this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2025
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I honestly don't see how the average working class adult find that time. I feel like gaming is a luxury for rich/middle-class teens.

(page 3) 50 comments
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[–] zonnewin@feddit.nl 9 points 3 days ago

Yes, I play practically every day. I'm a teacher, so plenty busy with work. But I come home to a kid-free environment, so I can really relax.

[–] vividspecter@lemm.ee 12 points 3 days ago

Everyone's life is different. Some people spend more time working but have more opportunities for breaks, and others have shorter hours but more a clearly delineated work-life separation where they must be working through the whole period. There are people with a large amount of responsibilities outside of work, and others that have little to none.

Anyway, it's not true for all but many people do have the time they just choose to spend it on other types of entertainment. Sometimes consciously, other times because TV and social media are the path of least resistance, even if it's less satisfying.

My suggestion is to consider a Steam Deck and use the suspend function readily. You might not have hours to play, but maybe you can pick up 15 minutes here and there, which is more satisfying then you might think.

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 days ago

As an adult with a family: Yes, but nothing like when I was younger. The biggest shift for me primarily was to games that are not competitive or multiplayer.

I can't do the 25-60 minute intense gaming sessions with or against other players. I have to be able to stop everything I am doing at a moment's notice. I feel bad having to drop on people.

Also I can't do the FPS games now because I'm old and my eyes just can't anymore.

[–] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

Barely, and only if I sacrifice sleep for it

[–] Alloi@lemmy.world 8 points 3 days ago

i make time. i also work in film which is a feast or famine, contract based industry. you make quite a bit of money, and i value free time more than material things. so i can stretch my dollar quite far.

i invested in a gaming PC, and a home gym. i work out at home, cook at home, play vidja at home. i really only go out to shop for groceries or visit friends and family.

video games have always been a social outlet for me, and a comfort as well. so i make time for it.

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

I play a few hours a week with my boomer squad. (8 to 10) Our ages range from 35 to 55.

We play Fortnite and have lots of fun. I play socially these days. It's a much about the game as it is about bullshitting. We're all middle class, no rich boys.

I work full time in a management position, prepare dinner for the family, tidy up the house with my wife and play some games while she reads or watches series. How wouldn't there be time?

[–] Nunuman@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

I don't prioritise gaming anymore. The family comes first. Work comes next. Gym. Hunting. Fishing. They all come before gaming. I still do game a bit. Mostly once I've put the kids to bed and I get a few hours me time. But honestly, I'm normally too tired and instead put a brain-dead show on that I don't need to think too hard about.

[–] sexy_peach@feddit.org 5 points 2 days ago
[–] spankmonkey@lemmy.world 9 points 3 days ago

Work full time, no overtime. Family and kids. Regularly play a couple hours each evening after taking care of everything else. Actually get an extra hour on days I work from home because of no commute and I can do laundry and other stuff on breaks.

[–] BigPotato@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

Obviously, yes is the answer. Partners and kids don't prevent you from doing anything. Hell, your partner might play with you and the kids might watch.

Only problem is that kids learn "mine" before they learn "I can't pause Dark Souls, let me get to a safe spot and I'll refill the goldfish, I don't want to lose these... Damnit."

[–] blady_blah@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

I'm over 50 and every night somewhere between 8:30 and 9:30 I jump online and play 1 or 2 hours of strategy games with my friends. I don't watch TV. I don't watch sports. This is my evening entertainment.

I have three kids who are all teenagers now and I've basically done this throughout my adult life. This has been a way for me to keep my friend group together. I have about six friends who do this with me and they are from a variety of different places, some as far back as junior high and high school. I think it's an extremely healthy way for a bunch of nerds to have a social group.

[–] FRYD@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

My friends play games together every night and I join them pretty often. I could game more if I wanted, but I’ve been losing interest. All of us are broke as hell, but no kids, no marriages.

I think pc spec creep will eventually leave us in a situation where we need to upgrade but can’t afford to and I’m not sure what we’ll do then.

[–] Schlemmy@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

Go console? I mean, a PS5 has decent specs at a fair price.

[–] friend_of_satan@lemmy.world 3 points 2 days ago

I often play video games and then retroactively realize that I didn't really have time for it. I try to focus video game time around my kids so it's both video game time and kid time, but that severely limits what our options are.

[–] bent 1 points 2 days ago

I play some during winter, but only single player games with good storylines, and decent and relatively easy gameplay. I live so far north that I get maybe 1 hour of actual sunlight in the middle of winter and due to global warming I get maybe one or two weekends for skiing so I'm glad for video games to keep me entertained along with books.

What I don't have any time for is TV.

[–] jonathan7luke@lemmy.ml 8 points 3 days ago

I do have enough time, but I don't have the self control. If I could hold myself to an hour a day, that would be fantastic, but I inevitably get myself too addicted and end up spending closer to 4 hours a day. At that point, all my other chores aren't getting done. As a result, I haven't played video games in several years.

[–] chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 2 days ago

Sure. I do have some benefits that help, like a WFH schedule, but even on the work in office days I can do games that don't require a ton of time, like a few Monster Hunter hunts (3-12 mins a hunt) or a few Warframe missions, but thats usually because I don't cook those days, don't exercise,and I have no kids and don't really do other entertainment except reading, podcasts and some of those I do while gaming. When I read I often don't game same day.

I used to game more, but had less sleep, so I do less in work from office days. WFH days I get much more time (2-2.5 hours not spent driving/getting ready), plus I can sometimes play less intense games while working, on short breaks, during lunch, etc. I do usually exercise and cook those days, but even then there's time. I don't go out often except for the exercise though.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

it's about making time.

just got a retroid pocket 5 and installed steam player on it.

I love it. I've played at least an hour every day since I've got it.

[–] qevlarr@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Sometimes, but I have to make time. So I think in gaming sessions of 30 minutes to a few hours at most, depending on how much time I have. Then maybe I can't play for a week.

This means it's quite hard to pick what I want to play. Grand strategy or Civ is out for me, takes too long. Long campaign games I never even start. Often I end up with the same few staples like CS2, or a digital board game against AI. Lately I've been enjoying Balatro a lot

[–] callcc@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago
[–] grasshopper_mouse@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

I mean, whether or not adults have the time is highly dependent on their daily life schedule. Some adults have more time than others. In my adult life, I've had periods where I had no time to play, or could only play casually on the weekends, as well as periods where most of my free time was spent gaming.

Also, if by "luxury" you mean it costs too much, if you have access to the internet, you have access to free video games. Even Steam has free videogames, and you don't have to have some fancy gaming PC to play some of them.

[–] janus2@lemmy.zip 1 points 2 days ago

no :( I play Balatro on my phone when I poop, and I boot up Minecraft about once a year...

[–] truite@jlai.lu 5 points 3 days ago

Yes I have time, but I'm not the average working class, because I don't work. And have no kids.

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 7 points 3 days ago

Rarely, but when I do, I focus on small and tight games. I no longer have time for expansive RPGs, even though I love them.

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