry Birds. Instead I want to…
- Linger over dinner
- Write a book
- Practice yoga
- Learn to speak Spanish
- Make hummus
- Read a book
- Take a nap
- Make new friends
- Go to the movies
- Call friends that live far away
- Pray
- Be creative
What does your list look like? If Angry Birds is on the list, consider the appeal. Is it a distraction, entertainment, or just a replacement for TV? Maybe it’s the way you decompress. Video games have never been relaxing for me. I remember after a mean game of Space Invaders or firing up Atari, my heart would be racing. Next time you play (Angry Birds, Facebook, other video-ish games), check in with yourself when you quit. Do you feel relaxed?
Games like Monopoly, Twister and Life used to be a way to connect. Todays video games and apps provide escape and require isolation.
Maybe the question isn’t, “is Angry Birds a waste of time?” but “Is there anything else I’d rather be doing?” If the answer is “Yes, I’d rather be doing ________”, then why aren’t you doing that?
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to Be More with Less & share on twitter.
21 Responses to “Maybe Angry Birds Isn’t a Waste of Time”
Comments
Read below or add a comment...
please comment
subscribe your way …
Reframing the question is a good way to stop denigrating ourselves and gently change the behavior. Nice job:)
Thanks Martha.
Great piece!
I decided to push aside two social networking sites I frequent, one being Facebook, during Lent. I have increasingly found working on my little blog to be much more rewarding than aimlessly farting around on the Internet during my “computer time.” Your final question hit the nail on the head.
Dana, I’d love to hear back from you after 40 days without Facebook to see if you go back to it or not. Keep me posted!
”Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.” — John Lennon
Without my TV for over 2 years, I now am more careful about what and when I watch – spending a lot less money. I downloaded Lost from Netflix for free; I did buy the 5th year episodes of Criminal Minds from iTunes…and will probably get the next years, too – but they are choices made with intent, time spent with intent as opposed to my websurfing – though that, too, is sometimes, not always, with a purpose. As a dog rescuer, I do miss Animal Planet – but can pick it up online, too.
LOve the John Lennon quote – can’t swallow so making hummus is out for me though the dogs may like it. And leaving FB for Lent is a GREAT idea; for me, the adjustment would be “only list adoptable dogs during Lent” and not socialize. Need to think about it.
A friend at a bakery/coffee shop I frequent showed me Angry Birds. another is into a different game app. I do avoid these. Thank you for a rational, understanding post of why we do some things, that they are not necessarily “bad” in and of themselves.
Roberta,
Thanks, especially for your last sentence. I didn’t want this post to come across as “You could be doing something better with your time!” but rather think about why and how we spend time. Sometimes we fall into a routine and do things out of habit rather than choice.
I actually just recently have cut down on my tv (read: hulu) time–to only watching tv with others, which was approximate only 1/4th of the time I used to watch tv.
I’m still getting over the initial shock–”how can I eat dinner without doing something?”–but I love that I’m doing this and hope that I can have a stronger will and apply it to facebook, twitter, and blogs in the future.
So far I have:
-caught up on some long ignored tasks
-cleaned my apartment more regularly
-take long evening walks
-created space for being creative (sketching, drawing, writing)
That’s such a good point! I often run into this with my husband who loves playing video games while it seems to me like a waste of time! And sewing and talking about nothing for hours seems less than enjoyable for him.
We’ve also decided to give up TV (hulu) for lent. I’ve just posted about it on my More With Less Monday feature this morning. (http://drinkitin.blogspot.com/)
Great minds think alike, eh?
Thanks for your inspiration!
I ran into your blog today through Stumbleupon.com.
I have really enjoyed some of the posts you’ve made, this one about Angry Birds as well!
However, I reacted to something you said:
“Games like Monopoly, Twister and Life used to be a way to connect. Todays video games and apps provide escape and require isolation.”
You are in some ways wrong about this.
Now MOST video games and apps are about gathering your family and friends to play at your home (or anywhere). You no longer push and bash away on buttons, now you do motions with your hands or body in which sensors in video game consoles (and some phones) register and integrate with the game. You connect, you have fun, you compete. If you don’t play with people at home you usually play online. With or against other people. People in India. People in Canada. People in Argentina. People in Norway. People in a small small small town somewhere in Ohio. You talk over microphone, you see each other through cameras.
Even computer games are “more alive”, where you can listen to the 3D sound and it sounds like everything in the PC game environment is happening right around you in your own living room. (In worst case scenario a guy is playing a PC war game and it sounds like a bomb just dropped on the couch behind you…)
The old computer games still exist. The video games as well. But there’s a new “era” within the video game industry now where they are trying to change what you are describing, that games contribute to escape and isolation. But, in my opinion they somehow overdo it. Because I miss the days where I could just pick any game, be by my self, relax for a while, play, use my brain in another way than usually, be in my own sphere.. With the new video game revolution it’s almost impossible. Socialize here, socialize there!
Nowadays I play Scrabble with my mum. With Scrabble we are in a world filled with laughter and weird, but grammatically correct words. Far far away from everyone and everything that exists, just the two of us, filled with love for each other and the moment we are in.
