Image courtesy of Sira Anamwong at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I recently wrote blogs entitled, The all-time most profitable thief and The new kid on the block that discussed people being consistently robbed. One more vice also robs many households. It causes some of the same damage as television and social media. This thief steals time and productivity.

What are you talking about this time? I am talking about video games. Years ago people fell in love with Atari games. People would play the games for hours. They would try to better their score each time. Pacman’s popularity rose as Atari’s diminished and then Nintendo developed more advanced games. In recent years, the gaming industry has progressed even more.

In bygone years, a person had to go to an arcade to play a video game or buy a machine. Many games can now be played on computers, Ipads and even on cell phones. This phenomenon can baffle the mind.  

I know of people who have very little social skills because they play video games for countless hours and don’t react well with others. I know others who have a terrible work history because they stay up late playing video games. So they don’t sleep much and their productivity at their job suffers. Many folks decide not to go to work because they suddenly develop a headache or some other ailment.

What ever happened to reading a book, going to the park with your family or playing games with family or friends?

What makes this thief so bad is many of the video games today have too much violence. They have too much killing of various types. These types of games often lead to aggressive behavior from those who play them. Many people who play these types of games have never served in the military. Anyone who has ever served knows it’s not fun to engage in battles. The nightmares continue to infiltrate those who have served in combat.

Are you, your family and friends victims of this thief? Take this test? How many hours per week do you play video games? 1 hour or less, relaxation; 1-5 hours, thief has a foothold; 5-10 hours, thief has his own room; 10+, thief is choking the life out of you.

Regardless of your age, instead of spending hours each week plugging your brain into a video game, use your brain to learn a new skill, take an online class or read a book that will better you.

You don’t have to continue to let the video game thief ruin your life. Do something about it today.

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       James Barber

       Training of Champions

       Author of The Networking Guru