It's crazy how wasting people's time is a lucrative business. I suppose it's like selling drugs. Many people also do this on social media platforms as influencers with time-wasting content that doesn't add value to anyone.
It was really bizarre and I understand why companies are investing heavily. Competitive players spend a lot and being on a team is like a second job. They’ve captured their attention and the platforms are milking it by offering perks in the beginning and reducing them over time while raising prices.
I saw the same with physical games. We were huge fans of The Sims and had several editions and expansion packs. But every update included a little less which required another purchase. By the third release I was done. The fourth was gutted and I refused to support the company anymore.
I grew up with Atari and Nintendo and my mother used to take us to the game room and played as well. There were two consoles that came before Atari that we used to play as well. I understand the draw but I’ve seen the same unfold in other areas online. Watching people get sucked into worthless things or destroy their lives keeps you levelheaded.
As for influencers, it was never a draw and my business coach warned us against it. The majority aren’t entrepreneurs in the traditional sense with products and the like. They work for brands and the bulk of their income is derived from pushing their products. But budget cuts can reduce their earnings significantly. We witnessed this with pride day campaigns.
Influencer content comes in three varieties: aspirational, informational and entertainment. All of the channels I follow are educational and I’m always learning something or increasing my proficiency. I’m not into escapism and I was late to YouTube. I don’t look at Tik-Tok, Instagram or X.
Or turning useful people into useless people.
If you take what he said at face value it isn’t possible. The human spirit is resilient when applied. If Ai eliminated jobs a portion of those impacted will seek alternatives. But the ones who don’t are the people he’s referring to. Their willingness to accept government support in place of employment is problematic from their perspective. Because work is a spiritual act at its core. The free time won’t allow them to do xyz and we saw that with covid. The people who used that period productively were doing it elsewhere. That’s the society they want.
It's not just video games. Men can be very involved with hobbies and even fiercely protective of them. I used to have the same problem. But I started losing interest in everything but a few things.
I heartily support hobbies and don’t believe a relationship should be anyone’s orbit. That position belongs to God and the kingdom is inclusive. We’re meant to impact our home, church, community and so on. When the pairing is balanced you welcome those opportunities.
Time with God.
Time with your spouse.
Time with your children.
Time with your family.
Time with friends.
Time with believers.
Time with neighbors and the community.
But that’s predicted on the principle of seeking the kingdom first (step one) and its righteousness (step two) that establishes our priority. Which is the governing influence of heaven on earth in everything and the right alignment/positioning with its authority. That‘s our compass. Once we comply the “rest” will be added. We were never meant to pursue it.
~bella