Or I play Angry Birds.. by my self. Just me lying in my bed, chewing on an apple occasionally while I’m twisting my brain, trying to come up with some new strategies. My cat on the pillow beside me, making louder purrs with each stroke I give. And I love every single moment. Tasting the sour juice from the apple, hearing the sound of a happy animal, feeling at peace while throwing angry birds into bricks and pigs.
It’s funny how people say they just don’t have enough time to get things done, but they spend hours in from of the TV watching absolutely nothing of importance. Procrastination can be a fun pass time, but it can really dumb you down too! I’ve deleted most of the game apps from my phone, but I still use Facebook and twitter. Personally I feel that being social is not a waste of time if you are smart about it, ultimately it is really about using your time effectively.
There are so many other things of value that you can do, your list is a great way to focus on this Courtney, although I probably would have put “be creative” at the top
The gaming industry is huge, it is massive. The global gaming industry is larger than both the global music and film industries, combined. This fact however, does not actually suggest that there is anything positive about gaming at all. In fact, it could simply be that way because games sell. They bring in the dollars whether they have a positive impact on consumers or not. Because of this, we have to look past the economics and the bigger picture. We have to focus on the things that are usually overlooked by most people; the consumer studies and surveys that are often conducted by universities. In these studies, we find the positives of gaming begin to emerge.
There are more than enough studies on how gaming and the likes have a negative effect on their users. But the studies on the positives are slightly less publicised.
One study of fifth, sixth and seventh grade students found playing video games helped improve their ability to solve problems by boosting cognitive and perceptual skills.
Another study found surgeons who played video games were 27 percent faster at advanced surgical procedures and made 37 percent fewer errors than those who didn’t.
There is another reason for gaming than many people overlook; games often serve as a safe haven for people having difficulty in their own lives. It’s unique that the fact that games can provide a safe haven, because it provides people with a sense of control. People can control the world in their game lives, and they can’t in their own.
“Some of biggest misconceptions about the world of video games are that all games are violent, and that’s simply not true. Just like films there are many that are appropriate for kids and others that are adults only, this is where parental supervision comes into play. Then there are others that blame games for making their kids fat, lazy and stupid but — like TV, cookies or most everything else — best to do all things in moderation.” – Shannon Lowe
Let’s face it, whether our mothers like it or not, playing too many video games or staring at a screen full of colourful, moving pixels will not burn geometric shapes into your retinas. You can be a pessimist and try and say that games are indeed not all fun and games, but let’s be honest; they are all fun and games and always will be.
Courtney, thank you for this post! My husband and I were laughing at the title because we got an Ipod touch for Christmas and shortly after discovered Angry Birds! We are definitely NOT video game people!!! However, we love to sit and compete with this short, silly game. We laugh, take turns, compare strategies… and all in 10 minutes. It is fun at the end of the day to chuckle over flying birds hitting green pigs. Our attention span doesn’t last much longer than this and we only play when everything else is done (and it never takes away from anything else; wink, wink). BUT thank you for making us think about it and why we play (occasionally) and to make sure that our life does not get taken over by silly, pointless things!
I LOVE this post (I’m one of those who has never heard of Angry Birds). Many people wonder how I have time for 2 1/2 hours of goat chores per day, teach full-time and run a goat milk soap business. My answer is very little time on the computer, tv and phone. My list of things I rather do:
play with goats
make goat cheese
make goat milk soap
read (real books – not ebooks)
knit
enjoy my dogs and cats
go outside
garden
meditate
continue decluttering
Good post Courtney. I used to be very into games when I was younger, but haven’t been the last 5 years or so. I don’t see it was wasted time because it was what I enjoyed back then.
Your part about Facebook and looking at someone else’s photos when you could be looking at and organising your own really hit home.
I run a creative community online and it pains me to see people who are members on there, and who have commented about not having enough time to follow their creative passions, then stumble across them on Facebook “wasting” time on stuff like FarmVille and sending me inane invitations.
It’s that fine line between allowing ourselves downtime and just relaxing, and procrastinating rather creating/ doing what matters to us.
I really enjoyed hearing your opinion on this post. I’m a huge Interneter/Angry Birds player, and like you said, it’s all pretty important to me so I take pride in it.
Personally, having a game like Angry Birds gives me a simple repetitive action to do that calms me down when I’m sad or stressed in just seconds. Bad transit day? Pull out the birds. Argument with a friend? Play for a few minutes to calm down.
It’s all relative and if people feel like their day is being wasted, it’s probably a question of priorities, like you mention above.
I used to be a big gamer…. Galaga was my game a long time ago.
It was definitely a time waster for me. Maybe the first fifteen minutes would be fun, but it soon turned to a negative experience of trying to achieve levels or get a high score. I downloaded Angry Birds a couple of months ago and before long I was falling back into my old patterns. I deleted it pretty quickly.
Very nicely put. Almost felt as if you had written down my thoughts.
The positive spin on the whole thing is something I liked a lot and follow in my writings often.
Anur
“But perhaps more astonishing is that 77 percent of Angry Birds owners update the game as soon as an update becomes available–which is a strong indication that people continue to play.”
Wrong conclusion … I say most of the people that update AB are -like me- press “Update All” in iTunes app update. In any case, updating is not strongly related to playing…
very interesting read though, thanks.