For me, playing WGT virtual golf is a way to find...
"a state of calm attentiveness in which one's actions are guided by intuition rather than by conscious effort"
Or, as the Merriam Webster's definition points to in a single word--my own state of Zen.
While spending time gaming can have its own set of harmful consequences, my time playing golf has been delightful with only a few exceptions. Having met so many wonderful friends and enjoyed the friendly competition of an online sport, it is easy to overlook the relatively small number of j e r k s populating the game (you know who you are lol!)
And, the difference between playing a game online compared to developing relationships, sharing life stories via social media platforms, is immense.
If there is a choice...I choose gaming.
As Patrick Henry would have said had he experienced today's online options for gaming and social media: "Give me gaming or give me no Wi-Fi"
In the not too distant past I was online on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and yes, even LinkedIn (lol)
I spent hours and hours posting pictures, writing posts and getting deeper and deeper into communities I thought appreciated me for who I am. But, even the dozens and dozens of real life, face-to-face friends who shared the online space with me, I actually found myself more insulated from healthy relationships and true friendship.
And, this only fueled my anger, frustration and ultimately depression at the time.
Everything I have experienced, read and studied about spending excessive time on social media tells me what I learned first hand--social media is not healthy for the majority of people.
Social media exploits our own prejudices, foibles, weaknesses, anger, frustration to find people of like minds and hearts. This leads to a serious imbalance in our perceptions of reality and further ignites fires set in our own worst tendencies.
If you are angry--let's say about politics--you will seek and find angry people to "connect" with in social media. This may seem like a positive--finding a community of like-minded people--but actually it imbalances and distorts what people need to see and feel--the empathy and compassion for others that make us "human beings."
If you are depressed likely you will find, again, like-minded people that only creates a self-fulfilling set of depressive tendencies for you...and them. Self-congratulatory depression is not healthy.
If you are seeking a relationship, sadly, online is the least healthy place to seek companionship (even worse than a bar--at least in a bar you can see who you are speaking with!)
Lesson learned...less social media is more when it comes to healthy mind, spirit, body and overall well-being!
The choice for me and many is if I'm going to be distracted by my phone and being online--let it be gaming!
Thanks for reading and giving time to my writing!
Love and blessings,
Jess