Everything in Moderation...

I'm sure that almost everyone has heard the of this phrase.  Attributed to the writings of the great philosopher Aristotle, this short phrase is widely discussed and usually accepted to be true in most instances.  So if moderation is the key to happiness why is it that so many people choose to overindulge in one thing or another?

Indulgences come in many different shapes and sizes; from eating too much food, drinking too much alcohol, or even playing video games too much.  The latter is discussed in the movie Second Skin where "gamers" are interviewed and tracked in their daily lives in order to gain a perspective on what drives them to play video games so much and how they feel about it.  

What intrigued me most about the movie was that one of the individuals suggested that:

"Maybe my time could be better spent doing things other than playing video games, but maybe your time could be better spent doing other things other than going out to the bar and drinking 12 beers every night.  Maybe your time could be better spent doing things other than sitting out in the garage working on a car every night...We're gamers, you know, it's what we do." 

I would really like to just focus on this one statement.  I know that generally its rather hard to pick and choose your battles but I'm going to pick this one.

For the most part I agree with this statement, in theory at least.  If we assume that the person who goes to the bar, the person who works on the car, and the person that plays a game all spend the same amount of time, with no other ill-affects other than the loss of time, on their respective activity I would agree that all are equal.  However, there are far more factors to consider.

First, the person who goes to the bar and drinks all night not only is spending time but is also spending money getting too and from the bar, and for the drinks and, perhaps, food.  Not only is this costing money but it also has the potential to cost the entire next day of work by missing the alarm clock, or not being able to work, due to a hangover.  Despite these few setbacks (I did not list all of them) there is always the potential to meet another person at the bar...and I trust that you can deduce the benefits and drawbacks of this.

The mechanic is also spending a lot of time, and potentially more money than any of the three people.  In this situation the money factor seems to be the more prominent in that automobile projects can range widely in cost, from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands.  However, after spending all of the time and the money, the mechanic has the ability to proudly use and display his work.  The drinker, not so much.  Also, because of the time required to work on a project like this it is generally assigned to weekend work, not on a week night.  There are simply not enough hours in the weekday to work a job, take care of yourself and your family, and then go and efficiently, and productively, work on a car.   Even the avid car lover Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor could not find enough time to work on his beloved cars every night.  Lastly, once a car project is finished it could be months or even years before a new one becomes available, generally due to the monetary costs associated with such endeavors.   

The gamer also spends time playing his game of choice, and money to pay for a computer, Internet, and game expenses.  Out of the three I would think that this would be least of all in monetary cost.  However, unlike the mechanic, the gamer cannot display his work at all times (he can in the game of course, but most likely cannot in the material world).  Also, generally an gamer will not meet other gamers to spend time with outside of the game, although their are cases of people moving in order to live with their gaming friends or meetings of clans like the Syndicate.  Lastly, the gamer has the opportunity to play his game every day due to low time restraints and requirements.  In effect, the gamer truly lives two lives, unlike the drinker and the mechanic, one in a virtual world and one in the material world.  Their hobby of gaming does not transfer over that boundary in most cases, unlike the other two individuals.

Therefore, it appears to me that if we consider that people do not take things into moderation and will do their activity of choice as much as they can, as often as they can, the gamer has the ability to spend the most time doing an activity that generally cannot be appreciated outside of the game.  To me this seems a little extreme and, to be completely frank, a waste.  However, I know that this is just one argument and that their are many others that, if weighed in upon, could turn this conclusion around.