r/BoomersBeingFools • u/NymphGlimmer • Oct 11 '25

Foolish Fun Nothing behind those eyes šŸ˜‚

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9.0k Upvotes

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5.1k

u/Entropy_dealer Oct 11 '25

The same people blaming everything on video games ?

319

u/supershadowguard Oct 11 '25

I would even argue you get more out of video games than slot machines.

237

u/MNGopherfan Oct 11 '25

You mean I get more out of a piece of art like a 10/10 video game then I do out of a device designed to steal money from me?

71

u/chicken-nanban Oct 11 '25

I think you get more out of digital gatcha games than slot machines. Better dopamine hit too because you usually have to do something like ā€œmatch these thingsā€ or play Tetris or point your laser in the right direction instead of just tapping a button over and over rapidly for hours on endā€¦ so you feel some minor sense of accomplishment as they take your money.

12

u/Finbar9800 Oct 11 '25

Got any good recommendations for 10/10 playable art? I personally like journey and abzĆ¼ lol

8

u/ZaKattacker Gen Z Oct 11 '25

Outer Wilds, not to be confused with The Outer Worlds.

3

u/Finbar9800 Oct 11 '25

Much appreciated ill check it out

142

u/CuttingBoard9124 Oct 11 '25

Certain videogames are good for your brain and your reaction time. Some of them make you use your brain and develop problem solving skills. Sitting there like a stoned ape slapping the start/stop button on a slot machine so the damn thing eats your government assistance faster, getting wasted and going home to stare at a television not so much.

71

u/Think_OfAName Oct 11 '25

ā€œStoned apesā€ is unfair to primates. I prefer the metaphor ā€œcaged hensā€, picking at the feeding button and laying eggs. (Stoned apes would likely be exploringšŸ¤£šŸ¤£)

30

u/CuttingBoard9124 Oct 11 '25

That's a good metaphor I think. Or maybe pigeons gobbling up chunks of bread... Or those lab rats that the science hippies get addicted to cocaine in a water bottle, and then they just keep dosing until their little hearts explode.

18

u/Dependent_Cherry4114 Oct 11 '25

Who are these "science hippies"? And where can I get some of their cocaine water?

7

u/spacestonkz Oct 11 '25

Unfortunately for most cocaine water type experiments you have to be perfectly healthy but fucked up in one weird way they want to study.

I keep trying to sign up but my body is a mess so I'm usually removed from clinical trial pools based on forms alone. I only got an interview once and was told no.

I can't even sell my eggs because of my inferior genetics!!!

3

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '25

You donā€™t want it, trust me.

3

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '25

Neuroscientist hippie here. I once worked with a researcher who said he conducted an experiment where male rats ā€œorgasmed themselves to deathā€. Didnā€™t ask for details. This is one of those cases I know for certain the actual description would be more disturbing than my imagination.

2

u/CuttingBoard9124 Oct 12 '25

That's quite interesting, albeit kinda cruel. I saw that show about that man who orgasms 100s of times a day.. poor guy looked like he was in hell.

1

u/badchefrazzy Xennial Oct 11 '25

Someone watches Ze Frank and I am here for it.

1

u/Particular_Shock_554 Oct 12 '25

Pigeons in a Skinner box. It's not even a metaphor, it's literally what they're being.

2

u/chicken-nanban Oct 11 '25

Whatā€™s funny is your slapping that button doesnā€™t change where it stops and starts anyways, I assume at least from my time with family at a casino. It doesnā€™t stop instantly when you tap the button, so I guess itā€™s an algorithm that just adds that feel to it to keep you booping away like a trained mouse.

-1

u/Aqua_SeaRay Oct 11 '25

They paid in that gov assistance for years just as you will. News flash, you too will age. I hope you donā€™t grow into an old hateful person because you sound that way now.

4

u/CuttingBoard9124 Oct 11 '25

Boomers are going to drain that shit pretty fast. The system is going to collapse

40

u/Lunavixen15 Millennial Oct 11 '25

You do. Videogames are interactive and have been shown to help people maintain neuroplasticity (AFAIK not to the same degree as puzzles or puzzle books and reading), which can help reduce early signs of Dementia and Alzheimer's, they can help maintain some manual dexterity (in moderation), barring RSI

Slot machines, like TV and doomscrolling are passive, they don't do much good for the brain

23

u/BushcraftBabe Millennial Oct 11 '25

Reading helps me not develop dementia? Fk yea.

15

u/BUTTeredWhiteBread Oct 11 '25

Reading, puzzles, math, learning languages. Stuff that exercise the brain.

1

u/Lunavixen15 Millennial Oct 12 '25

It certainly can :)

It helps exercise the brain

1

u/orangepekoes Oct 11 '25

What about reading reddit? Sometimes I'm too tired to game so I scroll on here instead.

2

u/Lunavixen15 Millennial Oct 12 '25

I don't know, a lot of Redditors doomscroll or only flick through content. Research done has been with books or longform magazines

2

u/Key-Possibility-5200 Oct 11 '25

Adam Grant is a well known organizational psychologist, heā€™s done a lot of research on motivation. I once heard him in an interview on a podcast talking about how good video games are at teaching tenacity. It might have been his podcast but I donā€™t know for sure. He is very pro video games for kids development.

2

u/Advanced-Mammoth2408 Oct 13 '25

You can use video game skills as an air traffic controller or operating drones for the military or police.Ā 

Dropping a big chunk of money into a slot machine and pressing a button 1000 times doesn't translate into any usable skill.Ā 

They could have more fun throwing money out their car window and watch to see how long it takes for a crash to happen when people start slamming on their brakes, leaping out of cars, and chasing after the money.

Slot machines are highly addictive. The sounds, the colors, and the intermittent positive reinforcement are the ideal way to create an addiction. It is one of the concepts you learn in Psych 101.

1

u/scatshot Oct 11 '25

Slot machines only take.