I've met quite a number of autistic individuals who are really into gaming, and actually not even one of them has had this problem. And if one of them was the type to have it, well... considering the nature of autism and whatnot, it would *not* be restricted to gaming. That sort of person would very likely simply get addicted like that to whatever they latch onto as a special interest, no matter what it happens to be. I've heard of that one happening many times. Even something like getting super addicted to books, which is something that doesnt sound like it even makes sense.
Most, though, do it in moderation, as I do. Even for us here, we're generally not THAT bad at controlling our hobbies.
As for the really negative effects, it's true that they happen, but they're muuuuuch more rare than you might think. The problem: people TALK about the negative bits all the time. They talk about the positive bits extremely rarely, which is where most of this misconception comes from. I mean, well, you know how people are. People get like this about ANY topic that they dont quite understand, spotting only the bad and ignoring even the potential for good. So you always hear about the addicts, you hear about the angry screaming kids in online games, you hear about people raging out at other players... but there's tons of good stuff that happens, yet THOSE things never get talked about, because there's no spectacle to them.
Which is a huge part of why I usually go into such detail about it, to simply help teach that it really isnt quite what alot of people make it out to be. It's true that not everyone gets amazing things out of a hobby like this. However, most will get SOMETHING out of it. A great many will get a chance to make real friends this way, for instance. Lasting friends. That, alone, is well worth the time spent. It also gets the player thinking, and exercises them mentally. Games as a whole usually arent as braindead as the ones that the media typically likes to show off the most often. Hell, LOTS of players end up getting better at things like math, logic, planning, stuff like that, because in order to do well, they *must* get better at those things. And lastly, it almost always increases familiarity with computers and related technology in general, particularly when PC gaming is involved. Even learning to repair the bloody things is often a necessary skill. Hell, it's the reason why I'm good with computers, too. Those are traits that absolutely anyone can get from this, and very commonly. I've never met another gamer that HASNT gotten some of that stuff out of it.
Honestly I'd love to. But nobody I know cares about that sort of thing. My area is sort of.... middle of bloody nowhere, so there arent even any stores around here that carry such things. I love board games for instance but I cant even remember the last time I had a chance to do one. It just doesnt happen here. Believe me, it's frustrating. Most people around my area just.... watch TV. It's not exactly the most exciting region.
When it comes to non-computer hobbies, I fly drones. Recent thing. Also have twisty puzzles (think Rubik's Cubes, except more absurd and more difficult). I agree that it's good to get away from these bloody machines sometimes. PARTICULARLY for those that actually work with computers as part of their job/career.
Your comments about some of the good aspects of rabid gaming do make sense. I think learning skills for possible future employment might be the best ones. Paradoxically, they might be also some of the worst aspects of it.
Many things in life are, essentially, two-edged swords, which one must consider carefully how best to approach in a manner that will avoid harm to one who might wish to reach out and grasp it. Naturally, swords are shiny objects that can invite one to do exactly that: reach out a d grasp them. We are all prone to reaching for various and sundry shiny objects.
We can have similar reactions to attractive video games: they look appealing to us, so we want to reach out and grasp them, so to speak, regardless of what happens when we do reach out to grasp said games.
Military games seem to predominate among video games. They say this is why fewer females are attracted to video games. You appear to be an exception in this regard, and possibly in others as well. The military have alert triggers at high levels of certain types of games, so they can find the kids that hit those levels of proficiency. I know from personal experience that being outed for such abilities is not always the best thing for the individual involved. It can even get people killed. One would of course, hope not. Naturally one prefers to hope for the best at any given time or in any given situation.
I know this will probably not bother lots of gamers, but maybe you can figure out something to make it harder to identify who is doing what games and making the highest scores. I am not sure how much influence you have on gaming in general, but maybe you can use your super powers in a good way. I actually want to blather on here a bit extra to make this too long and boring for most people to want to bother reading it. I am sure you will, however, read every single word. I apologise for any torture I am putting you through here. It is all in a good cause, however.
You may not care at all about anything I said here. Of course, you may not take anything I have to say seriously, and I would not blame you if that was the case. However, I don't expect anyone to just take my word for things that might tend to stretch one's credulity. It is always a good idea to test things for yourself. There is nothing like personal experience to find out the truth of things, or NOT, of course. I think it is a very good idea to conduct some sorts of tests in a safe and sane manner and take all due precautions. Safe and sane and all due precautions actually can be, and mostly are, all they are cracked up to be.
The military can be the lesser of many evils, unfortunately. Many career military men are honest and love their country very much, but they are not in charge of everything they do. Not every kid grows up to be a fighter pilot regardless of what innate talents they have and what skills they develop at whatever stage of life.
Normally, I can be afflicted with something like diarrhea of the keyboard and go on much longer than most people might be patient enough to read with little to no effort at all, but let me attempt to do this on purpose and something entirely more succinct can occur of it's own volition. They say brevity is the soul of wit. Lol. My apologies for lack of said quality in this particular diatribe.
Some people joke about politicians eating their young. They described Democrats that way in recent history, but this kind of behavior is not actually confined to one party or even two parties, for that matter. Lots of people just do not want new leaders coming up behind them, breathing down their necks, so to speak. One might hesitate to think of anyone paying much attention to gamers of whatever age, but some people, nevertheless, do pay such attention to detail.
It is all very well to develop whatever skills one is blessed with, in whatever manner one may do so. We all seek to become the best at whatever we love to do, and therefore hope to seek our bliss in such activities. I cannot quarrel with such an outlook, since, indeed, even at my age, I still seek the same.
I hope you continue to enjoy your games and encourage others to do so in the same manner as you describe, safely and discreetly. I am not interested in further discussion of the matter, but wish you well in your endeavors.
(Highly unlikely BWT)
