Runescape, a waste of time?

[Yoko Kurama]

In moderation, it's fine as a leisurely activity, done purely for the purpose of pleasure. 

 

In excess, however, like many other things, it can be quite destructive, and indeed a waste of time. I am not a hedonist, so I don't buy the nonsensical argument, that, "well, as long as the person is happy, or deriving pleasure, so long as he doesn't physically harm another person he can do whatever he wants". There are other things to do in life, other commitments, obligations, responsibilities, and opportunities to make the most out of. I would not accept, for instance, that simply because sitting on a couch, and munching Cheetos, and watching 'Keeping up with the Kardashians' for 12-14 hours is what some person wants to do, regardless of how immensely happy this makes him/her, that this is a worthwhile or noble use of that person's capacities.

 

Yes, pleasure is good, but a certain level of discipline is necessary. With a proper education (and I don't mean by this formal education), people can be taught to derive happiness from worthwhile endeavors, as well pleasure from whatever they want. Pleasure is a mental state, so if playing Runescape or watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians is what gives you pleasure, I have no problem with that in moderation. If, however, you are so shortsighted to obsess only with crude maximization of pleasure at the cost of everything -- I will not look upon you favorably, and I will judge you.

 

No, I am not going to pull a gun on you, or use force, but I will judge you, and regard you as no different from a drug-addled waste of potential, much like a crack addict who does nothing with their life. And no, I don't buy any arguments about individualism, such as how "we should just respect an individual's choice, just cause...". Individuals can often make the wrong choices. Society has always operated by using criticism, judgment, education, socialization, and other forms of repression to push individuals in the right direction, and fulfill certain obligations.

 

TLDR that's sort of long itself: There's nothing wrong with playing Runescape within a certain moderation and deriving pleasure from it, but if Runescape becomes all you do, to the detriment of your family members, friends, to the detriment of forming meaningful relationships, at the expense of having meaningful interactions with other people, at the expense of your health, or at the expense of developing your human capacities and powers, and at the expense of your obligations to society, then I am not going to approve of what you're doing, or look too kindly upon it, ever. That's simply my opinion.

 

Shorter TLDR: Play Runescape if it makes you happy, but diversify, do other things as well, and play in moderation.

[Enkilbakstar]

i want say more than i should but posting to show i have seen every1's thoughts........ and just have to be respectful and say i plead the 5th.........

[muggiwhplar]

 

Not really a fan of Kant. I recall he argued that one should ALWAYS obey the law 100% of the time. Even if there's a guy at your house threatening your family with a bomb and you have less than a minute to get home, he would argue that you shouldn't run a stoplight to get there.

Of course, but then you run the risk of harming someone (or more) who really has nothing to do with the situation.

 

I'd understand that you would care more about the safety of your family than the safety of total strangers in the streets, but those people have the right to safety too.

If it's a stoplight at a busy intersection in the middle of the day I definitely agree. But if it's the middle of the night at a stoplight with no other people/cars in sight, Kant would still argue that you have to wait for the light to turn green lol

[Gradeskip]

RS taught me English. How useful is that in real life?  :thumbup:

[Paragon]

time enjoyed is time not wasted

 

[/thread]

 This.^ Is runescape a waste of time? Of course not. It does not seem obvious.

 

How about changing the question: Is having sex without the intention of procreation a waste of time? Now what do you think?

 

In fact, why is anyone writing such a long answer to this question? Its really simple. Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve? What is your goal? How do I get there?

 

Say if your goal is to be the best in runescape. Then go ahead and play it.

Say if your goal is to be the best lawyer in the country. Then go study hard every single day.

 

We have the same amount of hours in a day, same amount of hours in our lives. Approx ~700k hours. In that time, you are in control of how you want to spend it. There are trade off to everything so the hours are up to your own judicious planning.

[muggiwhplar]

 

time enjoyed is time not wasted

 

[/thread]

 This.^ Is runescape a waste of time? Of course not. It does not seem obvious.

 

How about changing the question: Is having sex without the intention of procreation a waste of time? Now what do you think?

 

In fact, why is anyone writing such a long answer to this question? Its really simple. Ask yourself, what do you want to achieve? What is your goal? How do I get there?

 

Say if your goal is to be the best in runescape. Then go ahead and play it.

Say if your goal is to be the best lawyer in the country. Then go study hard every single day.

 

We have the same amount of hours in a day, same amount of hours in our lives. Approx ~700k hours. In that time, you are in control of how you want to spend it. There are trade off to everything so the hours are up to your own judicious planning.

 

 

Last time I checked, there wasn't a group of people having sex for 18+ hours/day for years at a time (as amusing as that would be :lol:).

 

Additionally, you're also ignoring the concept of opportunity cost.